From science teacher to ‘teacher scientist’: exploring the experiences of research-active science teachers in the UK

Rushton, Elizabeth A. C.; Reiß, Michael

doi:10.1080/09500693.2019.1615656

Cited by 30 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 26 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The interviews showed that some teachers identified particularly strongly as scientists, where being involved in the co-production of knowledge with their students was a great opportunity to reinforce their disciplinary interests and identity, as well as developing networks beyond their school. This corroborates earlier work on the 'teacher scientist' (Rushton & Reiss, 2019). These teachers tended to emphasise the intellectual and professional socialisation forms of support (Thiry & Laursen, 2011) that they offer through their mentoring in supporting the next generation of scientists, but also by actively doing science themselves.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

“…Mentoring can support professional development and enhance teacher motivation through being provided with a new challenge hand in hand with developing new disciplinary knowledge. In turn, teachers become more confident and outward looking through the development of professional networking, identifying as 'teacher scientists' (Rushton & Reiss, 2019) and 'teacher mentors'.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Engaging in research is an expectation for most undergraduate degree programmes, and the benefits of mentored research are well documented at higher education level (Gillies & Marsh, 2013;Healey & Jenkins, 2009;Hensel, 2012;Kuh, 2008;Lopatto, 2010) with this activity being considered a 'high impact' educational practice (Elgren & Hensel, 2006;Elrod, Husic, & Kinzie, 2010;Kuh & O'Donnell, 2013;Lopatto, 2010). However, to date, little attention has been paid to the role and practice of teachers involved in school-based science research (Rushton & Reiss, 2019). This current study contributes to this research area, providing a framework for mentoring school-student research drawn from a synthesis of effective mentoring practice from higher education (Shanahan, Ackley-Holbrook, Hall, Stewart & Walkington, 2015;Walkington, Hall, Shanahan, Ackley & Stewart, 2018) combined with new insights from the experiences of high school teachers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…As a mode of working, IRPs tend to be predominantly extra or co-curricular, and undertaken by high school students (Bennett et al, 2018). The role of teachers as mentors in school science activities including IRPs, and inquiry-based learning has received little attention in the literature to date (Rushton & Reiss, 2019). When describing authentic school science activities, Roth (1995) identifies the importance of teachers as part of a wider community of inquiry, where students can share ideas and resources and draw on the expertise of more knowledgeable members.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Institute for Research in Schools (IRIS) is a UK-based charity launched in March 2016 to develop an approach to school education where research is a key element of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) learning, offering opportunities for students to work on genuine problems (Parker, Fox & Rushton, 2018;Rushton & Reiss, 2019). This is founded on a social constructivist approach to learning, where students are supported by their peers, teachers and other collaborators, to develop both their understanding of science and to further science itself (Parker et al, 2018;Rushton & Reiss, 2019). The role of the high school teacher is to encourage, support and facilitate their students' participation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Ten Salient Practices for Mentoring Student Research in Schools: New Opportunities for Teacher Professional Development

Walkington¹,

Rushton²

2019

HES

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper proposes ten salient practices of research mentoring activity in high school settings for teachers and technicians based upon survey and interview findings from 96 English and Scottish high school teachers from STEM disciplines, working in research collaborations with scientists. Mentoring high school research provides career development, with teachers identifying new aspects to their professional roles including 'teacher researcher', 'teacher scientist' and 'teacher mentor'. This study suggests the potential for using the ten salient practices to initiate individual teacher reflection and wider professional development, and, a way of framing and disseminating effective practice across the school sector.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Ten Salient Practices for Mentoring Student Research in Schools: New Opportunities for Teacher Professional Development

Walkington¹,

Rushton²

2019

HES

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Understanding teacher identity in teachers' professional lives: A systematic review of the literature

Rushton,

Rawlings Smith,

Steadman

et al. 2023

Review of Education

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article presents a systematic review of a substantial body of literature that considers the ways in which the concept of teacher identity has been used to understand and explore teachers' professional lives. The aim of the review was to go beyond the limitations of specific areas of teachers' practice to explore the broad and rich field of teachers' professional lives. Drawing on 412 articles from 2000–2021, the review demonstrates the growth in teacher identity research, particularly since 2010. Results from the review are categorised into seven thematic groups that span key areas related to teachers' professional lives: (1) Models and frameworks of professional lives; (2) Narratives of professional lives; (3) Becoming a teacher; (4) Contexts; (5) Communities; (6) Change, transition and conflict; and (7) Subject specialisms. The review reveals gaps in teacher identity research, such as: few research studies from Global South countries; a limited number of studies focusing on non‐core curriculum subjects, including arts, history, geography and physical education; fewer studies focusing on primary school and early years teacher identities; and a divide between identity scholarship and research, and policy and practice. The article concludes with a call for teacher identity research to be expanded and broadened with the aim to facilitate the progress of identity work in scholarship, policy and practice. Context and implicationsRationale for this studyIn the context of a growing body of research on teacher identity, particularly in the last decade, there remains a paucity of identity‐focused systematic reviews. Existing systematic reviews tend to focus on specific fields such as subject specialisms, teacher education and beginning teachers. However, far fewer reviews span the broader field of teachers' professional lives; this article responds to this gap in the literature.Why the new findings matterThe findings from this review are important in highlighting the most commonly explored areas in teacher identity research as it relates to teachers' professional lives. As such, the findings can inform policy and practice for teacher education and professional development at local, national and international scales. The findings also highlight gaps in the literature and the implications this may have on teacher identity scholarship.Implications for educational researchers and educatorsFirstly, educational researchers can identify key themes arising from existing teacher identity research studies. This can help them to focus on specific areas that would benefit from further research as well as providing them with a single space from which to draw on the existing corpus of research studies. Secondly, teacher identity research is important for the professional lives and practice of educators and this review provides educators with an opportunity to understand the teacher identity scholarly landscape and, in turn, apply findings from the research to their own professional practice.

show abstract

Meaningful participation of schools in scientific research through contributory citizen science projects

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

School‐based citizen science offers a way for students and teachers to collaborate with scientists and take part in multiple facets of research such as data collection and analysis, and sometimes research initiation, co‐design, and reporting of findings. However, most citizen science projects offered to schools are of the contributory type, often regarded as a lesser form of participation since the role of nonscientific participants lies mostly in data collection. The current study set out to examine the potential of contributory projects to afford—despite their limitations—more equitable power relations between schools and scientists and a meaningful participation of schools in scientific research. We view meaningful participation as such that embodies students' and teachers' responsibility over scientific processes or outcomes. Nine pairs of teachers and scientists who collaborated in contributory‐based projects were asked to think aloud as they answered a questionnaire regarding their experiences, resulting with rich commentary on how they perceived relationships between the schools and the scientists. Analysis of the think‐aloud data, using a framework based on the notion of reciprocity in university‐community partnerships, indicated that most teachers and scientists developed a sense of reciprocal relations where both sides are acknowledged contributors, some even deeply so. We discuss factors influencing the emergence of reciprocity and implications towards the premise of school‐based citizen science to democratize science and change traditional power relations in school‐based citizen science collaborations.

show abstract

From science teacher to ‘teacher scientist’: exploring the experiences of research-active science teachers in the UK

Cited by 30 publications

References 26 publications

Ten Salient Practices for Mentoring Student Research in Schools: New Opportunities for Teacher Professional Development

Ten Salient Practices for Mentoring Student Research in Schools: New Opportunities for Teacher Professional Development

Understanding teacher identity in teachers' professional lives: A systematic review of the literature

Meaningful participation of schools in scientific research through contributory citizen science projects

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About