The power of teacher voices: bringing research closer to the classroom
Back in March, the chief executive of the National Institute of Teaching shared what we meant by ‘school-led’. She explained that we are committed to listening to the voices of teachers and leaders in everything we do, including when asking research questions.
Today we’re sharing insights from our recent school-led consultation on priorities for research on professional development. At the NIoT, we believe that answering research questions that teachers and leaders are asking day-to-day increases the likelihood that our research will improve classroom practice. Teachers and school leaders are the experts in teaching, facing the daily complexities of classrooms and schools and possess insights about what is needed in their context and what could make a difference that are otherwise hard to come by. Our hope is to build on those insights with responsive research that we will use to design effective professional development that understands the needs, challenges, and aspirations of those it serves.
More than 2,000 responses
Our journey began with one fundamental query: what are the burning questions about professional development that teachers and leaders want answered? We borrowed an approach for research priority-setting in healthcare, used to listen to and amplify patients’ voices. We asked teachers, school leaders, researchers, policymakers, and teacher trainers what questions about professional development mattered most to them. We sent out surveys, conducted interviews, and facilitated events.
In just a few months, we had over 2,000 responses, 91% of which were from current teachers or school leaders. We are extremely grateful to everyone who contributed. We hope we have started to draw together the full range of views found across the school system and we’re sharing this now so it can be refined further; this is a starting point for a larger conversation.
Four major themes emerged:
- Supporting people
- Quality and impact of professional development
- Leadership of professional development
- Practical realities
These themes capture the core elements of teacher and leader development, and by extension, the quality of education students receive. Behind each theme are hundreds of individual questions.
We heard from teachers who have questions about how the system can support career-long learning. As one teacher asked, “how can we engage and re-engage all teachers in continuous professional development throughout their teaching careers?” As this and other respondents highlighted, there is still some way to go towards a sustainable, career-long, learning pathway for educators.
A recurring question under the theme of ‘quality and impact of professional development’ was, “how can we best design and deliver professional development that makes a tangible difference to the way that adults do their jobs and so have a positive impact on children and young people?” This question reflects the impulse not to waste time on professional development that doesn’t improve outcomes for students. It underscores the need for practical, effective professional development that isn’t just enjoyable and stimulating for teachers but has a real impact in the classroom.
Teachers also wondered about the value of formal and informal professional conversations within schools – including observations - and how they support development. They questioned the feasibility of developing staff without overburdening them with additional demands on their time.
Research informed by experience
There were many more questions besides. By listening to teachers and school leaders, we are better equipped to create professional development programmes that are informed by research that is itself shaped by the real-world experiences of those closest to the classroom. We will use the insights from this consultation to guide our research agenda for the next three years.
We know these are big questions without easy answers. There will likely be multiple answers to the questions posed, depending on the context, and we know we’re not doing it alone. We will explore when and under what circumstances potential solutions are relevant and uncover nuances that can facilitate or hinder interventions aimed at improving the situation for teachers.
We know there is an appetite for high-quality support for professional development. In a recent report for the Confederation of School Trusts, 59% of senior trust leaders said professional development was an important strategic priority for their schools and trusts. Leaders could use this report as a spark for conversations in the staff room or in professional development networks online or off-line, recognising that these questions are common and widely held. They might use it as an aid when planning the year’s professional development programmes, to seek out existing research on each of the questions, or find ways to access events, webinars, and other resources that bring the research to life.
Join us
As we move forward, we invite you to join us in this conversation. We believe that involving all stakeholders, including teachers, school leaders, researchers, policy makers, and teacher trainers, is the key to shaping the future of professional development. We want the questions we've collected to be the beginning of a broader dialogue that spans the entire education sector.
Teachers’ and leaders’ experiences and questions should be at the forefront of our efforts to improve education. By embracing this approach, we have the potential to revolutionise the way that research works for the sector, changing how teachers teach and leaders lead for the better, which creates a brighter future for our students and, in turn, for our society. The NIoT hopes you will join us on this journey.