John K. Gilbert King’s College London The University of Reading

Structure Landmarks in the history of SER in the UK; Achievements to date Current challenges in doing SER Critique of educational research The future: Types of research The future: Themes for research The future: Conditions for success in SER References

Landmarks in the history of SER in UK Nuffield Science Teaching Trust: 1962-mid 1970s SER in Specialist Centres and Education Departments SSRC Studentships and overseas research students ‘Studies in Science Education’ (1974) ‘European Journal of Science Education (1979) Assessment of Performance Unit ( ), Secondary Science Curriculum Review( ) The National Curriculum for England and Wales 1988

Achievements in SER (1) Common commitments: - School system, especially age range - Improvement in teaching, hence in learning - Qualitative enquiry, hence explanation - Constructivism: Piaget, Kelly, Vygotsky

Achievements in SER(2) Alternative conceptions / misconceptions Cognitive Acceleration through Science Education Teacher development Language use in the classroom Attitudes Laboratory work Argumentation Policy document : ‘Beyond 2000: Science Education for the future’

Current challenges in doing SER Staff profile and education Isolation The fate of good researchers Availability of high-quality time Administrative and teaching load Research design possibilities

Factors affecting educational decisions Local political issues Public, especially parental, sentiment Potential legal pitfalls Issues of resource availability Media pressure The welfare of individual pupils and ‘research evidence’ (Nelson et al{2009})

Critique of educational research(1) Funding based on peer review; Low involvement by major stakeholders; Insufficient basis in existing published research; Too small scale to produce ‘valid and reliable’ results; Published in specialist language; Published in inaccessible media; Lack of interpretation for teachers or policy-makers; Lack of recognition of existing norms of practice. (Hillage, Pearson, Anderson, Tamkin {1998})

Critique of educational research (2) Lack of relevance to issues of local importance Lack of timeliness Unstated assumptions Uneven quality Lack of clear implications (Nelson et al {2009})

The future: Types of research Inform new policy or practice in a specific area Evaluation of existing policies or practices Action research in specific context Identification of effective practices ‘Blue skies’ research Enquiry from particular psychology-of-learning perspective ( McIntyre{1998})

The future: Themes for research(1) Relation between aims and content Relation between aims and assessment methods Links with other subjects, especially English, Mathematics, and Technology Increasing students’ engagement with science Use of out-of-school activities Influence of gender and cultural background on learning Linking research, policy formation, classroom practice, teacher education (Gilbert(Ed){2006})

The future: Themes for Research (2) Students - attainment of ‘scientific literacy’ - cross-curricular integration of learning - learning from ‘contexts’ - continuity/differentiation/progression - adult and multi-generational learning Teachers - use of informal resources - subject and pedagogic content knowledge Policy makers - procedures for decision-making - use of research output

The future: conditions for success: resources ESRC - 55 studentships in Education ( ) - TLRP, , £3.6m -epiSTEMe, Charities - Nuffield Foundation - Wellcome - AstraZenaca Science Teaching Trust - Gatsby Foundation European Union Schools

References Gilbert,J.K.(ed.)(2006). Science Education in Schools: Issues, evidence and proposals. London: TLRP Hillage,G.,Pearson,A.,Anderson,A., Tamkin,P.(1998). Excellence in research in schools. London: DES. Jenkins,E.(2000). Research in science education: Time for a health check?. Studies in Science Education, 35,1-26 McIntyre,D.(1998). The usefulness of educational research. In: J.Rudduck, D.McIntyre(eds.), Challenges for Educational Research. London: Paul Chapman Nelson,S.,Leffler,J.,Hanseb,B.(2009). Towards a research agenda for understanding and improving the use of educational research. Portland,Oregon: Northwestern Regional Educational Laboratory. ( Waring,M.(1979). Social Pressures and Curriculum Innovation.London: Methuen