Exploring variations in teachers' work, lives and their effects on pupils: key findings and implications from a longitudinal mixed‐method study

TLDR

The study is part of a large‐scale, longitudinal investigation in England on teachers’ work and lives and their impact on pupils’ educational outcomes. It aims to describe and explore variations in teachers’ work, lives and their effects on pupils’ educational outcomes. The research, funded by the Department for Education and Skills and incorporated into the Teaching and Learning Research Programme, used an innovative mixed‑methods design to create case studies of 300 teachers in Years 2, 6 and 9 over three consecutive academic years, collecting interviews, questionnaire surveys of teachers and pupils, and assessment data on pupils’ attainments in English and mathematics. The main findings are presented across four interconnected themes—Professional Life Phases, Professional Identity, Relative Effectiveness, and Resilience and Commitment—and highlight key implications for policy and practice, including the influence of school context in terms of pupil intake disadvantage.

Abstract

This article outlines the research design of a large‐scale, longitudinal research study in England intended to describe and explore variations in teachers' work, lives and their effects on pupils' educational outcomes. The study, funded by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and incorporated into the Teaching and Learning Research Programme (TLRP) as an ‘Associate Project’, used an innovative mixed‐methods research design to create case studies of 300 teachers in Years 2, 6 and 9. The research was conducted over three consecutive academic years and collected a wide range of data through interviews, questionnaire surveys of teachers' and pupils' views and assessment data on pupils' attainments in English and mathematics. The text summarises the main findings from the research in relation to four interconnected themes of the study: Professional Life Phases; Professional Identity; Relative Effectiveness; and Resilience and Commitment. The influence of school context, in terms of level of social disadvantage of pupil intake, is also investigated. Key findings and their implications for policy and practice are highlighted.