Peter Demerath

The science of context: modes of response for qualitative researchers in education

How might qualitative researchers meaningfully operate in a contemporary research climate that holds to such limited conceptions of what constitutes ‘scientific’ research in education? This article discusses implications of scientifically based research (SBR) and identifies several pathways along which researchers may productively work in such a context. These include: (1) Conducting critical inquiry into the socio‐intellectual frameworks and institutional networks driving such policy development; (2) Educating peers and policy‐makers about key precepts of cultural practice and qualitative research; (3) Achieving greater transparency in research designs, inference and theory development, and quality criteria; (4) Adopting mixed‐methods research designs; and (5) Undertaking public access or public‐interest education research. The central aim is to orient qualitative researchers to those modes of scholarship that can most powerfully impact the projects to which they are committed, and thereby extend the notion and application of SBR.

The Use of Feedback Mechanisms in Interpreting the Robustness of a Neoliberal Educational Assemblage.

This article demonstrates how using feedback mechanisms or ‘loops’ as heuristic devices can help ethnographers explain the interior logic, robustness and contradictions within complex educational assemblages. After reviewing the use of feedback mechanisms in the natural and social sciences, particularly practice theory, the article presents two feedback loops drawn from the first authors four-year ethnographic study of class culture and neoliberal schooling in suburban Ohio, USA. The first identifies ‘hypercredentialing’ as the key process underlying the production of the performative worth of achievement-oriented students; the second identifies ‘reflexive awareness’ as a key process underlying the insufficient performativity of under- and lower-achieving students. The article uncovers hidden dynamics regarding neoliberal governmentality and performativity within a particular educational context and, more broadly, shows how using feedback mechanisms enables ethnographers to make cultural processes, as well as their interpretations of them, more transparent.

A Cross-Domain Explanation of the Metaphor "Teaching as Persuasion.".

I N EVERYDAY CONVERSATION, the word persuasion carries both good and bad connotations. Therefore, if “teaching as persuasion” is to be embraced by practicing teachers, the educational research community, and the public at large, then a thorough explanation of the metaphor from the perspective of key domains of inquiry would seem a prudent first step. In this article, we intend to take a first stab at critique and consideration from three perspectives which, historically, though not always thought of as compatible, do indeed share many of the same questions in their pursuit of an understanding of educational theory and practice: philosophy, anthropology, and teacher education. First, from the standpoint of philosophy, persuasion will be examined as a deliberate act that requires a substantial knowledge of both subject matter and audience. Persuasion as a craft has its formal roots in the Greek tradition of trained communicative skills (e.g., rhetoric) typical of aspiring public figures. This tradition carried over into the Scholastic method exemplified by medieval teaching, but how does this conceptualization compare with teaching as it exists today? Is there a place for such practices in the complex classroom of the 21 century? Next, from an anthropological perspective, two broad points will be discussed. Anthropology shares many of the questions posed by contemporary philosophers of education, primarily questions of the nature of truth among varying cultures. As such, while culture is intermittently transmitted by teachers and others, learners constantly acquire culture; therefore, many anthropologists think of education as a “calculated intervention” into this less formal learning. Further, learning always occurs in a cultural context and involves the integration of new knowledge with prior knowledge. Accordingly, students, especially those from minority groups, often construct meanings about the implications of education that can powerfully shape their engagement with school. Finally, we will examine research that focuses on teacher education in the context of the proposed metaphor. As we have hinted, both philosophy and anthropology share an interest in the knowledge, beliefs, role, and actions of teachers, and the way these constructs impact pedagogical practices. If we are to discuss the potential of “teaching as persuasion,” then it must come with the understanding that a great deal of the change in teaching approaches will necessarily occur during preservice teacher preparation and inservice professional development. Thus, we must come to terms with a seemingly simple question: How are prospective and practicing teachers persuaded to adapt their intuitive beliefs about teaching and adopt valuable new understandings and identities? Bradford S. Woods Peter Demerath