Research is an essential part of educational policy and practice.

Educational research promotes the field of education and advocate for

improvement of educational practice, enhance teacher practice through
professional development, justifies and criticise educational policies.

It

provides practitioners with new knowledge and understanding about how

to

improve

educational

practices

through

reflective

professional

development and action based research conducted within the classroom

or school community. This helps to increasing teacher empowerment and
bridge the gap between research and practice. Policy makers use research
to determine the impacts policy has on teaching staff, the school
community and the students themselves. They use research to support
changes they wish to make to educational policy as well as conduct
research to find effective policies to implement in the future. The purpose
is to enhance the lives of students and the lives of those professionals
who work within educational systems; as well as meeting the communitys
expectations of an informed educational system.
Educational

research

is

conducted

on

many

different

levels,

internationally, nationally and locally. It is supported and funded by local

and federal governments and private organisations. An example of
educational research on an international scale is the NMC Horizon Project,
an internationally recognised research project. The NMC Horizon Project is
a collaboration with the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), and the
International Society for Technology in Education (Johnson, Adams &
Cummins 2012).

It is a comprehensive research venture that was

established in 2002 to research how technology will impact education

around the world in the next few years. At a national level in Australia,
the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) is a major body
that advocates, conducts and publishes educational research for the
Australian education system. This is a government funded initiative which
publishes different research journals and operates different projects and
research initiatives in the field of education. Research published by ACER
includes journals such as the Australian Education Review featuring topics

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such as assessments, school improvement, school leadership, indigenous

education, professional learning and policy (ACER 2015).
Research is a serious concern in education and other social sciences as it
can impact on the amount of financial support provided by finding bodies.
Funding is a contentious issue amongst educators as there always seems
to be a critical shortage of it. In the public school system funding impact
so whole school communities, making it possible to have a specialist art
teacher or new computers in the library, it impacts on teachers and how
many photocopies they can make in the year, how many resources they
can buy for their students, and it impacts on the students who are the
ones going without resources or learning opportunities. Even if funding
has been provided it will still need to be reviewed and reasons to keep the
funding will need to be provided. These reasons can be supported by
teachers using data collected from their class or from the school
community. It can come from wider research projects.

There are two ways research can be used in relation to educational policy,
this is research for policy and research of policy. Research of policy is
conducted by academics and is constrained to a highly structured
framework. This type of education research has an effect on educational
policy, but this effect is long term in nature, such research often
percolates into the education policy process in the longer term through
understanding and enlightenment, which it produces and which reframes
the assumptive worlds of policy-makers (Lingard 2013, p.127). Research
for educational policy has a much more direct and immediate effect on
policy in the form of criticism or praise. This type of research is usually
commissioned by policy-makers for a particular purpose. Interest groups
often sponsor this type of research as well which can cause criticism as
the research may not be without its alternative objectives.
Policy makers employ the use of educational research to support their
decisions as well as inform them. As the field of education has become
more sophisticated it has also become more accountable for its actions.
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Policy makers cannot make policy without sufficient knowledge on of the

impacts associated with policy change, making sure that all policy is fair
and appropriate, and provides the community with quality educational
services. Research then becomes a tool to support the policy changes that
are made, research can become a form of ammunition or legitimation for
a particular policy direction, a policy decision taken politically (Lingard
2013m p.119). An example of this can be seen with the introduction of the
new Australian Curriculum. This new curriculum has been slowly
introduced and as it has it is being monitored using data and feedback
from schools and teachers, conferences with stakeholders, media reports
and NAPLAN test samples (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and
Reporting Authority (ACARA) 2013). This information is then evaluated and
monitored for change, and the curriculum is then revised based on this
information (ACARA 2013). There is a public expectation that those who
govern the education in our society are able to defend their policies and
practices. Educational research is used to assess the efficacy of
initiatives in publicly defensible ways, in terms of both their intended and
unintended consequences (Freebody 2006, p.19). This is exactly what the
curriculum writers in this case have done. They have ensured that the
curriculum meets the needs of students around the country by gaining
feedback from those who are implementing it, by making comparisons
with test scores, and including a range of other data gathering tools to
monitor the curriculums impact and quality. This research provides the
curriculum writers evidence based support for the new curriculum.
Education is a social science and responds to the needs of the community
in which it is situated. Research can be used to develop general,
normative statements about what people and communities are like and
what they need and want (Freebody 2006, p16). These statements can
then be used by educators to develop future policy to meet the demand of
the public. The new national curriculum in Australia is a good example of
why research is important in education. The topic of religious education in
Australian public schools was brought to the attention of the public in
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2011 by a Melbourne newspaper, The Age. It was reported that religious

education might well be included in the new national curriculum,
according to Professor McGaw, chairman of the Australian Curriculum
Assessment and Reporting Authority (Zwartz 2011). There was a
community forum held to discuss this topic and allow the community to
have their opinions heard. During this forum research was presented to
the community showing the comparison between Australias education
system and its policies compared to those in Sweden, Ireland, Canada,
England and New Zealand. The result of similar policies in these countries
were used to support the need to include religious education in the
national

curriculum (Zwartz

2011).

This

example shows

that the

community is concerned with the status of religious education in public

schools and the standard of Australian education compared to that in
other similar countries. If the communities concerns on these issues are
not addressed appropriately by policy makers, then they will lose the
support of the community and those who they aim to educate.

Research plays an important role in the constantly changing and

improving the practice of education. Educational research reflects on,
critiques, supports and improves the practice of teaching. One way which
education research achieves this is through the use of practitioner
research, research conducted by classroom teachers. This form of
research is a crucial part of a teachers professional development and
provides focused, relevant and practical information regarding the impact
of

educational

practice

within

different

classrooms

and

school

communities. The act of practitioner research is not just limited to the

field of education, other social sciences such as social work, nursing,
psychology and occupational therapy also employ this type of research.
Practitioner research is widely used as a means to extend professional
knowledge, skills and practices because it allows for theory researchpractice integrations through the development of systematic research
procedures and practices that foster critical reflection and action in the
context of professional practice (Ravitch 2014, p.5).
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The Australian government has produced certain standards that teachers

must adhere to ensure that they are providing adequate education to
students, these are called the Australian Professional Standards for
Teachers. The importance for teachers to have the abilities to conduct
research is highly regarded in these standards. Standard 1, Understand
how Students Learn, addresses the need for teacher to be able to
competently use research to improve their teaching practice, stating that
proficient teachers are required to Structure teaching programs using
research and collegial advice about how students learn (Australian
Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) 2011). Other
standards also make mention to specific skills and processes that would
be used by teachers who conduct educational research. Standard 3.6
requires teachers to evaluate their teaching and learning programs, while
standard 6.2 requires teachers to participate in professional learning to
update their knowledge and practice (AITSL 2011). All three of these
standards can be completed successfully by teachers undertaking
research in their classroom or school community.

The ability for teachers to be able to use research skills to improve their
teaching practice is important because the skills processes which teachers
use in completing action research are similar to those skills and processes
that teachers are already using on a daily basis in the classroom. This
includes raising issues that are under constant review, looking for proof,
critically evaluating data, reflecting, adjusting teaching methods and
reflecting on any changes in learning (Moutafidou et. 201). These are skills
that

promote

reflective

pedagogical repertoire,

teaching

and

thinking,

expands

teachers

reinforces the link between practice and student

achievement, and gives teachers ownership of effective practices (Hine

2013, p.152). The role of teacher as action researcher allows teachers to
gain a better understanding about process of how people learn. This is
also empowering for the profession of teaching as it can lead to higher
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quality teaching practice and enduring learning (Kervin, Vialle, Herrington

& Okley 2006, p.10).

A teacher who also identifies as a practitioner

researcher will be a teacher who is able to bridge the gap between

research and practice. They will be practiced observers who are able to
find the theory that underpins their educational practice.

Moutafidou, Melliou and Georgopoulou (2011) conducted a research

project to determine what the beliefs of primary and pre-school teachers
were towards research on daily classroom practices as a tool for their
professional development. For this research project teachers answered a
questionnaire which focused on three distinct areas, defining professional
development, the importance of professional development and the best
way for teachers to undertake professional development. Their results
showed that the majority of teachers involved in the study reported that
research as a means of obtaining a more active role, since through
research they participate in curriculum redefinition, evaluate their
practices and disseminate their knowledge. Marion Dadds (1995)
provides an in-depth look at how practitioner research in education can
lead to higher standards of teaching and learning. Marion Dadds case
story depicts a teacher constructing her own practical theories of the
situations she confronts in her classrooms and schools and testing them in
action and establishing an interactive relationship between her search for
understanding and her practice (Dadds 1995). This example shows how
powerful engaging in research can be as a motivator of intellectual
enquiry, to refresh professional skills, to regaining professional pride and
to reducing a sense of isolation (Fouche & Lunt 2011).

Educational research is supported and funded on an international and

national scale to grow the field of education. Research allows us to
understand how and why students learn and how we can best teach and
assess students learning. It provides educational professionals with the
tools to be reflective practitioners who strive to improve their practice and
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further develop their knowledge of educational theory and practice. There

is so much that we dont know and that we need to know. And as we
continue to do good evaluation research, we will validate more of our
practice, and we also will be able to justify continued funding.help us to
improve, not simply to justify ourselves and to invite stagnation (Pinch
2009, p.394). Research can support or criticise the techniques and
measures that are used in the classroom and provides teachers and
administrators
accountable.

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with

the

support

they

need

when

they

are

held

REFERENCE LIST
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) 2013,
Monitoring and Evaluation of the Australian Curriculum, SCSEEC,
November.
Australian Council for Educational Research (website) 2015,
http://www.acer.edu.au/aer
Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) 2011,
Australian Professional Standards for Teaching, Ministerial Council for
Education, Early Childhood
Development and Youth Affairs, Victoria
Dadds, M., 1995, Passionate Enquiry and School Development: A Story
about Teacher Action Research, Falmer Press, London, GBR.
Fouche, C & Lunt, N 2011, 'A 'framework of opportunity' for practitioner
research'. in IM Saleh & MS Khine (eds), Practitioner Research in Teacher
Education: Theory and Best Practices, Peter Lang, Germany.
Freebody, P 2006, Qualitative Research in Education, Sage Publications,
London
Hine, G. S. C. 2013, The importance of action research in teacher
education programs. Issues in Educational Research, Vol. 23, Iss. 2, 151163.
Johnson, L., Adams, S., & Cummins, M 2012, NMC Horizon Report: 2012 K12 Edition, the New Media Consortium, Austin, Texas.
Kervin, L., Vialle, W., Herrington, J & Okley, T 2006, Research for
Educators, Cengage Learning Australia, Victoria
Lingard, B 2013, The impact of research on education policy in an era of
evidence-based policy, Critical Studies in Education, Vol. 54, No.2, pp113131
Moutafidou, A., Melliou, K. & Georgopoulou 2012, Educational research
and teacher development, Procedia Social and Behavioural Sciences,
Vol.31, pp159-161.
Pinch, K., 2009, The importance of evaluation research, Journal of
Experiential Education, Vol. 31, No.3, pp.390-394
Ravitch, S 2014, The Transformative Power of Taking an Inquiry Stance on
Practice:
Practitioner Research as Narrative and Counter-Narrative
Perspectives on Urban Education, Vol.11, Iss.1, pp5-10.

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Zwartz, B 2011, Australian religious education 19th century: Religion in

schools, The Age, Melbourne, 21 Nov, p.5

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