Teacher inquiry questions: A trust-wide shift

JO STAWMAN, Head of School, Quest Primary School, UK GEMMA PARKER, Director of School Improvement, The Collegiate Trust, UK Using research evidence is integral to school improvement and good teaching (EEF, 2024). There are multiple sources of research evidence, and in the UK, the 1960s and 1970s saw an emergence of the teacher as researcher, prioritising their professional autonomy and emphasising teaching as a skilled and locally managed activity (Hammersley, 1993). However, since 2010, there has been a significant increase in research evidence being used to inform classroom practice and school change (EEF, 2021), rather than emerging from classrooms. Boyd and Szplit (2017) conceptualise these approaches as an argument between teachers implementing knowledge concerning pedagogical practice versus teachers creating knowledge. At one multi-academy trust (Early Years Foundation Stage to Key Stage 4) in the south of England, research evidence is routinely and confidently used to info