Summary of the STNE Teacher Action research scholarship programme.

1. Scottish Teachers for a New Era (STNE) is a collaborative six-year pilot project which
seeks to prepare ‘teachers for a new era’ able to face up to the challenges of knowledge
and learning in the twenty-first century. The programme’s aims include the creation of
an extended professional culture, the broadening of learning experiences, opportunities to
develop new and personal approaches to teaching and a broader conceptualisation of
pupil gains leading to improved teacher and pupil learning.
STNE Teacher Action Research Scholarship Programme
Findings from the analysis of the first year (2008-09) of implementation
June 2010
Introduction
The STNE Teacher Action Research (TAR) Scholarship Programme was launched in the academic year
2008-08 as a means to provide opportunities for teachers in STNE partner authorities to undertake action-
research in their own classroom/school contexts. The module had the specific objectives of giving teachers
the opportunity to undertake research by drawing on their own knowledge and experience, learn form the
process and make a contribution to the collective exploration of the notion of pupil gains.
This approach was in line with current interest in action-research as a form of self-directed professional
development (Sachs, 1999; Ponte, 2005) which enhances personal reflection and collective practice. Action
-research was thus adopted as a methodology for inquiring into the practice of teaching as well as
researching pupils’ learning in different teaching and learning conditions. It was hoped that this form of
nested research could provide insights into the interface between teaching and research which sits at the
core of the STNE project and the current policy agenda.
This report describes the module, the methodology and findings from research conducted with the first
cohort of teacher researchers registered on the TAR Programme.

2. STNE Teacher Action Research Scholarship Programme
Method
The Scholarship programme
The TAR Scholarship Programme was set up as a postgraduate study module included in the suite of
Negotiated Independent Study modular courses offered by the School of Education. The tutor/mentor team
consisted of five members of staff involved in research activities associated with the STNE project. The
TAR Scholarship Programme was advertised on the web-site of the School of Education; custom-made
flyers and posters were distributed through the national network of Continuous Professional Development
coordinators and at special events attracting audiences with an interest in education (i.e. GTCS conference;
University open day; Chartered Teacher events).
The scholarship would cover the fees with an additional £250 to be used for travel expenses or other
expenditure related to the project (i.e. equipment or consumables). Because of the focus of STNE project
on school teacher education, only school teachers were considered eligible for a scholarship, although
applications from other professionals were considered. Each teacher was assigned a university-based
mentor; whenever possible, teachers from neighbouring areas were clustered together and assigned to the
same mentor. Alternatively, students were assigned to mentors with a particular topic of interest. No set
topics were given but teachers were encouraged to investigate an area of their own choice and relevant to
their personal practice. This approach led to a variety of project areas, which were all relevant and well
recognised themes in schools.
The Research: Action-Research about the Programme
Action-research has been undertaken by the STNE mentors-researchers to explore the impact of the TAR
Programme. The implementation of the TAR initiative was a vehicle for researching at three different, but
interconnected levels:
a. teachers’ learning about their practice through action research;
b. pupils’ learning through the changed practices of teachers in action-research;
c. STNE researchers’ learning about the impact of action research on teachers professionalism and
development
This report refers to level a, which included the experience of the first cohort of teachers, six from the
Secondary sector and seven from the Primary sector. One source of data consisted of the research reports
written by the teacher action researchers in which they detailed their rationale for practice, their
conceptions of pupil learning attributes and their overall reflections of the process of undertaking action-
research. The learning attributes were categorised in line with the four key capacities which underpin
Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence (SEED, 2004) in order to evidence continuity of critical dialogue
with policy. Data about teachers’ learning and pedagogical choices was extracted from the reports and
recorded on a structured template, followed by a meta-analysis focussed on the epistemological features of
the teachers’ projects.
In addition, semi-structured interviews with individual teacher action researchers were conducted by a
colleague external to the STNE mentor team, six months after completion of the projects. The interview
questions concerned the nature of professional learning and development, understanding of pupil learning;
relationships and communities; and support.

3. STNE Teacher Action Research Scholarship Programme
Enter Report Title here
Results
Findings from the first cohort of teachers indicated that the program had a positive impact on the teachers’
learning. They appreciated the value of action-research to develop praxis – defined as educational practice
rooted in pedagogical and personal values. Teachers pointed to personal engagement, thinking hard about
one’s own practice and developing a sense of participation and ownership in the learning process.
In examining the reasons that led participants to engage with the programme we found considerable evidence
of their thinking already being influenced by theoretical ideas along with policy influences. Upon joining the
programme the teachers, without exception, had identified an area which they wished to explore that was
based on a conceptual idea that arose from outside their own practical experience. Whilst, in the main, the
teachers had not, at this stage, read extensively around the subject in the way that an academic might, they
had drawn ideas from previous CPD, from their ideas of child development, from research driven policies and
from teacher education courses they had attended. This suggests, that there can be considerable interplay
between the theoretical and the practical knowledge of teachers in the development of their practice, and that
if divisions do exist between different types of knowledge they may be permeable.
The expectation that the teacher action researchers would draw on literature to inform their work was helpful
in contextualising their work, and it can be argued that it contributed to fundamental shifts in the teacher’s
thinking. However, we feel that encouraging the use of academic sources could also inadvertently act as a
disincentive to further research in the longer term. It is an unfortunate feature of the divide between university
departments of education and the schools, with which they collaborate, that only registered members of the
university have access to library materials.
Analyses revealed significant interplay between the personal, professional and political dimensions of action-
research in line with the dimensions proposed by Noffke (2009), and also the way in which action-research
enriches teachers own embodied knowledge (Lam, 2000) and contributes to community embedded
knowledge. A reflection on the ideas of research that we hold is required to engage with different types of
knowledge and modes of knowledge production, with relevance for, and impact on the professional and
personal development of teachers.
In examining impact, we found considerable evidence of professional development. Our findings confirm
those of Ponte (2005) and Ben-Peretz (2001) pointing to teachers becoming more skilled at reflecting on and
evaluating the consequences of their practice for the children. Again, for the teacher action researchers,
reflection was by no means a new idea; most identified themselves as ‘reflective practitioners’ from the
outset. By engaging with action-research, however, they developed more systematic approaches, and,
critically, they appreciated the value of seeking the perspectives of other stakeholders, most notably the
children.
Confirming the findings of Bustingorry (2008) the incorporation of the research process into normal
classroom activities was seen to be important; it lent it a ‘naturalness’ in which it was integral to practice,
rather than sitting outside of what normally happens. Thus it was seen as an improvement on usual ways of
reflecting, rather than a new and alien concept. The findings also pointed to the multi-faceted nature and
flexibility of teachers’ knowledge; it is personal, social and contextual knowledge, not only based on practice
but rooted in values and norms and as such, it can underpin transformative practice.

4. STNE Teacher Action Research Scholarship Programme
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Discussion/Conclusion
An important theme emerging was ‘empowerment’ of teachers associated with the learning process.
Teachers’ learning was not conceived so much as a process of accumulation of theoretical knowledge but as
a journey towards improving the level of awareness of the nature and coherence of their own practice. From
this we can argue that while action-research is portrayed by policy-makers as a means for generating
‘evidence’ of practice and its impacts on outcomes, for some of the teachers involved in the study the
module was mainly an opportunity for opening up dialogue between the teacher and the pupils and amongst
colleagues about learning and its purposes.
Discussion of the findings points to the difficulty of reaching out to teachers and the need to strengthen
partnership with local authorities and schools, centring dialogue on concrete aspects of teachers’ practice
and school development, which might benefit from action-research initiatives.
The researchers’ reflection on research concerned the notion of ‘participatory action research’ and how this
can be linked to pedagogy within the new Curriculum for Excellence. Further understanding of this concept
can have implications for the design of undergraduate courses; for mentoring training for supporter teachers
as well as continuous professional development opportunities.
Action-research proved to be a means to bridge accountability with shared responsibility.
References
Ben-Peretz, M. (2001) The Impossible Role of Teacher Educators in a Changing World. Journal of Teacher
Education, 52, 48-56.
Bustingorry, S. O. (2008) Towards teachers’ professional autonomy through action research, educational
Action Research, 16 (3), 407-420.
Lam, A. (2000) Tacit knowledge, organisational learning and societal institutions – an integrated
framework, Organisational Studies, 21(3), 487-513
Noffke, S. (2009) Revisiting the Professional, Personal and Political Dimensions of Action research, in: S.
Noffke & B. Somekh (Eds) The SAGE Handbook of Educational Action research (London, Sage
Publications).
Ponte, P. (2005) A Critically Constructed Concept of Action Research as a Tool for the Professional
Development of Teachers. Journal of In-service Education, 31 (2), 273-296.
Sachs, J. (1999) Using teacher research as a basis for professional renewal, Professional development in
Education, 25, (1), 39-53.
Scottish Executive Education Department (2004) A Curriculum for Excellence.
http://www.acurriculumforexcellencescotland.gov.uk/