Because it is recognised that reading skills fall on a continuous dimension with no clear cut-off between ‘normal’ and ‘impaired’ (dyslexia) reading, we considered a number of different cut-off points for the classification of decoding difficulties/dyslexia (Stothard, Snowling and Hulme, in preparation).

phonological deficit affecting the processing of speech sounds in words

gainst this backdrop, it should be possible for educators to recognise the signs which suggest that a child is at risk of reading failure. Such early identification should allow interventions to be implemented before a downward spiral of underachievement, lowered self-esteem and poor motivation sets in.

ssimilar to those these children madein their oral language. Thus, Berkhanconcluded that speech and written lan-guage errors were conditions specificto the profile of a child who was a slowlearner. In his article, Berkhan recom

iteracy in any domain is actually not worth much if one knows nothing about the social practices of which literacy is but a part’

sociocultural paradigm weaves together a world view from conceptual tools across a number of subject disciplines.

but has to do some work and draw on prior learning in constructing meanings from cues in texts

social are understood to be related is more productive for inclusive practice

ontological difference without explaining it. This lack of explanation leads to simplified and dichotomised analyses, that is, it is either an ‘individual’ or a ‘social’ perspective.

ideological models, in particular those that see literacy as a social practice and a cultural activity, to be adopted.

Luke (2012) argues from a non- or redistributive approach to social justice that learners need access to genres of power and the literacy tools to know how texts version the world and construct power relationships between readers and authors.

A chorus of clashing answers also creates problems for literacy planners and educators. (

replace ‘old’ notions of literacy.

‘controlled and circumscribed’ studies.

To give an example, the approach advocated in the psycholinguistic paradigm is not applicable to the acquisition of Quranic literacy in non­Arabic speaking societies as described by Cole and Scribner (1981) in their study of the Vai in West Africa. Quranic literacy is learned initially ‘by rote­memorisation since the students can neither decode the written passages nor understand the sounds they produce. But students who persevere, learn to read [that is, sing out] the text and to write passages – still with no understanding of the language’ (Scribner & Cole, 1988: 246). As a student of Quranic literacy myself in my early years, I recall that whilst we did not know the language (classical Arabic) we, never­theless, did learn sound–symbol correspondence, we did learn to decode and we also learned about the rules and conventions of classical Arabic script. Technically then, we did learn to read as described by experimental psychologists. But we learned really only to ‘bark’ at print. Our reading purpose (prayer) did not necessitate comprehension as textual interpretation is traditionally performed by the Ulamah (learned scholars) (see Rassool, 1995). This bears out Cole and Scribner’s (1981) view that specific uses of literacy have specific implications, and that particular practices promote particular skills

his paradigm argues against a universal concept of literacy and proposes an acceptance of different ‘literacies’ within various social and cultural contexts

Literacy is integrally linked with a semiotic system that is grounded in language, culture and society. Signification is important in relation to making sense of any representational text [...

psycholinguists, on the other hand: language learning is easy when it’s whole, real, and relevant; when it makes sense and is functional; when it’s encountered in the context of its use; when the learner chooses to use it ... language is learned as pupils learn through language and about language, all simul­taneously in the context of authentic speech and literacy events

three language systems interact in written language: the graphophonic [sound and letter patterns], the syntactic [sentence patterns], and the semantic [meanings]. We can study how each one works in reading, and writing, but they can’t be isolated for instruction without creating non­language abstractions. (Goodman, 1986: 38–9)

psycholinguists on the reading process and the production of meaning through the use of contextual cues. Ps

normal’ levels of literacy ‘competence’

However, it could be argued that Parr and Campbell need to avoid overemphasising the responsibility that the practitioner has to be flexible in adapting to the contexts in which they are working. Does this place too much responsibility on the practitioner/teacher in relation to constructing and reconstructing views of literacy in a wider environment that is increasingly focusing on skills and training?

“particularly among children from deprived backgrounds”.

A society in which there is a widespread understanding of the nation’s past, a shared appreciation of cultural reference points, a common stock of knowledge on which all can draw, and trade, is a society in which we all understand each other better

core knowledge

Note that these instructional strategies do not represent a simple modification of an instructional strategy that Roni Jo had presented to the group. Rather, they represent independent thinking that Paul had to undertake in order to develop literacy instructional strategies that would make sense in music settings.

The field notes created during the observations and debriefing sessions became useful data in analyzing this phase of our research.

What it represents is a reassuring regularity in the practice of schooling and the project of literacy, a pattern readily imposed upon the potential chaos of the classroom

literature’ and ‘reading

Reading was in the service of moulding docile yet productive bodies and the formation of appropriate forms of subject-citizenry.

[finding] the lesson referred to’, that is, the previous one, which is presumably what is called a ‘story’.

Appropriate diction should clothe just ideas, as a tasteful and substantial garb fits a graceful and vigorous form. (Mann, 1846Mann, H. 1846. Report of an educational tour in Germany and parts of Great Britain and Ireland, London: Simpkin, Marshall & Company.  [Google Scholar], pp. 102–103)

As Mann concludes: ‘[T]he method I have described leads to conversation’, moreover ‘conversation with an intelligent teacher’

In the case I am now to describe, I entered a classroom of sixty children, of about six years of age. The children were just taking their seats, all smiles and expectation. They had been at school but a few weeks, but long enough to have contracted a love for it. The teacher took his station before them, and after making a playful remark which excited a light titter around the room, and effectually arrested attention, he gave a signal for silence. After waiting a moment, during which every countenance was composed and every noise hushed, he made a prayer consisting of a single sentence, asking that as they had come together to learn, they might be good and diligent. He then spoke to them of the beautiful day, asked them what they knew of the seasons, referred to the different kinds of fruit-trees then in bearing, and questioned them upon the use of trees in constructing houses, furniture, etc. Frequently, he threw in sportive remarks which enlivened the whole school, but without ever producing the slightest symptom of disorder. During this familiar conversation, which lasted about twenty minutes, there was nothing frivolous or trifling in the manner of the teacher; that manner was dignified though playful, and the little jets of laughter which he caused the children occasionally to throw out, were much more favourable to a receptive state of mind than jets of tears. (Mann, 1846Mann, H. 1846. Report of an educational tour in Germany and parts of Great Britain and Ireland, London: Simpkin, Marshall & Company.  [Google Scholar], pp. 95–96)

We can ask at this point: When is a reading? What constitutes ‘reading’ here? What makes some activity ‘not-reading’?―because much has in fact been and is already happening with regard to engagement with the text, these ‘stanzas’, surely.

s a combination of the word, the sentence, and the phonic systems’

to the upper primary school, which in effect remains the reference-point from then on

Reading is for understanding, for meaning, for thinking―

‘if teachers will only adopt the correct aim

the ultimate scientific approach to teaching reading at the time’

Religion thus links with education, as regimes of power. The reading lesson is at once disciplinary and pastoral, an exercise in artful redundancy, the articulation of conduct and disposition, a (mundane) practice of government.

moral-ethical practice

Why indeed is reading seen, historically and institutionally, as foundational for literacy and schooling alike?

Our aim in part is, therefore, to defamiliarise the lesson, to unsettle or interrupt its conventional usage.

a distinctive formulation, or trope: the reading lesson

They make the point that when looking at pedagogy and practice historically, literacy has always been about more than just teaching reading skills.

nstead, they stress a historical progression towards a view of literacy as an increasingly complex phenomenon

cannot ‘read’ language on account of lack of opportunity to acquire concepts or vocabulary

towards context and the development of a literate environment and culture that fosters social interaction

Scrutiny of national practices shows that there is little reliability and consistency in both the form and use of many diagnostic psychiatric tests associated with special educational needs

ternationalfinancial institutions such as the World Bank demand that‘inappropriate curricula’unrelated tothe economy should be removed. A report commissioned by French President Nicolas Sarkozy argued thatearly schooling should focus on employability and that economics should be taught in all primary schools.The UK’s Labour government urged the Financial Services Authority to advise on how‘to embed an entrepre-neurial culture’in schools. In Italy, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi claimed that all that students needed tolearn were the‘three i’s’–inglese,internet,impresa(English, internet, enterprise). Instead of learning about cul-ture and history, children must be taught how to be efficient consumers and jobholders.’(Standing2011, 69)

But, on the other hand,looking from a broader perspective, education devoid of elements of critical analysis of current rea-lity, focused only on providing the‘skills’needed in the labour market (e.g. the uberization of thelabour relations), does not just reduce the cost of adapting the workforce to current market require-ments within public‘knowledge factories’, but also‘produces’an exemplary consumer

I will name these tendencies‘worthless education’, by which I mean a form of educationthat is primarily aimed at obtaining a certificate, which, it is hoped, will provide (a) a higher prob-ability of getting into a better school of a higher level and/or (b) in the case of higher education, abetter bargaining situation in the labour market.

T texts have in fact become a recogniz-able genre somewhat akin to ‘fast-capitalist texts’, which are described as ‘a mixof history and description, prophesy, warning, proscriptions and recommen-dations, parables (stories of success and failure) and large doses of utopianism’

Specifying research questions around which all data collection is focused

researchinga

interview is a form of discourse

dynamic and complex

reliability and objectivity

enables the multiplicity, difference and diversity of the lived experiences of education to be explored.

linguistic turn

life and relationships. The dynamic of exclusion, then, was well recognised by somepupils, who could see the links between exclusion from school and their future life

Most valued schooling even if their own experiences had been negative.

At primary school, I just sat there and did what I was told but I was getting sick of it andthe teachers think they’re always right. They’re right about everything, even what’sgoing on in your own head. For months and months, I’ve had big clashes with teachersfor wearing my jacket in the classroom. I got chucked out for that and it got logged andeverything. That’s not really going to affect my learning, is it, just because I’ve got myjacket on in the classroom? The others in the class are different because they’ve beenthere all day but we’re travelling about. Sometimes I have to go outside to get to otherclasses and I say that I’m cold but the teachers tell me that I’m not cold. [But] how canthey know if someone else is cold or no? If I’m sitting a different way in the chair, I canstill see the blackboard and I can still hear, it’s the same with the jacket, it’s just stupid.It’s the way they talk to you, when they tell you to shut up, they think they can tell youeverything what to do. If you’re sitting a certain way in a chair, they’ll tell you that theydon’t want you to sit that way. It’s just wee things. Teachers are like strangers to youand I don’t even get that from my mum and dad or my pals. They tell you how to sit ona chair, they tell you not to wear your collar and stuff like that. If ***’s in the class, youcan’t hold a pen in your hand. The teachers do that; they don’t want you to hold a penin your hand if they’re teaching the class, stuff like that. They make a fuss about the wayI sat in the chair because I didn’t have my legs under the table. It ends up just setting meoff and I get frustrated and annoyed. (Gillian, Project 2

ndividualise problems andto see them as private trouble

internalexclusion’ where pupils spend time in corridors or outside the head teacher’s officerather than learning alongside their peers

xpected to promote the cognitive-intellectual development oftheir pupils not only for its own sake but to enhance employability in an age whereentry to occupations is increasingly governed by qualifications

ill realise their educa-tional and employment ambition

This, again, is a strong theme in researchabout excluded pupils. They want to be seen as people. They want teachers tounderstand their home circumstances and they want respect. Most value education,want to do well and regret that they had ‘skived’ or ‘mucked about’

dynamicsof exclusion

A growing literature, however, challenges thevalidity and reliability of these diagnoses on the grounds that the reasoning istautologous

attaches medical diagnoses to such behaviour, therebyremoving blame from the child or family or sch

First, formal disciplinaryexclusion is disproportionately experienced by boys, those aged 14–15

A shorthand label for what can happen when individuals or areas suffer from acombination of linked problems, such as unemployment, poor skills, low incomes, poorhousing, high crime environments, bad health and family breakdown.

From this perspective, legislation and policy cannot do much about the everyday forms of racism that pupils and adults may confront in schools, other educational settings and the workplace. This is extremely problematic as it is these subtle and ingrained forms of racism that can be the most significant and alienating part of minority ethnic students’ educational experiences

often not concerned

ng stances that promote the recognition of race in order to actively transform society rather than acknowledging equality in ways that ignore racial and colour differences.

Figuring out how to achieve this shift is also complicated by the defunding of public schools and the continual decline of the percentage of state support for public universities, which continue to prepare most teachers

he OSU–Mt. Olivet collaboration has relied heavily on the investment and participation of two individuals; now that both individuals are not able to direct the work, it is unlikely that the partnership will survive (Seidl, personal communica-tion, October, 2011.). Similarly, UW’s community-focused work in its elementary, secondary, and teacher residency pro-grams currently runs primarily on the energy, interest, and funding of a small number of individuals in the teacher educa-tion program

t a time of budget constraints, heavy demands, and accountability pressures on teacher education programs, many of the existing examples of community part-nerships are fragile

Teacher candidates also learned about classroom management tools and practices in their university courses, in their school placements, and they also got to hear from parents and family members whose Black and Brown children had been targeted in management and discipline policies and practices in local schools.

candidates bore much of the boundary-crossing burden

Field placements in community-based organizations.

Throughout the deliberative process, argumentation among participants allowed for com-peting views about purposes and practices related to class-room discussion practice to emerge and interact

K-12 teachers in the instruc-tion of teacher candidates does not necessarily mean that the teachers’ expertise is valued and utilized in the ways that we advocate;

There is substantial evi-dence that traditional knowledge hierarchies are maintained among universities, schools, and communities even in situa-tions that have been characterized as genuinely collaborative

“hori-zontal expertise,” “boundary-crossing/boundary-zones,” and “knotworking” have proved particularly useful in theorizing these hybrid relationships

collaborative efforts around these contradictions can lead to re-mediation of novice teachers’ learning.

often sends a very clear message about the lack of respect for the knowledge of P-12 practitioners and non-professional educa-tors in communities.

There has been extensive writing over the years about what beginning teachers need to know and be able to do (e.g., Darling-Hammond & Bransford, 2005), including the particular teaching practices that novices need to learn how to enact

t may also have been worthwhile to use more objective mea-sures as control variables, such as an observation of actual student behavior in class

hereas other children are more supportive of aggressive behaviourbecause they believe such behaviour yields positive results

together may help in uncovering potential underlying reasonsbehind their actions

tea-cher-centred (Hall & Hayden,2007) and includes behaviours, such as shouting, talk-ing loudly, calling out and distracting the teacher which prevent the teacher fromteaching and other children from learning

Undesirable behaviour and low-level disruptive behaviours have been conceptua-lised as a multifaceted set of actions (Poulin & Boivin,2000) including bullyingbehaviours such as temper tantrums, hitting and throwing, and non-compliance char-acterised by a disregard for authority (Douglas,1988). More recently, the definitionhas been extended to include verbal abuse, dirty looks, physical abuse, intent tocause injury, rejection, stealing friends and delinquency

Williams (1999: 51) argues that, ‘if a theory is broadly taken to be a model that helps us to understand why things are as they are’ then this is something people with learning disabilities frequently do

Award, bydoing so Alison greatly encouraged ancillary staff, whose voices were accordinglystrengthened

s:this school had its own underlying and difficult tensions and divisions, for instancebetween staff positioned differently in the school hierarchy, and between staff andpupils. Some teachers could even be intimidated by older children; and pupils werecertainly capable of resistance and hostility in some circumstances, as they had previ-ously shown in disputes with a year teacher—factors that might legitimately lead someteachers to fear the misuse of ‘voice’

If teachers aren’t prepared to respect and learnfrom someone with fewer qualifications or years of experience than them, how willthey listen to children?

n the case of the report card, too, a child demonstratesfamiliarity with the language of performativity. There is a common perception thatsuch official discourses, although they are aboutchildren, do not involvethem andindeed go over their heads; these examples show what a fundamental misunder-standing this is.

his means that what Alison wasasking involves not only a minor change in pedagogical practice (which might beeasily absorbed), but also a ‘paradigm shift’ in teachers’ very identity, which might behighly problematic and disturbing. Teachers may feel that their existing practice isbeing criticised and redefined as lacking, with no clear ‘new’ identity yet apparent.

They fear that students will make unrealistic requests or judgements,without thinking through their consequences or meaning

Alisonmay have further intimidated them by distributing an article by Michael Fielding thatwas aimed at an academic audience.)

‘I want to get up in the morningbecause I know that I’m coming to school to carry on with my project’

but how these are interpreted remains the scope of only the adult researcher

and beliefs do you think underpins this literature and conceptualisation of ‘student voice’

‘student voice

key concept

We have not arrived

The girls have beeneducated amidst the gendered, classed and racialised disciplinary processes of schools(Wright, Weekes, and McGlaughlin 2000), and have adopted strongly gendered

Attachment to school, Cooper (2008) argues, is a prerequisite for inclusion

They vociferously objected to the identitiesconstructed for them according to files and wanted to be ‘listened to’ and ‘given achance’ to contribute to the identity they assumed within the school. This included thediscursive empowerment to attribute their own identity labels and to resist previouslabels attributed to them. Sam even described a lack of integration between herself andthe self expressed through her file, a problematic ‘fragmentation’ of identity (Gergen2001, 7) as opposed to the integrated identity Ungar (2008) argues is important toachieving well-being

In this research, it more importantly captured evidence of relational andinteractive dimensions of individuals, as Goodwin (2001, 157) describes, ‘attemptingto carry out courses of action together while attending to each other

here’s girls here that understand like, each other’s situations, cos we’ve all like, some ofus have been in care, some of us haven’t, some of us haven’t got our mum’s with us,some of ‘em have ... But you don’t know them, but here, you know

before increasing permanency orsharing more publicly.

Tangen emphasises ‘how to listen’ (2008, 159) in conceiving listening ‘as an activeprocess of exchange of meanings’

well-being an explicit,central concern

project that is political

enabling voice is insufficientfor active and effective participation in decision-making without that voice beingaccompanied by space, influence and audience

Theirapparent choice to communicate in ways that transgress schools rules can lead tofurther labelling, with the effect of expanding their deficits and reducing their capacity(Lloyd 2005);

communication isfrequently unconventional

Realising the power of voice is less developed in the field of behavioural,emotional and social difficulties, where there is no equivalent (self-)advocacy move-ment. The importance of voice for this group has been seen in relation to the increasedlikelihood of their receiving punitive discipline

Tangen (2008)

Like Sefton-Green (2006), we believe that “under-standing media culture is a key element of any kind of child- or learner-centered curriculum” (p. 294).

We don’t really go to the movies.Jason: I know. It costs too much money.Edgar: Why do they charge so much?Jason: They are just trying to make a lot of money even though they know a lot of people can’t afford it

By placing blank speech bubbles on ads, Lee encourages others to write responses to the adver-tising. According to Lee, this process transforms the original advertisement into something more dialogic and inclusive.

The idea that classrooms should be places where students are encouraged to critically analyze media messages in general—and advertising in particular—is supported by the fact that a great deal of marketing is directed at young people

Too of-ten in schools serving high percentages of children of color and children of the working poor, test pressure results in low-level, skills-oriented instruction at the sacrifice of higher order critical thinking (Cummins, Brown, & Sayers, 2007).

ociology of absences, far from denying or eliminating the particular and the local, rather encourages them to envision what is beyond them’ (2001: 191)

participants

You should keep in mind the researcher/researched notion and think how it applies when you begin to plan an investigation in your own setting or community.

both teachers and learners (who might hitherto, in more severe language, have been labelled as ‘oppressors’ and ‘oppressed’) have come together into a mutually engaging partnership

classroom assistants

What is your own understanding of inclusion and inclusive practice at this stage of EE814? Has it changed in any way since you began the module?

In a study in the USA, Woodroffe and Spencer (2003) highlight the need for child-welfare workers to build close relationships with and among the diverse populations they serve before moving on to work with these culturally diverse clients.

Within the pairs, the younger students felt that their ideas were valued and saw their stories being told and recorded. The Year 7 students gained the experience of being mentors to the younger students, as well as being in the position of having their ideas admired by their younger buddies, rather than judged or criticised by their peers.

his gave the pupils the opportunity to read their work aloud in a non-threatening context and to receive feedback from their peers and the adult.

They were also prepared to consider that they could do better and that their practice might not be the optimal one for all their learners

Their approach is noteworthy for practitioners across education, healthcare, social work and community contexts because the teachers, by their participation in the study, were required to investigate their own literacy teaching practices. Instead of viewing the pupil as the ‘problem’, they had to think about what they might need to change in their own teaching practices to help at risk pupils experience success at school:

Of critical importance to fostering such change was the fact that the project createdsafe spaces for teachers to examine the effects of their teaching on different children–spaces that are not always available in schools or teacher education programmes

o be able to engineer pedagogic redesigns that made adifference.

Her excitement is evident in the positive shift in hervocabulary–``just beautiful'', ``so proud''.

accept greater responsibility for Ewan's literacy learning outcomes at schoolas she moved into the next phase of her research

Nola begin to gain some empathy

Willem now sees going to the football and events with his extendedfamily as legitimate writing material

apparently changed his mind. InØuenced by the work of Luis Moll (2000; Moll et al.,1992), he burst onto our teleconference meeting in March excitedly recounting thedetails of his home visit to Willem, his nominated case study child. First, he describednew, Øexible procedures he had instituted to encourage parents to meet with himduring the Ærst three weeks of school: during his time release, before school at 8:00a.m., after school until 6:00 p.m. or, alternatively, in parents' own homes after school.Marc was delighted by the response, with three time-release meetings, 11 after-hourschool meetings and eight home visits–a total of 22 out of 27 possible meetings.Willem's family opted for the home visit, an invitation that would have a dramaticeffect on Marc's deÆcit thinking about Willem. Willem was new to the school andcame without any records or Æles. Marc observed him during the Ærst two weeks as``struggling to settle in and complete any classroom work'', ``never completing writingtasks'', ``having little motivation toward reading books from the provided book boxes''and as ``simply disinterested in the set work''.During the home visit, however, he met an energetic child who lived in a livelyextended community of family and friends. In the driveway Marc noted a number ofboys kicking soccer balls; on the verandah he saw other boys lounging, while four orÆve others seemed to move freely in and out of the house. When no one answeredMarc's knock at the door, the boys told him to just go in. Somewhat hesitant anduncomfortable, he was soon greeted by Willem and his mother Gwen, who camerushing to welcome him. Marc was amazed to see that most of the rooms in the housewere festooned with black and yellow ornaments–the unmistakeable team colours ofMelbourne's Richmond Tigers football team.In the kitchen he was given a cold drink while Gwen explained that Willem was theyoungest of four boys and that his eldest brother played for the Richmond TigersReserve team. The whole family thrived on the game of AFL and the boys constantlyhad a few of their local footy team mates over, so that at any given time there might bebetween 10 and 15 people in the house. The day Marc visited, Gwen had prepared for14 people to stay that night, and this was not unusual.

microanalyses of their redesign and prepare journal articles, chapters for books andwebsite publications

case study child betterconnect with the literacy curriculum.

ith teachers as community ethnographers whovisited families in order to learn about their ``funds of knowledge''

most salient aspects of this approach was to structure theworkshops as a dialogic space for disrupting discourses of blame that attend literacyfailure

highlight the methodological importance ofinstitutionalising

argue that disruptingdeÆcit discourses requires serious intellectual engagement by teachers over anextended period of time in ways that foster teacher agency and respec

staffrooms;

The fact that two of the childrendisplayed doubts about their academic competence is perhaps more problematic.These observations raise the question of whether other teaching strategies could havemade the classroom even more inclusive.

Justice is, to quite a high degree, interpreted as the right to learn according to one’sprerequisites; to feel secure as a member of the group (McLaughlin 2008); and theright to have an opinion, to voice that opinion, and to be listened to (cf. Schultz2008).

Respect the children, be positive and avoid confrontational relations, thusnever letting children lose face. This theme also involves always including thepossibility of choice and trying to provide positive feedback. Teacher Aexpressed several times that ‘they are fine children’, which could be seen as anexpression of a general attitude towards the children.

meeting them often – not only when problemsarise.

The teachers decided on the composition of the groups

Differences were largely viewed as ordinary

Tosum up, the questionnaire and the sociograms indicate that the children on a generallevel seemed to be content in the classroom, enjoyed working in groups, and no oneseemed to be socially isolated. However, the children with disabilities were on aver-age picked less often as someone to be with/play with.

and 14 out of the 15 children agreedwith the statement ‘I like to work together in a group’ (one child wrote ‘depends onthe subject’). In total, 10 out of 15 children did not agree with the statement ‘I like towork by myself best’, while five wrote ‘at times’ or ‘depends’.

An additional problem withmanuals is that they often contain very long lists of advice. Further, it is not clear howsuch advice has emerged out of empirical studies

Severalresearchers suggest there is a risk that inclusion only involves moving special educa-tional practices into the classroom (McLeskey and Waldron 2007).

Even the unobtrusive use of pen and paper can be offensive toparticipants in highly stressful settings such as disciplinary hearings for teachers.

‘Does this array of data I have collected accuratelyreflect the milieu under study?

‘Bracketing’ refers tobeing aware of one’s personal values and preconceptions and transcending themduring the research in an effort to see a situation with a new perspective.Bracketing is vital to field research

nterviews permit researchers to verify, clarify, or alter whatthey thought happened, to achieve a full understanding of an incident, and to takeinto account the ‘lived’ experience of participants.

imaginatively

Clearly, there is a need formiddle-range, data-based theory in education that explains the everyday world ofteachers, students, administrators, and the school bureaucracy

To try tocatch the interpretive process by remaining aloof as a so-called ‘objective’observer and refusing to take the role of the acting unit is to risk the worstkind of subjectivism

Because researchers alter the context inundetermined ways, they collect and analyze data about how people react to themand how they themselves react to the people and the setting.

conceptualize the essence ofspecific interactional processes.

discovering first the world as seen through the eyes ofthe participants and then the basic social processes or structures that organizethat world

Glaser and Strauss believed grand theorieswere generated from idle speculation rather than from data and those whogenerated grand theories were not interested enough in research to test them out.

Anselm Strauss

selecting participants and by modifying the questions

Constructivist grounded theory places priority on the studied phenomenon over the methods of studying it, uses grounded theory strategies as tools, not as prescriptions, and acknowledges the researcher's role in interpreting data and creating categories.

In effect, I occupied the bottom rung of the ladder. Had I occupied any higher position, power relations would certainly have had more of an impact.

Similarly, Hawkins (1990Hawkins, B. S. R. 1990. “The management of staff development in a contracting education service”. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Birmingham Polytechnic [Google Scholar], p. 417) felt that the minimal responses used by ethnographers to elicit further information could be misinterpreted as a lack of interest.

Well, then, how do you feel about being asked to do the appraisal system? You say that they’re not taking advantage of the highly qualified faculty that they have. This suggests that you feel, maybe, slightly insulted? (I don’t want to put words in your mouth) by the appraisal system.

respondents may face ‘problems of tempering the truth in the knowledge that fruitful professional relationships … [have] … to continue after the research had been completed

Margaret Mead

he vital significance of the ‘unmarked’ (Brekhus, 1998Brekhus, W. 1998. A sociology of the unmarked: redirecting our focus. Sociological Theory, 16(1): 34–51.  [Crossref], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]) might not be noticed; the ‘obvious’ question might not be asked (Hockey, 1993Hockey, J. 1993. Research methods—researching peers and familiar settings. Research Papers in Education, 8(2): 199–225.  [Taylor & Francis Online], [Google Scholar], p. 206); the ‘sensitive’ topic might not be raised (Preedy & Riches, 1988Preedy, M. and Riches, C. 1988. “Practitioner research in school management: an analysis of research studies undertaken for an Open University course”. In The enquiring teacher: supporting and sustaining teacher research, Edited by: Nias, J. and Groundwater‐Smith, S. Lewes: Falmer Press.  [Google Scholar]); shared prior experiences might not be explained (Powney & Watts, 1987Powney, J. and Watts, M. 1987. Interviewing in educational research, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.  [Google Scholar], p. 186; Kanuha, 2000Kanuha, V. K. 2000. ‘Being’ native versus ‘going native’; conducting social work research as an insider. Social Work, 45(5): 439–447.  [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar], p. 442); assumptions might not be challenged (Hockey, 1993Hockey, J. 1993. Research methods—researching peers and familiar settings. Research Papers in Education, 8(2): 199–225.  [Taylor & Francis Online], [Google Scholar], p. 202); seemingly shared norms might not be articulated (Platt, 1981Platt, J. 1981. On interviewing one’s peers. The British Journal of Sociology, 32(1): 75–91.  [Crossref], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar], p. 82); and data might become thinner as a result.

Human beings cannot be so easily categorised; individuals within a particular group will not all share exactly the same perceptions and, therefore, it is not enough to be female (Riessman, 1987Reissman, C. K. 1987. When gender is not enough: women interviewing women. Gender and Society, 1(June): 172–207.  [Crossref], [Google Scholar]; Reay, 1995Reay, D. 1995. Feminist research: the fallacy of easy access. Women’s Studies International Forum, 18(March/April): 205–213.  [Crossref], [Google Scholar]), black (Beoku‐Betts, 1994Beoku‐Betts, J. 1994. When black is not enough: doing field research among Gullah Women. NWSA Journal, 6(3): 413–433.  [Google Scholar]), or gay

Ohnuki‐Tierney

The Outsider doctrine follows Simmel (1950Simmel, G. 1950. The sociology of Georg Simmel, New York: Free Press.  [Google Scholar]) in asserting that only the neutral outsider can achieve an objective account of human interaction, because only he or she possesses the appropriate degree of distance and detachment from the subjects of the research. It is the stranger who is able ‘to survey conditions with less prejudice’ (Simmel, 1950Simmel, G. 1950. The sociology of Georg Simmel, New York: Free Press.  [Google Scholar], p. 405), who can ‘stand back and abstract material from the research experience’ (Burgess, 1984Burgess, R. G., ed. 1984. In the field: an introduction to field research, London: Unwin Hyman.  [Crossref], [Google Scholar], p. 23), whilst it is the insider, overly‐influenced by the customs of his or her group, who remains ignorant, parochially mistaking error for truth (Merton, 1972Merton, R. 1972. Insiders and outsiders; a chapter in the sociology of knowledge. American Journal of Sociology, 78(July): 9–47.  [Crossref], [Google Scholar], p. 30). By contrast, the Insider doctrine asserts the exact opposite, namely, that the outsider: has a structurally imposed incapacity to comprehend alien groups, statuses, cultures and societies … [because he or she] … has neither been socialized in the group nor has engaged in the run of experience that makes up its life, and therefore cannot have the direct, intuitive sensitivity that alone makes empathic understanding possible. (Merton, 1972Merton, R. 1972. Insiders and outsiders; a chapter in the sociology of knowledge. American Journal of Sociology, 78(July): 9–47.  [Crossref], [Google Scholar], p. 15)

‘as a temporary insider

In my own study, for example, I engaged in particularly ‘intimate’ insider research at the first institution in which I collected data, in the sense that I was well‐known to most of my informants for 18 months before my investigation began, and had freely expressed my opinions on my research topic. By contrast, at the second institution, my research was of a much less ‘intimate’ nature because my informants had known me less than a year, and I had deliberately chosen not to discuss in any context anything related to my research topic

a continuum, with the two abstractions better considered as end points ‘existing in conceptualisation rather than fact’ (Christensen & Dahl, 1997Christensen, D. H. and Dahl, C. M. 1997. Rethinking research dichotomies. Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal, 25(3): 269–285.  [Crossref], [Google Scholar], p. 282). The boundaries between the two are both ‘permeable’ (Merton, 1972Merton, R. 1972. Insiders and outsiders; a chapter in the sociology of knowledge. American Journal of Sociology, 78(July): 9–47.  [Crossref], [Google Scholar], p. 37) and ‘highly unstable’ (Mullings, 1999Mullings, B. 1999. Insider or outsider: both or neither: some dilemmas of interviewing in a cross‐cultural setting. Geoforum, 39(4): 337–350.  [Crossref], [Google Scholar], p. 338), with the result that we are all ‘multiple insiders and outsiders’ (Deutsch, 1981Deutsch, C. P. 1981. The behavioral scientist: insider and outsider. Journal of Social Issues, 37(2): 172–191.  [Crossref], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar], p. 174), moving ‘back and forth across different boundaries’ (Griffith, 1998Griffith, A. I. 1998. Insider/outsider: epistemological privilege and mothering work. Human Studies, 21: 361–376.  [Crossref], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar], p. 368), ‘as situations involving different values arise, different statuses are activated and the lines of separation shift’ (Merton, 1972Merton, R. 1972. Insiders and outsiders; a chapter in the sociology of knowledge. American Journal of Sociology, 78(July): 9–47.  [Crossref], [Google Scholar], p. 28).

Gibbons (1999)has called more broadly for a rethinking of science’s relationship with society wheresociety can ‘speak back to’ science to reveal the implications of the products ofscience and enable an ongoing co-configuring of research and its outputs

The then Secretary of State was unsurprisingly driven by what research could offerpolicy. Our concern from the outset has been to reflect on how user engagementenhances the quality of pedagogic research and the implications for the researchprocess.

researchers in these areas should become moreforward-looking and focus on developing ideas

Guidance for getting provisional implications for policy across was offered byexperienced knowledge brokers. This included: identify key messages; recognise thelimitations of the evidence; be persistent; use multiple formats when communicatingi.e. one page, three pages and 25 pages; don’t dumb-down, but don’t blind withscience. Direct help is also at hand from knowledge brokers, such as the GSRU andCentre for the Use of Research and Evidence in Education (CUREE), who are ableto identify the preoccupying questions or wicked issues of the day and make linkswith research

national policy makers rely primarily on commissions, trusted expertsand think tanks for ideas.

When it came to looking at user engagement with policycommunities the primary concern seemed to be how to influence policy onceprojects had reached some conclusions.

Co-construction processes do make successful contextualisation of research productsmore likely. However, they demand the kind of freedom of action that is rarelyaccorded researchers in funded projects which are largely tied to pre-determinedresearch objectives

It showed that in most cases user engagement was a long way from theidea of universities as simply part of a team

There were also times when educational managersencouraged involvement because of the catalytic effect it could have with morejunior colleagues