Utopia, dystopia or reality: Secondary school teachers’ perceptions of the role of research in their professional development

The objective of this research project is to provide deeper understanding of how secondary school teachers comprehend the role of research in their professional development. This study offers theoretical and conceptual insights into novice teachers’ - up to five years of experience – perceptions of research; their viewpoints of their professional development and the links they made between the two. This inquiry used qualitative paradigm, approaching ontological and epistemological questions through the prism of interpretivism. It further employed social constructivism as the philosophical standpoint and adopted methodology of thematic analysis. Eighteen semi-structured in-depth interviews were undertaken with teachers, which came from the seven comprehensive secondary schools in Lincolnshire. The study gave a voice to the secondary teachers whose careers span from one to five years, which resulted in their powerful responses, providing novel insights into participants understanding of the explored subjects, offering its share in addressing a current gap within the literature. Teachers confirmed their agreement with the ‘common accord’ that any engagement with evidence-based practice on their behalf – either as consumers or as producers of research - has the potential to result in enhancing their professional development. However, the original contribution of this inquiry to the body of knowledge - within the scope of its focus - is its uniqueness and originality in the specific context of the schools in rural Lincolnshire. This research project introduces participants’ perceptions towards the significance of the social media platform Twitter, within their professional development, as a free source of timely pedagogy and disciplines related information, as well as contemporary educational research.