In this essay, I reflect on and detail some of my experiences navigating the question of what it means for white scholars and white researchers to critically engage their own whiteness within the context of educational research. Considering my current academic role as a faculty member who works primarily with graduate students in educational…

Quantitative education research is often perceived to be "objective" or "neutral." However, quantitative research has been and continues to be used to perpetuate inequities; these inequities arise as both intended effects and unintended side effects of traditional quantitative research. In this review of the literature, we…

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,…

Educational research, and research in the Social Sciences more generally, has experienced a growth in the introduction of ethical review boards since the 1990s. Increasingly, universities have set up ethics review procedures that require researchers to submit applications seeking approval to conduct research. Review boards and the rules and…

Social network analysis (SNA) is becoming a prevalent method in education research and practice. But criticism has been voiced against the heavy reliance on quantification within SNA. Recent work suggests combining quantitative and qualitative approaches in SNA--mixed methods social network analysis (MMSNA)--as a remedy. MMSNA is helpful for…

In this paper, we consider the intensifying pressures on critical research and academic integrity in a research policy context that has come to be increasingly dominated by an instrumentalist mind-set. Using sensitising resources drawn from Geoff Whitty's critique of the 'what works' agenda, we reflect on the current conditions of academic labour…

This paper offers a defense of Robin Barrow's main arguments in "Giving Teaching Back to Teachers", including additional material concerning the inability of the aggregate data and statistical methods employed in research in education (and research on teaching) to speak to individual teachers and students or to particular classrooms.…

Bruno Latour famously asked, "Why has critique run out of steam?". In this paper we draw on his ideas to present some resources for "gathering"--for doing education policy research with others--which we term "critical-dissensual collaboration". We believe that our education policy research "critique from…

This "in process" Conclusion to the Special Issue (SI) "Global politics of knowledge production in EER: 'New' theory and North-South representations" (The Journal of Environmental Education) aims to highlight relevant issues and acknowledged limitations and silences from the sample of critiques presented in the SI, all built…

In this paper I overlay Foucault's lectures on biopower, governmentality, and truth-telling with Braiddoti's affirmative ethical claims on the posthuman and Lazzarato's recognition of refusal as an ethical act. I do so in specific response to the ubiquity of negative critique within contemporary research that claims the critical mantle. Yet, this…

This paper examines the idea of tribes and territories, as an example of a theory developed and applied within higher education research of relevance to higher education policy. It traces the origins and meaning of the term, reviews its application by higher education researchers and discusses the issues it raises and the critiques it has…

This article responds to recent critiques of the usefulness of research findings to teaching, and the call for teachers to rely on their experiences and intuition. I discuss the fallibility of intuition and then examine the nature of research and of critical thinking and their importance for teachers and teacher education. I provide evidence of…

In the first three sections of this paper we comment on some of the ideas developed in the forum papers, pointing out possible misunderstandings and constructing new explanations that clarify arguments we made in the original article. In the last section we expand the discussion raised in the original paper, elaborating on the limits of the use of…

In this article, I use the lens of voices and silences to frame my review of research in the field of disability and postsecondary education. I argue that we need to view research in this field as a necessarily political act that seeks to turn voices of silence into voices of change. Researchers therefore need to rethink their role in order to…

This article examines the case of academic drift, as an example of a theory developed and applied within higher education research. It traces the origins and meaning of the term, reviews its application by higher education researchers, and discusses the issues it raises and the critiques it has attracted. It concludes that academic drift is at the…