Practitioner Research

Convenor

Brian Wakeman

brianwakeman@yahoo.co.uk

Description

This SIG focuses upon issues arising from carrying out, supporting others in carrying out, and theorising about, practitioner research.

§§ It will have a role in promoting the publication and dissemination of practitioner research studies and studies about methodological approaches to practitioner research.

§§ It will bring together those with a special interest in all those (closely related) methodologies in which research is an integral part of practice: e.g. action research, teacher research, evidence-based practice, research into personal and professional change, and research in the developmental / critical paradigm.

Practice is very broadly defined as any form of professional work or community activity or individual endeavour in which action is informed by values, beliefs and experience.

Research in this context is defined as any form of systematic enquiry whose design, methods, analysis and interpretation are open to peer review.

Aims of the SIG:

1. To contribute to the generation of theory, knowledge and expertise about practitioner research and the exploration of different purposes and conceptualisations of 'practitioner research'.

2. To provide 'critical friendship' to BERA members and others engaged in practitioner research with the intention, inter alia, of establishing broadly agreed 'fitness for purpose' quality criteria for such research.

3. To promote the principle of a spectrum of educational research that will enable stronger links to be established and sustained between small-scale practitioner research, larger-scale academic research and local and national decision-making.

4. To play a role in the development of national policies for practitioner research through active engagement with policy makers and agencies leading this work in teaching and other professions. (For example in the UK. the General Teaching Councils of England and Scotland and the National College for School Leadership.)

5. To establish links with the Collaborative Action Research Network, the National Teacher Research Panel, the Royal College of Nursing Research Society and other regional, national and international bodies that have a leadership role in practitioner research.

6. To give prominence to practitioner research within BERA's activities, through contributing articles etc to Research Intelligence and BERJ, and leading symposia at the annual conference.

Convenor

Bridget Somekh, Institute of Education, Manchester Metropolitan University, 799 Wilmslow Road, Didsburv, Manchester M20 2RR < b.somekh@mmu.ac.uk>

3rd November 2003

The new SIG for Practitioner Research had its first meeting at the BERA 2003 conference. This meeting was attended by Anne Campbell, Julienne Meyer, Karen Carter, Jack Whitehead and Bridget Somekh. The following day a very successful symposium on 'New Directions for Practitioner Research' was held, at which Susan Noffke (University of Illinois) was the lead speaker and Jack Whitehead (Bath), Julienne Meyer (City University/ St Bartholomews), Karen Carter (NCSL) and John Elliott (CARE/UEA) gave short presentations. Among participants at the seminar were at least three Australians whose work has been influential in the field: Bill Green, Shirley Grundy and Judith Sachs. At the SIG meeting some decisions were taken as follows:

1 The work of the SIG will be shared between SIG members to maximise activity and share ownership.

2 There will be a regular slot in Research Intelligence for the SIG.

3 There will be one SIG event each year, volunteers please contact Bridget Somekh for 2003-4.

4 Council will consider the proposal for a Practitioners' Day on the Saturday of the next BERA conference.

5 Links with: Teacher Research Panel, Networked Learning Communities, Collaborative Action Research, Network Health and Social Care professionals' action research activities, will be established.

6 A dialogue will be established about the new BERA booklet 'Issues and Principles in Educational Research for Teachers'.

7 Comments on the new BERA Ethical Guidelines will be submitted to BERA Council.

Contact

To request membership to this SIG send an email to the BERA office at admin@bera.ac.uk