Teachers’ research tasks as a means of exploring evolving professional landscape

Abstract

Introduction. This article addresses the challenges and contradictions in teachers’ professional activities within shifting professional environment, necessitating a research-oriented approach for comprehension. The study aims to demonstrate that research tasks serve as a means for teachers to explore emerging professional avenues and to delineate the research actions required for task resolution.
Materials and Methods. The study examines teachers’ professional activities amid shifting educational practices, focusing on research tasks that facilitate the exploration of evolving professional landscape — such as emerging work realities, pedagogical functions, contemporary childhood development, and increasing cultural and technological diversity. Methodologically, the research employs theoretical analysis, comparative literature review (Russian and international sources), typologization, analogical reasoning, inductive analysis, and online surveys. The framework integrates S. L. Rubinstein’s activity theory, Yu. B. Drobotenko’s architectural representation of pedagogical phenomena, N. V. Bordovskaya’s typology of research tasks, and contributions from I. A. Zimnyaya, L. V. Bayborodova, and V. I. Zagvyazinsky, alongside the foreign ‘action research’ methodology to specify research actions that enable the perception of new professional landscape. Empirical data were collected via an online survey of schoolteachers, assessing their perceptions of research methods for resolving emerging professional challenges.
Results. The study establishes that a research task — understood as a recognized problem, contradiction, or difficulty in educational practice — demands investigative solutions to navigate new professional landscapes effectively. The study identified three categories of research tasks: (1) those examining the object (pedagogical activity landscape), (2) those analyzing the subject (student profile), and (3) those exploring subject-subject and subject-object relations (interactions in new educational environment). The resolution process involves sequential research actions (both universal and context-specific), enabling teachers to adapt flexibly to emerging challenges. Practical examples include case studies from laboratory schools, regional innovation platforms, multilingual classrooms, digital tool integration, and modern family dynamics. Conclusions. Solving research tasks is a dynamic, adaptive process that responds to evolving professional demands, requiring both established and novel research actions. The findings offer practical insights for educators in transitional environments, academics developing pedagogical materials and teacher-training programs fostering research competencies.