“Can you hear me now?” Teachers’ and academics’ experiences of educational research and practice: a two-timepoint longitudinal interpretative phenomenological analysis (LIPA) of attendees of researchED events held in the UK, Canada, or Australia

Abstract

The relationship between educational research and practice is of interest to a wide range of professionals. This thesis is a Longitudinal Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (LIPA) of the lived experiences of eleven teachers and seven academics who attended at least one researchED event in England, Canada or Australia. It focuses on what can be learnt from their experiences of educational research and practice. Originating in the UK in 2013, researchED is a ‘grassroots’ organisation which holds educational research related events around the globe (Bennett and Galdin-O’Shea, 2021).

Participants were interviewed twice with a gap of four to eleven months between interviews. LIPA analysis of their semi-structured interviews identified six Group Experiential Themes (GETs): Discovering Educational Research; Making Connections; Inspiring Shifts in Practice; Shaping Professional Identities; Leading the Way; and Recognising Limits plus Frustrations. As six out of seven of the academics spoke about their earlier career experiences as schoolteachers, there was some overlap between the teachers’ and academics’ experiences, but divergence and convergence between the subsets and within the subsets is discussed.

Contributions of theory and knowledge on educational research and practice are suggested, including personal and collective understandings of how the ‘research practice gap’ can be and is bridged; the significance of educational research to practice; and ways in which stakeholders can best support teachers to promote, value and utilise educational research in practice, including building working relationships between university and school settings. Furthermore, it highlights the potential significance of educational research to teacher retention. Findings may be of interest to headteachers, school leaders and teachers aiming to embed educational research and practice in their contexts, as well as academics seeking to work alongside schools for their own research, or to produce networks of support that bridge the academic-school context divide, including the use of social media to develop networks.

Date of Award	14 May 2024
Original language	English
Supervisor	FIONA HALLETT (Director of Studies), KEITH WILLIAMS (Supervisor) & CAROL ROBINSON (Supervisor)