Power, positionality and practitioner research: Schoolteachers' experiences of professional doctorates in education

Abstract

The growth, internationally, in professional doctorates over the last 25 years has been well documented, as are the forms, fields and disciplines that such doctorates embrace. Yet relatively little is known about the professional tensions teachers encounter, in relation to their positionality, when carrying out doctoral research in the schools where they work. This paper draws attention, not only to the contribution the Professional Doctorate in Education (EdD) makes to research as a whole, but also to the significance of teachers as invaluable members of the research community. Findings will be presented from interviews with 30 senior teachers from schools in England who are carrying out practitioner research as part of their doctoral studies. The paper draws attention to how power relations in the research process ferment the structural and agentic concerns of the participants in this study when discussing their researcher positionality. The scholarly significance of this study is its contribution to knowledge of how schools are increasingly becoming both sites of research and research‐rich environments. With its focus on researcher positionality the paper draws attention not just to the tensions and dilemmas these participants encounter on their doctoral journey, but also to the importance of teacher researchers and their role in research knowledge production.

Review of Dissertations from an Online Asynchronous Learning Design and Technologies Educational Doctoral Program

“…Adopting an outsider positionality may be necessary in a few cases, for example, if career changes during the course of the program affect one's access to the research setting (cf. Czerniawski, 2022). A school teacher who takes on a new district-level position might need to update several components of their DiP, including their positionality.…”

“…Given the emphasis on solving practical problems embedded in one's professional setting, action researchers need to determine their positionality in the DiP. A researcher's positionality refers to the stance a researcher adopts in relation to the subject of their research to reflect their relationship to the research participants, their level of involvement, and the extent to which they have influence over the research process (e.g., Czerniawski, 2022). Herr and Anderson (2005) proposed a continuum to portray the different types of positionalities a researcher can adopt, which range from (a) insider, (b) insider in collaboration with other insiders, (c) insider in collaboration with outsiders, (d) reciprocal collaboration, (e) outsider in collaboration with insiders, and (f) outsider studies insiders.…”

Opportunities and Dilemmas in Interactions between the Education Sector and Academia

“…Such discussions about the status of different doctoral programmes, especially when doctorates that are situated within the field of practice are deemed questionable, are unhelpful, and in our opinion can contribute to a strengthening of divisions between universities and schools/kindergartens. Rather than reinforcing a hierarchy of research where close-to-practice research is either heralded as more relevant or criticised as not scientific enough, we agree with Czerniawski (2023) in adopting a more nuanced approach and highlighting a need for greater criticality regarding the research-production process.…”

“…Doctorates, or Ed.D.) has grown significantly worldwide (Czerniawski, 2023), due perhaps to the opinion that Ed.D. candidates have greater "capacity to transform educational practice" (Perry, 2012, p. 114).…”

“…At the same time, some familiar concerns about the quality of professional doctorates have been raised within academia (Jones, 2018). New knowledge and approaches provided by professional doctorates create flexibility and openings to adapt and develop, however, this can also be unsettling, and research that is deemed close-to-practice has a "troubled history" (Czerniawski, 2023), with questions of validity and quality being raised. Such discussions about the status of different doctoral programmes, especially when doctorates that are situated within the field of practice are deemed questionable, are unhelpful, and in our opinion can contribute to a strengthening of divisions between universities and schools/kindergartens.…”