Information Sheet for Participants (ISP)
Primary School Teachers’ Knowledge and Confidence in Grammar and Syntax: The impact of a targeted professional learning intervention
You are invited to take part
I wish to invite you to participate in my research project, described below.
My name is Narissa Leung and I am conducting this research as part of my Master of Applied Linguistics in the School of Humanities, Arts, Social Sciences and Education at the University of New England. My supervisor is Dr Cindy Schneider.
This research study is being conducted as part of a Master of Applied Linguistics research project through the University of New England. Although the study is being distributed through the Oz Lit Teacher network, participation is voluntary and is not connected to the purchase of, or access to, any Oz Lit Teacher products or services.
What is the purpose of this study?
This study aims to explore primary school teachers’ current knowledge of selected grammar and syntax concepts and their confidence in teaching them. It also aims to examine whether participation in a short online professional learning course is associated with changes in teacher knowledge and confidence.
The professional learning course will focus on two curriculum-aligned syntax concepts: noun groups and verb groups.
Who can take part?
This study is open to:
- Australian primary school teachers
- teachers currently responsible for teaching English/literacy
- teachers aged 18 years or older
Note: Pre-service teachers and casual relief teachers without responsibility for a regular classroom teaching program are not eligible to participate.
What will participants be required to do?
Participants will be asked to complete all three stages of the study by 12 September 2026.
Step 1: Pre-study tasks
Complete a pre-study confidence survey and pre-study syntax knowledge assessment (approximately 30 minutes).
Step 2: Online professional learning course
Complete a self-paced online professional learning course focused on curriculum-aligned grammar and syntax concepts (approximately 90 minutes).
Step 3: Post-study tasks
Complete a post-study confidence survey and post-study syntax knowledge assessment similar to the initial tasks (approximately 30 minutes).
Total participation time is expected to be approximately 2.5 hours.
Do I need prior grammar knowledge?
No. You do not need prior knowledge of grammar or syntax concepts to take part. The professional learning course is designed to build and support teacher understanding of these concepts.
Do I have to take part?
Please understand that your involvement in this study is voluntary and you may withdraw from the study at any time without consequence and without needing to provide an explanation.
Choosing not to participate will not affect your relationship with Oz Lit Teacher, including access to professional learning resources, newsletters, products, services, or future communications.
You may withdraw your data up to the point where it has been combined with other participants’ data for analysis. After this point, it may not be possible to remove your individual data as it will no longer be identifiable.
Will my information be confidential?
Any personal details gathered in the course of the study will remain confidential. Participant names will not appear in any publication or reporting of the findings. Responses will be matched using participant codes rather than participant names, and all data will be reported in de-identified form.
If you agree, I would like to quote some of your responses. This will also be done in a way to ensure that you are not identifiable.
Identifying information, including participant names and email addresses, will be stored separately from survey and quiz responses.
What will happen with the information I give?
The information collected in this study will be used as part of a Master's thesis at the University of New England. The findings may also be used in academic journal articles, conference presentations, and shared with the wider teaching community.
All data will be reported in a de-identified form. Any quotes used from open-ended survey responses will be carefully selected to ensure that participants cannot be identified.
Electronic data collected as part of the study will be stored securely on password-protected devices and secure cloud-based storage systems approved by the University of New England. Only the student researcher and research supervisor will have access to the data.
Identifying information will be stored separately from participant response data to support confidentiality.
Data collected as part of this study will be retained securely for a minimum of five years following publication, in accordance with the University of New England's research data guidelines.
Could anything be upsetting?
Some participants may experience mild discomfort or embarrassment when responding to questions relating to grammar and syntax knowledge or confidence. Participants may skip any questions they do not wish to answer without consequence. It is unlikely that this research will raise significant personal or upsetting issues. However, if participation causes discomfort or distress, participants may contact the following free services for support:
- Lifeline 13 11 14
- Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636 or www.beyondblue.org.au
Who can I contact for more information?
Researcher contact
Narissa Leung
School of Humanities, Arts, Social Sciences and Education
University of New England
Email: [email protected]
Supervisor contact
Dr Cindy Schneider
[email protected]
Phone: +61 02 6773 2483
Complaints
Mrs Jo-Ann Sozou
Human Research Ethics Officer
Research Services
University of New England
Armidale, NSW 2351.
Tel: (02) 6773 1115.
Email: [email protected]
This project has been approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of the University of New England (Approval No. HE-2026-2992-5912).
I consent to participate in this research study and confirm that:
- I have read and understood the Information Sheet for Participants (ISP).
- I confirm that I am aged 18 years or older.
- I confirm that I am currently teaching in an Australian primary school setting and have responsibility for teaching the English/literacy curriculum.
- I understand that pre-service and casual relief teachers are ineligible to participate in this study.
- I understand that participation is voluntary and that I may withdraw from the study at any time prior to final data analysis without penalty.
- I understand that the study involves completing pre- and post-study surveys and knowledge assessments, as well as an online professional learning course.
- I understand that my responses will be kept confidential and reported only in de-identified and aggregated form.
- I understand that the de-identified data collected during this study may form part of a university thesis and may also be used in future publications or conference presentations arising from this research.
- I understand that this study is being conducted as part of a University of New England Master's research project and is not being undertaken on behalf of Oz Lit Teacher.
- I understand that my decision to participate or not participate will not affect my access to Oz Lit Teacher resources, services, communications, or future professional learning opportunities.
- I agree to participate in this study.
