Straddling the marshy divide: exploring pre-service teachers’ attitudes towards teacher research

Abstract

Pervasive tensions exist between the rhetoric of educational policy and the manner in which such policy is enacted in schools. Subject to the often-conflicting mandates of Initial Teacher Education policy and secondary school practices, pre-service teachers experience challenges in evaluating their role as prospective educators, while also attempting to straddle the epistemological divide which continues to fragment the continuum of teacher education. This paper reports the findings of a study exploring pre-service teachers’ attitudes towards the use and conduct of educational research within a context characterised by intensification, performativity and technicism. The research findings identify a notable level of professional dissonance amongst respondents who acknowledge the value of educational research for their professional development but are simultaneously reluctant to engage with this support. The findings of this study hold significance for those aiming to invigorate meaningful encounters with research amongst prospective teacher researchers.

Keywords:

• Teacher research
• educational research
• teacher identity
• pre-service teachers
• professional dissonance