The impact of undertaking a practitioner enquiry on classroom practice by newly qualified teachers in their first year of teaching

In many parts of Scotland, and elsewhere in the UK, teachers are strongly encouraged to participate in, or undertake, practitioner enquiry with one of the aims being to encourage teachers to reflect and evaluate upon their own... [ view full abstract ]

In many parts of Scotland, and elsewhere in the UK, teachers are strongly encouraged to participate in, or undertake, practitioner enquiry with one of the aims being to encourage teachers to reflect and evaluate upon their own practice, with the suggestion being it would have a positive impact on how a teacher views their own practice and, ultimately, on pupil experience. Additionally, with increased autonomy at a local level, more decisions about school life being driven by schools themselves starting with a presumption that decisions about childrens’ learning and school life should be taken at school level, and whether the practitioner enquiry is also serving a purpose to ensure the next generation of teachers have an understanding of practitioner based research so that local decisions taken have sounder underpinnings.   However, practitioner enquires are not without their controversies with questions surrounding validity and the important distinction between research as a body or knowledge and as a professional learning process.  Additionally. sending new teachers off to do an enquiry is not without its issues, including questions over whose enquiry is it really if dictated to from above and heavily monitored, resource availability in terms of culture, relational and material resources, and lastly, whether NQTs have the experience necessary to be capable of effectively understanding the data gathered to help inform decisions.  This discussion aims to advance the understanding of the practitioner enquiry practice at a local level alongside a critical analysis of the policy rationale behind it, at national and international level, and whether practitioner enquiries really do have the ability to interrupt current and deeply ingrained practices?