Teachers as researchers

"Teachers as researchers?" Most classroom practitioners, upon seeing or hearing this phrase, will react less than enthusiastically, probably dismissing the idea as something they might like to do some time in the future, but for which they have no time right now. Teachers may also feel less than confident with the notion of "research" as they may believe they lack the training to carry out classroom-centered research (CCR).

These reactions, based on beliefs resulting from stereotypes about "research" and "researchers," are understandable. These beliefs derive from popular generalizations about what research is. There is "Research," with a capital "R," which I use to refer to empirical studies, with control and experimental groups, such as those reported on in journals like the TESOL Quarterly. There is also "research," with a small "r," to designate the studies and projects which can be carried out by classroom teachers without training in statistical analysis. Both forms can be viewed as classroom-centered research (CCR).

This overview will, first of all, define classroom centered research. Secondly, a brief historical survey of classroom research (with the capital R) will show that the initial impetus for CCR came from the fields of second language acquisition (SLA) and the training and development of teachers. This will be followed by a brief introduction to action research. I will focus on the value of research (with the small r) for teachers in Japan, in particular with reference to curriculum renewal and on-going professional development. These are two areas of major interest to junior and senior high school teachers who face the task of implementing the new Monbusho Courses of Study for English language education. An argument will be made throughout this article that CCR is a means to empower teachers and make them more effective decision makers about what goes on in their classrooms. Read more at The Language Teacher