“Practitioner enquiry helps to create a space to stop and look again at existing ways of working……teachers who engage in research have ‘better understanding of their practice and ways to improve it’. For some teachers, enquiry may promote levels of critical reflection that are ‘transformative’.”

Practitioner enquiry is a ‘finding out’ or an investigation undertaken within your own classroom or school and in collaboration with others.  It It is one of the key elements in the GTCS Career Long Professional Learning Standards and is envisaged to become an integral aspect of the day to day practice of teachers and education professionals.  Participating in Practitioner Enquiry enables you to bring about fundamental changes in pedagogy and curriculum and improve the quality of pupils’ learning experiences.

EPS have run several Practitioner Enquiry CLPL courses and have worked with teachers to undertake enquiry projects about mental health and wellbeing and learning and teaching.  We have worked with teachers to address questions such as:

We have also worked with the last two cohorts of probationer teachers in Angus to help with their Reflective Research in Practice project.

Suggested resources

• The GTCS website has an overview of Practitioner Enquiry
• East Dunbartonshire Psychological Service have produced this introductory guide
• The top resource available is your friendly neighbourhood educational psychologist! The best way to learn about and undertake practitioner enquiry is through talking to someone about it.  If you are interested in undertaking Practitioner Enquiry and would like to work with EPS, please speak to your line manager or contact the link EP for your school.