Page 15 - Empowering pre-service teachers through inquiry - Lidewij van Katwijk

General introduction
teacher education. International literature about this topic though, often uses the 1 term ‘research’ without giving a precise definition. Therefore, in this thesis the term
‘pre-service teacher inquiry’ is used for the studied Dutch context, but referring to international literature the term ‘pre-service teacher research’ is adopted. ‘Practitioner
research and inquiry’ is conducted by teachers and other post-graduates, whereas ‘pre-service teacher research and inquiry’ is conducted by student teachers.
2.1 Purpose and value of pre-service teacher research and inquiry
The main aim of teacher education is to educate future-proof teachers who can manage groups of pupils and know what and how to teach. Ideally, these newly qualified teachers also know about learning and make decisions informed by own classroom and school evidence as well as by theory and research (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 2009; Dana & Yendol-Hoppey, 2019). They have an inquiry stance, applying inquiry as a way of knowing about teaching, learning and schooling over the course of their professional life span (Cochran-Smith et al., 2009). An inquiry stance also entails being able to perform inquiry-based work; these teachers use literature or conduct practitioner research or inquiry to reflect on their own practices or those of their school organisation (Baan, Gaikhorst & Volman, 2018). Practitioner research and inquiry are forms of professional development that aims to understand and improve practices within the teacher’s own local context, from an insider perspective (Borko, Liston & Whitcomb, 2007; Cochran-Smith et al., 2009). Practitioner research offers a range of potential outcomes, such as improving teaching practise (e.g., Ermeling, 2010; Pareja Roblin et al., 2014), increasing teachers’ knowledge and understanding of students (e.g., Butler & Schnellert, 2012; Elm & Nordqvist, 2019; Jacobs, Yendol-Hoppey, & Dana, 2015) and fostering teacher empowerment and transformation (e.g., Dana & Yendol-Hoppey, 2019; Esposito & Smith, 2006). Learning how to conduct practitioner research or inquiry in teacher education can lead to inquiry-based working teachers who have critical, reflective and innovative attitudes, have a better understanding of scholastic culture, and contribute to a culture of inquiry at the school and classroom levels (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 2009; Dobber, Akkerman, Verloop & Vermunt, 2012; Uiterwijk-Luijk, Krüger, Zijlstra & Volman, 2019). In line with prior literature (e.g., Aspfors & Eklund, 2017; Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 2009; Munthe & Rogne, 2015), we distinguish four inquiry competences:
1. Research knowledge, or a broad understanding of a body of knowledge about education and research, as well as underlying theoretical concepts (e.g.,
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