Practitioner research is rooted in the work of John Dewey and the belief that practitioners are both ‘consumers’ and ‘producers’ of knowledge (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1993, p. 9). Over the years, practitioner research has been ‘shaped and reshaped in relation to the era within which it has existed’ (Dana, 2016, p.1). In this era we are suggesting that the professional development of practitioners can be effectively supported by connecting them with researchers from Higher Education, giving them access to the evidence base from educational research and by supporting reflective teaching and a critical engagement with the research literature.
In this event we explored the synergy that might be generated by the sharing of different forms of knowledge (Fox et al., 2007, p25). The propositional knowledge that an academic researcher may possess about the theories and frameworks relevant to a particular problem and the process and personal knowledge of a practitioner can be brought together in the context of a shared project to generate meaningful outcomes that both advance the understanding of that field and have an impact on practice.
Introducing a partnership with Higher Education brings about a power shift and we suggest it may be empowering for both parties. We have invited submissions from such collaborations so that these ideas can be further explored in the event. Â
Draft Programme:
| 17:30 | Welcome & Introduction |
| 17:35 | Developing a New Research-Practice Partnership Between a Teaching Intensive University and a Special SEND School: Searching for Synergy Daniela Bacova, Georgia McCrone, Clare Higgins, and Hannah Lovatt; University of Bolton |
| 17:50 | Research-informed Teaching in a Teaching-intensive HE Institution: A Collaborative Autoethnography of Opportunities and Challenges Darasimi Oshodi, Tasnima Aktar, Frank Kaytu, Faria Tofail; Global Banking School |
| 18:05 | Participatory action research: Implementing positive psychology in north-east primary schools Elizabeth Hidson & Kate Duffy, University of Sunderland |
| 18:20 | Sing & Learn: Train and Lead Mabel Encinas, London Metropolitan University; Rachel Pantin, Musiko Musika |
| 18:35 | Teacher Professional Development Opportunities through Teacher-Research: Mentor-Mentee Co-creation in a Disadvantaged, Global South Context Tasnima Aktar, Global Banking School |
| 18:50 | Summary |
| 19:00 | Event Close |
Responses to questions posed using the chat function during this event will be added shortly.