Who can be involved in the research team and what role they can they play?

It is possible for schools engaged in research to have a range of different staff involved in the project. For example:

• Teachers
• Support staff
• Headteacher and school leaders
• Parents and family members
• School governors
• Children and young people.

Research teams can be large or small, remain the same throughout the project or change in size and make-up according to the needs of the research. The following examples are taken from four secondary schools and one primary school. They show some different approaches to organising the team and the roles that researchers and participants can adopt.

The Sandon School, Essex (1): a research team in a large secondary school

The Sandon School chose to investigate the impact of their Key Stage 3 Accelerated Learning programme on student motivation. An important feature of their research project was the size and make-up of their research team. With eight members in total they formed a large, multi-skilled group from different subject areas. The team included a curriculum leader for science, the learning support team leader, a key stage director, an NQT, a head of year, a technology teacher, an RE teacher and the deputy head. The team was supported by a former headteacher and university tutor who had worked with the school on previous occasions.

The Sandon School, Essex (2): support staff see things differently

The research team at Sandon School in Essex comprised eight members. They found that having a large group of people to draw on helped them overcome some key challenges. One strand of their research involved observations of student learning. A teacher recognised the advantages of having a member of support staff carrying out these observations: ‘I have done a number of observations of my colleagues’ lessons but as teachers we tend to focus on the teaching perspective – you inevitably put yourself in the position of the teacher rather than focusing on the individual pupils. It is good to have different perspective.’

Blue Coat Church of England Secondary School: having a researcher in residence

Blue Coat Church of England school in Oldham chose to work with a researcher in residence. They had the assistance of a PhD student from the University of Manchester working with them throughout the project. They found this helpful in a number of ways: they had a good source of support and guidance, they didn’t have to find so much staff time because the researcher was able to conduct most of the data collection, and the research skills she brought added an extra dimension to the team. This was such a successful partnership and the school plans to work with a researcher in residence again in future.

Bushey Meads School: a learning working group

Bushey Meads School secondary school in Hertfordshire had formed a cross-departmental ‘learning working group’ which consisted of 12 members of staff. Research engagement found a natural place in this group’s work. They set out to investigate the effect of teachers’ questioning styles on students’ learning. The group split into three sub-groups; each pursuing their own research project under this umbrella. The first group considered how teachers could encourage students to ask learning questions; the second group investigated what students think about teachers’ questioning styles; and the third group looked how teachers can use questioning to motivate, engage and focus students.

Notley High School and Rickstones School: a research partnerships involving two schools

Notley High School and Rickstones School in Essex chose to work together on a joint research project. These are neighbouring schools, but they are not in direct competition for students. Both schools recognised that some of their students performed less well in mathematics at GCSE than at key stage 3 and they wanted to find out why. Notley used a member of staff to interview students whereas Rickstones used school governors to collect students’ views. Staff communicated by email and the occasional meeting. Both schools were very positive about their experience of working together. Barbara Clark (head of mathematics at Rickstones School) said: ‘I’m not just talking to people in my department, but with someone who has worked in a different school.’ Mike Seymour (deputy head of mathematics at Notley High School) said: ‘The opportunity to work with another school is tremendous, and it’s something that is not often offered to schools.’

Horton Mill Primary School: involving parents and children in the research team

Horton Mill Primary School in Oldham aimed to improve parental involvement. All the children’s families have roots in either Bangladesh or Pakistan. The research team wanted to identify what was preventing parents from becoming more involved in the school. They also wanted to find out what children thought of their parents coming into the school. Whilst designing their methodology the team became concerned that parents and children might not be comfortable talking to teachers about these issues, particularly if what they had to say could be perceived as critical of the school. Staff therefore opted for a peer to peer model of research and recruited a number of pupils and parents to join the research team. Staff began by drafting the questions they wanted answering, but parents and children soon added to their ideas. Parents interviewed parents and children interviewed children. Parents also presented the findings, alongside other members of the team. This way of working had the added advantage of parents forming stronger relationships with teachers, thereby helping the school to achieve its goal of improving parental involvement.

• Who might you include in your research team?
• Would others bring valuable insights and expertise?
• Who is best placed to gather information from pupils and parents?
• What support might team members need in carrying out research?