Skip to main content Skip to navigation

Applied Linguistics

Mentor Development for Exploratory Action Research

This webpage showcases achievements associated with the overall Mentor Development for Exploratory Action Research programme supported by the UK Economic and Social Research Council (Impact Acceleration Awards ES/T502054/1 (2020–22); ES/X004635/1 (2024–27)).

Overview

An exhibition of posters of teacher-research

Research at Warwick in the 2000s led to the development of ‘Exploratory Action ResearchLink opens in a new window’ (EAR), a form of practitioner research suited to enhancing teacher and learner agency and wellbeing in Global South classrooms.

From 2013 onwards, EAR has been adopted in many teacher development projects worldwide. To further spread the benefits of EAR, mentor development has been increasingly focused upon.

An innovative, research-based framework for EAR-mentoringLink opens in a new window has, since 2019, been informing initiatives with teachers of English and other subjects in countries ranging from Argentina, Bangladesh and Cameroon to India and Nepal, and Sierra Leone, Thailand and Uzbekistan.

Interview

Screenshot from interview with Richard Smith

Professor Richard Smith (University of Warwick) explains the overall programme, discussing how mentoring can support classroom research by teachers, and why it matters.

Publications

This is the cover of the Mentoring teachers to research their classrooms: a practical handbook by Richard Smith (2020).
This is Chapter 14 'Mentoring teacher-research: from situated practice to global guidance' written by Richard Smith and published in Wyatt, M. & Dikilitas, K.'s International Perspectives on Mentoring in English Language Education. Palgrave Macmillan.
This is a British Council research report written by Richard Smith. The title of the report: Mentoring teacher-research: challenges and benefits according to Nepali mentors.
This is the publication named Stories of Mentoring Teacher-Research, edited by Richard Smith, Seden Eraldemir Tuyan, Mariana Serra and Erzsébet Agnés Békés (2024).
This is Chapter 'Enhancement mentoring for teacher-research: A positive approach in a crisis', co-authored with S. Eraldemir Tuyan, E.A. Békés & M. Serra and published in English Language Teacher Education and Development Journal.
This is the Handbook of Exploratory Action Research, written by Richard Smith and Paula Rebolledo and published by the British Council.

Mentoring initiatives

This is the link to the International Festival of Mentoring Teacher-Research in ELT, organised between 2024–25. It showcased teacher-research mentoring initiatives around the world.

The International Festival of Mentoring Teacher-Research in ELT (2024–25)

This is the community of teacher-research mentors called MeTRnet.

Mentoring Teacher-Research Network (MenTRnet)

This is the logo for the Network of English Teacher Researchers in Uzbekistan (NETRUZ).

Network of English Teacher Researchers in Uzbekistan (NETRUZ)

This is another initiative of mentoring called Exploratory Action Research in Thailand (EAR-Thailand).
Exploratory Action Research in Thailand (EAR-Thailand)
This is the British Council India project called Action Research Mentoring Scheme (ARMS).

Action Research Mentoring Scheme (ARMS), India

This is the British Council's project in Nepal called Action Research Mentoring Scheme for teachers’ CPD.

Action Research Mentoring Scheme (ARMS), Nepal

Training videos

Video 1: What’s involved in mentoring teachers to carry out exploratory action research?
Video 2: Helping teachers to select a research topic
Video 3: Helping teachers to develop research questions
Video 4: Preparing teachers to collect data
This is the Video 5 for mentoring to learn how to support teachers to analyse data.
This is Video 6 for mentoring focusing on supporting teachers to interpret findings and plan next steps.
This is Video 7 for mentors to help teachers share and reflect on their research.
This is the series of ARMS India Project videos.

Let us know you agree to cookies

We use cookies to give you the best online experience. Please let us know if you agree to functional, advertising and performance cookies. You can update your cookie preferences at any time.

Cookie policy