Past studies have examined the contents of journal articles in school psychology, and more recently there has been increased interest in examining the frequency and characteristics of experimental studies appearing in school psychology journals. However, no prior studies have examined the international representation of experimental and…

This paper considers whether the impact agenda that has developed over the last decade in UK universities is likely to help create the conditions in which critical educational research makes a more visible difference to society. The UK audit of university research quality (the research excellence framework (REF) now includes an assessment of…

The last few decades abound in studies concerned with what teachers, students, parents, and other participants in the educational process believe about a wide variety of issues. Most of these studies follow methodological procedures based on reports that people make about their own beliefs. We argue that this strategy is seriously flawed under…

This paper engages with the pedagogical needs of researching professionals undertaking a professional or practice-based doctorate. It first undertakes a critical exploration of the literature and then explores how research supervision can address the emergent needs of the advanced practitioner as they undertake research at the doctoral level for…

In his detailed response to our paper on sample size in qualitative research, Norman Blaikie raises important issues concerning conceptual definitions and taxonomy. In particular, he points out the problems associated with a loose, generic application of adjectives such as 'qualitative' or 'inductive'. We endorse this concern, though we suggest…

This paper offers a detailed consideration of how the theoretical scope of the boundary object concept fits within an actor-network theory (ANT) sensibility when researching 'messy objects'. Messy objects are artefacts whose relational effects are inherently slippery and complex. As the aim of ANT is to show how non-human and human actors are…

New materialist and posthuman research methodologies are quickly gaining traction in educational research. According to its proponents, new materialism takes us to radically new places of praxis as it reconfigures central notions such as data, researcher positioning and critique. Here I consider how the notion of 'data' is invoked in an example of…

Action research empowers teachers to choose their own learning adventure based on their interests and needs. The process uses teachers' own questions about their work and about student learning--and transforms their classrooms into dynamic learning laboratories. As a group of teachers in one Title I elementary school demonstrate, this process can…

Innovative learning spaces have emerged in response to the influx of educational technologies and new social practices associated with twenty-first-century learning. Whilst dominant narratives of change often suggest that alterations in the designed environment for learning will result in changed practice, on the ground educators are struggling to…

This investigation employs categorical content analysis processes as a mechanism to examine trends and issues in a sampling of highly cited (100+) literature in special education journals. The authors had two goals: (a) broadly identifying trends across publication type, content area, and methodology and (b) specifically identifying articles with…

A professional academic identity is important because it supports a sense of belonging and contributes to the scholarly advancement of a discipline. However, a professional academic identity for those involved in teaching research methodology is particularly complex and diverse. This research surveyed 144 academics from 139 universities in 9…

To promote dialogue and in response to calls for rigorous, large-scale, empirical studies as the standard that will move the field of middle level education forward, a collaborative of middle level teacher researchers submit three counterpoints to the appeals for consideration by the research community: 1) the power of the insights the authors…

This post is one in a series highlighting MDRC's methodological work. In the past decade, rapid growth in the number of charter schools and school district choice systems has provided education researchers with exciting opportunities to use naturally occurring pockets of randomization to rigorously study the effects of policy-relevant education…

The leading text in the field of action research, "Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher" is known for its practical, step-by-step guidance for teachers on how to do research in classrooms. Drawing on his extensive experience working directly with teachers and principals to help them learn how to conduct action research…

Purpose: In "Can the subaltern speak?," Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak makes the important distinction between representation as "Vertretung" and "Darstellung." She also produces a strong version of whom she regards as a subaltern woman. Thirty years on both the distinction between "Vertretung" and…