While Glasgow basked in the warm glow of a spring heatwave this year, staff at Govan High School, in the south west of the city, were coming together to celebrate a host of successful research projects.
The projects had been conducted with the support of initial teacher trainers at the University of Glasgow, but all were teacher-led and based around a specific problem being experienced on the ground, in classrooms. Each teacher presented the work they had completed, either individually or with colleagues in their department, sharing their findings.
Over the past couple of years, the school has been working to develop a sustainable model for practitioner enquiry, and is already reaping the benefits. Early insights suggest improved pupil engagement and understanding, while teachers report feeling more confident in their practice and that they have an increased sense of autonomy. Participants also noted the potential for positive outcomes for the school’s improvement goals.
So, what is practitioner enquiry, and how does it work?
What is practitioner enquiry?
Practitioner enquiry is a process that involves teachers thinking about a problem in their classroom, gathering data (for example, through observation, analysing class work or peer observation), identifying relevant literature and then making an informed change to their teaching practice.
Practitioner enquiry can be hugely beneficial, but one of the big challenges around it is finding the time to make it work. One way to alleviate the time pressures is to work with an external partner, such as a local university, which can offer support in the form of a proven model to follow and shortcuts to literature searches.
This is what the partnership between Govan High School and the University of Glasgow aims to do. Our goal is to maximise the impact and the relevance of the enquiries being conducted and to help teachers to make the most of this opportunity for career-long learning.
The partnership began in 2022 after a conversation about reinvigorating CPD following the Covid-19 pandemic. After a successful trial with 12 volunteer teachers, the programme was rolled out to all staff.
All the professional development time for the academic year was dedicated to providing teachers with the guidance, support and time needed to undertake an enquiry into their own practice.
Initially, this started with monthly in-person sessions, which gave staff a chance to come together to think about a problem of practice and for those who had already developed enquiry questions to receive support. These sessions were jointly planned and delivered to best meet the needs of the staff.
Over time these sessions became drop-ins for teachers to seek assistance as needed, allowing them to progress at their own pace, with university staff on hand to offer guidance.
The university also provided ongoing online support to assist with finding academic literature. There are great resources on the Education Scotland website in the professional learning section that can help here, while teachers in England might find the Education Endowment Foundation to be a useful resource.
Working in partnership
So far the benefits of the partnership have been clear on both sides.
“Our main goal was to give our teachers more autonomy in their professional learning,” says Michael McCarron, the school’s deputy head. “We aimed to provide our staff with opportunities to deeply explore their teaching practices, question and refine their approaches and ultimately improve the learning experiences and outcomes for our students.”
Meanwhile, at the university we use knowledge gained from the project to inform the work we do with future teachers around enquiry.
Understanding the nuanced questions being asked by local schools helps to inform teacher education programmes, ultimately improving the training that universities can provide. The arrangement, therefore, is mutually beneficial.
This partnership will last for at least two more years and from our involvement so far, it is clear that the impact will go far beyond the classroom walls.
By working together, we believe our institutions can create a supportive environment for teacher professional development, ultimately leading to a more vibrant educational landscape.
A programme of practitioner enquiry can work in any school, but joining forces with a higher education partner can take away some of the barriers that can make this type of professional development so challenging.
For schools interested in establishing a similar partnership, the first step would be to approach a local university or to reach out to the team here at the University of Glasgow. We’d be happy to offer guidance on how to get your project off the ground.
Eilidh Soussi is a lecturer in teacher education and Lindsay Gibson is a lecturer in education and Sarah Anderson is professor of teacher education at the University of Glasgow
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