An Integrative Review on the Research on the Impact of Teacher Inquiry on Student Achievement

Hana Turner-Adams; Aaron Wilson; Rebecca Jesson

doi:10.26686/nzaroe.v24i0.6331

Authors

Hana Turner-Adams Auckland University of Technology http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1500-6504
Aaron Wilson University of Auckland http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4593-2288
Rebecca Jesson University of Auckland http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4673-9655

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26686/nzaroe.v24i0.6331

Keywords:

Teacher inquiry, Practitioner research, Action research, Teacher professional development, Student achievement

Abstract

This review investigated the impact of teacher inquiry on student achievement and identified characteristics of effective inquiry. We first explore the theoretical underpinning inquiry research and then discuss studies that demonstrated an association between an inquiry and student achievement shifts. Effective teacher inquiries had a focus on student achievement, sufficient time, teacher engagement and collaboration, external expertise, and leaders’ support. When the aspects above were present, the potential for the intervention to demonstrate positive shifts in student achievement increased. Barriers to effective inquiry are also suggested. The review concludes with implications and recommendations for future research studies.

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Author Biographies

Hana Turner-Adams, Auckland University of Technology

Dr Hana Turner-Adams (Ngāti Ranginui; Ngāi Tamarāwaho) is lecturer in the School of Education at Auckland University of Technology (AUT). Prior to this, she was a research fellow in the Woolf Fisher Research Centre at the University of Auckland and a member of The Manaiakalani Programme research team. Her main research interests are Māori student success, teacher expectations, student-teacher relationships, and how to reduce disparities in educational achievement between Māori and non-Māori students. Her PhD research focused on the schooling experiences of high achieving Māori and non-Māori senior secondary school students, and the factors that contributed to their academic success.

Aaron Wilson, University of Auckland

Dr Aaron Wilson is Associate Dean (Research) for the Faculty of Education and Social Work, a senior literacy lecturer in the School of Curriculum and Pedagogy, and an Associate Director of the Woolf Fisher Research Centre at the University of Auckland. His research interests are in interventions to address disparities in education, disciplinary literacy teaching in secondary schools, subject English, learning in digital learning environments and teacher professional development. With Rebecca Jesson, Aaron is co-principal investigator for The Manaiakalani Programme. Aaron's teaching includes a post-graduate course in teaching as inquiry and inquiry is at the heart of all the research and development work he engages in.

Rebecca Jesson, University of Auckland

Dr Rebecca Jesson is the Associate Head of School (Research) in the School of Curriculum and Pedagogy, and Associate Director of the Woolf Fisher Research Centre in the Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Auckland. With Aaron Wilson, Rebecca is co-principal investigator for The Manaiakalani Programme. Rebecca's research is situated in schools and their communities in New Zealand and the Pacific. Her focus is on designing with teachers’ innovations that will improve the literacy outcomes for students.

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