There are various sites that direct teachers to sources of research or which provide guidance on critical evaluation of research. Our resources are designed to complement existing resources.
They are underpinned by the following principles, informed by our work on the Research Mobilities project.
- Direct access to and encounters with research can be empowering and inspirational. It is valuable to draw on a range of types of research (e.g. that use different methods)
- Research can speak to teachers in different ways – it can guide, provide insights, generate critique, provoke imaginings, and model methods of enquiry that might be used by teachers
- All research is based on certain assumptions and is limited in what it can claim
- Teachers need space and time to make sense of research in light of their professional experience and expertise
- Research should be introduced in ways that open out professional dialogue rather than close it down
- Critical evaluation of research is complex as research appears in different forms and it can be difficult to know where it comes from
- Responses to research involve emotions as well as critical thinking and often a mixture of both