Integrating research into the school, Piteå municipality
Integrating research into the school became a central issue in the new Education Act for compulsory and non-compulsory schooling, which states that education should be based on scientific evidence and proven practice. This involves disseminating research findings to schools where teachers implement these in their teaching. It also entails teachers and principals being active as co-researchers in the systematic knowledge production in teaching and learning.
The aim of the research in the proposed research plan is to critically analyze the experiences of integrating research into schooling made by different actors in the municipal and academia, and to identify the challenges and the enabling strategies that can be found in cooperation between the municipality and academia.
Theoretically, the research is based on life-world phenomenology. The data collection methods involve primarily interviews, written reflections, observations, focus group discussions and digital productions. Participants in the research are teachers, principals, and educational leaders and administrators in Piteå municipality, students in primary and secondary schools, as well as researchers/teacher educators and student teachers at Luleå University of Technology and Umeå University. There will be an exchange of knowledge between the municipality and the academy within the planned subprojects. Besides this exchange, seminars will be held at each organization which also involve teacher education.
The aim of the research in the proposed research plan is to critically analyze the experiences of integrating research into schooling made by different actors in the municipal and academia, and to identify the challenges and the enabling strategies that can be found in cooperation between the municipality and academia.
Theoretically, the research is based on life-world phenomenology. The data collection methods involve primarily interviews, written reflections, observations, focus group discussions and digital productions. Participants in the research are teachers, principals, and educational leaders and administrators in Piteå municipality, students in primary and secondary schools, as well as researchers/teacher educators and student teachers at Luleå University of Technology and Umeå University. There will be an exchange of knowledge between the municipality and the academy within the planned subprojects. Besides this exchange, seminars will be held at each organization which also involve teacher education.
Final report
Scientific results
Project purpose and development
The aim of the Flexit project is to analyse and problematise the experiences of integrating research and research-based approaches in school education made by different actors in the municipality and university, and to identify challenges and enabling strategies in the collaboration between municipality and university. As the Flexit project is practice-oriented, the research has been adapted to the needs and experiences of the participants. The research was also carried out in collaboration with other researchers related to Piteå municipality and the Flexit researcher’s colleagues, nationally and internationally.
Implementation
The Flexit project is based on different research questions and implemented at three different levels in the municipal organisation.
Strategic level
What ideas, strategies and actions guide and are guided by the different actors in the process of integrating practice-based research into teachers’ work? What dilemmas arise in the encounter between the municipality and the university when dealing with practice-based research in school practice? Participants included members of the Piteå Educational Research Council, the management of the education administration and representatives from two universities. Data collection consisted of a questionnaire followed by a workshop. Total number of participants: 24.
Middle management level (headmasters)
What does a scientific approach in school entail in general and in your role as headmaster more specifically? Participants were headmasters in preschool, primary and secondary schools. Data collection consisted of a questionnaire. Total number of participants: 23.
School level
What problems, issues and knowledge are visible in teachers’ practice-based research? What does a scientific approach mean in general and in your role as a teacher more specifically? How can the profession and the local organisation make use of teachers' knowledge to develop school activities? Teachers and headmasters have carried out action research projects with the Flexit researcher aimed at integrating research into teaching practice. A total of 50 teachers and headmasters participated in five action research projects. The Flexit researcher acted as scientific supervisor and researcher in these projects. Data collection consisted of written reflections and project documentation.
In addition to the action research projects, studies at the school level involved 242 teachers taking part in the survey (which was also completed by the headmasters, see description above).
Three main outcomes of the project
Interpretation and understanding of the mission of an education based on scientific ground and proven experience
The mandate to integrate research in schools is rooted in the Education Act, which states that education in schools should be based on scientific ground and proven experience. The Flexit project shows that teachers and headmasters find the mission of the School Act challenging. At the same time, they also see opportunities, which relate to professional development and school improvement. Therefore, the results therefore indicate that the first step in realising a research-based education is for teachers and headmasters to interpret and create an understanding of the mission. The study also points out that practical conditions such as time, resources and support from the headmaster are needed to carry out the mission of practice-based education. The need for professional development to increase teachers’ and headmasters’ scientific knowledge and competences is also emphasised.
Enacting the mission in school practice - developing knowledge and competences on research, teaching and collaboration
The Flexit project illustrates the different ways in which teachers can enact the mission of research-based education and what knowledge and competences that are required. The examples are taken from postgraduate education and action research.
Postgraduate education
In the studied postgraduate education, teachers conducted studies in their teaching, which were reported in papers and analysed in the Flexit project. The analysis shows that the papers have different starting points (teacher or researcher voice), and that both scientific knowledge and teacher knowledge are present throughout the research process. Teachers oscillate between using teacher experience and scientific knowledge in the different parts of the process. The contextual knowledge of the researching teachers both benefits and challenges the scientific knowledge and vice versa. Through research findings and research methods, the teachers can understand their own teaching practice and also find ways to develop it. Thus, teachers’ contextual knowledge can not be underestimated as it allows for a deeper understanding of teachers’ own practice.
Action research in teaching: expectations, motivations and professional learning
The analysis of teachers’ initial motivations for and expectations of participation in action research shows that teachers have an expectation that it will lead to individual and collegial development and learning. They hope to make a difference to children and pupils - that it will lead to higher achievement. Finally, it is hoped that the work will lead to raising awareness and status of the teaching profession. At the end of the projects, when the expectations were compared with the results, it can be concluded that the initial expectations of individual and collegial development and learning that the teachers expected were fulfilled to a great extent. The difference between initial expectations and perceived outcomes is that at the end of the process, teachers described that the relationships between them and their principal, and between them and the researcher, had been strengthened more than expected, which meant increased sharing of experiences and mutual engagement. At a general level, teachers’ final reflections show that they see evidence that children and pupils have learned what the teachers initially expected them to do.
Teachers’ professional learning in action research projects covers three areas: research, teaching and collaboration. Professional learning on research issues involves interpreting, renegotiating and practicing the concepts of research-based education. They develop a professional language to talk about research and extend the use of scientific methods. Although the teachers are experienced, their professional learning in the field of teaching is evident. They are reformulating and changing their teaching role and trying out new methods in teaching. Teachers’ professional learning also includes awareness of the role of relationships in teaching, and they deepen relationships with children and pupils, colleagues and the researcher through increased collaboration.
Action research involves close interaction and collaboration between teachers and researchers. This kind of research is carried out with people rather than on someone, changing the roles and responsibilities of researchers and teachers, and thus the relationships between them. Ethical dilemmas may arise where differences between the roles of researchers and participants are not so sharp, as all participants are active in the knowledge creation process. The Flexit project points out that it is important to value the competences of both researchers and teachers and that it is central to discuss roles and responsibilities.
Challenges and enabling strategies in collaboration between municipality and university
The Flexit project highlights challenges in the collaboration between municipality and university. One challenge is that it takes time to get to know each other’s organisations and the specific conditions that prevail. Another challenge is that quality work can be carried out in different ways and have different time frames, which sometimes makes collaboration difficult. In the Flexit project, however, the challenges have been dealt with in a constructive way by focusing instead on the openings and opportunities in collaboration. Enabling strategies include, for example, to have trust in the different competences available within each organisation, meeting each other on an equal level and working towards common goals.
Interaction between university and the organisation
The Flexit project has deepened and broadened the collaboration between the university and the organisation while the Flexit researcher has work in the municipality with both research and development, collaborating with teachers, headmasters, scientific leaders, other management of the education administration and members of the Piteå Educational Research Council. Within the Flexit project, several scientific articles and books have been published in collaboration between the Flexit researcher and municipal employees.
The Flexit project has produced spin-off effects in the form of new research collaborations. The Flexit researcher has established a close cooperation with researchers at Umeå University and they have carried out studies together. The Flexit researcher has also established contacts with researchers from the University of Gothenburg who work with action research. The collaboration will be deepened after the Flexit project ends with a joint research and development project in preschool starting in autumn 2022, in which preschool teachers and headmasters from Piteå Municipality will participate, among others. Another new research collaboration has been established in the wake of the Flexit project and it is an R&D environment on education in the subject Swedish. It includes teachers from primary and secondary schools as well as researchers from both Umeå University and Luleå University of Technology and the group intends to make a joint application for external research funding.
Dissemination of research
The research of the Flexit project has been disseminated in various ways: through research articles in scientific journals, oral and written presentations at national and international research conferences, popular science books and book chapters, and oral presentations and workshops in the municipality, at the own university, at other universities and municipalities, as well as school authorities and trade unions.
The research has also been presented on the municipality’s and university’s websites, as well as through social media and media interviews on several occasions (see separate file Publications and presentations of the research).
Publication list
View separate file: Publications and presentations of the research
Personal webpage: https://www.ltu.se/staff/u/ulrber-1.12579
Project purpose and development
The aim of the Flexit project is to analyse and problematise the experiences of integrating research and research-based approaches in school education made by different actors in the municipality and university, and to identify challenges and enabling strategies in the collaboration between municipality and university. As the Flexit project is practice-oriented, the research has been adapted to the needs and experiences of the participants. The research was also carried out in collaboration with other researchers related to Piteå municipality and the Flexit researcher’s colleagues, nationally and internationally.
Implementation
The Flexit project is based on different research questions and implemented at three different levels in the municipal organisation.
Strategic level
What ideas, strategies and actions guide and are guided by the different actors in the process of integrating practice-based research into teachers’ work? What dilemmas arise in the encounter between the municipality and the university when dealing with practice-based research in school practice? Participants included members of the Piteå Educational Research Council, the management of the education administration and representatives from two universities. Data collection consisted of a questionnaire followed by a workshop. Total number of participants: 24.
Middle management level (headmasters)
What does a scientific approach in school entail in general and in your role as headmaster more specifically? Participants were headmasters in preschool, primary and secondary schools. Data collection consisted of a questionnaire. Total number of participants: 23.
School level
What problems, issues and knowledge are visible in teachers’ practice-based research? What does a scientific approach mean in general and in your role as a teacher more specifically? How can the profession and the local organisation make use of teachers' knowledge to develop school activities? Teachers and headmasters have carried out action research projects with the Flexit researcher aimed at integrating research into teaching practice. A total of 50 teachers and headmasters participated in five action research projects. The Flexit researcher acted as scientific supervisor and researcher in these projects. Data collection consisted of written reflections and project documentation.
In addition to the action research projects, studies at the school level involved 242 teachers taking part in the survey (which was also completed by the headmasters, see description above).
Three main outcomes of the project
Interpretation and understanding of the mission of an education based on scientific ground and proven experience
The mandate to integrate research in schools is rooted in the Education Act, which states that education in schools should be based on scientific ground and proven experience. The Flexit project shows that teachers and headmasters find the mission of the School Act challenging. At the same time, they also see opportunities, which relate to professional development and school improvement. Therefore, the results therefore indicate that the first step in realising a research-based education is for teachers and headmasters to interpret and create an understanding of the mission. The study also points out that practical conditions such as time, resources and support from the headmaster are needed to carry out the mission of practice-based education. The need for professional development to increase teachers’ and headmasters’ scientific knowledge and competences is also emphasised.
Enacting the mission in school practice - developing knowledge and competences on research, teaching and collaboration
The Flexit project illustrates the different ways in which teachers can enact the mission of research-based education and what knowledge and competences that are required. The examples are taken from postgraduate education and action research.
Postgraduate education
In the studied postgraduate education, teachers conducted studies in their teaching, which were reported in papers and analysed in the Flexit project. The analysis shows that the papers have different starting points (teacher or researcher voice), and that both scientific knowledge and teacher knowledge are present throughout the research process. Teachers oscillate between using teacher experience and scientific knowledge in the different parts of the process. The contextual knowledge of the researching teachers both benefits and challenges the scientific knowledge and vice versa. Through research findings and research methods, the teachers can understand their own teaching practice and also find ways to develop it. Thus, teachers’ contextual knowledge can not be underestimated as it allows for a deeper understanding of teachers’ own practice.
Action research in teaching: expectations, motivations and professional learning
The analysis of teachers’ initial motivations for and expectations of participation in action research shows that teachers have an expectation that it will lead to individual and collegial development and learning. They hope to make a difference to children and pupils - that it will lead to higher achievement. Finally, it is hoped that the work will lead to raising awareness and status of the teaching profession. At the end of the projects, when the expectations were compared with the results, it can be concluded that the initial expectations of individual and collegial development and learning that the teachers expected were fulfilled to a great extent. The difference between initial expectations and perceived outcomes is that at the end of the process, teachers described that the relationships between them and their principal, and between them and the researcher, had been strengthened more than expected, which meant increased sharing of experiences and mutual engagement. At a general level, teachers’ final reflections show that they see evidence that children and pupils have learned what the teachers initially expected them to do.
Teachers’ professional learning in action research projects covers three areas: research, teaching and collaboration. Professional learning on research issues involves interpreting, renegotiating and practicing the concepts of research-based education. They develop a professional language to talk about research and extend the use of scientific methods. Although the teachers are experienced, their professional learning in the field of teaching is evident. They are reformulating and changing their teaching role and trying out new methods in teaching. Teachers’ professional learning also includes awareness of the role of relationships in teaching, and they deepen relationships with children and pupils, colleagues and the researcher through increased collaboration.
Action research involves close interaction and collaboration between teachers and researchers. This kind of research is carried out with people rather than on someone, changing the roles and responsibilities of researchers and teachers, and thus the relationships between them. Ethical dilemmas may arise where differences between the roles of researchers and participants are not so sharp, as all participants are active in the knowledge creation process. The Flexit project points out that it is important to value the competences of both researchers and teachers and that it is central to discuss roles and responsibilities.
Challenges and enabling strategies in collaboration between municipality and university
The Flexit project highlights challenges in the collaboration between municipality and university. One challenge is that it takes time to get to know each other’s organisations and the specific conditions that prevail. Another challenge is that quality work can be carried out in different ways and have different time frames, which sometimes makes collaboration difficult. In the Flexit project, however, the challenges have been dealt with in a constructive way by focusing instead on the openings and opportunities in collaboration. Enabling strategies include, for example, to have trust in the different competences available within each organisation, meeting each other on an equal level and working towards common goals.
Interaction between university and the organisation
The Flexit project has deepened and broadened the collaboration between the university and the organisation while the Flexit researcher has work in the municipality with both research and development, collaborating with teachers, headmasters, scientific leaders, other management of the education administration and members of the Piteå Educational Research Council. Within the Flexit project, several scientific articles and books have been published in collaboration between the Flexit researcher and municipal employees.
The Flexit project has produced spin-off effects in the form of new research collaborations. The Flexit researcher has established a close cooperation with researchers at Umeå University and they have carried out studies together. The Flexit researcher has also established contacts with researchers from the University of Gothenburg who work with action research. The collaboration will be deepened after the Flexit project ends with a joint research and development project in preschool starting in autumn 2022, in which preschool teachers and headmasters from Piteå Municipality will participate, among others. Another new research collaboration has been established in the wake of the Flexit project and it is an R&D environment on education in the subject Swedish. It includes teachers from primary and secondary schools as well as researchers from both Umeå University and Luleå University of Technology and the group intends to make a joint application for external research funding.
Dissemination of research
The research of the Flexit project has been disseminated in various ways: through research articles in scientific journals, oral and written presentations at national and international research conferences, popular science books and book chapters, and oral presentations and workshops in the municipality, at the own university, at other universities and municipalities, as well as school authorities and trade unions.
The research has also been presented on the municipality’s and university’s websites, as well as through social media and media interviews on several occasions (see separate file Publications and presentations of the research).
Publication list
View separate file: Publications and presentations of the research
Personal webpage: https://www.ltu.se/staff/u/ulrber-1.12579