EDUC43850 Research Methods 2: Practitioner Research

Academic Year 2023/2024

A key aspect of Initial Teacher Education is "the development of student teachers as researchers and lifelong learners" (Teaching Council). A key rationale for this module is to engage student teachers in action research to reflect up, research and implement change to enhance the teaching and learning in the classroom. Schools and teachers are increasingly engaged in practitioner researcher through the process of School Self-Evaluation and the An Cosán Framework (placing emphasis on Continuous Professional Development (CPD)). This module seeks to prepare student teachers to work within an increasingly practitioner reflective profession embedded within an action research paradigm. A key aspect to this module will be providing the students with the skills to critically engage with the field of research, to engage in reflective practice, to employ an action research approach to enhancing practice in the classroom and to reflect and evaluate in a critical way.


In addition to its focus on Practitioner Research in an educational context, this module will develop the core skills of academic literacy. It will explore how to write in a formal academic style, how to write reflectively, and how to engage appropriately with a body of academic literature. With a particular focus on the development of confidence and voice, students will be taught both how to read critically and how to position their own ideas within ongoing scholarly debates.

Students will explore also how to brainstorm ideas, how to begin the difficult process of writing (with the help of writing techniques such as freewriting and writing with a skeleton), and how to plan their work (including time management and the avoidance of procrastination).

Core academic skills (e.g. accessing electronic databases, direct and indirect citation, presentation and formatting, conducting a literature search, structuring a literature review, and constructing a bibliography) will also be covered