The evidence debate: where does action research stand?

1. The evidence debate: where does action research stand? Colleen McLaughlin University of Sussex CARN study day March 8, University of Nottingham

2. Where are we now? Some trends in policy • Acceptance of the central role of the teacher in developing the quality of education • Acceptance of the importance of the role of professional development and teacher as learner • Need for transformation and development of the teaching profession • The need to create a knowledge base about practice and share this knowledge in schools and more widely

3. Acceptance of the central role of the teacher in developing the quality of education All the evidence from different education systems around the world shows that the most important factor in determining how well children do is the quality of teachers and teaching. The best education systems in the world draw their teachers from among the top graduates and train them rigorously and effectively, focusing on classroom practice. They then make sure that teachers receive effective professional development throughout their career, with opportunities to observe and work with other teachers, and appropriate training for leadership positions. (p.9) Schools White Paper (DFE, 2010) The Importance of Teaching.

4. Importance of teacher practices and teacher learning The pressure to increase equity and improve educational outcomes for students is growing around the world. Teaching practices, in contrast to student background variables such as socio-economic status and cultural capital, are factors affecting student learning that are more readily modifiable.Moreover, additional professional practices have received attention, especially those that help transform the school into a professional learning community. (Teaching Practices and Pedagogical Innovation Evidence from TALIS (2013) OECD - CERI Svenja Vieluf, David Kaplan, Eckhard Klieme, Sonja Baye)

5. Need for transformation and development of the teaching profession Press Release Obama Administration Seeks to Elevate Teaching Profession, Duncan to Launch RESPECT Project: Teacher Led National Conversation The Obama Administration's 2013 proposed budget includes a new $5 billion competitive program to challenge states and districts to work with teachers, unions, colleges of education and other stakeholders to comprehensively reform the field of teaching. The proposal touches on every phase of teaching from Training and tenure to compensation and car eer opportunities.

6. Movements to learn about practice and share it • Teaching schools and joint practice development • Use of research and enquiry in policy and practice

7. Key questions • Underneath these policy statements is a desire to create knowledge about practice • How should we create the knowledge base both for practice and teacher development?

8. Enter Action Research stage left • Action research is best through of as a large family, in which beliefs and relationships vary a great deal. (Nofke, 1997) • Action research is simply a form of self-reflective enquiry undertaken by participants in social situations in order to improve the rationality and justice of their own practices, their understanding of these practices, and the situations in which the practices are carried out. (Carr and Kemmis 1986: 162) • Action research as living theory – Jack Whitehead • Systematic enquiry made public – Stenhouse

9. Can it help out with the issues around knowledge base for teaching practice and development? • Validity • Scale • From the individual to the generalisable? • Have we tried and failed to use action research for these purposes?

10. But what is the view of knowledge creation?

11. Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) - Evaluation • A central aim of the is to find out what works to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils in schools in England. To achieve this, all EEF projects will be rigorously evaluated by independent experts in educational research. These evaluations will be funded by the EEF. • The aim of our evaluations is to improve knowledge and extend the evidence-base on what works in order to raise attainment. The impact of projects on attainment will be evaluated, where possible, using randomised controlled trials, with a linked process evaluation to understand the elements of successful delivery. The size of evaluation, and therefore the number of schools or projects that we would require grantees to work with, will be determined by what we already know or whether there is a need to either pilot a new approach or demonstrate that an intervention can work at scale.

12. Do we need a completely different idea? • A new paradigm – Yoland Wadsworth • Build a house of micro interactions to make the bigger patterns • More integrated model of practice, development and research • How we can use evaluation, research, action research to improve our living systems? • Build in to the everyday research and evaluation Will that do for our purposes? Will that be accepted? What form of development is now needed to take this forward?