黑料不打烊

As a researcher working on an environmental education project in England, I have experienced both rewards and challenges. Coming from a Chilean educational and cultural background, conducting research in English secondary schools has been a rich learning journey that combines intellectual and practical challenges.

One of the most fulfilling aspects of my work has been observing how teachers make sense of environmental issues within everyday practice as they negotiate curriculum demands, emotional responses and opportunities for . Most highlights how and sustainability education is supported by leadership, whole-school cultures and professional learning opportunities.

These observations also underscore that environmental education extends beyond transmitting knowledge. Its importance lies in fostering critical thinking and encouraging people to act responsibly and contribute to society. In this context, teachers who promote environmental values despite time and resource constraints play a key role in supporting a more environmentally responsible society.

Negotiating access in the English education system

Negotiating access to secondary schools in England proved complex and time-consuming. While fieldwork created valuable opportunities to connect with science teachers, it also exposed barriers linked to the organisation of the English education system. Unlike Chile, where governance is more centralised, schools in England operate with considerable autonomy, particularly within academised contexts (Greany & Higham, 2018). Access required repeated negotiations with individual schools and multiple gatekeepers, including headteachers, safeguarding leads, ethics committees, local authorities and academy trusts.

This layered structure extended timelines and sometimes resulted in delayed or unsuccessful access. Although teachers and senior leaders were often supportive, practical constraints frequently limited participation. Pressures related to staffing shortages, accountability demands and inspection regimes, intensified after the Covid-19 pandemic, meant many to engage in external research.

‘Although teachers and senior leaders were often supportive in principle, practical constraints frequently limited participation.’

Rethinking engagement under conditions of constraint

These experiences taught me the importance of patience, flexibility and responsiveness to participants’ circumstances, principles aligned with reflexive research (Finlay, 2002). Rather than viewing limited engagement as a problem, I came to see it as valuable contextual data reflecting the structural pressures and competing priorities shaping educational practice in England.

By recalibrating expectations, adapting research activities and broadening data collection, such challenges can deepen understanding of the contemporary research environment. This approach also highlights the importance of considering participant capacity and context during research design, particularly before ethical approval, when assumptions about engagement and feasibility may remain insufficiently examined (Hammersley, 2020).

Practical reflections for future researchers

For PhD students and early career researchers planning to work in English schools, particularly those coming from international contexts, I would offer some reflections based on my experience:

• Begin relationship-building early: Establishing trust takes time. Early contact, informal conversations and small-scale collaborations can provide new ways for a research network.
• Be straightforward but flexible: Schools appreciate transparency about the time commitment and potential benefits of participating. Offering adaptable formats (such as online interviews or shorter sessions) can increase feasibility.
• Recognise contextual realities: Understanding the institutional pressures that teachers could face helps shape more realistic and ethical research designs to do your research (Fox et al., 2021).
• Value depth over breadth: A smaller sample can still yield rich insights if engagement is meaningful and reflective.
• Acknowledge the emotional dimension: Fieldwork can involve uncertainty, rejection and waiting. Viewing these moments as part of the research process, rather than as failures, fosters resilience.

Despite the challenges, my experience researching environmental education has been profoundly rewarding. It has deepened my appreciation of the complexity of educational systems and the commitment of those working within them. Most importantly, it has reaffirmed my belief that research, even when slow or difficult, remains a powerful tool for understanding and supporting the transformative potential of education in addressing global environmental challenges.

References

Finlay, L. (2002). Negotiating the swamp: The opportunity and challenge of reflexivity in research practice. Qualitative Research, 2(2), 209–230.

Fox, A., Busher, H., & Capewell, C. (Eds.). (2021). Thinking critically and ethically about research for education: Engaging with voice and empowerment in international contexts. Routledge.

Hammersley, M. (2020). Reflections on the Methodological Approach of Systematic Reviews. In: Zawacki-Richter, O., Kerres, M., Bedenlier, S., Bond, M., Buntins, K. (eds) Systematic Reviews in Educational Research. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-27602-7_2

Greany, Toby & Higham, Rob. (2018). Hierarchy, Markets and Networks Analysing the ‘self-improving school-led system’ agenda in England and the implications for schools.