Philosophy and Theory in Educational Research: Writing in the margin

Philosophy and Theory in Educational Research: Writing in the margin explores the practices of reading and writing in educational philosophy and theory. Showing that there is no ‘right way’ to approach research in educational philosophy, but illustrating its possibilities, this text invites an engagement with philosophy as a possibility – and opening possibilities – for educational research. Drawing on their own research and theoretical and philosophical sources, the authors investigate the important issue of what it means to read and write when there is no prescribed structure. Innovative in its contribution to the literature, this edited volume enlightens readers in three ways. The volume focuses on the practices of reading and writing that are central to research in educational philosophy, suggesting that these practices constitute the research, rather than simply reporting it. It is not a prescriptive guide and should not be read procedurally. Rather, it is intended to illustrate the possibilities for this kind of research, and to suggest starting points for those pursuing research projects. Finally, attention is given to the ways in which conducting educational philosophy can be educative in itself, both to the researcher in writing it, and to its audience in reading it. With contributions from international scholars in the field of educational philosophy, this book is a valuable guide for practitioner-researchers, taught postgraduate and doctoral students, and early career researchers in university education departments. Academic staff teaching research methods and seeking to introduce their students to philosophy-as-research without wishing to offer a prescriptive ‘how to’ guide will also find this book of particular interest.

Table of Contents:
Part I: Research, Researching and the Researched Research at the Crossroads Educational Inquiry and Philosophy of Education Part II: Illustrates the multiple ways in which non-empirical research can be undertaken in education, as outlined in Part I. It will do this by presenting a number of examples of ongoing research by international scholars and practitioners in the field, each addressing a different substantive area of policy or practice, and each illustrating a different mode of analysis. Part III This final part of the text is a critical reflection on Part II. It has three broad aims: To show how theoretical/philosophical writing is concerned with policy and practice. This will be demonstrated with reference to the contributions from Part II and by analysing to what extent these might be arranged/classified to make more explicit the nature of any difference, and how such thinking might be productive for thinking about education; To say that theoretical/philosophical research cannot be separated from the practice (and the practise) of philosophical reading and writing; To show that the practices of reading and writing that we illustrate are ones that position the researcher and the researched in a particular way: they open up a starting point for new ways of thinking both about the self and about education.

About the Author :
Amanda Fulford is Head of Postgraduate Programmes in the Institute of Childhood and Education and Associate Principal Lecturer in Education Research at Leeds Trinity University, UK. Naomi Hodgson is Visiting Research Fellow in the Laboratory for Education and Society, KU Leuven, Belgium, and Visiting Lecturer at Liverpool Hope University, UK.