The University of Sydney is Australia’s first University, established over 150 years ago with over 45,000 students and ranks within the top 40 universities in the world. Its Faculty of Education and Social Work is one of the largest providers of Teacher education courses in Australia with a large graduand population. In these changing times where teachers are constantly being required to update their skills, it became necessary to provide on-going professional development which articulates directly to the post-graduate courses of the wider faculty. In New South Wales, the Institute of Teachers, a body which oversees accreditation and recognition of teachers professional capacity has also developed a process for monitoring and therefore influencing continuing professional development. In light of these developments, SPICE (Schools, projects, In-service Certificate of Education) was designed to enable practicing teachers to develop their skills and understanding at a post-graduate level. SPICE aims to improve standards of teaching and engagement in specialist areas of work and all units of study pursue a set of common program objectives in order to provide opportunities for long-term professional development for teachers in a specialist area. While aiming to enhance teachers’ knowledge, understanding and skills in ways that meet internationally and nationally identified training needs, the program also looks at providing teachers with an extensive working knowledge of national, local and school policies with the skills to translate these policies into practice. Because we equip teachers with research skills that enable them to identify areas of concern, plan strategies for improvement, implement their plans, and evaluate the effectiveness of their work, a key feature of the program will be the participating teachers support for their schools through a whole school development approach, so that the entire institution benefits from the knowledge and skills acquired through SPICE. The bonus is that teachers are offered the opportunity to continue to extend their work through further study in a flexible manner that suits their lifestyles. With a firm belief that research creates education and that all teacher should be equipped with basic skills in the practice of educational enquiry, we developed a post-graduate certificate course that is underpinned by action research and action learning. Therefore an important and fundamental aspect of the program is that it is ‘research based’ or ‘research led’. Students are encouraged to read critically and to make connections between what they read and their own experience in their personal lives and work contexts. This involves building and trying out theories about the world and thinking about ways in which these can be investigated: learning to be curious, listening to others, being imaginative and formulating questions. Most importantly, it invites participants to establish their own voices as confident, experienced and critical readers and observers of their own thinking and practice and that of others. The efficacy of the program is being tracked through the lived experiences of the participating teachers and I will argue that an important part of research is about co-learning about and with others and that educators must take the time to recognise and promote the reflexive relationship between teaching and research.

A case study approach will be used with participating schools the efficacy of the program is being tracked through the lived experiences of the participating teachers.

With regard to whole school development, I will argue that an important part of research is about co-learning about and with others and that educators must take the time to recognise and promote the reflexive relationship between teaching and research.