Applying Theory to Educational Research by
<i>Applying Theory to Educational Research</i> provides educational researchers with an accessible introduction to the process of selecting and applying theories in their work. <ul> <li> Offers an innovative and accessible approach to educational research by providing practical examples of the application of theory </li> <li> Gives ′hands-on′ accounts for the researcher and practitioner </li> <li> Explains and discusses complex ideas in the light of experience in using and applying them </li> <li> Covers the application of major theorists such as Bourdieu, Foucault, Weber, Derrida, and Vygotsky </li> </ul> <p>For beginning researchers, theory can be one of the most stimulating - yet intellectually daunting - aspects of academic work. <i>Applying Theory to Educational Research</i> provides new educational researchers with a uniquely accessible introduction to the process of selecting and applying theories in their own work. Written by a team of leading educationalists writing from the perspective of new researchers, clearly structured chapters introduce individual theorists and their ideas, present their applications and limitations, and provide extensive references and suggestion for further reading. Major theorists such as Pierre Bourdieu, Michel Foucault, Max Weber, Jacques Derrida, and Lev Vygotsky are included, along with many more recent educational theorists. Throughout the text, helpful hints and signposts are provided to alert readers to the potential pitfalls of applying theory.</p> <p>Innovative and illuminating, <i>Applying Theory to Educational Research</i> offers a wealth of practical insights that will point the way for novice researchers struggling to navigate an often daunting intellectual obstacle course.</p>
Closing Methodological Divides: Toward Democratic Educational Research by
The interpretivist methodological framework made its appearance in educational research in the late 1970s, posing a fundamental and far-reaching challenge to the hitherto dominant positivist framework and opening up a number of divides that many have perceived as fundamental and unbridgeable. In the first part of Closing Methodological Divides, Howe examines the issues involved and demonstrates that the divides can in fact be closed. The subsequent chapters set out the compatibilist perspective within which Howe analyzes the interpretive turn, constructivist epistemology, research bias and ethics. The concluding chapter sets out a conception of democratic education research that shapes research methodology to meet the requirements of democratic politics.Closing Methodological Divides: Toward Democratic Educational Research is unique in the sweep of issues it considers and the way it integrates them under one general philosophical perspective. Vital reading for philosophers of education, educational researchers and social science methodologists.
Combining Methods in Educational and Social Research by
There is growing interest in the possibilities of combining research approaches in education and social sciences, as dissatisfaction mounts with the limitations of traditional mono-method studies and with the schism between quantitative and qualitative methods. This book argues the case for combining multiple research methods, and provides much-needed practical guidance for researchers who want to use this mixed-methods approach. The authors believe that all research has an over-arching logic and that, within this, the fruitful combination of quantitative and qualitative methods is possible. They develop the idea of the new education and social researcher, for whom the combination of approaches is a representation of a diverse skills base, rather than a matter of ideological or theoretical allegiance. The book outlines and evaluates methods that are currently used, and looks at combining different methods across and within studies, including complex interventions, Bayesian approaches, new political arithmetic, triangulation, life histories and design studies. It offers a radical, new and very simple way of working with numbers. Drawing on examples across the social sciences, this book is key reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students in Education and social science courses with a research element, as well as academics and professionals undertaking research projects.
Cross Cultural Perspectives on Educational Research by
Through an exploration of how international students re-examine their beliefs and research practices during their study in the UK, this book challenges the assumptions of those engaged in educational research. It addresses questions such as: How do our teaching and learning experiences shape our approach to educational research? and many more.
Early Childhood Educational Research: Issues in Methodology and Ethics by
Provision of education for children under five has recently become a political concern. At the same time, this relatively small field has been attracting increased research attention, with many early years practitioners seeking routes to initial and higher degrees. This book offers essential guidance for researchers and newcomers to the field, outlining opportunities in research as well as useful, sensitive and appropriate methods for researching childhood education.
Educational Research, Policymaking and Practice by
Educational Research maps the demands now being made on educational research against the background complexities of the relationship between research and practice.
Educational Research in Practice: Making Sense of Methodology by
Offering valuable insights into the education and social research community, eight researchers representing contrasting approaches-from the United Kingdom, New Zealand and North America-explain what they do, why they do it, its methodological basis, and perceived outcomes. Main themes are then analyzed and discussed by the editors, both experienced teachers of research methodology and methods.
The Moral Foundations of Educational Research by
This title considers what is distinctive about educational research in comparison with other research in the social sciences. As the contributors all agree that education is always an essentially moral enterprise, discussion about methodology starts, not with the widely endorsed claim that educational research should be useful and relevant, but with the attempt to justify and elaborate that claim with reference to its moral foundations. Determining the nature of usefulness and relevance is not simply a matter of focussing on impact and influence but involves a radical re-conceptualisation of the moral and educational significance of what is deemed to be useful and relevant. There is no argument with this emphasis on the generation of useful and relevant knowledge, but it is suggested that educational research requires a fuller and more rounded understanding that takes account of the moral values of those who conduct it. Educational research is grounded, epistemologically, in the moral foundations of educational practice. It is the epistemological and moral purposes underlying the usefulness and relevance of educational research that matter.
Philosophy of Educational Research by
Three issues feature as the central themes throughout this book: the nature of social science in general; the nature of educational enquiry in particular; and the links between the language and concepts of research, on the one hand, and those of practice and policy on the other. In analyzing and interrelating these themes, Richard Pring shows their relationship to such central philosophical concepts as meaning, truth, and objectivity. This lucid and ambitious study will be seen as a classic of educational literature.Reviews of the first edition include:"A stimulating and readable book...Pring gives a succinct account of the different philosophical positions and makes a balanced evaluation of their strong and weak points...should be compulsory reading for all trainee teachers let alone educational researchers." -Dr Paul Martinez, Learning and Skills Development Agency Reviews Editor "This volume is a textbook and a manifesto, and research students will welcome the clarity with which the various concepts, tools and approaches are outlined. Most teachers will be stimulated by it." - Times Educational Supplement"Professor Pring's work is far more than the title modestly claims it to be. As much a primer in philosophy of education as a specialist work on the philosophy of educational research it is lucid and concise on topics ranging from the aim[s] of education to the nature of knowledge."- Education Review
Realism and Educational Research: New Perspectives and Possibilities by
Although the literature of social research covers a vast range of material, there has been little on the role of social theory in educational research. In this respect, David Scott's book covers an important gap in the market, as it focuses on the centrality of social theory in a variety of empirical projects. The volume covers a range of conceptual and theoretical discussions and subsequently applies these concepts to our analysis of empirical studies. As a consequence, it is a volume that deserves to be read widely by students and researchers alike.
Theory Building in Educational Research by
This volume provides comprehensive guidance on the subjects of concept generation and theory building in educational research. By deploying the conceptual, methodological and theoretical principles of the Cambridge School of Sociology, which underpin a range of contemporary empirical research, the author shows how theory building and theory in contemporary educational research are in a state of crisis. In his compelling analysis, Nigel Kettley develops an alternative approach to theory building in educational research, and explores a radical new system for facilitating the growth of knowledge and the development of sound policy recommendations in education studies.
Understanding Educational Research by
This book explores educational research in terms of the relationship between epistemology, methodology and practice. Divided into two sections, the first examines the frameworks which underpin the methods educational researchers use. The second looks at a broad spectrum of approaches, including feminist approaches, action research, ethnography and biographical research. The issues covered are central to all within the research community including students undertaking research degrees or research methodology courses.
Using Secondary Data in Educational and Social Research by
Secondary data is a powerful tool for providing context to an otherwise small-scale study, as well as being an efficient way of bringing together a large amount of data, particularly where access to the field may be difficult. This comprehensive guide introduces students to the use of secondary data in educational and social research, and provides a practical resource for researchers who are new to the field of secondary data analysis. The author encourages researchers to consider the potential for using secondary data as their primary research method, but also as a useful strategy in mixed methods designs. The first part of the book explores the role of secondary data analysis in contemporary social research. It considers the arguments for and against its use and addresses its particular benefits in mixed method research designs, especially those in the political arithmetic tradition. The second part introduces worked examples which show the potential for using secondary sources to answer a varied range of research questions. It provides step-by-step guidance on how to manipulate and analyse secondary data. The inclusion of recent national and international datasets as exemplars allows students to place their research in a 'real life' context and to consider current and topical research issues. Using Secondary Data in Educational and Social Research is a vital guide for students and researchers who are new to the field of secondary data analysis. Book jacket.
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