ABSTRACT

'[A] really important book […] the growth of interest in teachers in England taking part in educational research is significant.'

– John Furlong, Emeritus Professor of Education, Oxford University, UK.

Mobilising Teacher Researchers brings together the results of a research project carried out over a two-year period, commissioned by the National College for Teaching and Leadership and involving over 650 schools in England.

An internationally renowned group of contributors present crucial and intriguing lessons learnt from the 'Closing the Gap: Test and Learn' project, aimed at identifying ways in which to close the attainment gap, raise the achievement of disadvantaged children in England, and introduce new research methods into schools. From the project’s policy origins to its implementation, the book captures the diverse range of outcomes from the project, both intended and unexpected. It reveals the ways and extent to which teachers were mobilised as researchers, and how analysis will impact on the future of research-informed practice in schools.

This resulting collection of evolutionary debates focuses on topics such as new forms of governance, teacher engagement and the effectiveness of Randomised Controlled Trials. It foregrounds new approaches to school-based educational research, and is crucial reading for anyone concerned with educational research, and seeking to understand education for social mobility.

chapter |8 pages

Introduction

ByAnn Childs, Ian Menter

part 1|86 pages

Closing the Gap

chapter |24 pages

Who, how and why?

Motives and agendas for key stakeholders in Closing the Gap
ByAnn Childs, Roger Firth, Ian Thompson

chapter |23 pages

Closing the Gap

Test and Learn – an unprecedented national educational research project
ByRichard Churches, Robin Hall, Juliet Brookes

chapter |16 pages

Closing the evidence gap?

The challenges of the research design of the Closing the Gap: Test and Learn project
ByIan Menter, Ian Thompson

chapter |22 pages

Closing the Gap and professional learning

Two targets for a national project
ByPhilippa Cordingley, Paul Crisp, Bart Crisp

part 2|80 pages

Teachers and research methods

chapter |17 pages

Room in the toolbox?

The place of randomised controlled trials in educational research
BySteve Higgins

chapter |28 pages

The potential of teacher-led randomised controlled trials in education research

ByRichard Churches, Robin Hall, Steve Higgins

chapter |18 pages

Building research capacity and relationships in schools

The consequences of involvement in Closing the Gap
ByAnn Childs, Nigel Fancourt

chapter |16 pages

Research ethics in Closing the Gap

Equipoise in randomised controlled trials in education
ByNigel Fancourt

part 3|49 pages

New approaches to school-based educational research

chapter |21 pages

Teacher-researchers’ expanding perceptions of research in a school–university collaborative research project

ByEls Laroes, Larike H. Bronkhorst, Sanne F. Akkerman, Theo Wubbels

chapter |10 pages

The future promise of RCTs in education

Some reflections on the Closing the Gap project
ByPaul Connolly

chapter |17 pages

What’s not to like about RCTs in education?

ByTrevor Gale

chapter |8 pages

Afterword

ByAnn Childs, Ian Menter