Practitioner Research in Education
Making a Difference
- David Middlewood - University of Warwick, UK
- Marianne Coleman - Institute of Education, University of London, UK
- Jacky Lumby - University of Southampton, UK
`This is a very simple but notable piece of work... They have done a service to education in providing evidence (and there is remarkably little elsewhere) that continuous professional development does pay off in terms of a better education for pupils in schools' - School Leadership and Management
Much debate currently concerns the value of education research : how is it perceived by practitioners and students ? How useful and relevant is it ? Who best carries it out ? Can it be free from political influence ? While practitioner research is widely advocated, little is known about its effect on individuals, teams and the institution.
In Practitioner Research in Education, the authors explore the effects of teachers' and lecturers' research and its impact on organizational improvement. Whether affecting whole school cultures through teachers' group work, or influencing practice through an individual's research, the accounts in this book show how research can make a difference. They show how improvements in management and leadership arising from practitioner research can contribute to advances in teaching and learning.
The book includes material on how to conduct research, the types of research which practitioners can carry out in a school or college, and the implications of research for organizational development. Readers will be able to draw valuable lessons for personal, professional, team or school improvement.
Practitioner Research In Education will be useful to students and practitioners of educational management, to those doing research in educational settings, and to school managers who are committed to school improvement.
`Practitioner Research in Education should become a millennium "must" for principals and school leaders whose schools are under OfSTED spotlight and for all those practitioners who earnestly aim to undertake higher managment studies whilst "in situ" in their teaching posts.... It is a publication well worth reading by all those who continue to be, justifiably, enthused by school development issues' - Angela Monkman Brushett, OfSTED Inspector
`This is a very simple but notable piece of work.... They have done a service to education in providing evidence (and there is remarkably little elsewhere) that continuous professional development does pay off in terms of a better education for pupils in schools' - School Leadership and Management
I will be recommending this book as supplemental reading, particularly to some of our students who are involved in mentoring or other such roles in schools.
The consideration of "school culture" and other "professional" issues are uncommon features in texts of this type and offer some interesting insight.
If you are a student researching or a lecturer teacing research skills, this book would be very useful. It is easy to read and understand and provides some very useful ideas to carrying out research in an environment that is not always conducive to researching.
