Page 108 - Empowering pre-service teachers through inquiry - Lidewij van Katwijk

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of this pre-service teacher research with the quality of teaching practice. Therefore, the aim of this study is to shed light on the perceived and actual value of pre-service teacher inquiry for becoming a primary school teacher by exploring the relationships among perceptions, teaching quality and quality of pre-service teacher inquiry.
2 Theoretical framework
The purpose of pre-service teacher research and inquiry
Pre-service teacher research in Dutch primary teacher education can be viewed as a form of practitioner inquiry. Extant studies of practitioner research and inquiry and its purpose tend to assume that the continually changing society requires professional teachers who are lifelong learners, who can pose and address emerging challenges and problems that do not have existing answers (Cochran-Smith et al., 2009; Munthe & Rogne, 2015). Ideally, these professional teachers are engaged in practitioner research or inquiry; they know how to integrate and link different kinds of knowledge to the complex problems of schools and classrooms. Practitioner research (or practitioner inquiry) “refers to a variety of educational research modes ..., including action research, teacher research, narrative inquiry, ... and the use of teaching as a context for research” (Cochran-Smith et al., 2009, p.18). It is a form of professional development aimed at understanding and improving practices within the teacher’s 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 practice (e.g., Ermeling, 2010; Pareja Roblin, Ormel, McKenny, Voogt, & Pieters, 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 an increased critical, reflective and innovative attitude and a better understanding of scholastic culture; it can also prompt participation in professional learning communities (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 2009; Dobber, Akkerman, Verloop, & Vermunt, 2012).
In addition to developing pre-service teachers’ research skills, teacher educators can directly influence perceptions of and attitudes toward practitioner research and inquiry (e.g., Aspfors & Eklund, 2017; Baan, Gaikhorst, & Volman, 2019; Maaranen & Krokfors, 2008; Munthe & Rogne, 2015; Van der Linden, Bakx, Ros, Bijaard, & Van den
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