Appraisal

last updated:June 2005

Robustness  
 
This network project was built around six smaller-scale projects.  As the researchers collected evidence about the processes and outcomes of the consultation activities, the research team fed back the evidence to schools through a network of over three hundred schools and contact with hundreds of teachers through conferences, workshops, seminars and other networking activities.

Two projects aimed to provide a framework for interpreting and classifying observations made in relation to consulting pupils about a variety of issues.  The other four projects were designed as research and development efforts. They sought to engage teachers in developing consultation with the researchers and in supporting the researchers, documenting procedures and constraints, and helping monitor impact. These projects focused on teachers and their classes in forty-eight primary and secondary schools in the UK (mostly in England, but including Wales and Scotland).  

The projects operated at different times, to different time-scales and used different combinations of methods, including interviews with teachers and pupils, classroom observation, focus groups, meetings and questionnaires.  In these strongly developmental activities, multiple data sources offered a degree of triangulation.  Extensive networking and communication with teachers also helped the researchers to develop confidence in their findings. Finally, teachers provided complementary evidence through a questionnaire administered at the end of the project.
 
Relevance
 
The researchers reported a number of findings which have the potential to inform policy-makers and practitioners including teachers, head teachers and local and national government officers.  The findings from the research projects provided information about pupils’ responses to consultation activities, how teachers have used feedback from pupils and the conditions which make for effective consultation.  The findings from the four research and development projects gave evidence about the impact of consultation and of student-as-researcher activities on pupils and teachers.  They showed that these pupils gained a greater sense of inclusion, felt that what they said was important and developed a more positive view of themselves as learners. The evidence suggested that teachers developed better understanding about how their lessons were received by different types of pupil in their classrooms and about the factors which supported engagement or led to disaffection. In many cases it was reported that teachers reflected on, and changed their practice, such as limiting teacher talk and increasing opportunities for collaborative working. 
 
Applicability
 
Teachers in all phases may find the activities reported helpful for reflecting on their own practice and when seeking to create more collaborative classrooms. Specific tools were developed by the researchers to help teachers develop their own approaches to consultation and to set up students-as-researchers activities. Teachers and curriculum planners may find it helpful to consider how consultation and students-as-researcher activities might fit in with PSHE and citizenship education, particularly in relation to participation and responsibility, contribution to discussion and participation in school events.  The many quotes and illustrative examples site the research in school contexts that most teachers will identify with.
 
Writing
 
The different time-scales over which the research was carried out led to a large number of outputs during the lifetime of this network project and to a number of publications at the ends of the individual projects. The final publications are aimed specifically at a teacher audience.  The writing is accessible and engaging; there are many headings which make it easy to navigate the work and there are a large number of quotes and illustrative examples of the various activities to help teachers relate them to their own classroom situations.