Letter from Jack Whitehead, 15^th June 2005 on enhancing the flow of our communications

As I look at the educational enquiries of practitioner-researchers at:

http://www.bath.ac.uk/~edsajw/mastermod.shtml

I can see some connections between the accounts that focus on pupils' and teachers' voices and school-based teacher-researcher groups.

Pupils' and Teachers' Voices

I'm connecting,

Catriona Williamson's Educational Enquiry of April 2005, on - How effective is Mere School at listening to 'the pupil's voice' in the self-evaluation processes of the school? http://www.bath.ac.uk/~edsajw/module/cwmaee.pdf

and Joan Whitehead's and Nick Clough's ideas in:

Whitehead, J. & Clough, N. (2004) Pupils, the forgotten partners in education action zones

Journal of Education Policy

Vol. 19, No.2, March 2004, pp. 215-227

http://www.jackwhitehead.com/monday/EAZjoEdp.pdf

and the responses to this paper on The Standards Site of the Department for Education and Skills. at:

http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/research/themes/pupil_voice/educationactionzones

I'm also connecting the above accounts with Tim Heath's account of his work at St. Nicholas' School at:

http://www.bath.ac.uk/~edsajw/module/thhome.htm

on: How can I conduct a worthwhile enquiry into effective homework in my primary school?

and with the teacher-researchers at the John Bentley School working with Gordon Trafford's intention to support a group of teacher-researchers from different schools for the 2005-6 academic year.

School-based Teacher-Researcher Groups

I'm connecting the following accounts at http://www.bath.ac.uk/~edsajw/mastermod.shtml from teacher-researchers who have worked together in teacher-researcher meetings at Westwood School:

Mark Potts' Masters Dissertation, How can I improve my practice by communicating more effectively with others in my role as a professional educator?

Jayne Stillman's Methods of Educational Enquiry assignment on - How can I use what is within me and my influence and achievements in the arts at Westwood St Thomas school to interface my career progression as a County inspector for art?

Karen Collins' Educational Enquiry Module, Jan. 2003: How can I effectively manage students' learning to take account of self-assessment within Modern Foreign Languages?

Simon Riding's Methods of Educational Enquiry Module, Sept. 2002: A Case Study on the impact of a teacher-research group at Westwood St Thomas School on professional knowledge and development.

to Chapter 6 of the doctoral enquiry of Kevin Eames at Wootton Bassett School on

Action Research as a Form of Professional Knowledge in a Whole-School Setting at:

http://www.bath.ac.uk/~edsajw/KEVINPHD/kechap6.pdf

Also see:

Eames, K. (1990) 'Growing Your Own' British Journal of In-Service Education, Vol. 16, No.2.

You might like to participate in the BERA Practitioner-Researcher SIG e-symposium as a way of enhancing the flow of our communications. You can join or leave this e-seminar for the next 5 weeks from the right hand menu bar of

http://www.actionresearch.net . You could contribute to the first phase of the seminar, until the 18^th June, by joining and leaving a note as to where participants can access your practitioner-researcher account of your own learning. In the review phase from the 18^th June to the 23^rd July you could help to develop a better understanding of the criteria we use to judge the quality of our practitioner-research.

Love Jack.