Escaping from the treadmill: practitioner research and professional autonomy

At the launch of the DfES CPD Strategy in 2002, I attended a seminar on practitioner research. At the time, Michael Simpson was working as a head of languages in Bedfordshire. He spoke enthusiastically about the way in which his own small-scale inquiry into a specific model of teaching and learning had re-invigorated him as a teacher. His subsequent rediscovery of the learning process through a part-time postgraduate MA course resonated with Lamb's own work on professional autonomy and school improvement. This article is the result of their reflections and discussions, and it attempts to explore the extent to which teachers' involvement in research can provide them with a much-needed opportunity for creativity and growth.