Erich Christian Wittmann is one of the primary founders of mathematics education research as an autonomous field of work and research in Germany. The interview presented here reflects on his role in promoting mathematics education as a design science. The interview addresses the following topics: (1) The importance of subject matter in…

In response to the crisis of sustainability, this paper revisits understandings of human--environment relations established through skill-based outdoor activities that are used commonly among adventure recreation, education, and tourism. Reconsidering a predominant focus on risk and a persistent tension between technical and environmental…

This paper applies a Butlerian-inspired "queer(y)ing" methodology to disrupt the utility of agency being framed within the binary of escape and coercion. In particular, it uses Butler's concept of performative resignification to analyse how Simon, a 16-year-old white male student, maneouvres his way through the social conventions of…

In a discussion of Deleuze's theorization of concepts, Todd May asks "what can a concept do with that which cannot be identified?" Or to put it another way, May writes--"A concept is a way of addressing the difference that lies beneath the identities we experience." This is not to say that identities, concepts, and experiences…

Becoming familiar with "the field" location and its inhabitants is a natural and important part of ethnographic research. However, little has been written about how operationalising a "familiarisation period" within an ethnography can form the foundation on which fieldwork can be built. By reflecting on the experience of…

That the interplay of random and deterministic processes may result in both the limited predictability of nonlinear systems and the formation of structures seems to be a most valuable general insight into the nature of science. This study investigates the possibility of teaching and learning the interplay of chance and determinism in nonlinear…

We present here a reflexive and critical commentary and exemplification of the teaching and learning of research methodology. The paper focuses on the teaching/learning of qualitative data analysis. It is our belief that it is essential to "do" data analysis when learning about the process and that there are serious limitations to…

In this article, the authors discuss how Shaun Tan's graphic novel "The Arrival" (2006) opened a polyphonic dialogue with culturally diverse early childhood educators. Using visual, graphic and symbolic languages provided alternative ways for the research participants to express their experiences and understandings of being recent…

This paper explores three research projects conducted by the writer and others with a view to demonstrating the importance of effective theory and methodology in the analysis of teaching situations where Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL), teacher practice and teacher education meet. It argues that there is a tendency in the field of…

In this paper, we review findings from an analysis of the past decade (2001-10) of research in 10 major journals in the field of instructional design and technology. Each research paper published in these journals during this decade was categorized according to its focus or methodology, topical keywords, authorship and citation trends; and the…

Evidence from a handful of large-scale studies suggests that although observers can be trained to score reliably using observation protocols, there are concerns related to initial training and calibration activities designed to keep observers scoring accurately over time (e.g., Bell, et al, 2012; BMGF, 2012). Studies offer little insight into how…

Researchers who are interested in asking a number of questions about a particular phenomenon are increasingly looking to mixed methods as a useful research approach. In this case study, we discuss how mixed-methods research is situated in current debates about quantitative and qualitative methods. Then, we provide some reasons as to why we, and…

In 1994, I embarked on a PhD study to examine, for the first time, what happened inside the classroom during history lessons in pre-Second World War Britain. Previous studies had relied largely on a study of textbook content and official curricula guidance, without stopping to ask how and whether such materials were actually used in pre-war…

This case study reflects upon the use of den-building as a research method to examine the emotional dimensions of children's school lives. It draws upon a collaborative ethnography conducted in a junior school (ages 7-11) where there was an explicit emphasis on the development of children's 'emotional skills'. Here, I focus upon the ways that…

Multidisciplinary educational curriculum development is a fundamental part of my role as an academic. In practice, the term historically meant that students were segregated into their respective professional disciplines and taught in 'optional modules' of relevance only to them. One of the aims of my work is to build capacity within and between…