Past event Part of series: TEAN Webinar Series
There is a substantial body of literature related to teachers’ action research in all its various forms. This session explores the challenges and opportunities arising from a major state-led initiative designed to develop teachers in Wales as professional enquirers. The National Professional Enquiry Project (NPEP) launched in 2018 and was a genuinely collaborative effort involving schools, universities and regional education consortia as key delivery partners. Compared to previous attempts to build research capacity within the nation’s teaching workforce this project was unique as it required different parts of the education system to coalesce around the same vision; namely, a political aspiration to develop teachers in Wales as research-engaged, reflective practitioners. The session evaluates NPEP’s contribution to this endeavour, and considers whether supporting teachers in this way was an effective mechanism for school improvement and teacher professional development. It provides unique insight into the ‘lived experience’ through the lens of those involved, and draws on new data collected as part of ongoing research into how teachers’ involvement in professional enquiry impacts their perception of who they are and what they do. Inspired by Stenhouse’s seminal work on ‘teachers as researchers’, and sympathetic to Kincheloe’s promotion of research as a vehicle for empowerment, the session positions enquiry as a form of professional nourishment that encourages practising teachers to try new things and make better, evidence-informed decisions. It argues that enquiry should be looked upon more favourably and given greater prominence by policymakers, as both a vehicle for recruitment and a mechanism through which teachers can be retained and enriched.
Draft Programme:
16:00pm Introduction; Pete Boyd, University of Cumbria
16:05pm Feeding teachers’ curiosity: developing a culture of enquiry across schools in
Wales; Gareth Evans, University of Wales Trinity Saint David
16:45pm Q&A
17:00pm Close of Event
Professor Emeritus at University of Cumbria
Pete Boyd taught for twelve years in high schools in Birkenhead and Bradford and three years in a field study and outdoor education centre in South Wales. He moved into higher education as a teacher educator, completed a part-time doctorate, and...
Director Education Policy at University of Wales Trinity St. David
Dr Gareth Evans is director of education policy at Yr Athrofa: Centre for Education, University of Wales Trinity Saint David. He specialises in the design, development and implementation of education policy, particularly in the Welsh context, and...
The Â鶹ÒùÔº Teacher Education Advancement Network (TEAN) is an inclusive community within Â鶹ÒùÔº that supports and champions teacher educators across the UK. TEAN brings together teachers, teacher...
The 2026 Â鶹ÒùÔº Conference was held 8th-10th September 2026 at the University of Manchester. The conference included the Presidential Address for Professor Mhairi C Beaton.
Every year Â鶹ÒùÔº recognises academic excellence and rigour in research by a Master of Education student. This underscores Â鶹ÒùÔº’s commitment to championing educational research, and celebrating...
The Â鶹ÒùÔº TEAN webinars are relevant to all those involved in teacher education. They are one hour online events that use concise presentations to provoke discussion between teacher educators. Some...
The Â鶹ÒùÔº TEAN webinars are relevant to all those involved in teacher education. They are one hour online events that use concise presentations to provoke discussion between teacher educators. Some...
