Engages with the complexity of practice in order to understand practitioner learning, introducing a framework for understanding practice and for designing research and developing research methods to investigate practice.

Practitioners are experts in their field and this book introduces research methods that help to make that expertise explicit. There is worldwide recognition of the importance of high quality, reflective practice that both engages with existing research evidence and engages in the production of new evidence. Research Methods for Understanding Professional Learning demonstrates how the knowledge about what happens in a practice context and the skills used to succeed there can be used as the building blocks for developing research methods and tools to best investigate practice. The experienced author team introduce a framework for understanding practice and for designing research about practice using a wealth of real research examples across all phases of education. This practical guide provides suggestions of a unique mix of research methods and tools, moving beyond just action research methodology, allowing the reader to engage with research design and assess how well the data gathered will answer their research question.

"Research Methods for Understanding Professional Learning is far more than a compendium of research tools; it is a thoroughgoing exploration of the ways in which systematic teacher inquiry can and should contribute to the enhanced professional growth of teachers. As well as providing excellent worked examples the book draws readers’ attention to a range of theoretical stances that support the arguments for professional learning as they emerge." - SUSAN GROUNDWATER-SMITH, HONORARY PROFESSOR AT THE SYDNEY SCHOOL OF EDUCATION AND SOCIAL WORK, UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA