Currently researchers connected to university contexts who conduct research involving human parti... more Currently researchers connected to university contexts who conduct research involving human participants must receive approval from a research ethics board, and in the case of school-based research, from school district authorities. This article focuses on the ethics review of school-based research. Applications submitted to a research ethics board and a district research review committee serve as primary data for the study. Information presented relates to research interests, researchers' background, methodologies proposed, and board decisions. Emergent themes discussed are limited to two: a focus on student researchers and research ethics review, and the connections between the research review boards and their influence on school-based research.
The language of 'scholar-activist' has made its way into academic discourse over the last... more The language of 'scholar-activist' has made its way into academic discourse over the last few decades. Historically a divide has existed between academics situated in the university and activists working within and across communities. This discussion paper addresses challenges scholars face when doing activist work within their institutional and community settings and on an international level. We explore the ways in which 'scholar-activism' has been taken up in the academy and how it is shaped by local and global contexts. Specifically, we discuss the factors that influence the work of those claiming to be scholar-activists who are interested in working for social change. We suggest that if scholar-activists are to maintain respectful relationships across individual and community differences, we must first negotiate how we may be differently positioned in terms of privilege, power, resources, race, identity, history of colonialism, and personal and national identity...
The research discussed in this paper is part of a large national study. Teachers at multiple site... more The research discussed in this paper is part of a large national study. Teachers at multiple sites across the country are engaging in Teacher Inquiry Groups (TIGs) where the participants’ are using postcolonial literature to teach for social justice. The TIGs are used as a means for participants to build their curricular and pedagogical knowledge, engage in critical self- and professional reflection, and enhance their capacity to achieve their social justice and equity goals. We report on one research site where data were collected through audio-recordings of monthly TIG meetings, individual interviews with participating teachers, teacher logs, researchers’ field notes, and focus group interviews with students who engaged with the literature. Themes constructed from our critical comprehensive analysis of data will be introduced in our presentation. In recent years, professional learning communities (PLCs) have become a “hot topic” in the field of education (Stoll, et al., 2006), pre...
In this paper, the author discusses the qualitative shift in educational research from a historic... more In this paper, the author discusses the qualitative shift in educational research from a historical dependence on positivist and post-positivist frameworks to a proliferation of research situated within a qualitative, interpretivist paradigm. Offering a Canadian perspective, the author situates the discussion of critical qualitative research in relation to the growing neoliberal influence on educational contexts and policy decisions. She argues the need for educational researchers to conduct critical qualitative research to explore the complex issues that educators face to ensure that all students have access to equitable educational experiences, not only those students who represent the Canadian dominant white, middle-class norm. The author introduces a strand of qualitative research focused on the experiences of black, racialized and Indigenous students to illustrate the need for critical research that privileges local knowledge and human experience, while also taking into account...
An important element of doctoral studies is identification with the academic community. Such iden... more An important element of doctoral studies is identification with the academic community. Such identification is often complicated by part-time student status. In this paper, two part-time doctoral students and their supervisor employ Lave and Wenger's concept of legitimate peripheral participation to explore, through a critical socio-cultural lens, their experiences of shifting towards fuller participation in, and identification with, the academic community. The research was conducted during a directed study course, a context students and supervisor used as an opportunity to examine their engagement in legitimate research activities as students completed their coursework requirements and prepared for academic careers. Although the research is context specific, the discussion will be useful to individuals who are working towards similar goals in university contexts.
International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 2003
The focus for this paper evolved out of doctoral research conducted by the author with incarcerat... more The focus for this paper evolved out of doctoral research conducted by the author with incarcerated women attending a prison school. During that project, she hired an assistant to transcribe audiotapes of interviews, participant observations, and field notes. In this paper, one context‐specific case is used to examine the complexities of transcription work involving a person other than the researcher. Lave and Wenger's (1991) “legitimate peripheral participation” serves as an analytical framework to explore the learning experienced by both researcher and transcriber as a result of their co‐participation in the project. Transcripts of four interviews conducted with the transcriber provide the basis for the investigation. The findings disrupt simplistic notions of the transcription process and show how peripheral participation can lead to educational experiences for those involved.
This article focuses on the ethics/research review practices of a university Research Ethics Boar... more This article focuses on the ethics/research review practices of a university Research Ethics Board (REB) and a school board Research Review Committee (RRC). Applications to conduct school-based research submitted to the REB and RRC and in-depth, open-ended interviews with REB and RRC members serve as data for the study. In this paper, we highlight the institutional board decisions, especially requests for clarification documented in the applications, giving specific attention to applications proposing qualitative/teacher research. Empirical research focused on the inside workings of REBs and RRCs, which would provide particular kinds of knowledge related to research/ethics review, is recommended. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0902326
In this article, we report on findings from a critical literature review of qualitative methods i... more In this article, we report on findings from a critical literature review of qualitative methods in youth-focused research. The articles reviewed cover an array of methods including those used traditionally in qualitative research and others more recently established. We identify methods that involve youth in general and youth marginalized and/or criminalized within institutional structures, more specifically. We explore the ethical implications of researching with youth, institutional and in situ, a theme that emerged in the literature reviewed. We highlight the tensions, challenges, and power issues arising in the context of research with youth. We close with arguments for methods that move youth from the sidelines of research to greater involvement in the research process, including youth contributing to the research design, data collection, and data analysis. We emphasize the need for researchers to engage an ethical research praxis that ultimately finds space in the research pro...
In this article, we explore our experience of carving out space within an academic program where ... more In this article, we explore our experience of carving out space within an academic program where we were able to engage in learning and teaching that enhanced our capacity to understand foundational literature in the Socio/Cultural Field of Study and work towards our social justice goals. The doctoral course described provided the conditions (environmental and social) we needed to support our questioning of disciplinary and personal knowledge and experience and 'to see the limitations and lacunae in our understandings' (Burbules and Berk 1999, 61). Data collected during the course included: audio-taped class sessions, weekly written responses/reflections, and final papers.
Currently researchers connected to university contexts who conduct research involving human parti... more Currently researchers connected to university contexts who conduct research involving human participants must receive approval from a research ethics board, and in the case of school-based research, from school district authorities. This article focuses on the ethics review of school-based research. Applications submitted to a research ethics board and a district research review committee serve as primary data for the study. Information presented relates to research interests, researchers' background, methodologies proposed, and board decisions. Emergent themes discussed are limited to two: a focus on student researchers and research ethics review, and the connections between the research review boards and their influence on school-based research.
The language of 'scholar-activist' has made its way into academic discourse over the last... more The language of 'scholar-activist' has made its way into academic discourse over the last few decades. Historically a divide has existed between academics situated in the university and activists working within and across communities. This discussion paper addresses challenges scholars face when doing activist work within their institutional and community settings and on an international level. We explore the ways in which 'scholar-activism' has been taken up in the academy and how it is shaped by local and global contexts. Specifically, we discuss the factors that influence the work of those claiming to be scholar-activists who are interested in working for social change. We suggest that if scholar-activists are to maintain respectful relationships across individual and community differences, we must first negotiate how we may be differently positioned in terms of privilege, power, resources, race, identity, history of colonialism, and personal and national identity...
The research discussed in this paper is part of a large national study. Teachers at multiple site... more The research discussed in this paper is part of a large national study. Teachers at multiple sites across the country are engaging in Teacher Inquiry Groups (TIGs) where the participants’ are using postcolonial literature to teach for social justice. The TIGs are used as a means for participants to build their curricular and pedagogical knowledge, engage in critical self- and professional reflection, and enhance their capacity to achieve their social justice and equity goals. We report on one research site where data were collected through audio-recordings of monthly TIG meetings, individual interviews with participating teachers, teacher logs, researchers’ field notes, and focus group interviews with students who engaged with the literature. Themes constructed from our critical comprehensive analysis of data will be introduced in our presentation. In recent years, professional learning communities (PLCs) have become a “hot topic” in the field of education (Stoll, et al., 2006), pre...
In this paper, the author discusses the qualitative shift in educational research from a historic... more In this paper, the author discusses the qualitative shift in educational research from a historical dependence on positivist and post-positivist frameworks to a proliferation of research situated within a qualitative, interpretivist paradigm. Offering a Canadian perspective, the author situates the discussion of critical qualitative research in relation to the growing neoliberal influence on educational contexts and policy decisions. She argues the need for educational researchers to conduct critical qualitative research to explore the complex issues that educators face to ensure that all students have access to equitable educational experiences, not only those students who represent the Canadian dominant white, middle-class norm. The author introduces a strand of qualitative research focused on the experiences of black, racialized and Indigenous students to illustrate the need for critical research that privileges local knowledge and human experience, while also taking into account...
An important element of doctoral studies is identification with the academic community. Such iden... more An important element of doctoral studies is identification with the academic community. Such identification is often complicated by part-time student status. In this paper, two part-time doctoral students and their supervisor employ Lave and Wenger's concept of legitimate peripheral participation to explore, through a critical socio-cultural lens, their experiences of shifting towards fuller participation in, and identification with, the academic community. The research was conducted during a directed study course, a context students and supervisor used as an opportunity to examine their engagement in legitimate research activities as students completed their coursework requirements and prepared for academic careers. Although the research is context specific, the discussion will be useful to individuals who are working towards similar goals in university contexts.
International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 2003
The focus for this paper evolved out of doctoral research conducted by the author with incarcerat... more The focus for this paper evolved out of doctoral research conducted by the author with incarcerated women attending a prison school. During that project, she hired an assistant to transcribe audiotapes of interviews, participant observations, and field notes. In this paper, one context‐specific case is used to examine the complexities of transcription work involving a person other than the researcher. Lave and Wenger's (1991) “legitimate peripheral participation” serves as an analytical framework to explore the learning experienced by both researcher and transcriber as a result of their co‐participation in the project. Transcripts of four interviews conducted with the transcriber provide the basis for the investigation. The findings disrupt simplistic notions of the transcription process and show how peripheral participation can lead to educational experiences for those involved.
This article focuses on the ethics/research review practices of a university Research Ethics Boar... more This article focuses on the ethics/research review practices of a university Research Ethics Board (REB) and a school board Research Review Committee (RRC). Applications to conduct school-based research submitted to the REB and RRC and in-depth, open-ended interviews with REB and RRC members serve as data for the study. In this paper, we highlight the institutional board decisions, especially requests for clarification documented in the applications, giving specific attention to applications proposing qualitative/teacher research. Empirical research focused on the inside workings of REBs and RRCs, which would provide particular kinds of knowledge related to research/ethics review, is recommended. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0902326
In this article, we report on findings from a critical literature review of qualitative methods i... more In this article, we report on findings from a critical literature review of qualitative methods in youth-focused research. The articles reviewed cover an array of methods including those used traditionally in qualitative research and others more recently established. We identify methods that involve youth in general and youth marginalized and/or criminalized within institutional structures, more specifically. We explore the ethical implications of researching with youth, institutional and in situ, a theme that emerged in the literature reviewed. We highlight the tensions, challenges, and power issues arising in the context of research with youth. We close with arguments for methods that move youth from the sidelines of research to greater involvement in the research process, including youth contributing to the research design, data collection, and data analysis. We emphasize the need for researchers to engage an ethical research praxis that ultimately finds space in the research pro...
In this article, we explore our experience of carving out space within an academic program where ... more In this article, we explore our experience of carving out space within an academic program where we were able to engage in learning and teaching that enhanced our capacity to understand foundational literature in the Socio/Cultural Field of Study and work towards our social justice goals. The doctoral course described provided the conditions (environmental and social) we needed to support our questioning of disciplinary and personal knowledge and experience and 'to see the limitations and lacunae in our understandings' (Burbules and Berk 1999, 61). Data collected during the course included: audio-taped class sessions, weekly written responses/reflections, and final papers.
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