Finding time for research

Finding time for research is the biggest challenge. Time is needed for:

• deciding what to research
• refining your research questions
• planning your research
• finding out about previous research and theory
• collecting information
• keeping others updated on your progress
• analysing data
• reflecting on what you have found and what it means
• communicating your findings (e.g. through a written report and/or presentations).

It is important to be realistic about the amount of time involved and to plan carefully when and how to use it.

Mayfield Primary School: building research into your teaching

Mayfield Primary School in Oldham serves an area of social deprivation. There are over 200 children on roll. Headteacher Christine Taylor and deputy head David Simkin decided to investigate using drama as a stimulus for children’s writing in years 5 and 6. They worked together in the classroom, with one taking a weekly drama-based lesson while the other observed children’s responses. They asked children to keep learning journals, noting down their feelings about the drama stimulus and writing tasks. This was a particularly efficient way of collecting data for their research, as David explained: ‘The fact that we are doing it in weekly lessons meant that we created time for teachers to be able to work together at no added expense.’

As a school in challenging circumstances, Mayfield staff were eligible to apply for a sabbatical. David’s application was successful, and the school was granted £6,000 for his time, some of which was used to pay for supply cover to enable David to analyse and write up the research.

For details of organisations that teachers can approach for funding please refer to:
www.teachernet.gov.uk/research/opportunities/sabbaticalsfellowshipsopportunities/fundingorganisations/

• Have you got time to devote to research?
• Have you approached your head/head of department about this?
• Are there ways of ‘building in’ time for working on your research?
• Are there any funding streams that would enable you to devote time to a research enquiry?