The idea of a teacher-researcher and its relevance to the contemporary political, social, and educational climate.

 

Teacher-researchers are educators who have a deep interest in studying their own practice to learn more about themselves and their students. They are constantly evaluating their methods and looking for ways to improve their teaching. These teachers are encouraged to step back from their classroom responsibilities and take on the role of researcher, developing research questions, collecting data, and analyzing it to better understand their own practice. Teacher-researchers are not only good to improve their practice, but they are also good to help improve the educational context by identifying the issues that are faced by the educational system and learners at large. The three main stages of teacher research, according to a piece by Henderson, et al., (2020), are conceptualization, implementation, and interpretation. Conceptualization involves teachers identifying a significant problem or area of interest and developing pertinent research questions. Implementation involves teachers gathering and analyzing data. Interpretation involves teachers looking for meaning in the findings and taking appropriate action. Teacher research is crucial as it develops teacher agency. The ability of teachers to take deliberate action to guide their professional development, overcome obstacles, and enhance their practice is referred to as teacher agency. As teachers develop this, they consciously give learners direction for future decision-making and skills that they need to acquire for them to survive in the 4IR.