Reflection

Everything I have studied and learned in this unit ‘makes sense’ to me. It sits with what I already do and know, but had never labelled. Educators participate in inquiry daily, whether we are guiding students through inquiry or conducting our own. In both instances there needs to be some type of process, some structure, so that our methods of discovery don’t become unwieldy and the results lost or wasted. This unit has helped me to fine tune my concept of inquiry and sharpen my skills in research.

Module one introduced me to the concept of ‘knowing’ and where my ‘knowledge’ had come from. We often joke about tradition in our family and why we do things, it’s true that unless I disagree with a concept, or something doesn’t sit right with me, I will just take on the agreed knowledge of those that I trust. I can now see that education research is often breaking new ground, and forcing us to see things in a new light, forcing us to go beyond what we are comfortable with and ‘know’. The ability to adapt and change and try new things is all part of the profession. Thanks to research we now have many options in education, and many new avenues to explore.

Module two took me into the nuts and bolts of educational inquiry. “Okay if you want to do this properly what tools will you need?” Exploring the complexities of methodologies and research tools was enlightening. Who knew that creating a survey could be so difficult and require so much thought? The small sample of survey creation and data analysis that I explored in this module certainly helped me add to my tool box of research methods.

Module three delved into the quality of educational research and how educational research shapes up in comparison to other disciplines. Of course the quality of the research often depends on the stakeholders, and how they view ‘quality educational research.’ During summer school when discussing this with colleagues we came up with the following ideas regarding the viewpoint of stakeholders on research in education.
Teachers could view quality research as, that which helped improve student outcomes. Supported the need for more resources, affirmed their own ideas on curriculum and pedagogy, helped improved student satisfaction and engagement, looked at inclusive practise and finally research which had a transparent purpose which the teacher could see as worthwhile.
School administrators could view quality research as that which would help them meet school priorities, boost the community’s perception of the school and be useful in helping make decisions.
Systems could want clear and quantitative data that was easily understood and aided public perception of the field.
The General public could view quality educational research as being transparent, ethical, not a waste of money, and easily understood.
It was beneficial to hash these ideas out with colleagues and discuss why these stakeholders would view quality educational research differently. This would greatly affect the researcher and how they would present their findings because the ‘politics’ of their audience would play an important role.

Module four was based on the ethical considerations needed when undertaking educational research. It was valuable to read the National Statement of Ethics in research and look at the many things that need to be considered before conducting an inquiry. It was clear to me straight away why a code of ethics is necessary, as stated in the introduction of this document, history has some horrid tales of what can happen when ethics and basic human rights aren’t considered. In all research I guess the main priority and first ethical question asked would be, does the benefit of my research out way the risks? Of course in educational research the risks would be minimal so the other considerations would include anonymity and confidentiality, parental permission, and whether your study is advantaging or disadvantaging groups of students.

Attending summer school was highly beneficial in this unit, as participating in dialogue and discussion with my peers helped deepen my understanding of educational inquiry. This unit was my first experience with educational research and helped me understand the nature and diversity of educational inquiry. From small scale action research that happens daily in school’s, to commissioned research for the latest political party, I was able to get a taste of the elements involved in these types of inquiries.

The benefits of both qualitative and quantitative data collection became apparent to me through participating in this unit. I believe that both are valuable and useful depending on your intended outcomes. This unit really opened my eyes to the amount of educational research that is available, and certainly my goal will be to read and study more of it so as to stay on the ‘cutting edge’ with my teaching practice.

I’m excited by the prospect of conducting some small research projects within my school to try and address some of the educational issues we face. I know that analysing the steps of inquiry and sharpening my skills through this unit has given me a springboard from which to launch my own educational research journey.