This article argues that many key theoretical concepts and core areas of study in the educational sciences are couched in paradigmatically vague terms. The shared features of vague terms and two different readings of vagueness are discussed. "Practice", which is widely used both as a theoretical and an empirical term in the field of…

In this article I discuss how to create personal narratives in life history research methodology. People tell stories of their lives, and the researchers make these stories into life histories. Based on theoretical perspectives on "discourse" inspired by Michel Foucault, narratives are seen as ways of positioning oneself as a…

In the 25 years since narrative inquiry emerged as a social science research methodology, it has been rapidly taken up in the social sciences. In what is sometimes called a "narrative revolution," researchers with diverse understandings have co-opted the concept of narrative inquiry and used narrative inquiry or narrative research to…

This study examines whether math anxiety and negative attitudes toward mathematics have an effect on university students' academic achievement in a methodological course forming part of their degree. A total of 193 students were presented with a math anxiety test and some questions about their enjoyment, self-confidence and motivation regarding…

Educational researchers frequently study the impact of treatments or interventions on educational outcomes. However, when observational or quasiexperimental data are used for such investigations, selection bias can adversely impact researchers' abilities to make causal inferences about treatment effects. One way to deal with selection bias is to…

There is a widespread idea that in grounded theory (GT) research, the researcher has to delay the literature review until the end of the analysis to avoid contamination--a dictum that might turn educational researchers away from GT. Nevertheless, in this article the author (a) problematizes the dictum of delaying a literature review in classic…

There is a variation in terms of how researchers perceive the nature of research work. Previous research has mainly looked at the members of academia who already have established themselves in the scholarly community. We aimed at exploring the ways in which doctoral students perceived their thesis project and further, the relations of such…

In Australia, as in other global contexts, Indigenous student education outcomes are well below those of their non-Indigenous counterparts. A more robust understanding of, and responsiveness to, Indigenous temporary mobilities is a critical step to redressing such educational inequalities. This paper draws together learnings from the papers in…

The author suggests that all research is narrative. Resituating all research as narrative, as opposed to characterizing narrative as one particular form of inquiry, provides a critical space for rethinking "research" beyond current dualisms and bifurcations that create boundaries that limit the capacity for dialogue across diverse epistemologies.…

The authors explore the place of tension in understanding narrative inquiry as a relational research methodology. Drawing on a narrative inquiry into children's, teachers', and families' experiences in schools shaped by achievement testing practices that flow from accountability policies, the authors show how attending to tensions is central to…

The author centers on narrative inquiry as a "multilayered and many stranded" form of qualitative research (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000, p. xvii), one that unfurls in the midst of a plethora of social phenomena and other research agendas (Conle, 1999). In the article, the narrative inquiry broadly relates to organized school reform in the years…

The author investigates the recent, surprising discovery of the invention of suspicion in the development of 16th century English drama to consider how this discovery might contribute to a new elaboration of narrative inquiry, specifically, to new ways of becoming a narrative inquirer. In her book, "The Invention of Suspicion," scholar and author…

Current international demands to strengthen the teaching profession have led to an increased development and use of professional content standards. The study aims to provide insight in the construct validity of content standards by researching experts' underlying assumptions and preferences when participating in a delphi method. In three rounds 21…

This first article of the special issue presents theoretical and methodological considerations about longitudinally investigating curricular effects on the teaching and learning of mathematics in a cultural context. In particular, in this article, we discuss seven issues related to the investigation of curricular effects on the teaching and…

Researchers have conducted studies of curriculum for doctoral students in various disciplines and subdisciplines. In this study, the authors examined methods (e.g., quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods) requirements for doctoral programs in education. Such requirements operationalize visions about the meaning of educational research and the…