At one time or another, all researchers in mathematics education must face the rather complex question of their epistemological foundations. Discussing epistemological foundations naturally leads to a conversation about theories. Theories and epistemological foundations work in a circular fashion: theories can have epistemological foundations and…

Since becoming an educational researcher in the late 1980s, Gregory Marchant has struggled with the disconnect between what is known from educational research and what is practiced in educational policy. In fact, his dissertation looked at support for practices identified through the process-product effective teaching research from elementary and…

Erich Christian Wittmann is one of the primary founders of mathematics education research as an autonomous field of work and research in Germany. The interview presented here reflects on his role in promoting mathematics education as a design science. The interview addresses the following topics: (1) The importance of subject matter in…

This commentary reflects on the contributions to learning analytics and theory by a paper that describes how multiple theoretical frameworks were woven together to inform the creation of a new, automated discourse analysis tool. The commentary highlights the contributions of the original paper, provides some alternative approaches, and touches on…

This essay aims to provide a critical overview of the main themes to emerge from the Higher Education Close Up 5 conference held at Lancaster University in July 2010. The conference explored the relationship between theory and method in higher education (HE) research. This essay focuses upon four themes that developed from the proceedings. I begin…

This article presents an interview with Ann Robinson, a professor of educational psychology and founding director of the Center for Gifted Education at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She is the president of the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC), a former editor of the Gifted Child Quarterly (GCQ), and was the first Editor…

In her 1995 article, "Sapphire Bound!", legal scholar Regina Austin calls for minority female scholars in the legal field to straightforwardly, unapologetically, and strategically use their intellectual pursuits to advocate on behalf of poor and working class minority women. Even though Austin is arguing from the perspective of a woman of color,…

In this article, three theoretical perspectives are used to extend Bulterman-Bos's (2008) argument regarding a clinical approach to education research. First, three intellectual virtues identified by Aristotle--"episteme," "techne," and "phronesis"--are related to the requirements of the "pure" education researcher, the skilled practitioner, and…

This article presents the author's response to comments on her article, "Will a Clinical Approach Make Education Research More Relevant for Practice?", which focused on the question of whether a clinical research practice might make education research more relevant for practice. The characteristics of a clinical approach are: (1) an overlap in the…

Three issues emanating from the Bulterman-Bos article (2008) form the core of this commentary. First, the issue of relevancy is addressed from the standpoint of action research and other forms of practitioner inquiry. From this perspective, the divisions between the cultures of university and school are addressed both ways: Each can potentially be…

Environmental education is an important strategy in addressing environmental problems faced by communities around the world. In this article, the author particularly keen to know how the act of "doing research" will advance the field of environmental education and as such contribute to the solution of broader environmental problems. The author…

An editorial policy statement on the nature of the new journal "Applied Measurement in Education" is provided. The journal's intent is to improve measurement practice and communication between academicians and educational measurement practitioners in the field. This journal will contain articles with clear implications for applied measurement…

Discusses the benefits of teachers becoming researchers the field of education rather than researchers telling teachers what needs to be done and how. (MG)

The teacher-researcher split must be overcome to help improve schools and instruction. Research and practice integration will involve attitudinal changes accomplished through specific activities to increase teacher reflection, familiarity with the knowledge base, inquiry, and collegiality. Researchers, teacher-training institutions, and school…

Describes the author's experiences as a researcher working with a second grade teacher to implement change in the literacy curriculum, arguing that educational researchers need to engage in collaborative pedagogy with classroom teachers to develop a "theory of use." (HTH)