There is a quiet revolution taking place in Wales’ schools.
For the past seven years, hundreds of teachers have been dipping their toes into classroom-based research and enquiry as part of a national programme designed to strengthen practice and, ultimately, learner outcomes.
There is emerging evidence that the is delivering on both counts, although the ripple effect is much larger - teachers have reported finding a new lease of life through their enquiry work, and school leaders have borne witness to a growing confidence among staff.
It is not just Welsh schools, teachers and academics that extol the virtues of practitioner enquiry.
In Scotland, Tes recently featured a practitioner enquiry partnership between the University of Glasgow and Govan High School, whose deputy headteacher said the project had allowed staff “to deeply explore their teaching practices” and, ultimately, “improve the learning experiences and outcomes” for students.
In Wales, NPEP is a truly collaborative effort. It is a unique partnership involving the Welsh government, local authorities, schools and universities that has always been much greater than the sum of its parts.
Academics have provided foundational skills development and ongoing support to teachers, who have reciprocated by providing their university-based colleagues with fresh insight into contemporary classroom challenges. NPEP has created a forum for mutual, cross-sector learning.
Normalising educational research
Our approach has been to frame enquiry as a formalising of what teachers do on a habitual basis. Namely, that by trialling solutions to everyday problems, teachers were already engaging in the practice of enquiry.
This helped to normalise educational research and ground it more easily in teachers’ day-to-day work. To make enquiry doable and not in any way burdensome, it would need to be purposeful, manageable and not add to the many competing demands on teachers’ time.
That is not to say that enquiry is guaranteed to make a positive difference, irrespective of how much one prepares. Sometimes an intervention will work, sometimes it won’t - and sometimes data will be so inconclusive, no lasting conclusions can be drawn.
But there is always something to be learned through enquiry, even if it’s not to do the same thing twice.
Spectacular outcomes
I remember well a senior leader concerned that her pupils didn’t like history. After surveying the pupils, it quickly became clear that they liked history, they just didn’t like how it was being taught.
The enquiry gave the school leverage to change its teaching of history, drawing more inspiration from its local area.
In other cases, teachers have reported outcomes so spectacular that they have changed whole-school policy and transformed the way all staff interact with pupils as a result.
I’ve lost count of the number of schools (almost half of all schools in Wales have had some involvement in NPEP to date) that have developed new approaches to feedback, based on the impact of their small-scale studies involving particular groups of learners.
However, such decisions can only really be made on the back of robust and reliable evidence - evidence that is best derived from within schools themselves.
Developing a ‘culture of curiosity’
I am reminded of Dylan Wiliam’s mantra that “everything works somewhere, but nothing works everywhere”. The best way to find out what works in your setting is to try it out for yourself.
NPEP positions teachers as lifelong professional learners who routinely reflect on and enhance their own practice - not as functionaries who follow top-down orders, without question.
One of those involved told me recently that NPEP “kept me teaching”; another, on the verge of retirement, said it had given her a new sense of purpose.
Developing an enquiry culture is, in its simplest sense, about developing a culture of curiosity. It helps us develop new pedagogical knowledge, make better and more assured decisions, and gives us confidence to try new things.
Engaging in reflective practice and learning from what others have done before is what keeps teaching moving forward.
But these things don’t happen by chance. Research-orientated schools have strong and committed leadership that values enquiry as a mechanism for teacher-led professional development.
Looking to the future
A reformed NPEP will continue into next year, such is the government’s commitment; however, one is mindful that with economic hardship comes increased competition for public funding.
Nothing lasts forever, as the saying goes, and there will come a time when priorities shift and money dries up. It is important, therefore, that NPEP solidifies its legacy by sustaining enquiry well beyond the life of the project.
To do this, I have three suggestions: first, that the Welsh government consider the creation of “enquiry co-ordinators”, or “Enq-cos”, to make enquiry more visible within school staffing structures.
In much the same way as ALNcos have responsibility for coordinating support for children with additional learning needs, Enq-cos would act as the de facto leader of enquiry in their school and become the designated conduit for all enquiry-related activity.
Second, a bespoke professional learning pathway outlining the benefits of enquiry and its practical application should be made available to school leaders, in the first instance, recognising that creating the conditions for enquiry to flourish is critical.
And finally, Wales’ education inspectorate, Estyn, should become arbiters of high-quality enquiry and make schools’ investment in research-informed practice a central part of its common inspection framework.
If developing a research-engaged teaching profession is the goal, then it is vital we build on what has been achieved since 2018 and ensure that every school in every part of Wales has the chance to get involved.
Gareth Evans is director of education policy at University of Wales Trinity Saint David. He writes in a personal capacity and tweets @garethdjevans
