Stirling Educational Psychology Service (EPS) is committed to raising the attainment of all children and young people in Stirling. One intervention we are currently supporting is the Practitioner Enquiry programme. This involves working with teachers and early childhood educators to promote enquiry skills in order that they can then systematically investigate a problem area in their own setting. The broader aim of the Practitioner Enquiry programme is that practitioners will develop skills in research methodology which they can then continue to apply to their own improvement agenda.
Practitioners evaluate their own practice through this approach as well as the impact of their interventions on the children and young people they work with. Underlying this approach is an increasing belief by teachers in the benefits of this way of working (Watkins, 2006).
The Educational Psychology Service is currently providing Practitioner Enquiry sessions for all Probationer teachers in Stirling Council.
Further information on this topic can be found by following the link below or by contacting the Educational Psychology Service:
PE booklet for schools and nurseries
Practitioner Enquiry with probationer teachers
Practitioner enquiry is evident in the GTCS Standards and in Scottish Education policy and is an area of professional learning which was highlighted in Teaching Scotland’s Future (Donaldson, 2011) as a way forward to support teachers to become more engaged with research to support their own learning and ultimately pupil experiences. Teacher education and what it means to be a teacher in Scotland is being reconceptualised and teachers being and becoming enquiring practitioners is at the heart of that. During session 2017-18, the Educational Psychology Service provided input to all probationer teachers on the Model for Improvement and data and measurement to support probationers’ action enquiry projects.
The probationers were all asked to complete a storyboard poster to display their project. The Model for Improvement provided a framework for them to think about their enquiry: how to develop, test and implement changes in their classroom and consider how they might go about recording and presenting data to show that there had been an improvement in outcomes for children and young people. The model worked well and the probationers found it helpful, e.g.
“The advice on how to develop an aim was incredibly useful’
‘Helped me think about data collection, implement and expand on it to create my professional enquiry’
We were delighted with the range and quality of the posters and the work displayed by the probationers at their showcase in March. Dates are in the diary to run this again next session.
To read more about one of the projects, please follow the link below:
