Closing the achievement gap is often invoked as a part of the social justice project. Were you previously familiar with Ladson-Billings' argument that focus on the achievement gap is actually part of the problem? React to her ideas here. Feel free to comment on any part of the article. Also, feel free to ask any questions that the reading called to mind. In light of what she writes do you see any way to salvage parts of the achievement gap frame?
Tuesday, February 2, 2021
February 8…The State of Educational Research
In the conclusion to Condliffe Lagemann’s An Elusive Science, she proposes several answers to the question about “what’s to be done” to improve the status and effectiveness of educational research. Comment on her suggestions as someone working in an ed. school 20 years later. Do her ideas resonate with your experiences with ed. research and in schools of education? Feel free to compare this conclusion to the way she talks in the short video interview from 2020 (posted in Module #3).
February 15…On Paradigms
Comment on the very idea of paradigms in social science research. Does the idea of a paradigm seem too constraining or do you think it is a useful construct to help us to understand the role that our perspectives/approaches play in our ability to observe and understand our world. Not required, but feel free to watch the Monkey Business video in Module 4 (a refresher on the “Awareness Test” we took in class two weeks ago) and to write about what this does or doesn’t have to do with the idea of paradigms.
February 22…Positivism and Post-positivism
How are positivism and post-positivism related to each other? Discuss a benefit and/or drawback to this approach to educational research.
March 8…Just Research in Contentious Times
What do you make of Fine’s Chapter 1? In the preface (pp. ix-x), she provides some description of what it is about. What do you think the author is trying to accomplish with Chapter 1? Does it work?
March 15…Democratic Approaches
Beyond some vague assertions of “democracy,” do you see anything that unifies the three readings for this week (Stemhagen and Henney, Fine, and Santoro)? If so, what? If not, pose some questions that the readings bring to mind?
March 22…Marxism and Educational Research
Do you see much in Collin’s work that could be termed “Marxist”? Does anything from the video on Marx and conflict theory seem to resonate with Collin’s article? How might Fine’s Chapter 4 fit in here?
March 29…Intersectionality
Tefera, Powers and Fischman describe intersectionality as a “conceptual aspiration.” What might that phrase mean and do you see intersectionality operating in an aspirational way in Cuba et al and/or in Fine’s Chapter 6?
April 5…Queering Educational Research
If you haven’t already done so, spend a few minutes looking into queer studies in your field…what kind of work is being done? What sort of role does it seem to be playing in research? Is the theory being used as a tool to analyze data? Is it operating more at the paradigmatic level, serving as a broad organizational tool or orientation? Is it activist in nature?
April 19…CRT and Educational Research
The quantitative nature of Cormier’s project might seem, to some, at odds with CRT and to critical approaches in general. Discuss Cormier’s CPCQ and how it does or doesn’t jibe with your notions of critical theory.
May 3…Humility and Educational Research
Humility is a word that has been thrown around more than a few times during our time together. What does it mean to you in the context of educational research and, more specifically how might it relate to your field of study/discipline and the kind of work that you want to do?
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