Developing the next generation of education researchers

When it comes to education research within the Crowther Centre, in addition to producing and synthesising quality education research that drives quality learning inside and outside of BGS, we also strive to support individuals and organisations to increase their capacity to do the same.

This is why, over the past months, we’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with Year 12 BGS student, Tim Tso, as he has worked on a number of educational research projects with both local and global impact. 

Tim’s recent work has included producing a summary of the research on parental school-choice factors, which was then presented to the executive team here at BGS, in addition to conducting original research on these factors, and working on the design, implementation, and data analysis for an international collaboration on self-regulated learning. Here are a few comments from Tim on his experiences.

What has been most exciting for you in collaborating with the Crowther team and international researchers on education research?

Working with senior researchers is an inspiring experience since it gives me an insight into my future career, which is educational research. While being in a student’s perspective, learning about how teachers manage professional teaching is also very interesting!

What has been the biggest learning from your experiences so far?

I have learned so much from working with the Crowther team over the last year. The most significant achievement would be learning how to put a scientific paper together and an attempt to submit the report on “Parental School Choice’ to the research journals. Looking back to where I started from scratch, I am extremely glad that I had the opportunity to have these incredible learning experiences.

I also want to thank Mr Lovell, Dr Swann and the BGS Crowther team for the inspiration, guidance and support they provided me over the last months! Without them, I would not make such huge progress in learning about educational research.

What are your aspirations for 2023 in the education research space?

For 2023, I hope to continue contributing to the field of education whether at Cambridge or staying in Melbourne. It would be great if I could work with the Crowther team in the future again as a graduated student! I am sure this journey with the Crowther team will help me in my future career!

It has been a delight for the Crowther team to be able to work with such a passionate, focused, and dedicated student and researcher such as Tim over the last few months, and we wish him all the best in his application to Cambridge University for 2023.

Oliver Lovell
Secondary Teacher | Senior Researcher