Research in mathematics education constantly oscillates between theoretical or 'Is' questions and practical or 'Ought' questions: Researchers are not only pursuing theoretical questions by investigating what those involved in the teaching and learning of mathematics do, but they are also working on practical recommendations for what they ought to…

The British Educational Research Association (BERA) has promulgated a concept of close-to-practice research that is seen as vital to defending and promoting education as an academic discipline. However, what is overlooked are the questions of what education is for and what educational practice is--questions that need to be addressed for any…

In this article, we try to understand the phenomenon of pedagogical tact as a particular form of power to judge. For this, we rehearse Immanuel Kant's idea of "Urteilskraft" as it first appears in the "Critique of Pure Reason," where it is also rendered in educational terms. However, the power to apply rules works without any…

This book highlights the pivotal role that engineering education researchers can play at technical universities. By delving into both theoretical and practical aspects, it showcases the transformative potential of integrating rigorous educational research into technical education. The book begins by outlining the current landscape of engineering…

The use of established and discipline-specific theories within research and practice is an indication of the maturity of a discipline. With computing education research as a relatively young discipline, there has been recent interest in investigating theories that may prove foundational to work in this area, with discipline-specific theories and…

The production and use of explicit models of mathematics are important elements of research in Didactics of Mathematics. In this paper, we present and compare two different European approaches to didactical modelling. The first, centred around the notion of basic idea (Grundvorstellung), arose in German-speaking countries as a development within…

This essay argues that contemporary debates about the role of practice in teacher education run the risk of reproducing mind/body, thought/action dualisms. Absent these binaries, practice is understood as always theoretical, principled, and contextualized and knowledge and identity are understood as always embodied and enacted. The author…

This book delves into the intriguing question of why certain types of literacy research gain more traction than others in educational settings. It draws upon findings from Research Mobilities in Primary Literacy Education, an innovative and interdisciplinary study conducted in England and supported by the Economic and Social Research Council…

In this study, two teacher educators share their educational journey using narrative inquiry. Specifically, the authors share how they learned to ground their teaching and research in disability studies, what they have learned in the field to become better teachers for their students in (special) education, and why the shift in their theoretical…

This article interrogates the kind of research that is useful for teachers. The teacher is a reflective practitioner who draws on research findings, but also uses personal reflection, to work with students, with a focus on evidence-based practice. The strengths, but also the controversies of this research paradigm are discussed. The role of…

Due to the learning paradox, students cannot have real difficulty in understanding a mathematical concept that they have not yet understood. There is a gap between real difficulties, directly experienced by students, and illusionary ones, only observed by researchers. This paper aims to offer a critical reflection on our understanding of the term…

There are two divergent perspectives about how best to understand and serve students with disabilities: Traditional Special Education and Disability Studies in Education. These fields represent distinct epistemological, theoretical, methodological, and pedagogical ways of understanding education for students with disabilities. Researchers,…

Research-Practice Partnerships (RPPs) in education have been gaining increasing currency and support since well before the advent of COVID-19. This article reflects on what the pandemic experience has meant for some RPPs so far, and imagines what other RPPs might look like in the near future. The authors share a collection of fifteen think-pieces…

The Educational Doctorate (EdD) is designed to meet the needs of current practitioners who aim to expand their professional expertise by leveraging deep knowledge and research methods to address specific and contextualized problems of practice. This approach centers on developing scholarly practitioners that are equipped with the skills necessary…

This paper assesses prospects for the relationship between educational studies and educational practice, with reference to the current institutional and policy context in England. Drawing on the sociology of educational knowledge and practice, it is argued that educational studies can be conceptualised in contrasting ways, by considering internal…