Background: There is a wide range of published research analysing the possible influences of physical education at school over the building of values. Some of these studies indicate positive outcomes while others demonstrate that the influence of physical education at school over the values built by students is not as beneficial as believed. When…

In this paper, some key findings of the Keeping Connected project are discussed in light of the methodological challenges of developing an analytical approach in a large-scale study, particularly in starting with open-ended, participant-selected, digital still visual images as part of 31 longitudinal case studies. The paper works to clarify the…

In this paper I use a general philosophy of science perspective in looking at the problem of justifying action research. First I try to clarify the concept of justification, by contrasting it with the concept of validity, which seems to be used almost as a synonym in some parts of the literature. I discuss the need for taking a stand in relation…

Indigenous Australians represent 2.2% of the working age population, yet account for only 1.4% of all university enrolments. In relation to higher degree research students, Indigenous Australians account for 1.1% of enrolments, but only 0.8% of all higher degree research completions. This paper reports on findings that emerged from an Australian…

The article reports on a study of methodological innovation involving occupational therapy (OT) students in higher education (HE). It is based on an original project which examined the experiences and outcomes of non-traditional entrants to pre-registration OT education. A feature of the original project was the application of the epistemological…

This article is an engagement of methodology as an ideologico-racial practice through Critical Race Theory's practice of storytelling. It is a conceptual extension of this practice as explained through Charles Mills' use of the "racial contract (RC) as methodology" in order to explain the Herrenvolk Education--one standard for…

This article explores some theoretical and methodological problems concerned with scale in education research through a critique of a recent mixed-method project. The project was framed by scale metaphors drawn from the physical and earth sciences and I consider how recent thinking around scale, for example, in ecosystems and human geography might…

Early career researchers are of increasing interest, regardless of national boundaries, given both policies to enhance international competitiveness, and concerns about individuals turning away from academic careers. As a result, there is a growing literature documenting how early career researchers navigate their journeys and decide to stay or…

This paper contributes to consideration of the role of conceptual frameworks in the doctoral research process. Through reflection on the two authors' own conceptual frameworks for their doctoral studies, a pedagogical model has been developed. The model posits the development of a conceptual framework as a core element of the doctoral…

In this article, the author recollects her memories reading Constance A. Mellon's article, "Library Anxiety: A Grounded Theory and Its Development," when it appeared in the March 1986 issue of "College & Research Libraries." She was a reference librarian at at DePauw University in Indiana at the time, helping students…

This article addresses the issue of the plurality of theories and perspectives in education research, and introduces postperspectival theory as a means to work with this plurality. Three pieces of research are discussed, all focusing on children's learning of numbers, one taking a cognitivist perspective, the other two a more sociocultural…

It is important for educational researchers to possess an understanding that research (albeit a contentious area in terms of what indeed this constitutes) undertaken is done with certain pre-existing values and beliefs as to what we as individuals and teachers hold true. The methods and methodologies defined by Gough (2000, p.3) as "the reasoning…

Over the last decade there has been a noticeable growth in published works citing Critical Race Theory (CRT). This has led to a growth in interest in the UK of practical research projects utilising CRT as their framework. It is clear that research on "race" is an emerging topic of study. What is less visible is a debate on how CRT is…

Evaluation in higher education is an evolving social practice; that is, it involves what people, institutions and broader systems do and say, how they do and say it, what they value, the effects of these practices and values, and how meanings are ascribed. The textual products (verbal, written, visual and gestural) that inform and are produced by,…

This chapter is a call for consequential education research that has transformative potential: intellectually, educationally, and socially. It is about learning to see differently. It is an argument about seeing our work with youth and communities in ways that can help education researchers see ingenuity instead of ineptness and inability, to see…