The potential role of teacher-researchers in in-service education: an Oxfordshire project

Abstract

This article describes and evaluates a joint venture between Oxfordshire Local Education Authority and Oxford Brookes University in which practising teachers are seconded for 1 day per week for a year to research an aspect of special educational needs that is pertinent to their role and institution. Research papers are written and disseminated as part of local in-service education and training. The project is now 5 years old and an evaluation has just been completed. The paper asks what can be learned from the project, whether it is a model others might want to replicate, and whether it offers an example of good INSET practice in the light of the Teacher Training Agency developments calling for teachers as researchers. Possibilities for future innovative research and INSET are proposed