Researchers working to clearly identify a research topic and theme have difficulty deciding how to focus their work. Using a potential-based learning focus, detailed in this text, readers are challenged to consider their role as researcher, scholar, and leader to guide their reflective work. "Transformative Potential Based Research: A Guide…

This case study describes in detail the process of cocreating a self-reflection tool for inclusive classrooms in the context of a university-based innovation lab in Estonia named Proovikivi (https://proovikivi.ee/). The study, which follows an exploratory, interventional, and qualitative case study methodology, was implemented in three phases…

This methods case study describes the design and implementation of a digital, multimodal journal from a yearlong program evaluation using self-study methods. The program evaluation focused on the author's transition of practice from elementary teacher to teacher educator and aimed to improve the author's practice. The design of the digital,…

This research took place in a U.K. higher education institution. It was concerned with the professional learning of academic staff and examined what enables and encumbers work-based professional learning. A two-stage photovoice methodology was chosen because it presented two advantages. First, it was the best way of including participants in the…

What informs our identities as teachers? In what ways does (or potentially might) one's personal values affect his or her professional work? This narrative case study describes how I explored these questions via philosophical inquiry. The story of my research journey considers several relevant matters including the following: clarifying the…

During the summer of 2013, four faculty members conceived of a project to explore diversity through a different approach. The project would include two phases: an arts-based mixed-medium phase and a duoethnography phase. A duoethnography consists of intentional, critical conversations between two or more co-researchers to explore a concept or…

In this case, I discuss my progression from ethnography toward multimodal ethnography as a necessary methodology to study multiliterate and multimodal lives. I view daily life, social interactions, and meaning-making practices as inherently multimodal. By multimodal, I mean that individuals continually read, interpret, and create meanings that…

The case study presented here highlights a unique method of collecting data for phenomenological qualitative studies. Drawing from many scholars in qualitative research, Irving Seidman developed this method of in-depth interviewing with attributes of validity and reliability. It is a time-intensive method in which three interviews are conducted,…

This study is designed to give new researchers an understanding of the methodological principles and practices of living educational theory research as a tool for improving professional practice. It draws on Jack Whitehead and Jean McNiff's (2006) approach to living theory methodology to improve educational practice. The study was guided by the…

This case study details a research project that explored meanings, perspectives, and understandings of inclusion, using a photo-elicitation methodology. Children and young people were provided with disposable cameras and were invited to take photographs in their school setting that they felt represented inclusion or exclusion. Some of the…

The purpose of this case study is to highlight the importance and limitations of methodology and research design in the exploration of highly subjective behavioural research. People are social creatures, and as such, their 'reality' is what they perceive to be true, which can be very difficult to 'prove' (by them or others). Two people can observe…

My own 'naturalistic observation' was pertinent to the genesis of this research project, which investigated mature students' emotions within higher education. I have been involved for many years in the kind of classroom environment where I have observed that many female mature students lack confidence in their academic ability, something that is…

In 2003, I began a doctoral research case study of the role of collaborative early intervention teachers as change agents implementing differentiated instruction in an intermediate school setting. Previous studies had focused largely on change theory in general, change in schools, early intervention programs, collaboration, or differentiated…

Primary research in education and social sciences is marked by a diversity of methods and perspectives. How can we accommodate and reflect such diversity at the level of synthesizing research? What are the critical methodological decisions in the process of a research synthesis, and how do these decisions open up certain possibilities, while…

"Disrupting Qualitative Inquiry" is an edited volume that examines the possibilities and tensions encountered by scholars who adopt disruptive qualitative approaches to the study of educational contexts, issues, and phenomena. It presents a collection of innovative and intellectually stimulating chapters which illustrate the potential…