Reinventing expertise in education
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Research Invested Schools embrace research and innovation as key to their identity and enterprise. They have clear research and innovation priorities, engage staff in inquiry programs from practitioner research through to PhDs, and are creating new knowledge through original and collaborative research. They are challenging the common notion that teachers merely 'deliver the curriculum' developed by experts elsewhere, and charting a new course for the future of innovation and leadership in education.
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Research-Invested Schools National Conference 2024
Calling all research leaders from schools across Australia!
Join us in Sydney for the third annual Research-Invested Schools National Conference, Thursday 1 and Friday 2 August 2024.
This gathering is hosted by Pymble Ladies' College, Barker College, and The Scots College, Sydney.
Join us in Sydney for the third annual Research-Invested Schools National Conference, Thursday 1 and Friday 2 August 2024.
This gathering is hosted by Pymble Ladies' College, Barker College, and The Scots College, Sydney.
What are research-invested schools?
Research-Invested Schools strongly value research on multiple levels and actively support the development of expertise through generating research opportunities, and supporting research learning and scholarship. This is expressed in some or all of the following:
While research has long been happening in schools, this has often occurred on the periphery, as something done to schools rather than by schools. The rise of Research-Invested Schools signals a much more grassroots, contextualised approach to encouraging research activity and use in schools. They are raising the expectation for schools as not just passive consumers of expert knowledge produced elsewhere, but genuine contributors to the knowledge economy.
- People - Appointing explicit research leader, often to a senior role (e.g. Director of Research and Innovation)
- Place - Establishing a research centre, institute or office to concentrate energy
- Program - Conducting a defined program of research and research-engaged staff training
- Product - Sharing research within and beyond the school
While research has long been happening in schools, this has often occurred on the periphery, as something done to schools rather than by schools. The rise of Research-Invested Schools signals a much more grassroots, contextualised approach to encouraging research activity and use in schools. They are raising the expectation for schools as not just passive consumers of expert knowledge produced elsewhere, but genuine contributors to the knowledge economy.
“...teachers and principals are cast as technicians who have the technical skills to implement the ideas of others but not the professional expertise to engage in the exciting task of theorising and designing curriculum”
Reid, A. (2019) Changing Australian Education: How policy is taking us backwards and what can be done about it. Abingdon, Routledge.
How many Australian schools are 'research-invested'?
In the last 7 years, more than 60 Australian schools have either established a research centre or institute, and/or appointed a ‘research lead’ to explicitly focus on building research literacy and capacity within the school.
A broader movement is occurring globally, with individual schools and groups of schools investing in research activity. See some of the video interviews in the 'Resources' section below for more information.
At present, the vast majority of Research-Invested Schools in Australia are independent schools. With greater flexibility and in many cases more resources, such schools are taking a leading role in investing in this phenomenon and providing models for a 'proof-of-concept' that may be transferrable and scalable across sectors.
The experience in the UK suggests that through strong partnerships between schools and supportive networks, this need not be a movement only for the affluent. A 2016 study by the Education Development Trust identified 55 ‘research leads’ operating in the UK, many of whom were in comprehensive or academy schools. Supportive associations have arisen, such as the Research Schools Network, a group of 37 (mostly state) schools with a mailing list of over 2,000 schools, and the researchED movement, which since its founding in 2013 has spread to host research gatherings around the world.
At present, the vast majority of Research-Invested Schools in Australia are independent schools. With greater flexibility and in many cases more resources, such schools are taking a leading role in investing in this phenomenon and providing models for a 'proof-of-concept' that may be transferrable and scalable across sectors.
The experience in the UK suggests that through strong partnerships between schools and supportive networks, this need not be a movement only for the affluent. A 2016 study by the Education Development Trust identified 55 ‘research leads’ operating in the UK, many of whom were in comprehensive or academy schools. Supportive associations have arisen, such as the Research Schools Network, a group of 37 (mostly state) schools with a mailing list of over 2,000 schools, and the researchED movement, which since its founding in 2013 has spread to host research gatherings around the world.
What is the Research-Invested Schools Network (RISn)?
The Research-Invested Schools network (RISn) brings together research leads in schools around Australia to encourage the sharing of practice and collaborative projects.
RISn is a participatory venture - note the lower-case 'n' - that seeks to meet the needs of leaders in Research-Invested Schools. It is convened by Dr Hugh Chilton and Dr Caitlin Munday (The Scots College, Sydney), with the support of critical friends Professor Peter Twining, Dr Carl Leonard and Professor Allyson Holbrook (The University of Newcastle, Australia). This builds on a long-standing collaboration in research training between these two institutions.
Our first RISn gathering, in November 2021, brought together research leads from more than 20 schools for an in-depth conversation about the phenomenon of research-invested schools. It included a panel discussion about the research landscape, featuring Professor Jenny Donovan (CEO, Australian Education Research Organisation), Professor Allyson Holbrook (President, Australian Association for Research in Education), and Dr Kate Hadwen (Principal, Pymble Ladies' College). It also included snapshots of work in various research-invested schools, including Greg Ashman (Ballarat Clarendon College), Dr Sarah Loch (The Pymble Institute) and Tim Barrett (St Andrew's Institute for Learning).
Asynchronous online network
Throughout the year we connect asynchronously through Slack and LinkedIn groups to ask questions, share ideas and cross-promote things we are working on in our schools.
Virtual gatherings
We are also holding termly online gatherings based around issues that are common to our schools (e.g. engaging with research ethics, professional learning programs), and providing an opportunity to share practice.
2022
Our Term 1 2022 conversation featured snapshots of research investment at Trinity College (SA), Churchie (QLD), and Melbourne Girls' Grammar (VIC).
Our Term 2 2022 conversation featured snapshots of research investment at Parramatta Marist High (NSW) and Genazzano FCJ College (VIC), as well as a presentation by Prof Peter Twining (University of Newcastle) about 'the problem of research in schools'.
Our Term 4 2022 conversation featured snapshots of research investment at St Andrew's Cathedral School (NSW), Hale School (WA) and Townsville Grammar School (QLD).
2023
Our Term 1 2023 conversation featured a presentation by Michael Horne (Principal, The Hamilton and Alexander College), on his PhD research on the experience of teachers engaged in action research, and snapshots of research investment at Queenwood School (NSW) and St Michael's Grammar School (VIC).
Our Term 2 2023 conversation featured a discussion of research training and networks, featuring Trinity College (SA), Barker College (NSW) and the Leysin American School (Switzerland).
Our Term 3 2023 conversation featured...
Our Term 4 2023 conversation featured...
2024
Research-Invested Schools National Forum
Each year we gather for an in-person conference, providing an opportunity to build connections, share practice, and deepen our collective agency as school-based research leaders.
2024: Sydney
Our third conference is being held in Sydney at Pymble Ladies' College, Barker College and The Scots College, on 1st and 2nd August 2024. See here for more details.
2023: Sunshine Coast
Our second conference was held on the beautiful Sunshine Coast at Matthew Flinders Anglican College and St Andrew's Anglican College. With over 50 research leaders from around Australia, it was a great opportunity to connect, share best practice, and build for the future.
Keynote speakers included Mr Stuart Meade, Professor David Livermore, and Professor Doune Macdonald
Schools presenting included:
2022: Melbourne
Our first in-person gathering took place on Friday 14 October at Melbourne Grammar and Melbourne Girls Grammar Schools. It drew together almost 40 research leaders from around the country to meet, share practice and focus on the common challenges and opportunities of research investment.
School presentations included:
Parade College (VIC)
The King’s School (NSW)
St Andrew’s Anglican College (QLD)
Penola Catholic College (VIC)
Scotch College (VIC)
Matthew Flinders Anglican College (QLD)
Pymble Ladies’ College (NSW)
The Scots College (NSW)
RISn is a participatory venture - note the lower-case 'n' - that seeks to meet the needs of leaders in Research-Invested Schools. It is convened by Dr Hugh Chilton and Dr Caitlin Munday (The Scots College, Sydney), with the support of critical friends Professor Peter Twining, Dr Carl Leonard and Professor Allyson Holbrook (The University of Newcastle, Australia). This builds on a long-standing collaboration in research training between these two institutions.
Our first RISn gathering, in November 2021, brought together research leads from more than 20 schools for an in-depth conversation about the phenomenon of research-invested schools. It included a panel discussion about the research landscape, featuring Professor Jenny Donovan (CEO, Australian Education Research Organisation), Professor Allyson Holbrook (President, Australian Association for Research in Education), and Dr Kate Hadwen (Principal, Pymble Ladies' College). It also included snapshots of work in various research-invested schools, including Greg Ashman (Ballarat Clarendon College), Dr Sarah Loch (The Pymble Institute) and Tim Barrett (St Andrew's Institute for Learning).
Asynchronous online network
Throughout the year we connect asynchronously through Slack and LinkedIn groups to ask questions, share ideas and cross-promote things we are working on in our schools.
Virtual gatherings
We are also holding termly online gatherings based around issues that are common to our schools (e.g. engaging with research ethics, professional learning programs), and providing an opportunity to share practice.
2022
Our Term 1 2022 conversation featured snapshots of research investment at Trinity College (SA), Churchie (QLD), and Melbourne Girls' Grammar (VIC).
Our Term 2 2022 conversation featured snapshots of research investment at Parramatta Marist High (NSW) and Genazzano FCJ College (VIC), as well as a presentation by Prof Peter Twining (University of Newcastle) about 'the problem of research in schools'.
Our Term 4 2022 conversation featured snapshots of research investment at St Andrew's Cathedral School (NSW), Hale School (WA) and Townsville Grammar School (QLD).
2023
Our Term 1 2023 conversation featured a presentation by Michael Horne (Principal, The Hamilton and Alexander College), on his PhD research on the experience of teachers engaged in action research, and snapshots of research investment at Queenwood School (NSW) and St Michael's Grammar School (VIC).
Our Term 2 2023 conversation featured a discussion of research training and networks, featuring Trinity College (SA), Barker College (NSW) and the Leysin American School (Switzerland).
Our Term 3 2023 conversation featured...
Our Term 4 2023 conversation featured...
2024
Research-Invested Schools National Forum
Each year we gather for an in-person conference, providing an opportunity to build connections, share practice, and deepen our collective agency as school-based research leaders.
2024: Sydney
Our third conference is being held in Sydney at Pymble Ladies' College, Barker College and The Scots College, on 1st and 2nd August 2024. See here for more details.
2023: Sunshine Coast
Our second conference was held on the beautiful Sunshine Coast at Matthew Flinders Anglican College and St Andrew's Anglican College. With over 50 research leaders from around Australia, it was a great opportunity to connect, share best practice, and build for the future.
Keynote speakers included Mr Stuart Meade, Professor David Livermore, and Professor Doune Macdonald
Schools presenting included:
2022: Melbourne
Our first in-person gathering took place on Friday 14 October at Melbourne Grammar and Melbourne Girls Grammar Schools. It drew together almost 40 research leaders from around the country to meet, share practice and focus on the common challenges and opportunities of research investment.
School presentations included:
Parade College (VIC)
The King’s School (NSW)
St Andrew’s Anglican College (QLD)
Penola Catholic College (VIC)
Scotch College (VIC)
Matthew Flinders Anglican College (QLD)
Pymble Ladies’ College (NSW)
The Scots College (NSW)
Publications and resources
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As the world grapples with COVID-19, countless initiatives, ventures and plans will be in abeyance. Yet, it is an opportune time for nations to take stock of education systems, accelerating and confirming organisational directions that will realise the transformative capacity of learning and teachers. There is recognition of the increasing complexity of being an educator in an unremittingly knowledge-driven era. Spurred by the perceived need for evidence-based teaching to improve teaching practice and respond to the challenges of complex problem solving, schools and systems need to be more committed to building environments conducive to enquiry, knowledge sharing, and new ideas (Teo et al., 2021).
Read on here. |
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20 years into a new century how do we understand educational expertise? In Finland teachers are trusted professionals, who have a large degree of autonomy over pedagogy and assessment, are able to carry out research, and play a critical role in the design of curricula (Pollari, Salo & Koski, 2018). This does not appear to be the case in many other jurisdictions, including Australia. Indeed, increasingly “teachers and principals are cast as technicians who have the technical skills to implement the ideas of others but not the professional expertise to engage in the exciting task of theorizing and designing curriculum” (Reid, 2019, p. 44-45).
Read on here. |
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Research-Invested Schools: A Conversation with Dame Alison Peacock (CEO, Chartered College of Teaching) and Jonnie Noakes (Director, Tony Little Centre for Innovation and Research in Learning, Eton College)
Dame Alison Peacock, CEO, Chartered College of Teaching and Mr Jonnie Noakes, Director of the Tony Little Centre for Innovation and Research in Learning, Eton College, share their thoughts on the research-invested schools phenomenon in the United Kingdom with Dr Hugh Chilton, Director of Research and Professional Learning at The Scots College, Sydney.
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Research-Invested Schools: A Conversation with Tom Bennett OBE, founder of researchED
Tom Bennett OBE, Founder of the global teacher research movement researchED, talks with Dr Hugh Chilton, Director of Research and Professional Learning at The Scots College, Sydney, about the why and how of encouraging research investment in schools in the UK and worldwide.
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Accelerating evolution? The phenomenon of 'Research-Invested Schools', paper presented at the Australian Association for Research in Education 2021 Conference, 'Reimagining Education Research', 2 December 2021, online
Presenters: Hugh Chilton and Caitlin Munday (The Scots College), Peter Twining and Allyson Holbrook (The University of Newcastle, Australia)
Abstract: It is no longer especially novel to think of schools as sites of research, or to hear calls for teachers to be ‘research-engaged’ or ‘research-informed’ professionals. The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers require all teachers to ‘structure teaching programs using research and collegial advice about how students learn’, and ‘engage with professional teaching networks and broader communities’. It is well recognised that practitioner research is an effective way to enhance professional learning and cultivate a climate of experimentation and review. In addition, Government-backed education research institutes devoted to influencing policy and practice have proliferated in recent years, among them the Education Endowment Foundation in the UK, the What Works Clearinghouse in the US, and the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. The Gonski 2.0 Report recommended creating a national evidence and research institute, and with $50 million of federal seed funding, the Australian research education Organisation launched early in 2021, while the Q Project located at Monash University seeks to understand the use of evidence in Australian schools. Alongside these top-down approaches, a bottom-up movement is also in evidence as schools increasingly strive to embed ‘research-informed practice’ as a key part of their professional learning and improvement agendas. In the last 7 years, more than 30 Australian schools have either established a research centre or institute of some description or appointed a ‘research lead’ to explicitly focus on research. This paper seeks to distinguish the characteristics of this group of what we have termed ‘research-invested’ schools, where research engagement and the professional growth research skills development and knowledge creation affords become embedded in school goals and institutional identity. The paper traces the growth of this phenomenon and how research-invested schools have evolved within the increasingly fluid landscape of research development and training in Australia. |
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Dr Hugh Chilton and Dr Rob Loe, 'Developing a Research Culture in your school', Christian Schools Australia podcast, Season 2, Episode 1.
Listen here CSA Podcast Intro: 'In this interview with the Director of Research and Professional Learning at the Scots College, Sydney, Hugh Chilton unpacks what it means to turn a school outward. Despite deep connections to parent and church communities, schools can often become self-referential in their practice. We can do things because that's the way we've always done them. From international school collaboration to partnerships with universities and industry, Hugh and the team strive to ensure the school remains at the cutting edge, connected to the very best people and practices. Why? Because then you can turn inwards as leaders and explore, very deeply, who you are, where you are and why you’re here. Scots want their approach to be research informed, and that means plenty of piloting, prototyping and evaluation. But, more deeply, this is also a posture; a disposition where staff are relentlessly focussed on improving and evolving their classroom practice and sharing the learning with others. It requires an open-mindedness that we might be doing things wrong and as leaders, we need to model that and encourage staff, as well as students, to try new things.' |