Report Insights into the Role of Research and Development in Teaching Schools National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) Public Insights into the Role of Research and Development in Teaching Schools Matt Walker Published in January 2017 By the National Foundation for Educational Research, The Mere, Upton Park, Slough, Berkshire SL1 2DQ www.nfer.ac.uk © 2017 National Foundation for Educational Research Registered Charity No. 313392 ISBN: 978-1-911039-25-9 How to cite this publication: Walker, M. (2017). Insights into the Role of Research and Development in Teaching Schools. Slough: NFER. Public Contents 1 Introduction 1 2 At a glance 1 3 Background 2 4 Findings from NFER survey of teaching schools and a comparison group of schools 5 5 Discussion 11 6 Methodology 13 7 References 15 1 Introduction 2 At a glance Evidence-informed practice is now regarded as instrumental to There is evidence to suggest that R&D is becoming increasingly school reform efforts both in England and elsewhere (Greany, embedded within the other areas of the big six, and particularly 2015). This is especially important given the focus on school self- within school-led initial teacher training (ITT) and continuing improvement coupled with a drive for high-quality teaching within a professional development (CPD). devolved, and increasingly autonomous, education system. Despite this, many teaching school alliances (TSAs) report that Teaching schools are outstanding schools that work with strategic R&D is treated as an ‘add-on’ and is considered less important partners, such as universities and private sector organisations, to compared to other concerns. provide high-quality training and development to new and to Many TSAs report engaging ‘to a great extent’ in producing experienced school staff. Research and development or ‘R&D’ evidence-informed outputs and yet do not appear to prioritise the forms one of their six key areas of responsibility, often referred to as development of their staff’s research literacy to the same degree. the ‘big six’. As such, teaching schools play an important role in helping to realise the government’s aim of increasing teachers’ There are many challenges facing TSAs in delivering R&D including access to and use of high quality evidence and in ensuring teachers the long time it can take to show the impact of R&D and the fact are trained in understanding and applying evidence (DfE, 2016). there is still a need to build an expectation for teaching as an evidence-based profession. This report seeks to explore the effectiveness with which teaching schools are delivering their R&D responsibilities. It provides new Respondents report that research organisations like NFER can help insights based on an analysis of a survey of teaching schools and a to overcome some of the challenges identified. This includes the comparison group of outstanding schools. In doing so, our aim is to suggestion that research organisations can do more to make the support the sector as a whole by reviewing the activities undertaken findings from research evidence more accessible to practitioners. by teaching schools and their alliances in support of R&D, and the There is some evidence to suggest that teaching school status does challenges they face in implementing them. It is hoped that the not necessarily enhance a teaching school’s level of research findings will contribute to the wider evidence base on the extent to activity, relative to other outstanding schools. which teaching is becoming a more evidence-informed profession. Insights into the Role of Research and Development in Teaching Schools 1 3 Background Teaching school alliances (TSAs) are groups of schools, led by a teaching school, and include strategic partners who lead some aspects of training and development. Evidence-informed practice is instrumental Research and development, or R&D, forms one of teaching schools’ six core areas of responsibility. The others are: school-led to school reform initial teacher training; continuing professional development; supporting other schools; identifying and developing leadership The debate about the need for an evidence-informed teaching potential; and recruiting and managing the placements of specialist profession has recently been reinvigorated following the leaders of education. Collectively, these are often referred to as ‘the government’s White Paper, Educational Excellence Everywhere big six’. In order to meet their R&D responsibility, teaching schools (DFE, 2016). The paper emphasises the importance of building a are expected to engage in a range of activities, as detailed below. strong, evidence-informed profession to help drive up standards in schools. Indeed, it is clear that evidence-informed practice is now Box 1: Activities teaching schools are expected to undertake in regarded as instrumental to school reform efforts in England and support of R&D elsewhere (Greany, 2015). This is especially pertinent with so much As such, teaching schools play an important role in helping to focus on school self-improvement coupled with a drive for high- • build on existing research and contribute to alliance and wider realise the government’s aim of increasing teachers’ access to and quality teaching within a devolved, and increasingly autonomous, priorities use of high quality evidence and ensuring teachers are trained in education system. un•d erbsatasen dnienwg iannitida taivpeps lywiinthgi ne tvhiedier naclliea2n.c e on existing evidence and Teaching schools have an important role ensure they can measure them to play in helping to spread evidence- • work with other teaching schools in their area, or nationally, where appropriate informed practice • ensure that their staff use existing evidence Teaching schools are outstanding schools that work with strategic • allow their staff the time and support they need take part in R&D partners, such as universities and private sector organisations, to activities provide high-quality training and development to new and to experienced school staff. They are part of the government’s plan to • share learning from research and development work with the wider give schools a central role in raising standards by developing a self- school system improving and sustainable school-led system (NCTL 2016). Insights into the Role of Research and Development in Teaching Schools 2 The number of teaching schools has been The evidence on the effectiveness with growing and there are plans for more which teaching schools deliver their research and development responsibilities In November 2010, the Schools White Paper, The Importance of is limited Teaching (DfE, 2010), set out the UK Government’s plan to establish a national network of teaching schools as part of the A two-year research project led by the University of Nottingham and policy aim of developing a self-improving school system. Since commissioned by the NCTL provides the most robust qualitative then, their numbers have grown considerably. To date, there have and quantitative evidence to date on the effectiveness and impact nine cohorts of teaching schools. Figures from the National College of teaching schools (Gu et al, 2015). for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) show that in July 2016 there were 765 teaching schools and 596 TSAs (NCTL, 2016). As of The evaluation used a mixed methods approach comprising in- October 2014, at least 7,144 schools were linked with the teaching depth case studies and a survey of teaching schools across cohorts schools initiative, representing 32 per cent of all maintained schools one to three. The evaluation also drew on statistical data to look at in England (Gu et al. 2015). Not all alliance schools will be programme reach and association with pupil performance. outstanding. Alliances can be set up in three different ways. They are: single alliance (one teaching school leading one TSA; job- Most of the insights gathered around teaching schools’ R&D work share alliance (two small or special schools jointly leading one appear to be drawn from the case studies. Here, the authors found TSA); and multiple alliance (two or more teaching schools leading something of a mixed picture. While some alliances had been one alliance. proactively promoting R&D in their schools, others (both primary-led and secondary-led) were reported to have not yet developed their Teaching school status is open to all schools in England regardless R&D work. of type or phase. In terms of raw numbers, the majority are primary schools, followed by secondary schools and special schools. There was evidence that most TSAs were getting support to help deliver R&D, with the majority of TSAs working with HEI partners. The government’s White Paper, Educational Excellence The evaluation also highlighted a number of challenges to TSAs’ Everywhere, signalled the Government’s intention to expand the R&D work. These included: existing teaching school network by creating 300 more (DfE, 2016). • securing the time and involvement from other schools (including the active involvement of class teachers) • accessing academic journals and papers Insights into the Role of Research and Development in Teaching Schools 3 • accessing materials about what other teaching schools are doing and getting involved in national R&D activity • senior leaders in some schools finding it difficult to engage with the R&D agenda. The authors concluded that achieving a school-wide and alliance- wide understanding of research in a school context was still to be developed in the majority of case study alliances. Insights into the Role of Research and Development in Teaching Schools 4 There is evidence to suggest that R&D is 4 Findings from NFER survey of becoming increasingly embedded within teaching schools and a the other areas of the Big Six, and particularly within ITT and CPD comparison group of schools One of the unique things about R&D, relative to TSAs’ other The findings in this report are based on an analysis of survey priorities, is that it can underpin the other areas of the Big Six. The responses from teachers in a sample of teaching schools and a findings shown in Figure A suggest that R&D is most heavily comparison group of Ofsted-category outstanding schools. The embedded within school-led initial teacher training (ITT) and survey was undertaken using computer assisted telephone continuing professional development (CPD). interviewing (CATI) in March 2016. It was completed by the person Figure A: R&D is most heavily embedded within ITT and CPD responsible for coordinating research activity across the school or alliance, or a person who could speak on this issue. Responses were achieved from staff in a total of 83 teaching schools and 80 other outstanding schools. There are limitations to the precision of the findings due to the relatively small size of the achieved samples. Further details are provided in Section 6. Nevertheless, the achieved samples are broadly representative of the national populations of teaching schools and other schools rated as outstanding by Ofsted, and as such, the findings provide some useful insights into the effectiveness with which teaching schools are delivering their R&D responsibilities. Question: 'I’m going to read out the other five core areas of responsibility which, in addition to R&D, make up the ‘Big Six’. Please say whether R&D is fully embedded, partially embedded, u sed sporadically, or not embedded at all in each area of responsibility’. Source: NFER survey of teaching schools, 2016 (n=83) Insights into the Role of Research and Development in Teaching Schools 5 More than 80 per cent of respondents reported R&D was ‘fully’ or teaching schools are developing their staff’s research skills and ‘partially embedded’ within CPD and school-led ITT. R&D was about the resulting quality and impact of this work. reported to be less well embedded within each of the other core We asked respondents in both teaching schools and our areas, with about two in ten teaching schools reporting it was ‘not at comparison group of outstanding schools a closed question about all embedded’ within the area of ‘specialist leaders of education’. the extent to which they engaged in a range of different activities in Previous research commissioned by the National College and support of their R&D work. Selected findings for teaching schools undertaken by a group of TSAs in February 2015 asked a similar are presented in Figure B. The findings for comparison schools are question of staff working in TSAs and achieved 178 responses discussed in Section 5. (Bamfield, 2015). Compared with the National College findings, the Figure B: TSAs most frequently encourage staff to engage in NFER findings show a greater proportion of respondents reporting enquiry and produce research-based materials that R&D is ‘fully’ or ‘partially embedded’. Thus, there is some evidence to suggest that R&D has become increasingly embedded within the other areas of the Big Six over the intervening 12 months. Many TSAs report engaging ‘to a great extent’ in producing evidence-informed outputs and yet do not appear to prioritise the development of their staff’s research literacy to the same degree As outlined in the White Paper, Educational Excellence Everywhere, the government seeks to build a high quality teaching profession which embraces evidence-based practice to drive up standards in schools DfE, 2016. Yet in order for this to happen, teachers need the research skills to evaluate and challenge research findings, in addition to knowing where and how to access relevant research, and how this can be applied to classroom Question: 'I’m going to read out six things that your TSA may or may not do. For each one, please say whether your TSA does it to a great extent, to some extent, very little, not at all, or practice. Our findings raise questions about the extent to which you don’t know' Source: NFER survey of teaching schools, 2016 (n=83) Insights into the Role of Research and Development in Teaching Schools 6 While 37 per cent of respondents reported that they ‘produce add-on, rather than as a key part of the alliance’s efforts to advice, tools and interventions that are informed by research’ ‘to a raise standards’. great extent’ (option b), only ten percent reported that their TSA • Half of TSAs have not yet fully prioritised their R&D work. was engaged to the same degree in developing their staff’s ‘ability 52 per cent of respondents ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’ with to understand and critique research as part of their alliance’s the statement: ‘We have not yet fully prioritised our R&D work professional development strategy’ (option f). Previous research and need to develop it further’. has found that collaborative R&D across alliances requires a range • For many, R&D is a low priority relative to other concerns. of practitioner research skills and that a lack of research capacity Of those answering an open question, 30 per cent of and skills are significant barriers to sustainability (Stoll, 2015). respondents reported the main challenge facing their TSA in delivering R&D was that it was a low priority relative to other However, this is not to say that TSAs are not developing their staff. concerns. Indeed, when combining the responses from those that reported ‘to • Not all alliance schools have staff with designated a great extent’ with ‘to some extent’, 75 per cent of respondents responsibility for R&D. Most TSAs (59 per cent) reported only reported that they developed their staff’s ability to understand and having designated R&D leads in ‘some’ of their alliance critique research, compared to 91 per cent that reported producing schools, while more than a quarter (28 per cent) have no outputs that are informed by research. Nevertheless, the findings designated R&D leads in any of their alliance schools. suggest that if the quality of their research-informed outputs is to be The findings raise questions about the extent to which some maintained, some TSAs might consider placing a greater emphasis teaching schools are effectively spreading and promoting the use of on developing their staff’s research skills. research evidence across their alliance and the wider education system. The findings broadly support those of the two-year NCTL Many TSAs report treating R&D as an ‘add- study. They suggest that many TSAs approach their R&D on’ and consider it less important responsibilities in different ways, and often give it a low priority compared to other concerns relative to other concerns. The survey findings revealed multiple indicators of this, for example: • About half of TSAs reported R&D was viewed as an ‘add on’. 54 per cent of respondents ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’ with the statement: ‘R&D is viewed by many colleagues as an Insights into the Role of Research and Development in Teaching Schools 7