ABSTRACT
The absence of detailed research findings in a field can be both a blessing and a curse. During the Teaching Competence Project we carried out the largest systematic study of its kind ever undertaken in the United Kingdom into allegations of incompetence in the teaching profession, with hundreds of responses from head teachers, teachers, governors, parents, pupils, teacher union and local authority officers. The advantage of working in a field where there has been little research is that one can try to establish some fresh baseline information, which may be limited, but can be illuminating. The disadvantage is that there is little else with which to compare the data, or on which to hang the findings, and fundamental first-time research projects often contain more flaws than replications or research which investigates a field where there are numerous previous studies on which to build.
