This paper seeks to raise awareness among educational researchers and practitioners of some significant weaknesses and internal contradictions of randomised control trials (RCTs). Although critiques throughout the years from education scholars have pointed to the detrimental effects of this experimental approach on education practice and values,…

Since the 1950s, educational literature has explored the potential of translating art criticism into classroom practices. This eventually led to the emergence of educational criticism as a distinctive form of inquiry in the 1970s. However, despite its potential for exploring educational experiences and evaluating educational programs, educational…

The relevance of the research problem is caused by the lack of a single complete system for determining the subgenre differences in the epistolary genre in literary criticism. Thus, this research is devoted to the problem of clarification of the difference between epistolary literature and epistolary journalism in their development over time. The…

This article explores the possibility of developing an ethico-politically coherent and practical research framework for studying the learning and knowledge-production and dissemination processes of utopian groups and movements. It seeks to develop understanding of utopias by identifying and conceptualizing their pedagogical aspects. At the same…

Efforts to identify and support credible causal claims have received intense interest in the research community, particularly over the past few decades. In this paper, we focus on the use of statistical procedures designed to support causal claims for a treatment or intervention when the response variable of interest is dichotomous. We identify…

This article addresses efforts to build social work research in a manner consistent with good science and research. A critical perspective is applied to examine what does not work in building knowledge and how social work research can address factors that limit knowledge building. A critical perspective is imperative to social work knowledge…

Recent decades have seen growing enthusiasm internationally for the concept and practice of "child voice". This was encapsulated in, and stimulated, by Article 12 of the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. This article presents the case for incorporating the equally important concept of "child silence" in both research and…

This paper identifies the need for a deliberate approach to theory building in the context of researching cognitive and learning style differences in human performance. A case for paradigm shift and a focus upon research epistemology is presented, building upon a recent critique of style research. A proposal for creating paradigm shift is made,…

The methods literature on research with children recognises the challenges of negotiating informed consent with this group. Special "child-friendly" techniques are advocated to overcome these challenges. We argue that, upon closer inspection, research with children foregrounds more fundamental problems with informed consent that are not easily…

The concept of "funds of knowledge" is critically reviewed, tracing a history of the term's changing use since its original conception by Velez-Ibanez and Greenberg in the late 1980s, and discussing its relevance in adult literacy and numeracy classrooms. An attempt is made to locate the concept within wider theoretical frameworks, and in…

Health and social care researchers, in their haste to "belong" to academia, have adopted the system of mixed methodology research, overestimating its ability to reveal the truth and occasionally imprisoning their thought in one system. In this article, some of the assumptions underpinning mixed methodology research and its discourse are subjected…

After evaluating a proposal by Jon Star (2005) that mathematics educators reconceptualize the construct of procedural knowledge, we offer an alternative reconceptualization based on an extension and amalgamation of his and other conceptualizations of procedural knowledge and conceptual knowledge. We then propose some implications for research…

This article argues that fictional writing has the potential to make a distinctive contribution to educational scholarship but brings challenges to conventional ways in which educational research is judged. It focuses on the discipline required by fictional writing and on the interplay between reader and text. It is argued that the rigour and…

This article presents a critical analysis of empirical studies assessing literacy and other domains of academic achievement among children with cochlear implants. A variety of recent studies have demonstrated benefits to hearing, language, and speech from implants, leading to assumptions that early implantation and longer periods of implant should…

The authors provide a review and critique of 82 empirical investigations conducted in the United States on teacher preparation for reading instruction. These studies were chosen from a pool of 298 based on the authors' coding of research quality indicators. Applying an inductive paradigmatic analysis of the 82 studies, this review suggests that in…