Skip to main content Skip to navigation

Centre for Teacher Education

Promoting Research Culture in Schools

BERA Bites, Issue 5: ‘Research used or produced in schools: Which informs practitioners most?’

The fifth issue in the BERA Bites series, edited and introduced by Ian Potter, is focussed on promoting research practice in schools. Through 11 articles drawn from the BERA BlogLink opens in a new window it explores the distinction between schools being research-active and research-informed as a consequence of research conducted within them, and asks how they should both use and generate research. Knowledge production in the school system is, Potter argues, a vital element of school improvement, so the collection offers a variety of opinions and models of what self-improving, ‘research alive’ schools might look like.

Among the topics it covers are:

  • educational research as continuing professional development, and ‘self-improvement’, for teachers
  • the challenges of encouraging teachers and schools to become ‘research literate’
  • the importance of fostering a culture of research and research-use, particularly for school leaders
  • how schools can work with the university sector and other schools to create ‘collaborative spaces’ between research and practice
  • ethical issues and ‘risk-taking’ in research-active schools
  • professional doctorates and the power of insider research.

BERA Bites #5

‘By engaging in research these teachers focussed on evidence they had collected, moving them from congenial (sharing) conversations to collegial or dialogic ones.’ - Val Poultney (University of Derby)

‘Research is becoming central to what schools strive to do: an increasing number are appointing research leads in senior roles, training teachers to become researchers and building centres to foster research initiatives.’ - Iro Konstantinou (Tony Little Centre for Innovation & Research in Learning, Eton College)

‘Placing the use of research practices and evidence at the heart of a school improvement journey enriches day-today decision-making, and enables the development of strong professional capital and a framework for self-extending transformation.’ - Megan Dixon (Aspire Educational Trust)

Download Issue #5 hereLink opens in a new window

Further Reading:

  • British Educational Research Association [BERA] and Royal Society for the Encouragement of the Arts, Manufactures and Commerce [RSA] (2013). Research and the teaching profession: Building the capacity for a self-improving education system: Final report of the BERA-RSA inquiry into the role of research in teacher education. London. Retrieved from https://www. bera.ac.uk/project/res
  • Sheard, M. K., & Sharples, J. (2016) School leaders’ engagement with the concept of evidence-based practice as a management tool for school improvement. Educational Management Administration and Leadership, 44(4): 668–687.
  • Earl, L., & Katz, S. (2006). Leading schools in a data rich world. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
  • Walker, M. (2017). Insights into the role of research and development in teaching schools. Slough: National Foundation for Educational Research.
  • Christianakis, M. (2010). Collaborative research and teacher education. Issues in Teacher Education, 19(2).
  • Kaplan, L. S., & Owings, W. A. (2013). Culture re-boot: Reinvigorating school culture to improve student outcomes. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press
  • Wilkins, R. (2011) Research Engagement for School Development, London: IOE Press.
  • Swaffield, S. and MacBeath, J. (2006) Embedding Learning How to Learn in School Policy: The challenge for leadership. Research Papers in Education 21 (2) 201-215.