My past and current research focus has been in the field of teaching and teacher education and is tied together by qualitative research methodologies. Within the teacher education area I have focused on two main fields of research; (1) professional development for teachers and teacher educators and (2) teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL).
Two examples of previous research projects are one in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and one in New Zealand. The UAE research was a two year nationwide project funded by the UAE Ministry of Education for inservice teacher educators of English to speakers of other languages. This research project investigated the use of action research approaches for professional development for these educators. The New Zealand research was also part of a Ministry of Education funded project for inservice teacher educator, which explored inquiry approaches for professional learning.
My present and future research will continue to build on my previous research fields but will also add a focus on the newly emergent area of TESOL leadership. It will also involve teachers in schools in New Zealand and internationally. My current research project uses a case study approach to explore the leadership of TESOL within schools and investigate how TESOL knowledge is dispersed and professional developed in schools.
