Research capacity building in teacher education: Scottish collaborative approaches

Abstract

This paper examines the context for education research, including teacher education research, in Scotland. Concerns about research capacity are shared with other parts of the UK, but the distinctive context for teacher development and engagement in practitioner research create fertile ground for developments in teacher education research. Schemes such as 'Research to support Schools of Ambition' provide evidence of a shared commitment to teacher research. The national project, 'Applied Education Research Scheme', funded by the Scottish government and the Scottish Funding Council, included a thematic network on learners, learning and teaching. Drawing on activities of this sort, the paper suggests that a key element of effective capacity building lies in collaborative approaches.

Linking research and practice through teacher communities: a place where formal and practical knowledge meet?

“…TCs can potentially contribute to strengthen research and practice links by a) providing a context for sustained collaboration where the perspectives and expertise of various stakeholders are brought to bear, b) enhancing the ecological validity of research through the investigation of problems that are relevant and meaningful to participants' practice, and c) (potentially) contributing to the generation of new knowledge and understandings about teaching and learning (Cassidy et al 2008;Christie et al 2007;Christie and Menter 2009;Cochran-Smith and Lytle 1999).…”

“…Here we take up a broad definition of educational research as a means to develop a fundamental understanding of educational phenomena as well as to improve policy and practice (cf. Christie and Menter 2009). This definition includes both basic and more applied forms of research (e.g.…”

“…Collaborative approaches to educational research such as teacher communities (TCs) are increasingly recognized as a promising effort both to facilitate collaboration between teachers and researchers, and to give voice to teachers in the (re-)creation of knowledge Christie and Menter 2009;Christie et al 2007;Cochran-Smith and Lytle 1999) The current study addresses this lacuna by characterizing the nature of research and practice links within TCs projects reported in recent research literature. We do not attempt to provide a comprehensive overview.…”

“…This was mainly inspired by two related developments. On the one hand, an increasing awareness of the little impact of research findings on average classroom practice (Broekkamp and Van HoutWolters, 2007;Burkhardt and Schoenfield 2003;McIntyre 2005) has resulted in various calls to establish new forms of collaboration and knowledge sharing between teachers and researchers (Cassidy et al 2008;Christie and Menter 2009;De Vries and Pieters 2007;Vanderlinde and van Braak 2010). On the other hand, conceptions about the roles of teachers have shifted from a view that regarded them as merely consumers of research to a view that acknowledges teachers as producers or mediators of knowledge (Cochran-Smith and Lytle 1999;Richardson 1994).…”

Seeking Time Within Time: Exploring the temporal constraints of women teachers’ experiences as graduate students and novice researchers

“…The proliferation of teacher research, by and about teacher researchers, supports his claim yet also depicts how the field has grown more complicated 461 (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1999;Leeman & Wardekker, 2013). For example, teacher-led research has been found to provide opportunities for meaningful professional development (Vrijnsen-de Cortea, den Brok, Kamp, & Bergen, 2013), critical thinking (Hagevik, Aydeniz, & Rowell, 2012), discovery learning (Gray, 2013), collaborative collegial learning (Christie & Menter, 2009), university-school partnerships (Arhar et al, 2013;Thornley et al, 2004), and educational policy development (Rust & Meyers, 2006). Cochran-Smith and Lytle (1999) suggest that because teacher research "is such a generative concept, it can be shaped and reshaped to further virtually any educational agenda" (p. 17).…”