Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Teachers and Research II


Research

Question: Why don’t English teachers read research in the field of English Education?

Quote: “However, we also worry… that in the turn from the solving of problems to the studying of issues, much of the perceived relevance and much of the functional purpose of literacy research has been lost or obscured. Certainly the problem of widespread impact by research on classroom practice predates the 1990s. For example, although, as Hillocks notes, a long line of research concluded that the teaching of school grammar was of little, no, or even negative value, traditional school grammar continues to be widely taught. It is certainly also true that for readers prepared to familiarize themselves with current social theory and to read interpretively and critically there are many practical insights to be gained from the New Research. Still, the social turn, at least as it currently manifests itself in NCTE’s publications, has not seemed effective in gaining the attention of, and changing the practices of, teachers and policy makers.” P. 140..

Comment: The current emphasis in English education research, NOT on solving teachers’ problems, but on social issues is not doing much to help teachers. So teachers don’t read it. I would add that the emphasis on social problems spills over into practitioner-oriented journals as well, and I rarely read articles dealing with social issues. The focus on social issues has been a trend in the NCTE for a long time. RayS.

Title: “100 Years of Research”:  Editors’ Introduction, M Dressman, J McCarthey, P. Prior. Research in the Teaching of English (November 2011), 133-140.

No comments: