Introduction
Research has been a part of my life for over 20 years, including my formal training as a researcher and my research work in and outside of schools. In this time, I have also become a research educator and mentor to several teachers over the years, both while pursuing their degrees and after that. I have the firm belief that infusing a culture of research in our educational systems and communities is the best way to create engaging and sustainable practices for our teachers and students. This page will outline some of my views about research, particularly why teachers should be involved in research.
Why Do Research?
Let me start this section by introducing a quote from The Blue Cross by G. K. Chesterton, one that I always use in my research methods classes as a way to describe the research mindset:
…when he could not follow the train of the reasonable, he coldly and carefully followed the train of the unreasonable. Instead of going to the right places—banks, police stations, rendezvous—he systematically went to the wrong places; knocked at every empty house, turned down every cul de sac, went up every lane blocked with rubbish, went round every crescent that led him uselessly out of the way. He defended this crazy course quite logically. He said that if one had a clue this was the worst way; but if one had no clue at all it was the best, because there was just the chance that any oddity that caught the eye of the pursuer might be the same that had caught the eye of the pursued. Somewhere a man must begin, and it had better be just where another man might stop.
I find this excerpt valuable because doing research means questioning the ordinary and defying the obvious. It means trusting intuitions and gut feelings as a pathway to theories and methodologies. Doing research means understanding that we do research because we don't have a tangible an answer to our inquiries , so we decide to take matters into our own hands and go look for the answer ourselves. Sometimes that means looking carefully at the literature, sometimes that means doing fieldwork, sometimes that means looking inwardly and around.
Doing research also means moving past our traditional ways of thinking about the world, transcending the tunnel vision that sometimes afflicts us. That's what this quote aims at: to do research means changing our habits, breaking ruts, raising new questions and not assuming we know our classrooms, our communities, our cities, ourselves. When we recognize that we may not know as much as we thought we did, new directions arise, new possibilities appear, new creative ways to look at our surroundings emerge. We do research to learn and reinvent who and where we are!
Doing research also means moving past our traditional ways of thinking about the world, transcending the tunnel vision that sometimes afflicts us. That's what this quote aims at: to do research means changing our habits, breaking ruts, raising new questions and not assuming we know our classrooms, our communities, our cities, ourselves. When we recognize that we may not know as much as we thought we did, new directions arise, new possibilities appear, new creative ways to look at our surroundings emerge. We do research to learn and reinvent who and where we are!
Why Qualitative Research?
There are different ways to approach research, as there are paradigms and approaches. I myself have chosen qualitative research as my paradigm and guide for my own work. This doesn't mean I am dismissing the potential of other paradigms and approaches (e.g. quantitative, mixed-methods, etc.). I just made a choice but I value what I can learn from other research approaches and use them to inform my own work. In fact, I do think that basic proficiency in reading different forms of research is necessary to be a well-rounded researcher.
Now, about my choice for doing qualitative research, let me refer back to my own dissertation. Although I wrote this in 2010, the ideas I expressed them continue to guide my work now:
Now, about my choice for doing qualitative research, let me refer back to my own dissertation. Although I wrote this in 2010, the ideas I expressed them continue to guide my work now:
I believe choosing qualitative research as the paradigm was the proper choice. Issues of literacy beliefs and practices are complex in nature and relying on surveys or evaluations does not provide room for depth. Since I am interested in the participants’ stories to learn as much as I can from them, focusing on each story and the lessons was essential. Only qualitative research, which aims to pick up the depth of what every participant shares with the researcher, would help me achieve that goal. In addition, I did not arrive at this stage with a preconceived expectation of possible answers nor was I trying to prove a hypothesis. Again, I was interested in the lessons I could learn from twelve very interesting individuals. The attention to the participants and the value one gives to their stories and their answers was another factor that helped me choose a qualitative paradigm over any other possible option."
Source:
Mora Vélez, R. A. (2010). An analysis of the literacy beliefs and practices of faculty and graduates from a preservice English teacher education program. [PhD Dissertation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign]. University of Illinois Library. https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/16829/MoraVelez_Raul.pdf?sequence=3
The Links Between Research and Education
I firmly believe that teachers need to be involved in a research culture as part of their work. This doesn't necessarily mean they need to do research per se. It means that research should be part of their craft. To wit, allow me to quote an idea from Paulo Freire in this regard:
Once again, there is no such thing as teaching without research and research without teaching. One inhabits the body of the other. I continue to search and re-search. I teach because I search, because I question, and because I submit myself to questioning. I research because I notice things, take cognizance of them. And in so doing, I intervene. And intervening, I educate and educate myself. I do research so as to know what I do not know yet and to communicate and proclaim what I discover.
Source:
Freire, P. (2001). Pedagogy of Freedom (p.35)
In this particular view, research goes far beyond traditional, institutional measures like research groups. Those have a different function in the system and can be powerful sources for advocacy. What we're talking here is the idea of the research culture both as exploration and sharing.
Exploration
When it comes to exploration, the research-teaching relationship means being aware of trends, debates, issues related to pedagogy, didactics, language learning, and so on. It means setting the conditions for teachers themselves to find valuable and trustworthy resources to support their practice. There is a plethora of scholarly literature that teachers can use to improve their own practice. What we need is to help teachers find it and learn to read it and apply it. Through this exploration, teachers can not only find best practices, but also demand best practices in the teacher training initiatives others offer them.
As a former school teacher, I have seen what they sometimes offer as "professional development". I left many of those sessions with no ideas, just a restatement of the obvious and no way forward. Research-based professional development, both grassroots and through external experts, brings together best practices with the necessary reflexivity to implement those ideas in our institutions and communities. That sense of exploration leads to even better teaching practices.
As a former school teacher, I have seen what they sometimes offer as "professional development". I left many of those sessions with no ideas, just a restatement of the obvious and no way forward. Research-based professional development, both grassroots and through external experts, brings together best practices with the necessary reflexivity to implement those ideas in our institutions and communities. That sense of exploration leads to even better teaching practices.
Sharing
In my experience as educator, I know most teachers are driven by a genuine sense of care for their students. This caring also means that teachers look for the best ways to work with their students, to empower their students, to turn their classrooms into real learning communities. These practices deserve an audience, they deserve the bullhorn, others needs to hear about them! That's where the sharing portion of research comes in. Doing research in our classrooms is a way to keep ourselves engaged as teachers and scholars. It is a way to feel we're self-actualizing, that we're not going stale (that feeling kills the passion teachers naturally have to do their craft!), that our work matters.
Sharing also has a powerful side effect in our classes: It inspires our students to learn more. A lot of what we do as teachers is about leading by example. If our students see us doing research, writing, presenting, they will also feel inspired to do the same. This applies at any point in the P-20 spectrum: Preschoolers get excited to see you're studying more... and doctoral students expect you to be actively doing research, publication, and advocacy. Research, then, has benefits for your practice and helps you find more ways to connect with your students.
Sharing also has a powerful side effect in our classes: It inspires our students to learn more. A lot of what we do as teachers is about leading by example. If our students see us doing research, writing, presenting, they will also feel inspired to do the same. This applies at any point in the P-20 spectrum: Preschoolers get excited to see you're studying more... and doctoral students expect you to be actively doing research, publication, and advocacy. Research, then, has benefits for your practice and helps you find more ways to connect with your students.