Grant Stanley

Children’s lost voices: ethical issues in relation to undertaking collaborative, practice‐based projects involving schools and the wider community

The growing emphasis on teachers as ‘reflective’ and ‘expert practitioners’ has led to a noticeable increase in action research involving a wide range of educational practitioners as well as professionals from the academic community. In the light of the complex demands frequently faced by action researchers, this article examines the ethical considerations involved in conducting a collaborative action research project which is concerned with children’s experiences of transition from Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 3. By exploring a range of theoretical and practical perspectives the discussion focuses on the problematic issue of ‘informed consent’. The article argues that, as a result of having to comply with the regulations imposed by institutional ethics committees, educational researchers, particularly when working with children, are often restricted in exercising the moral autonomy and professional discretion required to negotiate the complex, potentially conflicting imperatives confronting them.

Capacity = expertise × motivation × opportunities: Factors in capacity building in teacher education in England

This article offers an initial account of the Teacher Education Research Network (TERN), a pilot education research capacity building project funded by the ESRC and designed to test a ‘social practices’ model for building an educational research infrastructure across England. The TERN project is still running at the time of writing, so it is not yet possible to offer a full evaluation or a theorised analysis of the project. Setting the initiative within the regional context of teacher education in the North West of England, the article describes elements of the project and begins to explore their significance, drawing on early evaluation data. The article adapts Charles Desforges’ equation of research capacity building as ‘Capacity = expertise × motivation × opportunities’ as a frame for this exploration.

Collaborative action research: a democratic undertaking or a web of collusion and compliance?

Raising standards in education has been the mantra for educational stakeholders in England for the past two decades and has informed national, regional and local agendas for school improvement. In the relentless pursuit of finding solutions to pedagogical problems, action research has been promoted as an effective strategy. Informed by an emancipatory agenda, action research provides a framework for the generation of knowledge through different perspectives. However, the relentless drive for school effectiveness and the commodification of research impose external and internal pressures on those conducting the research. This paper provides a critical appraisal of leading such a project by making explicit the cocktail of potential tensions that have remained largely disregarded. It posits the claim that educational action research conceived as a critical collaborative inquiry has surrendered its democratic values to an all‐pervading performativity culture. Finally, we conclude that collaborative action research conducted in the politicized educational contexts of today cannot be true to its ideal and that in order to preserve its moral integrity, it needs to come clean by acknowledging the mess inherent in all collaborative enterprises conducted in the real micro‐political worlds.

Facilitating teacher educators' professional learning through a regional research capacity-building network

This paper reports on the Teacher Education Research Network (TERN) initiative, which piloted a model for research capacity building in teacher education in the North West of England with the aim of providing early and mid career researchers from seven regional universities with opportunities for professional learning and development. It explores the intricate dynamics of the learning journeys undertaken by the participants and critically examines the structural, social and cultural factors involved in the navigation of the complex ecologies in which they were embedded as teacher educators and how this impacted on their learning. It concludes that initiatives such as TERN can result in academic learning and professional development, but in view of the internal and external pressures confronting education departments today it also raises pertinent issues with regard to the sustainability of such projects. As such the paper makes a strong contribution to the growing international literature on academic learning and professional development within a research capacity-building context.

Research capacity-building with new technologies within new communities of practice: reflections on the first year of the Teacher Education Research Network

This article focuses on a virtual research environment (VRE) and how it facilitated the networking of teacher educators participating in an Economic and Social Research Council-funded research capacity-building project. Using the theoretical lenses of situated learning and socio-cultural approaches to literacy, participants’ ways of engaging with this technology are described, and the reasons why their existing technical expertise did not unproblematically transfer to the new technology are explored. We argue that three main factors affected the use of the VRE, and in particular its wiki tool: the individual’s motivation to learn and to engage with (more) new technologies; the emerging dynamics of each research group as they developed shared working practices; and the institutional climates, which supported or discouraged the individuals’ engagement with both the technology and a regional Teacher Education Research Network that used this technology. In conclusion, we suggest that successful engagement with new technologies in future academic communities of practice might well benefit from a shared commitment to agreed working practices across the group and the provision of brokerage and championing of the technology by key individuals who are in the position to inspire, motivate and support others.

Implementing the Opening Minds curriculum in a secondary school in England: an alternative to the one-size-fits-all National Curriculum?

The Importance of Teaching: The Schools White Paper 2010, which grants schools increased autonomy in curriculum development and implementation, heralded a new era of curriculum reform in England. This article critically examines how this process took place in a Catholic secondary school that decided to use the RSA Opening Minds (OM) curriculum with its Year 7 students. The discussion will be shaped by a range of perspectives, including the RSA point of view, literature on cross-curricular learning and Catholic education, student responses to a post-transition questionnaire, and the experiences and perceptions of the school’s OM coordinator. From this, the following aspects have been identified as warranting critical consideration and further investigation: adequate staffing and resourcing; staff expertise to ensure teaching competence across a wide range of subject areas; achieving a balance between creative approaches to learning that promote engagement and a focus on in-depth subject knowledge and academic achievement. Finally, we pose the question whether the implementation of the OM curriculum as practised in this particular school can assist students from disadvantaged backgrounds, who may have limited access to life-transforming educational experiences outside of school, to acquire cultural capital and ‘high status knowledge’.

Multicentre individual randomised controlled trial of screening and brief alcohol intervention to prevent risky drinking in young people aged 14-15 in a high school setting (SIPS JR-HIGH): Study protocol

Introduction Drinking has adverse impacts on health, well-being, education and social outcomes for adolescents. Adolescents in England are among the heaviest drinkers in Europe. Recently, the proportion of adolescents who drink alcohol has fallen, although consumption among those who do drink has actually increased. This trial seeks to investigate how effective and efficient an alcohol brief intervention is with 11–15 years olds to encourage lower alcohol consumption. Methods and analysis This is an individually randomised two-armed trial incorporating a control arm of usual school-based practice and a leaflet on a healthy lifestyle (excl. alcohol), and an intervention arm that combines usual practice with a 30 min brief intervention delivered by school learning mentors and a leaflet on alcohol. At least 30 schools will be recruited from four regions in England (North East, North West, London, Kent and Medway) to follow-up 235 per arm. The primary outcome is total alcohol consumed in the last 28 days, using the 28 day Timeline Follow Back questionnaire measured at the 12-month follow-up. The analysis of the intervention will consider effectiveness and cost-effectiveness. A qualitative study will explore, via 1:1 in-depth interviews with (n=80) parents, young people and school staff, intervention experience, intervention fidelity and acceptability issues, using thematic narrative synthesis to report qualitative data. Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval was granted by Teesside University. Dissemination plans include academic publications, conference presentations, disseminating to local and national education departments and the wider public health community, including via Fuse, and engaging with school staff and young people to comment on whether and how the project can be improved. Trial registration trial ISRCTN45691494; Pre-results.