This book offers a research-based insight into a unique - and growing - group of teachers: those who have decided to undertake doctoral studies as a part of their ongoing professional development. Drawing on interviews with 30 Polish teachers with PhDs, this book illustrates how the doctorate is an important vehicle for strengthening teachers' skills and knowledge, leading them to implement research-based teaching and learning pedagogies in their classrooms. Given these promising findings, this text ultimately seeks to identify implications for policy and practice in the process of building a truly research-rich teaching profession. After all, it is time to rethink the current doctoral education landscape, with the goal of enriching the relationship between research and practice.
Kowalczuk-Waledziak's book offers a timely and well-designed research study into the challenges, rewards, doubts, and successes experienced by teachers who continue their professional development through PhD studies. The results, vividly illustrated by quotes directly from interviews, dot every 'i' in the discussion about the value of training teachers in academic research practices. They also provide greatly needed new perspectives on the re-invention of PhD training in order to better address the expectations of professional practice in the twenty-first century.
Zanda Rubene, Professor and Director of PhD Programmes in Educational Studies, University of Latvia
Zanda Rubene, Professor and Director of PhD Programmes in Educational Studies, University of Latvia