1. The school research lead
as knowledge mobiliser
researchED Chester, Saturday 18 March, 2017
Dr Gary Jones
2. By the end of this session we will have
• Defined the term knowledge mobiliser
• Outlined Ward’s 2016 framework for knowledge mobilisation
• Shared some provisional findings of a research project focussing on
the school research lead as knowledge mobiliser
• Considered some of the implications for school research leads and
schools
5. Ward’s framework of knowledge mobilisation
• Why mobilise knowledge?
• What knowledge is being mobilised?
• Whose knowledge is being mobilised?
• How is knowledge is being mobilised?
6.
7. Why mobilise knowledge?
• To develop local solutions to practice based problems
• To develop new policies, programmes and recommendations
• To adopt/implement clearly defined practices and policies
• To change practices and behaviours
• To produce useful research and scientific knowledge
8. What knowledge is being mobilised?
• Scientific/factual knowledge
• Technical knowledge
• Practical wisdom
9. Whose knowledge is being mobilised?
• Professional knowledge producers
• Frontline practitioners
• Members of the public acting as or on behalf of their
communitires
• Decision-makers responsible for commissiong services
• Product and programme developers responsible for developing
tangible products, services and programmes
10. How is knowledge is being mobilised?
• Making connections between knowledge stakeholders and actors
by establishing and brokering relationships
• Disseminating and synthesising knowledge
• Facilitating interactive learning and co-production via
participatory research projects and action learning sets.
14. Things to consider
• Personal reflection and learning
• Team/project development
• Networking and communicating with others
• Evaluating knowledge mobilisation
• Identifying relevant literature, tools and approaches
15. The research team
• Professor Tim Cain, Dr Chris Brown, Dr Sue Brindley, Fran Riga and
Dr Gary Jones
• Non-funded project intended to act as justification for funded
research
• Opportunistic sample – who we knew or people we knew of
• Over 20 school research leads
• Mix of face to face and skype interviews
16. The research questions
1. On what grounds do research coordinators select research for
their school?
2. How do they expect teachers to use research?
3. What institutional or supra-institutional factors do they perceive
as influencing their answers to the above questions?
17. The school research lead’s school
School A School B School C School D
Status Independent LEA
controlled
Academy Academy
Phase 11- 18 single
sex girl school
11-16 mixed
secondary
11-18 mixed
secondary
11-18 mixed
secondary
Size 800 750 1250 1450
FSM Nil 33% 11% 5%
Ofsted grade ISI/HMC Outstanding Outstanding Good
18. The school research lead’s background and
experience
School A School B School C School D
Experience of
teaching
9 years 14 years 10 years 8 years
Subject
specialism
Arts Science Social Science Arts
Masters degree Yes No Yes Yes
Role Secondment
to SLT
Deputy HT Assistant HT English teacher
with additional
responsibilities
19. Statements about research 1
1 Research may have the greatest effects on education where it raises new questions and
contributes to transformations in the general paradigms.
2 Teachers] should select what is relevant and useful to their purposes, according to the
situation, and interpret and employ this in the context of other knowledge and a
motivational framework that is adapted to circumstance
3 The only worthwhile kind of evidence about whether something works in a particular
situation comes from trying it out. In the language of research, that means doing well
controlled field experiments.
4 The goal of educational research is to develop statistically reliable, generalizable
findings regarding a network of causal relationships that practitioners can use to improve
educational outcomes.
5 Research is most useful when it provides evidence that our current practice can be
justified
20. Statements about research One SRC A S SRC B SRC SRC –
Research may have the greatest effects on education where it
raises new questions and contributes to transformations in the
general paradigms.
1 2 1 1
Teachers] should select what is relevant and useful to their
purposes, according to the situation, and interpret and employ
this in the context of other knowledge and a motivational
framework that is adapted to circumstance
2 1 2 1
The only worthwhile kind of evidence about whether something
works in a particular situation comes from trying it out. In the
language of research, that means doing well controlled field
experiments.
4 4 3 4
The goal of educational research is to develop statistically
reliable, generalizable findings regarding a network of causal
relationships that practitioners can use to improve educational
outcomes.
3 3 4 3
Research is most useful when it provides evidence that our
current practice can be justified
5 5 5 5
21. Statements about research 2
1 All research, however large-scale, brilliantly conceived, executed and communicated, needs
to be actively interpreted by users for their own context. [It] needs to be personalised within
their professional context.
2 No search for evidence, however systematic, can give grounds for certainty; there is a need to
live with uncertainty … knowledge is more likely to be accurate if the participants themselves –
the teachers and the learners – are able to contribute to its testing, criticism and reproduction.
3 We expect doctors to be able to make informed decisions about which treatment is best, using
the best currently available evidence. Teachers could one day be in the same position
4 By collecting better evidence about what works best, and establishing a culture where this
evidence is used as a matter of routine, we can improve outcomes for children, and increase
professional independence.
5 We can use research as a persuasive or political tool to legitimate a position or practice [
22. Statements about research Two SRC A SRC B SRC SRC –
All research, however large-scale, brilliantly conceived,
executed and communicated, needs to be actively
interpreted by users for their own context. [It] needs to be
personalised within their professional context.
3 1 1 3
No search for evidence, however systematic, can give
grounds for certainty; there is a need to live with uncertainty
… knowledge is more likely to be accurate if the participants
themselves – the teachers and the learners – are able to
contribute to its testing, criticism and reproduction.
2 3 3 4
We expect doctors to be able to make informed decisions
about which treatment is best, using the best currently
available evidence. Teachers could one day be in the same
position
1 4 4 1
By collecting better evidence about what works best, and
establishing a culture where this evidence is used as a matter
of routine, we can improve outcomes for children, and
increase professional independence.
4 2 1 2
We can use research as a persuasive or political tool to
legitimate a position or practice [
5 5 5 5
23. What knowledge is being mobilised?
• Scientific/factual knowledge
• Technical knowledge
• Practical wisdom
24. Whose knowledge is being mobilised?
• Professional knowledge producers
• Frontline practitioners
• Members of the public acting as
or on behalf of their
communitires
• Decision-makers responsible for
commissiong services
• Product and programme
developers responsible for
developing tangible products,
services and programmes
• Educational researchers
• Interweaving
• Spacing
• TAs
• Approaches to English teaching
• Frontline practitioners
• Particular classroom
25. How is knowledge is being mobilised?
• Making connections between knowledge
stakeholders and actors by establishing and
brokering relationships
• Disseminating and synthesising knowledge
• Facilitating interactive learning and co-
production via participatory research
projects and action learning sets.
• Participation in EEF Projects
• Disseminating reports eg Maximising TAs
• Journal clubs
• Research journal
• Action research
• Practitioner Inquiry linked to PRA
• Departmental inquiry linked to
development plan
• Outside speakers
• Integrated into CPD programmes
• Staff briefings
• Top tips
• In-house RCTs
26. What institutional or supra-institutional factors do they
perceive as influencing their answers to the above
questions?
• Availability of research
• The zeigeist
• Attitude and behaviour of head-teacher
• School culture
• Availability of resources
• Freedom for individual teacher development
27. So by the end of this session we have
• Defined the term knowledge mobiliser
• Outlined Ward’s 2016 framework for knowledge mobilisation
• Shared some provisional findings of a research project focussing on
the school research lead as knowledge mobiliser
• Considered some of the implications for school research leads and
schools
