Adopting an ‘enquiry as a way of being’ approach to embed a culture of research and evidence-informed professional learning and practice in schools

Original Research

Written by: Alex Morgan, Emmajane Milton, Lisa Mullane, Mark Walker and Wil Howlett

Published on: September 24, 2024

Professional development

8 min read

ALEX MORGAN AND EMMAJANE MILTON, CARDIFF UNIVERSITY, SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES, UK LISA MULLANE, MARK WALKER AND WIL HOWLETT, ALBANY ROAD PRIMARY SCHOOL, UK Introduction This article aims to communicate experiences of using enquiry to support meaningful professional learning in a primary school in Wales, the culture that this supported and perceptions of its ongoing legacy. Three authors are teachers and leaders who experienced this approach in their school; therefore, this article reflects their views and experiences. They worked in partnership over one year with the other two authors (teacher educators), whose understandings of enquiry for professional learning had been developed through working in many settings over the last decade. What this article does not do is outline and unpack the bespoke and tailored programme undertaken in this school, which aligned with an educative case-making approach (see Morgan and Milton, 2022). The programme designed for this school was under

Join us or sign in now to view the rest of this page

You're viewing this site as a guest, which only allows you to view a limited amount of content.

To view this page and get access to all our resources, join the Chartered College of Teaching (it's free for trainee teachers and half price for ECTs) or log in if you're already a member.

Biesta G (2007) Why ‘what works’ won’t work: Evidence-based practice and the democratic deficit in educational research. Educational Theory 57(1): 1–22.
Black PJ and Wiliam D (1998) Inside the Black Box: Raising Standards Through Classroom Assessment. London: King’s College London School of Education.
Cochran‐Smith M (2002) Learning and unlearning: The education of teacher educators. Teachers and Teacher Education 19(1): 5–28.
Coe R, Aloisi C, Higgins S et al. (2014) What makes great teaching? Review of the underpinning research. The Sutton Trust. Available at: www.suttontrust.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/What-Makes-Great-Teaching-REPORT.pdf (accessed 27 June 2024).
Dall’Occo P, Morgan A and Milton E (2024) English and mathematics teachers’ perceptions of how high-stakes GCSE examinations are shaping relationships with their learners in one secondary school in England. Impact 21: 33–36.
Daly C, Davidge-Smith L, Williams C et al. (2020) Is there hope for action research in a ‘directed profession’? London Review of Education 18(3): 339–355.
Langdon F and Ward L (2015) Educative mentoring: A way forward. International Journal of Mentoring & Coaching in Education 4(4): 240–254.
Milton E and Morgan A (2023) Enquiry as a way of being: A practical framework to support leaders in both embracing the complexity of and creating the conditions for meaningful professional learning. Professional Development in Education 49(6): 1072–1086.
Morgan A and Milton E (2022) Educative case-making: A learner centred approach to supporting the development of pedagogical expertise in HE. In: King H (ed) Developing Expertise in Teaching in Higher Education: Practical Ideas for Supporting Educational Development. London: Routledge, pp. 175–187.
Morgan A, Milton E and Hutt M (forthcoming) Educative leadership: prioritising learning, getting comfortable with uncertainty and privileging relationships – reflections for leaders in education. In: Conn C, Mitchell B and Hutt M (eds) Working with Uncertainty for Educational Change: Orientations for Professional Practice. London: Routledge.
O’Neill O (2013) Intelligent accountability in education. Oxford Review of Education 39(1): 4–16.
Santoro DA (2018) Demoralized: Why Teachers Leave the Profession they Love and How they Can Stay. Cambridge: Harvard Education Press.
Welsh Government (2017) Education in Wales: Action plan 2017 to 2021. Available at: www.gov.wales/education-our-national-mission#EducationinWales:actionplan2017to2021 (accessed 27 June 2024).