This goal is realised by the Barker Institute shaping and affecting conditions where independent and collaborative research takes place, and is supported, sustained, and shared.
The Barker Institute is one of the original school-based centres of educational research. Its primary function is to engage in educational research that inspires thought and action, inquires to create new knowledge, informs policy, improves practice, and includes students, educators and academics. Each of these actions involve, but also extend far beyond, the Barker Community. The Barker Institute also provides opportunities for members of the Barker community to contribute to a wider and ongoing dialogue about teaching and learning to drive education forward. It is a learning hub that enables professional learning and support for staff who are seeking to be better teachers, particularly where professional learning involves research-related activities or studies.
One of the important distinctives of the Barker Institute from other educational research centres is that its research takes place in the context of a community whose constituent members are simultaneously experienced educational researchers and experienced educational practitioners. The work of the Barker Institute benefits from a perspective informed by the interplay between understanding of educational research discourse and being in the classroom as a teacher.
The Barker Institute uses the rich intellectual resources of Barker College to facilitate learning and growth throughout the school and the wider community.
Research Agenda 2024-2025
Our annually published document identifies high-level priority domains bringing together our rich intellectual resources to facilitate learning and growth throughout the school, and the local and global community.
