Teachers of English as school research leads

and knowledge mobilisers

researchED Oxford, Saturday 1 April, 2017Dr Gary Jones

By the end of this session we will have

• Defined the term knowledge mobiliser and outlined Ward’s 2016 framework for knowledge mobilisation• Shared some provisional findings of a research project

focussing on the school research lead as knowledge mobiliser and looked at the contrasting experiences of two English teachers• Reflected on some of the implications for school research

leads and schools

Knowledge Mobilisers – what do they do?

Ward’s framework of knowledge mobilisation• Why mobilise knowledge?• What knowledge is being mobilised?• Whose knowledge is being mobilised?• How is knowledge is being mobilised?

Whose knowledge is being mobilised?

• Professional knowledge producers• Frontline practitioners• Members of the public acting as or on behalf of their

communitires• Decision-makers responsible for commissiong services• Product and programme developers responsible for

developing tangible products, services and programmes

What knowledge is being mobilised?

• Scientific/factual knowledge• Technical knowledge• Practical wisdom

How is knowledge is being mobilised?

• Making connections between knowledge stakeholders and actors by establishing and brokering relationships• Disseminating and synthesising knowledge • Facilitating interactive learning and co-production via

participatory research projects and action learning sets.

Why mobilise knowledge

• To develop local solutions to practice based problems• To develop new policies, programmes and

recommendations• To adopt/implement clearly defined practices and policies• To change practices and behaviours• To produce useful research and scientific knowledge

Activity

• Write a I want to help …… statement for your school

Things to consider

• Personal reflection and learning • Team/project development• Networking and communicating with others• Evaluating knowledge mobilisation• Identifying relevant literature, tools and approaches

The research team

• Professor Tim Cain, Dr Chris Brown, Dr Sue Brindley, Fran Riga and Dr Gary Jones• Non-funded project intended to act as justification for

funded research• Opportunistic sample – who we knew or people we knew of• Over 20 school research leads• Mix of face to face and skype interviews

The research questions

1. On what grounds do research coordinators select research for their school?

2. How do they expect teachers to use research?3. What institutional or supra-institutional factors do they

perceive as influencing their answers to the above questions?

The school research lead’s school

School A School B School C School DStatus Independent LEA

controlledAcademy Academy

Phase 11- 18 single sex girl school

11-16 mixed secondary

11-18 mixed secondary

11-18 mixed secondary

Size 800 750 1250 1450FSM Nil 33% 11% 5%Ofsted grade ISI/HMC Outstanding Outstanding Good

The school research lead’s background and experience

SRC A SRC B SRC C SRC – D Experience of teaching

9 years 14 years 10 years 8 years

Subject specialism

English Science Economics English

Masters degree

Yes No Yes Yes

Role Secondment to SLT

Deputy HT Assistant HT English teacher with additional responsibilities

Statements about research 1

1 Research may have the greatest effects on education where it raises new questions and contributes to transformations in the general paradigms.

2 Teachers] should select what is relevant and useful to their purposes, according to the situation, and interpret and employ this in the context of other knowledge and a motivational framework that is adapted to circumstance

3 The only worthwhile kind of evidence about whether something works in a particular situation comes from trying it out. In the language of research, that means doing well controlled field experiments.

4 The goal of educational research is to develop statistically reliable, generalizable findings regarding a network of causal relationships that practitioners can use to improve educational outcomes. 5 Research is most useful when it provides evidence that our current practice can be justified

Statements about research One SRC A SRC B

SRC C

SRC – D

Research may have the greatest effects on education where it raises new questions and contributes to transformations in the general paradigms.

1 2 1 1

Teachers] should select what is relevant and useful to their purposes, according to the situation, and interpret and employ this in the context of other knowledge and a motivational framework that is adapted to circumstance

2 1 2 1

The only worthwhile kind of evidence about whether something works in a particular situation comes from trying it out. In the language of research, that means doing well controlled field experiments.

4 4 3 4

The goal of educational research is to develop statistically reliable, generalizable findings regarding a network of causal relationships that practitioners can use to improve educational outcomes.

3 3 4 3

Research is most useful when it provides evidence that our current practice can be justified

5 5 5 5

Statements about research Two

1 All research, however large-scale, brilliantly conceived, executed and communicated, needs to be actively interpreted by users for their own context. [It] needs to be personalised within their professional context. 2 No search for evidence, however systematic, can give grounds for certainty; there is a need to live with uncertainty … knowledge is more likely to be accurate if the participants themselves – the teachers and the learners – are able to contribute to its testing, criticism and reproduction. 3 We expect doctors to be able to make informed decisions about which treatment is best, using the best currently available evidence. Teachers could one day be in the same position 4 By collecting better evidence about what works best, and establishing a culture where this evidence is used as a matter of routine, we can improve outcomes for children, and increase professional independence. 5 We can use research as a persuasive or political tool to legitimate a position or practice [

Statements about research Two SRC A

SRC B

SRC C

SRC D

All research, however large-scale, brilliantly conceived, executed and communicated, needs to be actively interpreted by users for their own context. [It] needs to be personalised within their professional context.

3 1 1 3

No search for evidence, however systematic, can give grounds for certainty; there is a need to live with uncertainty … knowledge is more likely to be accurate if the participants themselves – the teachers and the learners – are able to contribute to its testing, criticism and reproduction.

2 3 3 4

We expect doctors to be able to make informed decisions about which treatment is best, using the best currently available evidence. Teachers could one day be in the same position

1 4 4 1

By collecting better evidence about what works best, and establishing a culture where this evidence is used as a matter of routine, we can improve outcomes for children, and increase professional independence.

4 2 1 2

We can use research as a persuasive or political tool to legitimate a position or practice [

5 5 5 5

Research generated ideas

Question Teacher of English School A

Teacher of English School B

Research generated idea Myhill – systematic functional linguistics to grammar teaching

Schema theory

There were no implication as not persuasive

There were no implications as mainly informative

The research validated existing beliefsSharpened my thinking Gave me a more precise

understanding of what to do

I will try an idea or method I will actually try –and have gone onto to try it loads

Yes

Research was provocative It suggested I needed to change my practice

It changed the way I approached planning

Perceptions about the support for research

Question School A School B

Teachers’ capacity to engage in and with research and data

Time, interest, ‘clever’ and relevanceSubject background

Non-existent

School culture with respect to evidence use

Originally nobody caresFear would be used to judge teacher – ‘Mixed Economy’

Not interested – perceived as justifying HTs existing views re class size

Promotion of research as part of effective learning environment

Staff meetings – HT mentionsNot seen as necessity

Action research and in-house journal

Structure and systems CPD, coaching, teacher chat meeting

No

Activity

• Write a I want to help …… statement for your school

Teachers of English as knowledge mobilisers• I want to help myself to

mobilise English pedagogical research by using it in the classroom to solve a teaching challenge and raise pupil achievement

So by the end of this session we have

• Defined the term knowledge mobiliser• Outlined Ward’s 2016 framework for knowledge

mobilisation• Shared some provisional findings of a research project

focussing on the school research lead as knowledge mobiliser• Considered some of the implications for school research

leads and schools

For more information

• jones.gary@gmail.com

•@DrGaryJones

•http://evidencebasededucationalleadership.blogspot.com