Facilitating research in
25 Facilitating research in
geographical and environmental education Ashley Kent
Increasing numbers of teachers are nowadays engaging in educational research as a part of higher degree work. MA,MEd,MPhil and PhD qualifications have become an accepted route for professional development and advancement. Degrees in curric- ulum studies and educational management have,of late,proved particularly popular, but a number of others concern specific subject areas such as geography education.
In spite of these greater numbers,achievement of such qualifications is a consid- erable burden on teachers. Increasingly,as local education authority financial support has declined,teachers have had to pay their own fees,at the same time as finding that their profession has become ever more demanding,not least for middle managers who have been faced with greater administrative workloads. Successful completion of such degrees requires considerable commitment and efficient time management. This is the raison d’être of this chapter: that is,the iden- tification of clear working principles to support teachers in conducting educational research. From now on,when the word ‘student’ is used it refers to teachers engaged in higher-degree research work.
The most common higher degree undertaken by teachers is at the MA/MEd level,and that is why this is the focus here. Since 1968,there has been an MA Geog- raphy in Education at the University of London Institute of Education. Established by Norman Graves,it continues to offer a unique qualification and professional development for geography teachers. For part-timers it is a two-year course,and nowadays requires a 25,000-word dissertation, two pieces of coursework and one examination paper. Most teachers take it part-time,but over the years full-timers, especially from overseas,have completed it within one year. The themes focused upon have varied with the concerns of different times,but most take on an action research approach: that is,the issues and concerns of teachers working in their own or similar establishments. The time available to complete such research is limited to a year,since it is usually in the second year that teachers focus on their disserta- tion research. This naturally restricts the scale of any such research,but none the less important insights are gained,often from case studies.
A flavour of the dissertation topics and approaches is given in the book by Graves et al . (1989). Interestingly,the demographic profile of students has changed over the last few years. Originally it was a course dominated by experienced teachers,often heads of department. Increasingly it tends now to be for the younger teacher recently having completed a degree and PGCE,who sees it as a way of furthering his or her professional development and a necessary qualification for advancement. Teachers
FACILITATING RESEARCH IN EDUCATION
consciously wish to complete the degree before they are engaged in burdensome head-of-department duties.
To write this chapter,I have relied on the experience and insights of my geog- raphy tutor colleagues,Norman Graves,David Lambert,Michael Naish and Frances Slater,who between them have supervised a considerable number of such MA-level research students. To frame our conversations,I put forward the headings listed below and these provide the structure for the rest of this chapter. I am most grateful to my colleagues for agreeing to be interviewed,thereby allowing me to communi- cate their often shared insights,which I feel are most valuable for tutors and tutees alike engaged in MA/MEd-level geography education research.
• Identifying an area of interest/finding a research question • Choice of methodology and appropriate data collection techniques • Literature search/reading around • Time schedule/deadlines • Starting to write/draft chapters • Meetings/tutorials – role of the tutor • Pitfalls/mistakes to avoid • ‘Doing it’ successfully – tips/strategies.
A relatively recent development at the Institute of Education has been the provision of research training/techniques sessions for students up to PhD level. In this respect we in the UK have been well behind research training offered in the USA. In the MA Geography in Education course,in particular,there is now a ‘Research and Research Methods’ module over a ten-week period in the spring term,which addresses some of the methodological issues facing students and leans heavily on examples from dissertation research already completed. Panels of past students and homework tasks on earlier dissertations have been popular and are seen to be valuable.
A growing literature is now at the disposal of such researchers. These vary from the short,manageable and accessible,such as Bell (1987) and the Rediguide series from Nottingham University School of Education (now sadly out of print),to the more demanding and complex,such as Burgess (1985,1986),Cohen and Manion (1994) and Tesch (1990).
It is my intention that this brief chapter will offer practical guidelines and help to those tutors and tutees struggling with the challenge of conducting or supporting research into geography education. Clearly the scale and level of originality of an MPhil or PhD is greater,but all the working principles mentioned here are,it could
be argued, just as appropriate for that level of research. Finding a focus
Educational research has an unfortunate and somewhat misleading image,not least with teachers. It is felt to be something esoteric and ‘out there’,whereas in reality most MA-level research is highly focused,practical and based upon school realities. However,such research is a new way of working,and something of a culture shock, for those intimately involved in schools. It requires a critical,more distant look at the education system,and it is therefore helpful for a student to be well engaged on a
ASPECTS OF TEACHING SECONDARY GEOGRAPHY
higher degree course before making decisions about research focus. Lectures generate possible avenues for exploration,as do conversations with tutors and fellow students. These early experiences broaden a student’s conceptual understanding of education and build confidence,which are vital. Indeed one colleague spoke of the necessity to get over the ‘confidence hump’,not least so that the ‘level’ of writing will be seen to be of the requisite standard!
Most vital in determining a research focus is to identify a real interest,or a ‘burning interest’,as it was described to me. Very often that is likely to be concerned with students’ professional lives and the problems and challenges associated with them. Tutors may in some cases feel the need to ‘steer’ this decision-making process heavily. For instance,they may well be aware of a current issue or concern that merits inquiry or on which previous research has been undertaken but further work is still needed. On the other hand,some students may not need or may even resent such a ‘heavy steer’.
Particularly practical advice from my colleagues included the importance of not making a decision on focus too early,indeed considering at the start of the process a range of broad research avenues and keeping these going as long as necessary. Also important was to look at previous dissertations to get a ‘feel’ for style,organization, methodology and the like.
Similarly important is seen to be the opportunity of meeting with earlier researchers and discussing their approach and ways of coping. This can be immensely reassuring for students. Equally,fellow students and tutors are important sounding boards for research ideas,particularly when a brief written statement of a research focus can form the basis for discussion.