In this essay I reflect on the ethical challenges of ethnographic fieldwork I personally experienced in a female gambling study. By assuming a covert research role, I was able to observe natural occurrences of female gambling activities but unable to make peace with disturbing feelings of my research concealment. By making my study overt, I was…

Theories of learning typically downplay the interplay between social structure and student agency. In this article, we adapt a causal hypothesis from realist social theory and draw on wider perspectives from critical realism to account for the development of capacity to engage in reflection on professional practice in academic roles. We thereby…

This paper examines the foundation and development of universities in Australia and New Zealand and demonstrates how these universities were established on a secular basis. Educators from other continents with a mainly Christian history are often surprised that there is so little evidence of Christian input into the university sector in…

This research identifies 22 fields that declined in absolute numbers and/or prevalence over a 35-year period. Most were basic fields in the arts and sciences. Steep declines were evident only in a few fields, notably European languages and literatures. Larger, higher status, and historically liberal arts oriented institutions were less likely to…

The aim of this article is to explore what the concept of interdisciplinarity can bring to our developing understanding of education as a field of enquiry. We shall draw upon some recent writing on the disciplines of education in order to explore the potentially negative consequences of the way in which the disciplines are institutionalised and…

Using evidence gathered during 18 months of participant-observation in 2 nursing homes and 65 interviews with staff, this article examines how nursing-home staff use agency as a rhetorical resource to construct a dignified workplace. Staff attribute agency to dying residents, saying they choose the timing and conditions of their death. Staff…

Little research has been done on instructing student teachers by means of field studies in developing countries. Herein, I argue that sending geography students on such expeditions provides them with valuable perspectives, connections and improved knowledge, especially if they experience personal involvement and participation in addition to…

The purpose of this article is to analyze assistive technology literature for students with disabilities. The literature search rendered N = 57 literature and n = 17 manuscripts were identified in the special education technology field studies. Each source was evaluated according to the following criteria: types of disability, learning objectives…

The level of educational development in Pakistan is low. A decentralisation reform was introduced in 2000 to improve the delivery of basic education by designating the local government body with primary responsibility for administering it. A qualitative field study on local education administration at the North West Frontier Province found…

Recent federal education policies and reports have generated considerable debate about the meaning, methods, and goals of "scientific research" in mathematics education. Concentrating on the critical problem of determining which educational programs and practices reliably improve students' mathematics achievement, these policies and reports focus…

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of doctoral student mothers pursuing doctorates in higher education as well as the meanings ascribed to the doctorate. This study was guided by Rich's (1976) notion of motherhood as experience and as institution held in tension with postmodernism's interest in discourse and difference. As…

The purpose of this study was to field-test several conferencing technologies in regional schools in Victoria to determine whether the technologies are appropriate for the needs of the university supervisor, trainee teachers and supervising teachers with regard to practicum placements. The study also explored the potential of technology for other…

Middle school teachers' use of digital curricula incorporating dynamic technology has been found to support student learning of complex algebraic concepts. This article reports on pilot research involving collaboration among faculty from a public university's college of education, educational researchers from a nonprofit research organization, and…

An analysis of linguistics texts based on Indigenous community fieldwork raises questions of authority, contribution and accreditation of linguists and community representatives. The recommendations of various professional practice guidelines are considered, and possible theoretical understandings introduced. Uninterrogated writing practices may…

A case study is presented of embedding research in a final year undergraduate, field-based, physical geography module. The approach is holistic, whereby research-based learning activities simulate the full life cycle of research from inception through to peer review and publication. The learning, teaching and assessment strategy emphasizes the…