ABSTRACT
I use my own experiences, as well of those of others, and research to identify the benefits you can expect to experience from the adoption of practitioner enquiry. Part of my overarching rationale for the approach is that we can raise achievement and close gaps if we adopt the right strategies and use what has been shown to work. I argue that if we are doing ‘things’ in school that do not impact positively on these two aspects, we need to stop doing these and adopt approaches that do work. However, these are not the only benefits to this approach for teachers and school leaders. In this chapter I explore what these other benefits might be. I caution against mutations as well as fads and trends that tend to hold sway too much in educational practice. Benefits discussed include, raised achievement and closing of gaps, meeting learning needs of all, improvement of learning, the development of independent capacities in teachers and others, connecting school development meaningfully, producing sustainable change, deepening of learning and understandings, slowing down the busyness of schools, having small changes make big impacts, developing evidence informed practice, the development of collaborative practices and learning cultures, the development of system leadership, the development of teacher agency and confidence, and improved professional learning and development leading to increased confidence. I also consider the changes brought about in individual teachers’ personal and professional identities.
