Waken the sleeping giant
Research is all too often left to gather dust on library shelves. Jean Carwood-Edwards explains why it's time to waken the sleeping giant and bring research to life.
The Early Years Framework, which is designed to give our children the best start in life, stresses the importance of research to ensure that our work is rooted in robust rationales, rather than habit and hearsay. Most practitioners would agree that being able to explain their practice by citing evidence gives confidence and credibility to both the providers and the users of a service. So why does the mere sight of the term 'research' often make people run for cover?
There is no doubt that some research findings are so camouflaged by obscure and complex terminology that any potential value is easy to miss. For this reason, some research is destined sadly to reside in dusty library tomes, never achieving a practical impact. Practitioners also speak of difficulties of time, finance or distance that prevent them from accessing continuing professional development (CPD) initiatives that might otherwise provide opportunities to engage with research.
If relevant information that could inform and improve our practice is available but is not being accessed, we could view research is a 'sleeping giant' – a great force that lies dormant but has explosive potential if roused.
Stirring the giant
So how can we stir this giant? How can we begin to remove some of these barriers to promote professionalism and strengthen evidence-informed practice? It's sometimes easy to forget that 'research' is actually a simple everyday activity about 'finding out' so that you can then make informed decisions – such as buying a mobile phone or switching insurance provider.
The principle is the same in Early Years education – and finding out which approaches and activities have been proven to work makes sense. Indeed, it may be that by making some fundamental changes, we could all work together more effectively to strengthen the 'research into practice' bridge. This is an agenda that Learning and Teaching Scotland is very committed to promoting and supporting.
Review of CPD
A recent piece of research commissioned by Learning and Teaching Scotland and undertaken by the University of Strathclyde, reviewed CPD provision for Early Years practitioners and managers who work with children under 3 years of age. Involving staff in 29 local authorities, the research set out to look at the ways in which CPD could be improved to more effectively support and equip practitioners. The full research report with the key findings, messages and recommendations can be accessed via the CPD and working with children under 3 article on the Learning and Teaching Scotland website.
Learning and Teaching Scotland placed an emphasis on the practical impact of the research from the initial planning stages by incorporating case study examples and agreeing that the publication of the report would be followed by extensive dissemination, including conferences, publications and online communications. It was also agreed that LTS would help practitioners and policymakers interpret some of the recommendations and implement them in practice contexts.
More information
Jean Carwood-Edwards is Leader of the Early Years team at Learning and Teaching Scotland. She will present the full paper, 'Research: A Sleeping Giant' at the EECERA Annual Conference in Strasbourg on 27 August 2009 when Learning and Teaching Scotland will share its role in supporting research into practice with colleagues across the world. More information can be found on the website of the Centre for Research in Early Childhood.
- Posted on 08 September 2009 under Educational research, Research, professional development, Continuing professional development, Issue 16, Research into practice.
- Tagged as research, continuing professional development.
Write a comment
Fields marked * are mandatory.