NB This page describes the 2008-2009 ESRC-funded project* that piloted and established a successful research capacity building network in teacher education that the North West Universities’ Education Federation (NWUEF), of which our participating universities are members, is now supporting and funding.
What is the TERN project about?
The TERN project is piloting a strong and sustainable model for research capacity building in Teacher Education across a collaborative network of seven regional universities in the North West of England. The model is being developed through a blended learning approach consisting of face-to-face workshops and a Virtual Research Environment (VRE) platform.
The project is testing the potential of this model for developing regional, institutional and individual research capacity and for building a coherent research infrastructure on a larger scale.
Why are we doing this project?
The current context of teacher education research in England raises a number of issues for research capacity building:
- There is a growing differentiation between the small number of universities rated 4 or 5 in the Research Assessment Exercise of 2001 and universities with no QR funding;
- In this latter group, there are high numbers of teacher education students on pre- or in-service courses;
- In some teaching-intensive universities institutional factors restrict the time and opportunities available for academics to participate in research, resulting in decreasing levels of research expertise is some settings;
- Within some Schools of Education, there is an increasing division of research and teaching roles;
- Many new teacher educators come into the university from practitioner backgrounds, without sustained experience of research in the social sciences;
- The quality of induction provision for supporting research development for new staff is uneven.
The TERN project has relevance to these issues in teacher education, as it will contribute to critical understanding of the conditions and processes impacting on the development of researchers. It also aims to contribute to research capacity-building in the field by developing a sustainable model for supporting high quality research in teacher education.
Who will benefit?
- Developing researchers who will acquire new knowledge and skills;
- Senior managers and staff in the participating institutions who will benefit from stronger institutional and regional infrastructures for research;
- Academic organisations (BERA, ESCalate, UCET), who have made research capacity building in education one of their key concerns.
The Project overview can be downloaded here
- The Welsh Education Research Network (WERN). This network is co-funded with the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW).
- A Social and Professional Network for Early Career Researchers in Education led by the University of Cambridge.
- The Teacher Education Research Network (TERN): Building Research Capacity in the North West of England . . . . [Endnote material accessed at http://www.esrc.ac.uk/ESRCInfoCentre/opportunities/postgraduate/training/strategy/index.aspx on 15/12/09.].
The Project overview can be downloaded here
|
|
|
|
|
|