Educational Research Practice In Southern Contexts

"Bringing together a unique collection of 18 insightful and innovative internationally focused articles, Educational Research Practice in Southern Contexts offers reflections, case studies, and critically, research methods and processes designed to decentre, reframe, and reimagine educational research in ways that question existing approaches and operationalise the tenets of decolonising theory. This anthology represents a valuable teaching resource with which to challenge the conventional canons of educational research theory and practice. It provides readers with the chance to read high quality examples of research that critique current ways of doing research and to reflect on how research methods can contribute to the project of decolonising knowledge production in and about education in, for example, Africa, South Asia, Asia and Latin America. It grapples with everyday dilemmas and tricky ethical questions about protection, consent, voice, cultural sensitivity and validation, by engaging with real-world situations and increasing the potential for innovation and new collaborations. Educational Research Practice in Southern Contexts will be essential reading for anyone teaching educational research methods and will encourage novice and experienced researchers to rethink their research approaches, disentangle the local and global, and challenge those research rituals, codes and field work practices which are often unproblematically assumed to be universally relevant"--

Bringing together a unique collection of 18 insightful and innovative internationally focused articles, Educational Research Practice in Southern Contexts offers reflections, case studies, and critically, research methods and processes which decentre, reframe, and reimagine conventional educational research strategies and operationalise the tenets of decolonising theory. This anthology represents a valuable teaching resource. It provides readers with the chance to read high quality examples of research that critique current ways of doing research and to reflect on how research methods can contribute to the project of decolonising knowledge production in and about education in, for example, Africa, South Asia, Asia, and Latin America. It grapples with everyday dilemmas and tricky ethical questions about protection, consent, voice, cultural sensitivity, and validation, by engaging with real-world situations and increasing the potential for innovation and new collaborations. Educational Research Practice in Southern Contexts will be essential reading for anyone teaching educational research methods and will encourage novice and experienced researchers to rethink their research approaches, disentangle the local and global, and challenge those research rituals, codes, and fieldwork practices which are often unproblematically assumed to be universally relevant.

This book offers in-depth analyses of how education interacts with social inequality in Southern contexts. Drawing on a range of disciplinary frameworks, it presents new analyses of existing knowledge and new empirical data which define the challenges and possibilities of successful educational reform. It is a tribute to the work of the late Christopher Colclough, who, as a leading figure in education and international development, played a key role in the global fight for education for all children. The book critically engages with international evidence of educational access, retention and outcomes, offering new understandings of how social inequalities currently facilitate, mediate or restrict educational opportunities. It exposes the continuing influence of wealth and regional inequalities and caste and gendered social structures. Researchers in Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Pakistan and Uganda highlight how the aspirations of families living in poverty remain unfilled by poor-quality education and low economic opportunities and how schools and teachers currently address issues of gender, disability and diversity. The book highlights a range of new priorities for research and identifies some necessary strategies for education reform, policy approaches and school practice, if educational equality for all children is to be achieved. The book will be of great interest to researchers, scholars, educational practitioners and policy-makers in the fields of economics, politics and sociology of education, international education, poverty research and international development. The Foreword, Chapters 1, 6, 7, and 12 of this book are freely available as downloadable Open Access PDFs at https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9780429293467 under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license (Foreword, Chapters 1, 6, and 12) and a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license (Chapter 7).

Research by universities plays an increasingly important role in shaping education policy around the world yet there is much dissatisfaction with the ways that they share that work. This much-needed, original book analyses efforts and systems in nine countries to mobilize research knowledge, describing the various factors that support or inhibit that work. Beginning and concluding chapters offer analytical lenses for understanding these various elements across the cases. Together, this collection from a wide range of experienced contributors, provides an unprecedented international view of the way education research is produced and shared, and provides excellent signposts for improvement for researchers and those interested in more impact from research in education.

Thinking Critically and Ethically about Research for Education draws on the experiences of a range of researchers in the discipline to explore the lived realities, including ethical and methodological complexities, involved in undertaking educational research. Using global case studies, this book examines the meaning of ethical research practice and raises questions about representation, power and empowerment in the field. It provides critical reflections from researchers, reviewing the methodologies they used in their studies and the ethical implications of these in theory and practice. The book highlights the various difficulties and realities present in education research and provides researchers with the tools necessary for refining their skills and understanding ethical research methodologies. The chapters reflect authors’ responses to the following questions: What values prompted you to do this work and how did you share these with participants? What were the ethical considerations raised beforehand and how were these tackled in terms of meeting obligations (including to ERBs), maximising benefits and dealing with issues arising during the study and through to publication? What does ‘empowerment’ and/or ‘voice’ mean to you as a researcher and how did you express this to your participants? In what ways were the participants given opportunities to be empowered in or through your study? With critical discussions on ethics and research practices in education research, this book is ideal for student, novice and experienced researchers looking to undertake ethical education research.

EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH “I wrote the book for students who are learning how to be consumers of research, as well as for those who will be planning their own research project. To be a successful researcher you need a variety of skills. You need to become a critical reader of published work, to learn about research methods and design – and to be able to put what you learn to use.” Dr. Ken Springer, Southern Methodist University Clearly organized, well-written, and user-friendly, this text provides a comprehensive look at quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method approaches to research. The first six chapters introduce educational research methods, the second six chapters focus on quantitative design and analysis, while the final six chapters cover qualitative, mixed-methods, and applied research. The comprehensive approach of this textbook is supplemented by extensive coverage of topics such as research ethics, program evaluation, and statistical analysis. Several characteristics provide students with a meaningful context for the material: Each chapter features three “Spotlight on Research” sections consisting of a lengthy excerpt from a recently published study. Discussions of research studies throughout the text provide additional context for the material. Each chapter helps students apply newly acquired knowledge through features such as end-of-chapter exercises as well as the section, “Applications: A guide for the beginning researcher.” The book’s companion website provides both students and instructors with additional resources, including a Study Guide, a Resource Guide (including links to full-text articles), and an Instructor’s Manual and Test Bank.

This outstanding new textbook provides a comprehensive overview of qualitative approaches to educational research. The text draws upon a broad range of real-life examples to describe and illustrate the methods through which educational data may be analyzed. Through a detailed yet concise explanation, the reader is then shown how these methods work and how their outcomes may be interpreted. Key features of this title include: - Links theory and practice by locating forms of analysis within a clear theoretical perspective. - Locates qualitative research in the social and cultural context in which it originates. - Contains a variety of `real-life′ examples and case studies. - Each chapter concludes with a set of exercises and questions for further discussion. Qualitative Research in Education presents a thorough explanation of the complexities of educational research and demonstrates the importance of placing this knowledge within cultural, linguistic and sociological contexts. It is an extremely informative text, which constitutes essential reading for those engaged in the research and analysis of educational data.