Research Activities

Knowledge Production: Research Work in Interesting Times

    A new book from the ICARE Collaboration
    Edited by Bridget Somekh, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK and Thomas A Schwandt, University of Illinois, USA.
    Published by Routledge, November 2007.

This collection is the latest output from the international ICARE collaboration between MMU, Illinois, Deakin and UEA. Edited by Bridget Somekh (MMU) and Tom Schwandt (Illinois), the book explores epistemological, methodological, and ethical-political issues in the production of knowledge about educational phenomena in contemporary society.

Part 1, Examining Educational Knowledge Production in Global Discourses of Accountability, Quality Assessment, and Performance, focuses on how the enterprise of knowledge production is being influenced by global discourses of educational accountability, evidence-based practice and policy, and quality assessment. Part 2, Restructuring Educational Research Practices features material that focuses more specifically on re-conceiving both methodological matters and the kinds of knowledge that demand attention in this climate.

The book is unique in bringing together chapters by scholars well-known internationally for their original contributions to educational theory and research practice. Most of the contributors are members or former members of ICARE institutions. The book breaks new ground and sets the tone for discussions about the future path of educational research in the coming years.

Contributors

  • Jill Blackmore, Deakin University, Australia
  • John Elliott, University of East Anglia, UK
  • Walter Feinberg, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA
  • Jo Frankham, Manchester University, UK
  • Noel Gough, La Trobe University, Australia
  • Jennifer C. Greene, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA
  • Barbara Kamler, Deakin University, Australia
  • Sarah M. McGough, University of New Hampshire, USA
  • Maggie MacLure, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK
  • Luis Miron, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA
  • Leonie Rowan, Deakin University, Australia
  • Jill Schostak, University of East Anglia, UK
  • John Schostak, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK
  • Thomas A. Schwandt, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA
  • Bridget Somekh, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK
  • Sheila Stark, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK
  • Marilyn Strathern, Cambridge University, UK
  • Ian Stronach, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK
  • Pat Thomson, University of Nottingham, UK

Contents
Introduction (Schwandt).
Part 1: Examining Educational Knowledge Production in Global Discourses of Accountability, Quality Assessment, and Performance
Measures of Usefulness: A Diatribe (Strathern). How is Educational Research 'Being Framed'? Governmentality, the (Ac)counting of, and Expertise in, Educational Research (Blackmore). 'Clarity Bordering on Stupidity': where's the Quality in Systematic Review? (MacLure). Sex, Science and Educational Research: The Unholy Trinity (Stronach, Frankham & Stark). Internationalisation, Globalization, and Quality Audits: An Empire of the Mind? (Gough)

Part 2: Restructuring Educational Research Practices
Theorizing Innovation and Knowledge Creation in Pursuit of Educational Justice (Rowan). Democratic Accountability (Greene, Feinberg, McGough & Miron). From 'Human Capital' Theory to 'Capability Theory' as a Driver of Curriculum Reform: A Reflection on the Educational Implications of the Work of Amartya Sen in the Light of John Dewey's Account of Educational Values (Elliott). Rethinking Doctoral Writing as Text Work and Identity Work (Kamler & Thomson). Politics, Knowledge, Identity and Community: Methodologist as Hitchhiker, Skateboarder (Schostak & Schostak) Last words (Somekh).