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How Inquiry Programmes Improve Student Engagement

Research Question: What components of Inquiry programmes improve student engagement in the primary school and why? ** Methods to gather data: ** I intend to survey teachers from three different primary school settings (from different Deciles), on the components of the Inquiry programme that improve their student’s engagement and why they think each of these things ‘work’ for them. These surveys will be completed within their schools as part of their professional development programme and the teachers will have the survey for a week to complete to ensure they have time to consider each of the questions. I intend to use a post modernist perspective with this research and therefore the variables for consideration will be broad and many and hopefully the survey questions will be open ended enough to ensure this. I consider that a survey format will ensure that there is little influence by the researcher (as I am a passionate advocate of Inquiry Programmes) apart from the structuring and vocabulary used in the survey. The survey forms will be destroyed when collated and this collated data will be used in an online PowerPoint for presentation purposes. ** Rationale: ** Although I am not asking for identification of teachers and they will not be able to be identified in any way I appreciate that I am surveying teachers and therefore I believe that this will need a category B ethics application and I would like to submit this to you by the start of June.

My expectations: I am hoping with this research to show the variables that teachers have identified that improve student engagement and to increase the awareness of other teachers to the width and importance of these variables. This research will also inform my personal practice as an educational consultant in Inquiry (working mainly in primary schools) to ensure that teachers consider these variables when planning their programmes.