Methodological challenges for collaborative research in senior science classrooms

Research exploring literacy challenges in science education and inquiry approaches to teaching is mainly based in collaborative work with teachers in primary or lower secondary schools. As a result, there is limited insight into the particular pedagogical approaches that might be appropriate for the content-crowded, high stakes, complex literacy environment of the senior secondary years. This dearth of research is largely due to the systemic pressures on teachers working in these senior years. We draw on the experience of working with senior school science teachers to outline the methodological challenges involved in collaborative research in this space. These include restricted possibilities for innovation, data generation challenges, contextually shaped epistemological and pedagogical commitments, and complex literacy demands that imply a refined approach to inquiry. These factors inevitably impact on researcher-teacher-school collaborations. We will describe ways we have worked with teachers, and approaches to analysis and theory generation, that respond to this different environment.