To understand how participating in research creates value for them and their school, we recently spoke to some of the teachers and school leaders from one independent and 3 government schools that participated in AERO professional learning research projects.
Staff at these schools also shared their insights into how participation contributes to research evidence and benefits the broader education community. This research is ongoing, so most staff and schools remain anonymous in this article as they're still actively participating. Staff from John XXIII College in Western Australia are named as this research has now been completed.
Key benefits for schools, teachers and school leaders
At AERO, we’re conscious of the many demands placed on teachers and school leaders. We work hard to minimise any disruption to the everyday responsibilities of school staff ‒ for example, by scheduling research activities such as interviews at a convenient time for participants, reducing the time required for research activities where possible, and reimbursing schools for classroom release time.
While we acknowledge that time constraints can sometimes still be a challenge, participants told us that there were a variety of direct benefits to taking part. They were very clear about the benefits outlined in this article.
Cultivating evidence-based decision-making and accountability
Research participation helps bridge the gap between knowledge and practice by fostering a culture where decisions are guided by evidence:
The focus is building on teacher capacity but also building rigour for [the] evidence base and research. — Teacher/Curriculum Leader
Contributing to research data collection also provides schools with the opportunity to be part of a greater effort:
[W]e’re not just doing things our own way. We’re actually part of a really important movement – we’re accountable and we’re doing this. — Leading Teacher
Accessing valuable resources
Research projects can offer additional support and resources that enable schools to implement approaches they might not otherwise be able to explore:
‘[T]he resources, the books … that was really helpful. Everything you provided for the assessments, the videos, all the PDFs and documents ... the survey links ... even ... your emails ... It’s nice to get a bit of a reminder.’ — Teacher
Fostering professional growth
Participating in research can create self-reflection opportunities. This is particularly true when the research process encourages teachers to experiment with new approaches and reflect critically on their practices. They can take the opportunity to compare their current routines with evidence-based methods:
Taking the survey caused me to reflect on my professional practice, and review and kind of go, ‘Oh, that's right. There's that thing I should be thinking about again or doing more.’ — Catherine Haydon, Teacher, John XXIII College (WA)
I think it's a good chance for me to reflect about things that you may have parked, or you do every day, and you don't really realise why you do it anymore, because it's just become so natural. — Teacher
Benefits beyond the classroom
Teachers and leaders we spoke to also reflected on the broader educational benefits, including improving education for all students and building evidence, directly relevant to Australian educational contexts:
This kind of research is so powerful ...We don't want to operate in silos. — Teacher/Curriculum Leader
We need real teachers doing real teaching jobs to contribute to the research, otherwise it's going to be pretty meaningless for Australian schools.’ — Joel Wynn, Director Teacher Professional Growth, John XXIII College (WA)
It’s about being part of a larger system and contributing to improved outcomes for our students. The challenges and needs of our students are similar to those of other students across Victoria and Australia. So, if we have the opportunity to support not only our own students, but also others, why wouldn't we?’ — Primary Principal
Building school reputation
Being involved in research can help schools position themselves as leaders in evidence-based practice:
As a school, we want to be recognised as a leading independent school ... [so] how can we be recognised as a leader in evidence-informed practice? — Joel Wynn, Director Teacher Professional Growth, John XXIII College (WA)
Making research participation work for schools
As part of their participation in these projects, schools were encouraged to embrace new instructional models and implement new curriculum resources. They also engaged in research activities that included completing surveys, doing interviews and recording their classroom practice.
One of the factors that enabled successful participation in the studies was that AERO’s team ensured participants had access to dedicated time for research activities. This worked best when leaders organised release time for participation so that their teachers and education support staff felt supported and valued:
We were provided relief for our [professional learning] program. That was amazing, in fact. And then also the survey time went towards PL [professional learning] hours. — Mia van Kann, Teacher, John XIII College (WA)
Another important factor was making sure that there was clear communication between AERO’s research team and participating schools to set expectations, time commitments, data usage protocols and understand how the research outcomes would be shared at the end of the study.
We anticipate that findings from these research studies will be released between late 2025 through to 2027.
Snapshot: A research day at a primary school
Research days are one of the ways we built relationships with schools and supported high-quality data collection throughout our professional learning research projects. We gained the following insights from a recently organised research day at a primary school participating in one of the AERO professional learning research projects.
The school coordinated schedules for participating teachers using funding from AERO for classroom release time and made sure that meeting spaces and timetables were in place. The research day provided teachers the opportunity to undertake research activities such as completing a survey or providing their views in an interview and to better connect with the study:
The research day was a great opportunity for our team to stop and reflect on our change in practice and the amount of learning and growth we had experienced during the year. The experience left me feeling very proud – as I was able to celebrate the work our team had done and the efforts that had been put in.
The research day provided a bridge between the work we are doing day-to-day with the bigger picture of advocating and working toward best practice Australia-wide. It showed that the AERO team valued our staff as individual humans with unique experiences and knowledge, and not just numbers on a spreadsheet. — Assistant Principal.
Get involved
By participating in research, Australian teachers, educators and leaders are not only enhancing their own practice, but also contributing to a knowledge base that benefits schools across the country:
I would 100% recommend this to other schools. It is so important to hear from knowledgeable others that we are on the right track and that our efforts are making a difference. — Assistant Principal.
If you’re a school leader or educator interested in engaging with our research and want to stay informed about opportunities, subscribe to AERO's Evidence Matters newsletter or consider joining our Panel of Educators, Teachers and Leaders (PETL).