Critical Praxis Research (CPR) is a teacher research methodology designed to bridge the divide between practitioner and scholar, drawing together many strands to explain the research process not just as something teacher researchers do, but as a fundamental part of who teacher researchers are. Emphasizing the researcher over the method, CPR embraces and amplifies the skills and passions teachers naturally bring to their research endeavours. Emerging from the tradition of critical pedagogy, Critical Praxis Research: Breathing New Life into Research Methods for Teachers transcends longstanding debates over quantitative vs. qualitative and scholar vs. practitioner research. The text examines the histories and current applications of common methodologies and re-conceptualizes the ways that these methodologies can be used to enhance teachers " identities as practitioners and researchers. It also provides a critical examination of the role of Institutional Review Boards, and explores the complexity and ethics of data collection, data analysis, and writing. Through guiding questions and writing prompts, the author encourages readers to think through the process of design and conducting CPR. The text is theoretically rich, but written in an accessible style infused with metaphor, irony, and humour. Critical Praxis Research: Breathing New Life into Research Methods for Teachers is both instructive and uplifting, sending the message that research is difficult but also joyful, like life itself.
Common terms and phrases:
Belmont Report bricolage classroom critical pedagogy Critical Praxis Research epistemology Kincheloe ontology positivist qualitative research Springer Science+Business Media
Cover
Explorations of Educational Purpose 19
Critical Praxis Research
Preface
Acknowledgements
Contents
Part I Breathing Life into Research Methods for Teachers
1 Introduction: Why Critical Praxis Research?
Deconstructing the Practitioner/Scholar Divide
Teacher Identity and the Purpose(s) of Research
Breathing New Life into Research Methods for Teachers
Overview of the Book
How to Read the Book
Questions for Discussion
Writing for Insight
Notes
References
2 Stages of Grief and Bringing Joy Back to Inquiry
Grieving, Growing, and Be(com)ing a Critical Praxis Researcher
Stage 1-Guilt: Death by Peanut
Stage 2-Shock/Disbelief: But, Whats the Point
Stage 3-Bargaining: Death by Marginalization
Stage 4-Anger: Evidence of Scholarship
Stage 5-Acceptance/Hope: Poetic License
Stage 6-Denial: Muses, Mojos, and That-Guy
Lessons (Un)Learned from Death Education
What My Reflections Reveal
What My Stories Obscure
Socio-cultural Analysis
Implications for Practice
Bringing Joy Back to Inquiry: Research as Me-Search
Questions for Discussion
Writing for Insight
Note
References
3 Positivist Research, Death of the Self
What Is Positivism
Scientism and the Myth of the Scientific Method
The Rise of Positivism in Educational Research and Reform
Exposing the Ghosts of Positivism
Preventing Intellectual Suicide with CPR
Questions for Discussion
Writing for Insight
Notes
References
4 Qualitative Research: The Researcher in a Comatose State
Entering the Qualitative Versus Quantitative Debate
What Is Qualitative Research?
Qualitative Research in Education: An Historical Overview
Qualitative Research in a Comatose State
Waking from the Coma: Making Qualitative Educational Research More Human(e)
Questions for Discussion
Writing for Insight
Note
References
5 CPR: Breathing New Life into Research Methods for Teachers
Defying the Dominance of Social EfficiencyResearching Education for Democracy
Researching Education with a Sense of Radical Purpose
Radical Purpose: The Driving Force Behind Critical Praxis Research
Radical Hope: Looking Beyond ''What Is'' Toward ''What Could Be''
Breathing Without the Aid of the Positivist Educational Research Machine
Questions for Discussion
Writing for Insight
Note
References
Part II Practicing Critical Praxis Research
6 The Seven Deadly Sins: Vices and Virtues of CPR
Pride/Arrogance
Envy
Gluttony, Greed, and Lust
Sloth
Wrath
Clearing the Way to a Temperate Middle Ground
Questions for Discussion
Writing for Insight
Notes
References
7 The Art of CPR Research Design
Connecting the Practitioner and the Researcher
Working in the Here and Now: Revisiting the Paradigms
Methodologies and Methods
Qualitative Research
Qualitative Data Sources
Quantitative Research
Types of Quantitative Research
Mixed Methods and Bricolage
Mixed Methods: Combining Qualitative and Quantitative Data
Bricolage: Multiple Methods and Theories for Revealing Complexity
Choosing the Best Path: Framing a Question
Being and Becoming in the Field
Questions for Discussion
Writing for Insight
Notes
References
8 From Knowledge Discovery to Understanding
Understanding What You Know: Analysis and Interpretation
Organizing and Immersing Ourselves in the Data
Coding/Categorizing the Data5
Interpreting and Writing
Regarding Data Analysis Software
Research Quality
Toward a Research of Wholeness
Questions for Discussion
Writing for Insight
Notes
References
9 Demystifying Research Ethics in CPR
A Brief History of Research Ethics in the United States
The Belmont Report: Principles and Limitations
The Differences Between Research and Practice
Respect for Persons The Belmont Report
Beneficence
Justice
Limitations of The Belmont Report
Navigating the Murky Waters of (Educational) Research and the IRB
Navigating The Ethical Review Process
University Approval
Understanding the IRB Proposal
Beyond Ethical Compliance in Critical Praxis Research
Questions for Discussion
Writing for Insight
Note
References
Part III CPR in Action
10 Finding Solidarity with/in/through CPR
The Importance of Community in Critical Praxis Research
Establishing a Critical Collective: The Birth of the Research Crew
Coming to Critical Praxis Research By Root and By Seed
References
11 Shaken and Stirred: On Coming to Critical Praxis
Moments
Thats Just the Way It Is
Youth Responses
Responsibilities
A Personal Introduction to Really Bad Theory
Experts
Class
Art and Cultural Studies
Once Upon a Time
The Allegory of Mike
Reflexivity and Connections
When All is Said and Done
About the Author
Notes
References
12 Making Space for Praxis: Reflection on Research with ESL Teachers
Beginning the Process
Making Space to Step Back
Finding the Answer
Research in ACCELA
Mining the Tensions
Purpose of the Study
Research Questions
Theoretical Frameworks Informing My Methods
Struggling with a Paradigm
Making Peace with Theory
The Context of My Work
Conducting the Study
Analysis and Preliminary Findings
Having Made Space and Time
About the Author
Note
References
13 Developing My Own Ways of Knowing as a Teacher Researcher
Changing Perceptions
Teacher Research
Grounding My Study in My Personal Experience
Studying My Own Classroom Practice
Co-teaching Methodology
Importance of the Shared Experience and Cogenerative Dialogue
Importance of Co-participating
(co) Auto/Ethnography
Judging the Quality of My Teacher Research
Anticipatory Accommodation
Pragmatic Validity
Conclusion
About the Author
References
14 The Interplay of Identity, Context, and Purpose in a Study of Mathematics Teaching and Learning
Locating the Gap Between Theory and Practice in Mathematics Education
Mathematics as Culture: Situating Myself in the Research
Mathematics Teaching and Learning as Socio-cultural Practice
Student Learning in Context: A Qualitative Case Study
Revisiting the Research Questions
Analyzing the Data
An Initial Description of Classroom Activity
Embracing the Humanity of Mathematics
About the Author
Note
References
15 Swimming UpStream: Reconsidering Alternative Education and Resiliency vis--vis Identity and Context
Soy Latina Doesnt Mean Im Hood
Swimming UpStream: Building a Viable Alternative to a Dropout Factory
Reconsidering Resiliency
Redesigning an Alternative in UpStream: The Importance of Context
Researching with Students to Improve Alternative Education
Methodology
Preliminary Results
Conclusion
About the Author
Notes
References
16 From Research to Me-Search
Everyday I Write the Book
Man in the Box
Help
Where We Converge and Diverge
The Book Is the Dissertation
Methodological Framework
The First Critical Lens-Auto Ethnography
The Second Critical Lens---Practitioner Ethnography
The Third Critical Lens- Co-Auto Ethnography
Challenge the Status Quo with Criticality
About the Author
References
17 The Whole Story
Narrative One: Faith and Scholarship
Narrative Two: Girl Power
Narrative Three: The Urban Mission
Narrative Four: Personal and Professional
Conclusion: How Newbies Like Us Can Write a Whole Story
About the Author
Notes
References
Glossary
Index
