Setting an Education Research Agenda

Someone once described trying to organise academics as being like herding cats but the New South Wales Council of Deans of Education (NSWCDE), the peak body representing schools of education across the state, has tried.

Drawing on extensive consultations with 181 education leaders, teachers, academics, parents, children and other stakeholders, NSWCDE has delivered a new agenda for education research with its Grassroots Research Strategy mapping a way forward for education research.

A diverse group of participants comprising regional and metropolitan principals, deputy principals, teachers, academics, curriculum and policy writers, departmental and independent sector representatives, parents/guardians, and children and young people joined forces to shape the project’s trajectory. Through a series of ‘Transdisciplinary World Cafes’ conducted both in person and online, participants responded to thought-provoking questions designed to catalyse discussion and stimulate data collection and analysis.

The process has identified six strategic research drivers which will now form the nucleus of the education research agenda:
• Determining Education for Who and What: Establishing the scope and purpose of education in a rapidly evolving landscape.
• Authentic Explorations on Inclusivity and Accessibility for All Learners: Addressing the imperative of providing equitable educational opportunities for all students.
• Climate, Country, and Education as a Pressing Contemporary Assemblage: Responding to the challenges posed by climate change and the environment.• High-Quality Education in Contemporary Times: pioneering innovative methods and approaches to education in the digital age.
• Attracting and Retaining Successful, Motivated, and Capable Teachers: Cultivating a flourishing teaching workforce.
• Effective, Relevant, and Attuned (Quality) Teacher Education: Elevating the standards of teacher education.

"This ground-breaking collaborative initiative aimed to co-create an education research strategy that resonates with the NSWCDE, the education profession, and its key stakeholders, including students in schools," says Professor Mary Ryan, NSWCDE.

"While various educational bodies, such as the Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE), Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO), and the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL), have been instrumental in advancing research agendas, the Grassroots Research Agenda-Setting project highlights the need for a more comprehensive and inclusive education research approach.

"By building this research agenda with six strategic research drivers for and with education, the NSWCDE seeks to initiate local and national conversations, aiming to shape state and national education research agendas and concomitant policy," Prof Ryan says.

See the full report here.