Students learning as researchers of curriculum in an undergraduate programme

ABSTRACT

This article analyses an approach to student researchers of their curriculum as a module in an undergraduate initial teacher education programme. It shows the rationale for bringing such curriculum research into a taught programme to widen the range of possible participants. Rather than the outcomes of the student researcher project, the article presents the student researchers’ learning from this module to show how it contributes to becoming researchers. It shows how the module was constructed and enacted as an innovation within a taught programme. Data from module learning activities show that students as researchers of curriculum can be successfully included in a taught programme. The open pedagogy encouraged reflective thinking, engagement in learning, and taking ownership. The appreciative approach shows that undergraduates are capable of organising and managing their own learning and so become more engaged in their studies and those of their peers.

KEYWORDS:

• Student researchers of curriculum
• appreciative inquiry
• engagement
• participation
• openness

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Helen Clarke, Penny Lawrence and anonymous referees for their care in reading previous drafts and the helpful, respectful suggestions they gave us.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the University of Winchester [Winchester Research Apprenticeship Partner award].

Notes on contributors

Charly Ryan

Charly Ryan has many years experience in higher education. He researches evaluation and assessment and teaching and learning in teacher education and science education. He has been specialist adviser and rapporteur for UNESCO and the European Commission and has acted as evaluator and developer in universities in Europe and Latin America. All other participants were third year undergraduates on a four your programme of initial teacher education.