professionalMATTERS Research access made easier for busy teachers
A new research tool linked to the Professional Standards for Teachers and Trainers highlights the crucial relationship between research and improving your practice. Alan Thomson reports.
A defining factor of any profession is its research base. In this, teaching is no different to law, medicine, engineering and so on: teachers and trainers are both consumers of the research literature around teaching and learning and, increasingly, generators of their own research. Research may be an exercise in blue-sky thinking of the sort usually found in our universities and research institutes. Whether advancing theoretical frontiers or mining vast amounts of quantitative data, academic research extends society’s horizons. But research is not only about grand
theory or huge datasets. Research can also be small, highly targeted and carried out by practitioners who want to find out more about a specific aspect of their practice (See Geoff Petty p34). The Professional Standards for Teachers
and Trainers were developed on the back of research among teachers and trainers to capture the attributes that practitioners themselves believed defined, or ought to define, their profession. The importance of research and scholarship
emerged as critical to that professional identity. As a result, the Professional Standards reflect practitioners’ commitment to maintaining and updating their knowledge of educational research to develop evidence-based practice (Standard 8). Standard 9 reflects the importance of applying theoretical understanding of effective practice in
teaching, learning and assessment, drawing on research and other evidence. Meanwhile, Standard 10 indicates the centrality of practitioner-led research by reflecting practitioners’ need to evaluate their practice with others and assess its impact on learning. The new Professional Standards Research Tool
offers teachers and trainers a portal through which they can access research and scholarship, linked
HOW THE PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS WERE DEVELOPED
If you are reading your inTuition in digital format (SET members should log in to access the digital issue) then you can watch a pop-up video about the Professional Standards by clicking the play button below.
In early 2014 the Education and Training Foundation (ETF) gathered the responses of nearly 1,000 practitioners from across the further education and training sector, in different settings and at all stages of their careers. The consultation included a detailed online survey, interviews, workshops and focus groups. The effective aim was to review the 2007 professional standards which had been developed by Lifelong Learning UK (the former Sector Skills Council for the lifelong learning sector). The consultation found very positive backing for professional standards supporting teachers and trainers, and helping them to improve their practice. However, it was felt by respondents that the 2007 standards were not as clear to practitioners as they might be. They also requested a more concise approach which would improve the impact of the Standards and make them easier to remember. The ETF took the consultation on board and in 2014 launched the Professional Standards for Teachers and Trainers – England.
24 ISSUE 37 • AUTUMN 2019 inTUITION
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