Issues in Educational Research, 28(3), 2018 797

Benefits and challenges of doing research: Experiences

from Philippine public school teachers
Mark B. Ulla
Walailak University, Thailand

Previous research studies have indicated the positive impact that doing research has
upon teachers’ teaching pedagogies and professional growth. However, only a few
studies concerning the challenges and benefits of doing research have been conducted in
the Philippines and the ASEAN region. This study explores the experiences of
Philippine public school teachers in conducting a school or a classroom research project.
The data were collected through individual interviews administered to 11 public high
school English teachers in Mindanao, Philippines. Findings suggest that although
teachers’ motivations to do research were more personal rather than professional,
teachers recognised some benefits of doing school and classroom-based research for
their teaching practices and career development. Challenges that were reported include
the lack of financial support, heavy teaching load, lack of research skills and knowledge,
and lack of research materials and resources. Implications are discussed in light of the
findings and recommendations formulated for future research directions.

Introduction

The importance that doing research has upon the professional development of teachers
and their practices has been widely acknowledged in the literature. For one, it equips
teachers and other education practitioners with the skills necessary for identifying what
the problem is in a school, and knowing how to address that problem systematically
(Hine, 2013). Two, it serves as an opportunity for educators to self-evaluate their teaching
practices (Hong & Lawrence, 2011). Three, it allows teachers to make a change in their
pedagogical practices that will have a positive impact upon teaching and learning (Mahani,
2012). Lastly, it is a great form of improving teachers’ lifelong learning and of continuing
professional development (Cain & Milovic, 2010; Ulla, Barrera & Acompanado, 2017).
However, despite its positive effects upon classroom teaching and learning (Mahani, 2012;
O'Connor, Greene & Anderson, 2006), a number of studies have reported some factors
that prevent teachers from doing research. Crowded teaching timetables, heavy teaching
workloads (Kutlay, 2013; Morales, 2016; Ulla, 2018), insufficient research training (Ellis &
Loughland, 2016), lack of research skills (Vásquez, 2017), lack of financial support (Biruk,
2013), and limited time to do research (Norasmah & Chia, 2016) often constitute the
primary challenges and concerns faced by teachers and other educators aspiring to
undertake research.

In the Philippines, doing research has become one of the important professional
development programs for teachers that is emphasised by the Department of Education
(DepEd) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) (Ulla, 2017). Teachers both
from private and public educational institutions are encouraged to conduct action research
in order to identify and address the teaching and learning issues and concerns in their
classrooms and in the school. Thus, doing research has now become a part of every

798 Benefits and challenges of doing research: Experiences from Philippine public school teachers

teacher’s teaching evaluation and performance appraisal at the end of the school year
(Ulla, 2016). DepEd has ordered its schools heads and administrators across the country
to adopt the “enclosed Basic Education Research Agenda” which promotes the conduct
of research in schools by teachers (DepEd, 2016). The purpose is to discover schools’
issues and solutions and form a part of teachers’ professional development and skills
enhancement. By doing research, teachers are believed to improve their teaching practices
for the betterment of students’ learning and for the school. However, conducting research
in the country, especially in the public secondary schools, may be limited since only a few
teachers have tried to do it (Ulla, 2017) due to their tight teaching timetables and heavy
teaching workloads (Morales, 2016). Although educational institutions in the Philippines
have encouraged their teachers to be involved in research, as it is seen to be useful for
their professional development (Morales, 2016) and in their teaching career, teachers are
confronted with many issues that affect their motivation to undertake research.

Thus, the present study tries to identify the experiences of public secondary school
teachers in Mindanao in the Philippines, with regard to doing school and or classroom-
based research. As there are only a small number of studies relating to teachers as
researchers in an ASEAN context, this study attempts to fill a gap in the literature.
Knowing and understanding the experiences of these teachers as researchers is vital
towards the success of education research, not just in the Philippines but in all countries
in the region.

Research for teachers’ professional development

Classroom research, school-based research, teacher research, and action research have
been defined in the current study as a research undertaken and conducted by teachers in
the classroom and/or in the school. This kind of research is done primarily to examine
and identify a problem or an issue within the classroom and in the school for which
teacher-researchers want to find a solution, by understanding it thoroughly (Burns &
Kurtoglu-Hooton, 2014). Although the origin of action research is not clear (Masters,
1995) whether it began in England in the 1960s from a movement of secondary modern
school teachers who aimed to reform the education curriculum (Fagundes, 2016), or was
it Kurt Lewin, a social psychologist, who started action research (Adelman, 1993; McNiff,
2010), it already has an influence in today’s research in education.

McNiff (2010) outlined the benefits of action research for professional development of
teachers. First, it reviews whether one’s teaching practice meets the desired and expected
outcome of ones’ work. Second, it evaluates teaching pedagogies that have to be changed
or improved. Lastly, it puts a value on one’s work and profession. Generally, teachers, as
agents of knowledge and change, have to evaluate and assess the things they do inside the
classroom in order to advance and enhance their teaching (Morales, 2016). Teachers
identify the problem, reflect on it, and try to address it. This is one of the most important
goals of reflective teaching through research. When teachers consider their teaching
practices and are able to identify and acknowledge the issues and concerns of their
classrooms and their students, they become empowered and independent to solve school
Ulla 799

issues on their own. Identifying what went wrong and what went well in classroom
teaching and learning helps teachers to decide on the kinds of teaching styles and methods
for their learners. This will lead to the improvement of their teaching skills and their
students’ learning (Hine, 2013). Teacher educators who are doing research studies are able
to share with other educators the best practices that are important for the learners
(Grima-Farrell, 2017). They become confident in teaching (Borg, 2014), increase their
awareness and understanding of their students (Borg, 2014; Hong & Lawrence, 2011;
Burns, 2010), and become accountable for their own classroom teaching and learning
(Morales, 2016).

As a form of professional development activity, undertaking school or classroom-based

research can be both rewarding and challenging for teachers and other education
practitioners. Although conducting research can add to teachers’ professional
qualifications, skills and experience, many teachers are reluctant to do it as it implies
additional workloads above their teaching load, and a number of studies have investigated
factors linked to this issue (Cain, 2011). Much of teacher education research is centered
upon identifying and solving classroom and school problems, where its focus is often on
“reflective teaching practice” and “classroom teachers as researchers” (Burns, 2010).
Doing research simply tries to put theories into application and practice, where teachers
examine themselves and analyse the kind of teaching context they are in (McNiff, 2010).
Furthermore, classroom research does not only bridge the gap between theories and
practice (Johnson, 2012), it also gives teachers professional skills in research, which is
crucial for a transformative education (Hine & Lavery, 2014).

Teachers as researchers

Although there have been limited research studies on teachers as researchers in the
Philippines and in the ASEAN context, more studies of this kind can be found from other
countries in the world. However, a number of these studies have focused only on
teachers’ perceptions, beliefs, issues and challenges with regards to doing research. For
example, Dehghan and Sahragard (2015) in Iran reported that teachers’ beliefs about
doing research are shaped by the teaching practices they have for their classrooms. The 89
language teachers participating in this research stated that although they knew the
concepts and principles of doing research, none of them had undertaken action research.
None of the teacher-participants utilised research in their classes because they thought
that doing research was only for expert researchers and not for them as classroom
teachers. This suggests that some teachers held a negative view regarding doing research
in the school. Teachers’ negative attitudes towards research (Borg, 2014) can be attributed
to the lack of time, incentives, and professional expertise (Biruk, 2013; Cain & Milovic,
2010; Ellis & Loughland, 2016; Kutlay, 2013; Morales, 2016; Norasmah & Chia, 2016;
Vásquez, 2017). These three factors should be considered by the school administrators in
as much as professional development for teachers is a concern.

A study conducted by Biruk (2013) in Ethiopia affirmed that only a few teachers
conducted research studies, because of the lack of teachers’ research skills and expertise.
800 Benefits and challenges of doing research: Experiences from Philippine public school teachers

Although the teacher-participants held a positive attitude towards research, their

participation and contribution were reported to be low. Factors like lack of research
knowledge, insufficient research training programs for teachers to enhance and develop
their research skills, and lack of reference materials limited them from doing research.
Likewise, more recent studies in the ASEAN context also reporting the same challenges
faced by teachers as researchers were conducted by Norasmah and Chia (2016) in
Malaysia; and Ellis and Loughland (2016) in Singapore and NSW. Both studies maintained
that teachers in their localities, though holding positive views about research, were also
confronted with the same issues of lack of time, resources, and support with regards to
doing research. Therefore, these challenges faced by teachers should be addressed by
education authorities in order to increase teacher participation in research. Teachers need
support from school management and authorities in order to start doing research. As it is
believed to be a significant contribution towards professional development for teachers,
adequate research budgets, research training, workshops, and other support should be
given to teachers to motivate them to conduct research studies. Bughio (2015) held that
teachers who were active in doing research at their school would be able to study,
evaluate, and assess their teaching pedagogies and practices. By doing so, teachers would
be able to change and improve their methods of teaching, which would have an impact on
students’ learning and success.

Some practical steps to encourage teachers to do research have been outlined by Grima-
Farrell (2017). First, teachers’ needs should be looked into and provided so that their
motivation to do research will increase. Second, research training and other research
programs should be offered to teachers to equip them with the necessary skills to do
research. Third, research collaboration should be emphasised so that teachers would be
able to share their practices, skills, and knowledge. Lastly, support systems should be
strong among teachers and schools’ management as doing research can be time-
consuming and tedious.

Generally, while the above studies have focused on some issues and challenges, and on
teachers’ perceptions and attitudes towards research, none have discussed and explored
the experiences of teachers as researchers in doing research in the Philippines and in the
context of ASEAN region. Lack of empirical studies on teachers as researchers may create
a big gap between theoretical and empirical studies in the literature. Furthermore, since
there is a limited study of teacher-researchers in the region, this study hopes to bridge this
gap in the literature. Therefore, the following questions are addressed in the present study.

1. What are the motivations that Philippine high school teachers have in doing research?
2. What are the challenges that these teachers faced while doing research?
3. What are the teachers’ perceived benefits while doing research?

An investigation of teachers’ experiences while doing research in the Philippines may have
implications for other educational institutions both in the Philippines and other nations in
the ASEAN region. Education authorities can consider the findings from this study when
designing appropriate policies for teacher-researchers.
Ulla 801

Method

The present study is qualitative research with content analysis as the main method in
analysing the interview data. It is qualitative as it explores, describes, and analyses the lived
experiences, interests, and concerns (Phillion, 2002) of 11 Philippine public school
teachers about doing research. The interview data obtained from semi-structured
interviews were subjected to content analysis (Hsieh & Shannon, 2005) in order to answer
the research questions. All the responses were transcribed and were read many times in
order to understand the content and the message. They were then categorised into
different themes and subthemes.

Setting and participants

The study was conducted in Mindanao, the Philippines, where 11 teachers from 11
different public high schools participated in the research. The researcher employed
purposive sampling of the teacher-participants based on the following criteria: had done at
least one research study, had presented a study in national conferences, and had taught in
public high school for at least two years. Of the 11 teacher-participants (3 males, 8
females), whose ages ranged from 26-45 years old, only 7 held a master’s degree, while 4
were still finishing their PhD degrees. All of them were teaching English in their
respective schools.

Data gathering procedure and analysis

Before the study was conducted, the researcher identified the teacher-researchers through
a book of abstracts and program from a local paper presentation conference, personal
knowledge, and friend’s referrals. They were contacted through their phone numbers,
email addresses, and through Facebook chats to confirm their research involvement in their
schools; and whether or not they meet the criteria for participating in the study. For
ethical considerations, teacher-participants were informed about the study and its purpose.
It was also emphasised that their participation was voluntary and all the data taken from
them were treated with high confidentiality.

When the teacher-participants had agreed to be part of the study, semi-structured

individual interviews through Facebook chats (if personal interview was not possible) were
conducted at agreed times and places. Semi-structured interviews (Jamshed, 2014) were
used as this was deemed appropriate for the study. Teacher-participants answered preset
open-ended questions related to doing research in the school (e.g. research motivations,
benefits, challenges, and experiences). For personal interviews, a mobile phone was used
to record the data. The interviews, conducted in English, concentrated on teachers’
experiences while doing research. It included their research motivations, challenges, and
perceived benefits of doing research.
802 Benefits and challenges of doing research: Experiences from Philippine public school teachers

Results

This study has developed three main themes and subthemes as reflected from the research
questions, motivations, challenges, and perceived benefits. For the purpose of presentation,
directly quoted interview excerpts were given below. Pseudonyms are used for the
teacher-researchers.

Motivations

a. Research as a degree requirement

In the interview, most of the teacher-researchers revealed that finishing their master’s
degrees and completing their PhD research requirements was their only motivation to do
research. They revealed that they have not done any research yet apart from their MA and
PhD degree requirements.

I only did one research study as a requirement for my MA in English language teaching
degree. My research was about teaching reading strategies with my students as my
respondents. I had to do it, otherwise, I would not be awarded with an MA degree.
[Rose]

In order to be considered as a candidate for MA graduation, I had to submit and defend

a research paper. I wanted to finish my MA studies so I had to do research also. [Lily]

I think if it was not a requirement for my MA degree, I would not do research. Through
conducting a research, I was able to finish my MA degree. Finishing an MA degree
means a raise in my monthly salary. [Rye]

From the responses of the teachers when asked about their motivations to do research, it
is clear that doing research for the purpose of looking for and solving classroom and or
school problems was never the main reason why these teachers undertook research.
Doing research was only for complying with their postgraduate degree requirements.

b. Job promotion
Another subtheme that was formed from the data interview was job promotion. Most of
the teacher-researchers stated that doing research is a way to get promoted in their job.
They mentioned that job promotion always means an increase in their salary; hence, their
motivation.

Although it is time consuming and tiring, conducting an action research is one of the
requirements to get promoted in the job. This means that once you get promoted, you
also get an increase in the salary. [Joe]

Job promotion is my motivating factor why I do an action research at school. My current

rank now is Teacher 2 and for me to be promoted, I have to conduct a research and
submit it to the school division for my yearly teaching appraisal. [Ken]

I am doing a research because I want to be promoted. I do not want to stay in my

current rank now. I want to be promoted because I want to have a raise in my pay. [Bob]
Ulla 803

The interview findings also revealed that in addition to finishing their graduate degrees,
teachers also did research for financial reasons. This means that doing research helped
towards job promotion and salary increments for teachers.

Challenges

Two subthemes were found to be recurring in the interview data, lack of support from the
school and lack of sufficient reference materials.

a. Lack of support from the school

One common challenge that the teacher-researchers faced when doing research is the lack
of support from the school. This lack of support refers to financial, work, and training
support.

When I did my MA research, there was no financial support given to me by the school.
Although my research was for a degree requirement, it was aimed at improving the
teaching and students’ learning in my school. I should have been at least given some
monetary support for my study. (Rye)

In my case, I tried asking for a financial support for my study but my school head said
that I needed to submit an intent letter to the school’s division; and that it should be
signed by at least 5 people before I would get the money. By just thinking about the
process and how much time I would be wasting, I did not push it through. I just used my
own money to finish my study. (Abe)

It would be great to do a research study if the school would reduce my teaching

workload. I was teaching 27 hours a week with an advisory class when I did a research
last year. It was horrible and I do not want it to happen again. I was killing myself slowly
at that time. I wish our teaching workload would be reduced to at least 20 hours a week.
(Marie)

I think one of the challenges that I encountered when I did my research was the lack of
enough research skills and knowledge. I had to extend my research study for another
year because I lack the skills of doing it. I had to rely always to my research adviser who
was also very busy on that time; hence, another year extension. If only I had attended
some research trainings, seminars, and workshops, I would have finished my work on
time. The problem is there is a shortage of training and seminar on research activities in
my school. (Liza)

Common challenges that teachers faced when doing a school research were lack of
financial support and lack of research skills and knowledge. These challenges may also be
the reasons why teachers do not like to do research. Therefore, these teachers should be
provided with the support they need in order to successfully carry out a research study.

b. Lack of sufficient reference materials

Another challenge that the teacher-researchers encountered when doing research was the
lack of sufficient reference materials. Most of them revealed that their schools have no
804 Benefits and challenges of doing research: Experiences from Philippine public school teachers

updated library for current journals and books and no Internet connection for online
searches.

We have no updated library. We have no journals and books that will serve as our
research references. Our library only houses textbooks, some old newspapers, and
magazines. When I did my research last time, I had to go to a local university here and
access their library for possible journals and books. It was time consuming and tiring.
(Aly)

In my experience, I had to take a leave of absence from my school just to visit the library
of the school where I was taking my MA. Our MA classes were held at the weekends and
I had to be absent sometimes from my work either on Friday or Monday just to do my
library research. (Ana)

It is very difficult to do a research when your school has no Internet connection. That is
one of the challenges that I am facing now especially that I am finishing my PhD. I could
not continue doing my research during my vacant time at work because of the lack of
Internet connection. (Rye)

Perceived benefits

When teacher-researchers were asked about their perceived benefits of doing research, a
number of them stated that doing research can have a positive impact on their teaching
and to their students’ learning, while a few said that it made them grow professionally.

I believe that doing research has a positive impact on my teaching. I would say that it
makes me a better teacher because I am able to identify the aspect of my teaching that
needs to be changed or improved. Through doing research, I am able to address the
issues that can eventually benefit my students. (Abe)

Conducting a classroom research improves my teaching practices. It makes me

understand the needs of my students, the teaching strategies that they are comfortable
having, and the learning strategies that they like doing. It serves as my mirror in the
classroom. (Marie)

I got to improve my teaching strategies after doing a research. I was able to apply the
findings of my study in the real classroom setting. I believe that is the most important
benefit of doing research. (Bob)

I was invited as a plenary speaker in one of the local research conferences here a few
months ago. I talked about the process of doing an action research, some methodologies,
and technicalities. I was able to share with my fellow teachers the art of doing research.
From that, I would say that doing research develops and enhances my skills
professionally. (Lily)

Doing research brings me to many different places in and out of the country. I got to
attend conferences where I presented my research studies and met a lot of friends.
Through this, my professional circle of friends and my skills of doing research have also
widened. (Aly)
Ulla 805

Despite the many challenges that these teachers encountered in doing research, most of
them affirmed that doing research can have a positive effect and impact on their teaching
and on them personally. They stated that their teaching practices have been improved,
their professional expertise was appreciated, and their professional linkages were widened.

Discussion

The present study explored the experiences, motivations, challenges, and perceived
benefits of 11 public high school-teachers while undertaking a research study in their
respective schools in Butuan City, Mindanao, Philippines. Among the motivations that
teacher-researchers had in doing research were completion of their graduate degrees and
job promotion. Although some studies in the literature affirmed that conducting a
research study enhances teachers’ teaching practices and enables them to probe into their
classroom problems and concerns (Hien, 2009; Hine, 2013; O'Connor, Greene &
Anderson, 2006; Young, Rapp & Murphy, 2010), teacher-researchers as participants of the
study mentioned that they were only motivated to do research because it was part of the
requirements for their MA or PhD degrees. This implies that these teachers did not
undertake a research study because they wanted to examine their teaching practices and
improve their students' learning skills, but because they wanted to improve their financial
status in life. In other words, doing research is more for teachers’ personal rather than
professional development. This kind of situation is common in the education sector in the
Philippines, where teachers receive an unattractive salary (Agarao-Fernandez & Guzman,
2005; Usop, Askandar & Langguyuan-Kadtong, 2013). Thus, many Filipino teachers either
go abroad to work (Frederiksen, 2014) or continue to improve their qualifications to
receive a better salary. For those teachers who choose to stay in the country, doing a
research project and completing a postgraduate degree are among the ways that they may
take in order to be promoted and get an increase in their monthly pay.

Consequently, conducting research studies also means facing some challenges. The studies
by Biruk (2013); Cain and Milovic (2010); Ellis and Loughland (2016); Kutlay (2013);
Morales (2016); Norasmah and Chia (2016); Vásquez (2017); and Zhou (2012) exposed a
number of common problems that a teacher has to deal with when conducting a research
study. The findings of the present study also disclosed some challenges that these teacher-
researchers encountered. The lack of support from the school and the lack of sufficient
reference materials contribute to a number of challenges mentioned in the literature.
Teacher-researchers stated that there was no financial support given to them when they
did their research and there was no reduction of their number of teaching hours. This may
be the reason why some teachers showed no interest in doing and conducting a research
study. It should be noted that when teachers have the support they need, they will be able
to produce good quality research work (Ellis & Loughland, 2016). Likewise, reducing
teachers’ teaching hours also means teachers’ quality time both for doing research work
and for attending to their family meals and gatherings (Vásquez, 2017). Teachers need to
balance their work life and personal life; and by giving them a considerable number of
hours for teaching and conducting research, they will be able to deliver their work more
effectively and efficiently. Furthermore, lack of research skills and knowledge affects
806 Benefits and challenges of doing research: Experiences from Philippine public school teachers

teachers’ motivation to do research. In this study, teacher-researchers admitted that they

lack the necessary research skills and knowledge to conduct a study of their own. Sheikh,
Sheikh, Kaleem and Waqas (2013) emphasised that attending to research workshops will
create a positive impact on teachers who are doing or will be doing a research study. Thus,
these teachers need to be exposed to research training, seminars and conferences, in order
to develop more of their skills and to confidently conduct a research project on their own.

Despite the reported challenges and issues faced by a number of teacher-researchers, they
still held a positive perception towards doing research. Most of them admitted that doing
research can benefit them professionally and personally. Some of these benefits include:
became a better teacher; improved teaching styles and strategies; better understood the
learning needs of their students; and enriched their professional experiences. These
perceived benefits as found in this study are congruent with the findings by Borg (2014);
Burns (2010); Cain and Milovic (2010); Hine (2013); Hong and Lawrence (2011); Grima-
Farrell (2017); Mahani (2012); Morales (2016); and O'Connor, Greene and Anderson
(2006). Indeed, doing a classroom and or a school research project is a great opportunity
for teachers to advance in their profession, improve their teaching qualifications and
experiences, and adopt pedagogical changes that will have an impact on the school and its
community. Teachers who are engaged in research will be able to share with their fellow
teachers some best teaching and learning practices that are essentials for improving
student learning.

Although the present study claims strengths in the presentation of teacher-researcher

experiences, motivations, challenges and perceived benefits when doing a research study,
there are limitations with regards to participants and focus. As this study has only 11
teachers as participants, the data and the findings may not provide a sound representation
of all public high school teachers in the Philippines. Studies of teachers as researchers with
a different focus, with a greater number of teacher-participants, and with different
methodologies are recommended. Future studies may compare the research experiences
of Filipino teachers with other teachers in the ASEAN region. Implications for ASEAN
regional education research may arise.

Conclusion

Conducting classroom and school research does not only improve teachers’ teaching
styles and practices, it also allows teachers to grow professionally and personally. The
present study attempted to identify the experiences, motivations, challenges, and
perceived benefits for 11 public high school-teachers in Mindanao, Philippines. The
findings indicated that although the teacher-researchers as participants of the study held a
positive perception when doing research, most of them were motivated to do a school
research only because they wanted to be promoted and to have an increase in their salary.
Some challenges that were reported include the lack of financial support, heavy teaching
load, lack of research skills and knowledge, and lack of research resources.
Ulla 807

The findings of this study are not only relevant in the Philippine public high school
setting; but for all schools in the ASEAN region and elsewhere in the world. It is
therefore important to consider the following key points. One, when considering teachers
as researchers, school administrators, heads, and supervisors should extend their support
to their teachers who are keen on doing research. Teachers need support not only
financially but morally. This is to uplift the motivation of the teachers to continue doing
research. Two, to motivate teachers to conduct research, the school should provide for
teachers be sent to research training and workshops for the teachers to gain the necessary
skills and knowledge. Three, research allowances should be given to teachers so that they
will be motivated to conduct research. Lastly, teaching workloads should be reduced so
that teachers will have more time to do research. By doing so, teachers will be able to
produce quality work, for research and for teaching. Since doing a research study
enhances and improves teachers’ teaching practices (Borg, 2014; Ulla, 2016), widens
teachers’ understanding of their students’ learning needs (Burns, 2010; Hong & Lawrence,
2011), and advances their professional experiences (Grima-Farrell, 2017; Vogrinc &
Zuljan, 2009; West, 2011), improved consideration of the challenges faced by these
teachers when doing a research study would have a positive effect for teachers, their
students, the school, and the community.

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Mark Ulla finished his Master of Arts in English language teaching at Mindanao State
University, Marawi City, Philippines where he also obtained his Bachelor of Arts in
English. He is now a Lecturer at Walailak University Language Institute, Walailak
University, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand.
Email: [email protected]

Please cite as: Ulla, M. B. (2018). Benefits and challenges of doing research:
Experiences from Philippine public school teachers. Issues in Educational Research, 28(3),
797-810. http://www.iier.org.au/iier28/ulla.pdf