Bridging the gap between university and basic school institutions through research in education

Author(s):

Menga Lüdke

Conference:

ECER 2009

Network:

15. Research Partnerships in Education

Format:

Paper

Session Information

15 SES 03,

Paper Session

Time:

2009-09-28

14:00-15:30

Room:

JUR, HS 16

Chair:

Miranda Pilo

Contribution

Over the past decades, research in education has been especially questioned with regard to its effectiveness towards the problems of primary and secondary schools. The relevance of evidence-based research has been argued and debated from different points of view, as it is clearly presented by Hammersley (2007). We discuss the relationship between research practice and school teachers, under the assumption that it could establish a bridge linking the practitioner and academic research in education, by bringing it closer to the essential problems. The study is based on data from an integrated research project developed in three stages, examining the following issues: (1) Teachers' views of research and their training to conduct it, as well as the conditions and stimuli available in their schools; (2) University professors’ views on the importance, need and viability of teacher participation in research during their initial training and their practice; (3) Identification of key elements taken into consideration by research decision-makers. The study conclusions lead us to the challenge of training and supporting teachers as future researchers, in their probable first experience conducting this type of work in a Master’s program in Education. It has been of great importance to our study, the works by Bourdoncle (1993) and Nóvoa (1995) on the professionalization of teaching; Stenhouse (1975), Schön (1983), Elliott (1989), Young (1990), Contreras (1997), Zeichner and Noffke (2000), André (2001), Geraldi (1998), Fiorentini (2004) on teachers as researchers; Perrenoud (1997), Tardif and Lessard (1999) on teacher knowledge. With special importance to the central question of our study, teacher research, are the works by Cochran-Smith and Lytle (1999), Anderson and Herr (1999), Lagemann and Shulman (1999). The difficulty in dealing with a general concept of research has been very well treated by Beillerot (1991), and the challenge of establishing partnerships between university professors and school teachers by Zay (1994) and Foerste (2005).

Method

In the first stage, the study was focused on assessing how school teachers view their own participation in research activities. We interviewed 70 teachers and coordinators from four secondary public schools. In the second stage, we interviewed 50 university professors to learn how they deal with teacher preparation as future researchers. In the third stage, a set of four research reports prepared by teachers was sent to 12 experts, requesting them to judge each one according to their own guidelines, providing us with detailed reviews. For the fourth stage, still under development, 30 teachers, who have completed their Master’s in Education during the last two or three years, were interviewed for an evaluation of their Master’s program as preparation for future research projects.

Expected Outcomes

The first study showed how little is accomplished in terms of research by primary and secondary school teachers and the difficulties they have to conducting it. Paramount among these difficulties is the lack of preparation, as confirmed in our second study, from the assessment of university professors in charge of teachers’ preparation as future researchers. The third study gave us a clear idea about the requirements expected from any research, including projects conducted by teachers, according to experts in education research. The 30 teachers interviewed in our present study gave us a positive impression of the preparation received during their Master’s program. Our analysis is not yet complete, but we expect promising indications pointing to the Master's program as a possible bridge between university and schools through research in education.

References

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Author Information

Menga Lüdke

Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro

Educação

Rio de Janeiro

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