1 'Research Education' as an Objective for Teacher Learning ...

Borg, S. (2003). 'Research education' as an objective for teacher learning. In B. Beaven & S. Borg (Eds.), The Role
of Research in Teacher Education (pp. 41-48). Whitstable, Kent: IATEFL.
‘Research Education’ as an Objective for Teacher Learning
Simon Borg, University of Leeds, UK
Introduction
By research education I mean the development in teachers of the attitudes,
knowledge and skills which they require to engage in an informed way with research
in the course of their professional lives, and in this paper I want to discuss ways in
which teacher education can support such development. However, before we can
consider ways in which teacher education might support teachers’ efforts to engage
with research, I think we need to acknowledge that such engagement is not
unproblematic and that there are many factors which hinder teachers’ efforts to make
research part of their professional lives. By first identifying these factors we can
discuss in a more informed matter how teacher education might address them. I will
start off, therefore, by discussing such factors.
Factors Hindering Teachers
My view is that, globally speaking, and despite increased prominence within ELT
given to concepts such as action research in recent years, teachers in our field do not
engage in any significant manner with research. For many teachers, research is a
foreign concept, and for many others, any initial enthusiasm they have for research is
quickly undermined. Understanding some of the factors behind this situation can
provide direction for teacher educators wanting to do something about it so I begin by
discussing 10 such factors. Each of these will be presented as a response by a teacher
to the question “Why don’t you read or do research?”
1. Inaccessibility
Can’t get hold of it!
Can’t make sense of it!
Researchers often write for fellow researchers. Thus much published research is made
available in a form which is not accessible to teachers, conceptually, linguistically,
and even physically. Teachers can thus either not get hold of it, or when they do, have
to struggle through conceptually-dense and linguistically-complex material obviously
not written with them in mind. This inevitably discourages teachers from reading
research.
2. Lack of local relevance
Can’t relate to my
context!
Too general!
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Borg, S. (2003). 'Research education' as an objective for teacher learning. In B. Beaven & S. Borg (Eds.), The Role
of Research in Teacher Education (pp. 41-48). Whitstable, Kent: IATEFL.
There is some evidence to suggest that teachers are most convinced to adopt new
practices by local knowledge - understandings of teaching emerging from their own or
their colleagues’ experience. Such knowledge has a number of characteristics. It is:
specific
contextualised
observable
testable.
This kind of knowledge contrasts with the knowledge often generated and presented
by researchers, which, in its attempt to be generalizable, lacks specificity and does not
enable teachers to relate it to their own contexts. Teachers are therefore less likely to
be convinced the research has relevance to their work, and less inclined to read it.
3. Lack of narrative
It doesn’t reflect the
way I see and
experience
classrooms!
Recent studies of teaching have highlighted the role of narrative in teachers’
understandings of their work. Teachers’ experience is storied, typified by detailed,
dynamic, social interactions taking place in specific contexts. As Clarke explains, the
portrait of classrooms presented in much research does not reflect this conception of
teaching:
"We come to understand things when we can situate them in an experience we have
lived or in the virtual reality created by a narrative that makes sense for us. This might
be one that we construct mentally … or it might be one that others narrate about their
own lives, or one we read or hear that is actually fiction. Research reports, theoretical
speculation, and the recommendations that accompany them are usually extremely
terse accounts which provide very little detail of this sort (Clarke 1994: 22).
This is most obvious in statistical studies, where classroom events are represented as a
series of numbers. Teachers cannot relate their experience to such accounts of
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Borg, S. (2003). 'Research education' as an objective for teacher learning. In B. Beaven & S. Borg (Eds.), The Role
of Research in Teacher Education (pp. 41-48). Whitstable, Kent: IATEFL.
teaching and learning, and consequently, once again, they struggle to see the
relevance of such research to their work.
4. Lack of ownership
I’m never consulted
when researchers
come to our school!
One characteristic of successful innovation is that those expected to implement it are
significantly involved in its development. Teachers are generally not involved in the
design, implementation, and dissemination of studies conducted in their schools by
researchers, and hence the whole process can come across as a top-down affair in
which teachers may even feel exploited. This lack of ownership can result in a lack of
interest by teachers in what researchers have to say. The outcome is that teachers do
not read the research.
5. Lack of credibility.
Researchers are out of
touch with classrooms
– they shouldn’t tell
me what to do!
The lack of local relevance, narrative, and ownership mentioned above can contribute
to a general lack of credibility which research often has in teachers’ eyes. This is
enhanced when the research makes recommendations for practice which teachers may
feel are being made by researchers whose own understandings of the practical
demands of classrooms are very limited. Such sentiments are reflected in the
comments made about research in a study by Crookes & Arakaki: "Many participants
articulated a strong, stereotypical image of researchers as living in an ivory tower, and
tended to feel that only working teachers could have credible opinions about good
teaching" (1999: 16).
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Borg, S. (2003). 'Research education' as an objective for teacher learning. In B. Beaven & S. Borg (Eds.), The Role
of Research in Teacher Education (pp. 41-48). Whitstable, Kent: IATEFL.
6. Pressure
There’s no time for
research!
It’s not something our
system encourages!
A common factor cited by teachers which limits their ability to engage with research
is the pressure they are under to cope with the daily demands of their jobs. For many
teachers, heavy workloads simply mean that there is no time (or incentive) for reading
or doing research. Those who do find such time often do so at the expense of their
social and family lives. Another comment from a teacher in the Crookes & Arakaki
study illustrates this view:
“I don’t have time to look at that stuff you know? It’s a waste of time. Because if you
have to prioritise what you’re going to do, to sit and read a lot of research doesn’t help
you …. Because they don’t relate to what you’re doing” (1999: 17).
This comment captures a similar sentiment:
“As a teacher-researcher I've found it extremely difficult to carry out research projects
and publish. I just don't have the time. I teach 32.5 hours / week and need to prepare
for those classes in addition to work with the teachers' union and our technology
committee. It's a shame….In my own context almost nobody reads TESOL
publications--they don't have time” (TESOL teacher, North American, personal
communication).
Pressure may also come from the broader educational systems in which teachers
work; these may not be favourably disposed to innovative thinking or to practices,
such as teacher research, which diverge from the established norms. In such contexts,
teachers who are interested in research may be treated with suspicion and isolated.
7. Implied inadequacy
I’m a competent
teacher. There are no
problems to research
in my classroom!
Competent teachers may not feel the need to do research. As long as the teaching and
learning process is proceeding smoothly and the teacher, students, the school, and
parents are happy, research, which often carries with it the implication that there is a
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Borg, S. (2003). 'Research education' as an objective for teacher learning. In B. Beaven & S. Borg (Eds.), The Role
of Research in Teacher Education (pp. 41-48). Whitstable, Kent: IATEFL.
problem that needs fixing, is not felt to be necessary. The suggestion that teachers
engage in research, by implying they are inadequate in some way, can in fact be
construed as a threat to their competence. When such attitudes prevail, research is
seen as an undesirable activity to engage in.
8. Self-image
There’s nothing worth
studying in my
classroom!
Who would want to
hear about what I do?
Another factor which hinders teachers’ involvement in research is the perception on
their part that their knowledge of classrooms is neither valuable nor of interest to
other professionals. Conditioned by their educational and professional backgrounds,
teachers thus see themselves primarily as knowledge implementers, putting into
practice ideas created by others. Knowledge generation, on the other hand, is seen by
teachers to be the responsibility of researchers and policy makers (see Gurney 1989
for a discussion of this distinction between knowledge generators and implementers).
9. Lack or recognition
Academics don’t take
teachers’ research
seriously!
The dominant notion of research in ELT discourages teacher research by claiming that
such work does not meet its criteria for acceptability – e.g. validity, objectivity,
methodological rigour. Teachers’ efforts to contribute to an understanding of ELT are
thus undervalued, very often by those who are in a position to control knowledge
dissemination (e.g. journal editors). The outcome is an increased feeling by teachers
that entry into the world of research is not possible on their terms but rather only in
the terms of what is very often an alien discourse. While some teachers persist, many
just give up.
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Borg, S. (2003). 'Research education' as an objective for teacher learning. In B. Beaven & S. Borg (Eds.), The Role
of Research in Teacher Education (pp. 41-48). Whitstable, Kent: IATEFL.
10. Lack of technical knowledge
I just don’t know how
to do research!
Teachers may also feel they lack the technical knowledge of research required for
them to carry out worthwhile studies. For example, they may lack expertise in
research design or in data analysis. They are often also untrained in writing for
publication.
Two points emerge here from this brief discussion of the ten factors above. One is that
there are often very concrete reasons for teachers’ lack of engagement with research,
and any discussion of the role of research in teachers’ professional lives cannot ignore
these. Second, these reasons can provide direction for research education initiatives
which are grounded in the real psychological, emotional, and contextual challenges
teachers face vis-à-vis research. This is the issue I now move on to discuss.
Addressing These through Teacher Education
The first point to make is that teacher education cannot resolve each and every one of
the problems teachers face in their attempts to engage with research. There are some
issues, such as the educational systems in which teachers work, or the working
conditions they are subject to, which teacher education may have little impact on. We
therefore need to be realistic in our views of the extent to which teacher education can
enhance teachers’ capabilities to become more involved with research. Having said
that, I would like to suggest four themes for research education which address several
of the factors I discussed earlier. The extent to which these might be covered in any
particular teacher education programme will of course depend on the specific
parameters that govern it, such as goals, length, and level, but the point I want to
make here is that these are themes which teachers, at some point in their career, need
to address if they are to engage in any meaningful way with research.
Reading Research
The first theme for research education I want to discuss is reading research.
Three of the factors I discussed earlier - inaccessibility, lack of local relevance, and
lack of narrative - relate directly to the problems teachers face in accessing, making
sense of, and relating to published research. There are two ways of looking at this
problem. One is to argue that teachers should be better educated so that they can make
sense of research reports. The other is to suggest that those writing these reports take
greater account of their target audience. I think that teacher education can assist with
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Borg, S. (2003). 'Research education' as an objective for teacher learning. In B. Beaven & S. Borg (Eds.), The Role
of Research in Teacher Education (pp. 41-48). Whitstable, Kent: IATEFL.
the former, but I strongly believe that the bulk of responsibility for the effective
communication of educational research must lie with those writing it. It is unhelpful
for researchers to complain that their work is not read by teachers if the writing takes
no account at all of the intended readership.
Having said this, teacher education can play a role in enabling teachers to read
educational research more effectively and I would like to refer here to a study by
Zeuli (1994). He argued that
“reading research is an important component of teachers’ professional education”
(p.40) and looked at how teachers on a teacher education courses read research
articles. His main question was ‘how do teachers understand research when they read
it?’ and to answer this question he asked teachers to read three articles, to describe
how they went about reading them, and to evaluate them. The results of this study
suggested that teachers did not read research critically, and that they were concerned
mainly with what ideas they could find to take back to the classroom. Here is a quote
from one teacher illustrating such an approach to reading research:
“You know what I usually do is skip the research because I figure they’re right
anyway. They’ve done the research. I don’t need to know about the research. I go for
the steps that I need to know. What are the things that I can take back to the classroom
that are going to work for me?” (p. 42).
Zeuli’s conclusion was the following:
“So, one answer to the question, How do teachers understand research when they read
it? Is that many teachers don’t … they were more interested in products … like
consumers interested in making decisions about what goods to procure without
understanding further why the decision is warranted. Consequently, their relationship
to the text begins and ends with the question, What should I do? The questions, What
is the author saying? and Why should I believe this? are not raised and pursued” (p.
53).
Zeuli’s recommends that to read research effectively teachers learn how to:
Grasp the main ideas
Identify how these are supported
Discuss research by identifying a study’s merits
Relate what they read to their knowledge of teaching
Draw conclusions on the basis of the evidence provided.
So although the writers of research must assume much of the responsibility for
making their work accessible to teachers, teacher education can support teachers’
efforts to engage with research by encouraging them to develop the skills to read
research more critically.
Nature & Purposes of Research
A second general area of research education that might be usefully addressed on
teacher education courses relates to the nature and purposes of research. Several of the
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Borg, S. (2003). 'Research education' as an objective for teacher learning. In B. Beaven & S. Borg (Eds.), The Role
of Research in Teacher Education (pp. 41-48). Whitstable, Kent: IATEFL.
factors I discussed earlier and which interfere with teachers’ ability to make research
a productive part of their professional lives stem from misconceptions about what
counts as research and about its purposes.
Let’s consider first the nature of research. One potential problem for teachers is that
they may have limited understandings of what research involves. Let us consider the
following list of characteristics of research:
Large-scale
Scientific
Objective
Experimental
Statistical
Hypothesis-testing
Generalizable.
Now although these are some possible characteristics of research, there are forms of
research which do not display them. One way of encouraging teachers to engage with
research is therefore to ensure they have a broader, more inclusive view of the
characteristics of activities which can be called research. Particularly important in the
context of teaching is to make teachers aware of more inclusive definitions of
research and of forms of research which are more suited to teachers’ professional
activities.
For example, if we look at the work of influential curriculum thinker Lawrence
Stenhouse, which dates back almost 30 years now, he argued for a broader, inclusive
definition of research as ‘systematic inquiry made public’ which facilitates teachers’
efforts to engage in research through the study of their own practices. Freeman,
amongst others, has also written about the way in which teaching itself can be seen as
a form of research - “When pursued in a disciplined manner, teaching itself becomes a
form of research” (Freeman 1996: 112).
Teacher education can expand teachers’ understandings of the range of activities
which count as research by introducing notions such as teacher research and action
research within which traditional distinctions between the activities of doing research
and teaching are narrowed. Making teachers aware of these alternative conceptions of
what research is may enable teachers to understand how, despite demanding pressures
at work, research can be part and parcel of what they do.
Similarly, if we look at the purposes of research, teachers may be put off by
unrealistic feelings that they need to be creating theory or aiming for similarly grand
outcomes. Or, as we saw earlier, teachers may avoid research because they think its
purpose is rectify inadequacies in their work. By looking at why research is done,
teacher education can promote an awareness of the productive and practical purposes
which research can play in teachers’ lives. Many possibilities exist here.
Exploring practical problems
Monitoring innovations
Describing classroom events.
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Borg, S. (2003). 'Research education' as an objective for teacher learning. In B. Beaven & S. Borg (Eds.), The Role
of Research in Teacher Education (pp. 41-48). Whitstable, Kent: IATEFL.
Teacher education, then, can play an important role in broadening teachers’
understandings of different approaches to research and of the different purposes
research can have. Teachers can be helped to appreciate which of these approaches
and purposes are most relevant to their own professional lives. Such research
education work might counter the feelings teachers often have that research is not
feasible or relevant to their work.
Teachers’ Knowledge & Authority
A third theme for research education suggested by the factors I discussed earlier is
what I will call here teachers’ knowledge & authority.
I referred earlier to the distinction between teachers as knowledge generators and
teachers as knowledge implementers. Many teachers see themselves as implementers
of ideas generated by others, and this stance is a severe hindrance to teachers doing
research. This suggests a need for teacher education to promote the development in
teachers of attitudes which acknowledge their own knowledge and authority in their
classrooms. This authority comes from:
their centrality to educational processes
their close, constant, & long-term contact with classrooms
their unique understandings of learners and teaching.
An emphasis in teacher education on the knowledge and authority which teachers
have can facilitate teachers’ efforts to engage with research in two ways:
it can make them feel their own practices are a worthy source of research data,
worth studying and sharing with others.
it can help them read research more critically, not simply seeking advice from
experts but reading and reflecting on what they read in the light of their
experience and understanding of classrooms.
Technical Know-How
A final area which teacher education can address relates to the technical know-how of
research. I am referring to issues of research design, implementation, evaluation, and
dissemination which teachers often feel they are not equipped to handle.
The range of issues which might be covered here is very broad and decisions about
what to include will be determined by the parameters of particular programmes. Most
undergraduate teacher education programmes will include a separate course on
Research Methods in Education which covers issues such as the following:
designing a study
collecting data
analysing data
evaluating a study
reporting findings.
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Borg, S. (2003). 'Research education' as an objective for teacher learning. In B. Beaven & S. Borg (Eds.), The Role
of Research in Teacher Education (pp. 41-48). Whitstable, Kent: IATEFL.
On certificate and diploma programmes, however, little or no time may be allocated
to such issues. This of course may be fully justifiable in the contexts of such
programmes.
Although technical know-how is an important part of teachers’ research education, we
must not lose sight of the fact that the development in teachers of appropriate attitudes
to and understandings of research are even more fundamental; that is, even where
teachers possess the technical know-how required to do research, they may still be
deterred from doing so by, for example, misconceptions about its purposes, or
restrictive evaluations of their own authority and knowledge in the classroom.
Conclusion
So here then again are the four general themes for research education which the list of
factors I described earlier suggest would be useful in supporting teachers’ efforts to
engage with research:
Learning to read research
Developing an awareness of what research is and of its purposes
Acknowledging teachers’ knowledge and authority in the classroom
Learning about research design & methods.
I would like to conclude now with some general observations about the issues I have
covered here.
Firstly, I have addressed my chosen theme from a very general point of view, without
discussing any specific teaching or teacher education contexts. As professionals
working in very different contexts, then, you will need to assess the extent to which,
for example, the factors I mentioned in the first part of my talk apply to your situation.
You may find that there are in fact additional forces at work which hinder teachers’
efforts to engage with research. Or, in contrast, you may feel my account is overly
pessimistic and that in your context teachers do enjoy considerable support in reading
and doing research. My discussion provides a framework of ideas which need to be
evaluated in relation to your specific contexts.
Secondly, I have worked from an analysis of the challenges teachers face to a
consideration of relevant themes for research education. This approach ensures that
action is defined with reference to perceived problems, and that such action is thus
grounded in the realities of the context it aims to have an impact on. Again, although I
have done this in general terms, I hope it illustrates a strategy you may adopt in
identifying the action, in terms of research education, which may most suitably
support the teachers in your contexts.
Thirdly, I have not had space here to look more specifically at where, within teachers’
careers, different forms of research education might be most appropriate. For
example, short intensive certificate courses for novice teachers are unlikely to call for
much attention to such issues; diploma, degree, and various forms of in-service work
will, in contrast, provide more scope for such work. The ways in which research
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Borg, S. (2003). 'Research education' as an objective for teacher learning. In B. Beaven & S. Borg (Eds.), The Role
of Research in Teacher Education (pp. 41-48). Whitstable, Kent: IATEFL.
education can be appropriately mapped onto teachers’ career pathways is another
issue for further consideration.
My final point, and one that I alluded to earlier, is that while research education can
support teachers’ efforts to engage with research in some contexts it may not be
sufficient to motivate change at a practical level. Even where teachers have
appropriate attitudes, knowledge, and skills, it will be very difficult for them to make
research a meaningful part of their professional lives if the educational and
institutional systems they work in are not supportive. In fact, in contexts where this is
obviously the case, research education may first need to target those whose support
teachers depend on.
Research has enriched
my professional life!!
We all love happy endings so here’s the teacher who earlier identified all those
problems with doing research. We of course cannot hope for such quick changes in
teachers’ attitudes in real life, but if as teacher educators we are sensitive to the
challenges the teachers we work with face vis-à-vis research, and are able to provide
appropriate forms of research education, then we can definitely make a difference to
these teachers’ professional lives.
References
Here is a list of readings I have found useful in preparing this presentation. Included
here are also a selection of texts on doing research written with teachers in mind.
Borg, S. (2003). Research in the lives of TESOL professionals. TESOL Matters,
13(1), 1-5.
Clarke, M. A. (1994). The dysfunctions of the theory/practice discourse. TESOL
Quarterly, 28(1), 9-26.
Cochran-Smith, M., & Lytle, S. L. (1990). Research on teaching and teacher research:
the issues that divide. Educational Researcher, 19(2), 2-11.
Crookes, G. (1997). What influences what and how second and foreign language
teachers teach? Modern Language Journal, 81, 67-79.
Crookes, G., & Arakaki, L. (1999). Teaching idea sources and work conditions in an
ESL program. TESOL Journal, 8(1), 15-19.
Cumming, A. (1994). Alternatives in TESOL research: descriptive, interpretive, and
ideological orientations. TESOL Quarterly, 28, 673-703.
Duckworth, E. (1986). Teaching as research. Harvard Educational Review, 56(4),
481-495.
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Borg, S. (2003). 'Research education' as an objective for teacher learning. In B. Beaven & S. Borg (Eds.), The Role
of Research in Teacher Education (pp. 41-48). Whitstable, Kent: IATEFL.
Freeman, D. (1996). Redefining the relationship between research and what teachers
know. In K. M. Bailey & D. Nunan (Eds.), Voices from the Language
Classroom (pp. 88-115). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Freeman, D. (1998). Doing Teacher Research. Boston: Heinle and Heinle.
Ginsburg, M. B., & Gorostiaga, J. M. (2001). Relationships between
theorists/researchers and policy makers/practitioners: Rethinking the twocultures
thesis and the possibility of dialogue. Comparative Education Review,
45(2), 173-196.
Gurney, M. (1989). Implementer or innovator: A teacher's challenge to the restrictive
paradigm of traditional research. In P. Lomax (Ed.), The Management of
Change (pp. 13-28). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Kemmis, S., & McTaggart, R. (Eds.). (1988). The Action Research Planner (Third
ed.). Victoria, Australia: Deakin University Press.
Lytle, S. L., & Cochran-Smith, M. (1990). Learning from teacher research: A working
typology. Teachers College Record, 92(1), 83-103.
Markee, N. (1997). Second language acquisition research: A resource for changing
teachers' professional cultures? Modern Language Journal, 81, 80-93.
McDonough, J., & McDonough, S. (1990). What's the use of research? ELT Journal,
44(2), 102-109.
Painter, D., & Rigsby, L. (2003). Teacher Research. Retrieved 28 January 2003, from
the World Wide Web: http://gse.gmu.edu/research/tr/index.shtml
Stenhouse, L. (1975). An Introduction to Curriculum Research and Development.
London: Heinemann.
Wallace, M. J. (1998). Action Research for Language Teachers. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Zeichner, K. (1995). Beyond the divide of teacher research and academic research.
Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 1(2), 153-172.
Zeuli, J. S. (1994). How do teachers understand research when they read it? Teaching
and Teacher Education, 10(1), 39-55.
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