Understanding research engagement in England’s evidence-informed teaching profession : a ‘3D’ view

Abstract

This thesis reports on a mixed-methods study into understanding the role of research engagement in the teaching profession. There is currently a focus upon ‘an evidence-informed teaching profession’ in documentation from England’s Department for Education (DfE, 2016) and as a teacher, the author was interested in the perspectives of teaching practitioners themselves. By addressing the following research questions, a more comprehensive understanding of the perceptions, practices and potential of research engagement was formed: a) How do different teaching practitioners in a variety of settings perceive research engagement? b) How may socio-cultural factors in schools influence practices of research engagement? c) What potential worth does research engagement have for teaching and learning? Each question was addressed using a range of research approaches to achieve a holistic understanding of teachers’ research engagement. Findings from a survey (n=109), semi-structured interviews (n=6) and case studies (n=3) formed a three-dimensional view of research engagement in the teaching profession by illuminating the phenomenon from different angles. The survey established the breadth of evidence-informed teaching, whilst the interviews and case studies added depth to the understanding. Adding a further dimension, a user-focused evaluation, revealed the ‘reach’ that research engagement could have in the teaching profession. To present the findings, Carr and Kemmis’ (1986) conceptualisation of the critical teacher was adapted to take into account the different forms of research engagement that became apparent during the study: reflective practice, passively using findings from research, critically engaging with research and conducting one’s own research. A new way of theorising these research activities has been created and are presented collectively as a spectrum, rather than a scale with reflective practice at one end and research conduct at the other extreme. This thesis concludes that an evidence-informed teaching profession can be inclusive of all, or even just some, of the above.