This study of nine Primary School teachers of Religious Education (RE) analyses the benefits of their engagement in practitioner research (PR) and shows how that engagement can be sustained. We demonstrate the importance of enhancing the social dimension of learning through forming a community-of-practice (CoP) that enables participants to gain…

In order to achieve the standard expected in the classroom, teachers benefit from continuing professional development that enables access to resources with which to inform their practice. Smith and Helfenbein's "Translational Research in Education: Collaboration and Commitment in Urban Contexts." "In The Collaborative Turn: Working…

Teacher recruitment and retention is an international challenge. In England the government have reported that more teachers leave before retirement age than five years ago, 30% within five years and schools are finding it difficult to fill posts with quality teachers . This paper evaluates the contribution of the research-informed RETAIN Early…

This article examines the relationship between pre-service teacher education (ITE) for primary schooling and primary teaching in England between 1974 and 2014, and explores the "fitness of purpose" of the current system of preparing teachers for the classrooms of the twenty-first century. Our historical analysis suggests that, despite 40…

Student teachers' research is usually valued more for its contribution to their professional learning than for its contribution to the research topic itself. This paper reports on a research collaboration with eight student primary teachers in England, intended to build on a previously established project investigating young children's…

This paper discusses some of the conditions that have facilitated the use of a customised virtual learning environment as part of a blended learning approach on a part-time postgraduate initial teacher training programme for prospective primary school teachers. It is based on data gathered as part of a study of the impact of e-learning on students…