This book offers some suggestions as to ways forward from this dilemma. Drawing on the new intellectual frameworks of critical pedagogy, feminism and postmodernism and their impact upon educational theory, practice and research, the book focuses on the changing contexts of adult education. By building on the notion of going beyond the limits of certain current adult education orthodoxies, the authors try to provide alternatives for practice. The final three chapters deal with research, focusing on a critical macro-analysis of mainstream paradigms, a review of alternative approaches, and a more micro-analysis centering on the role of the socially-located self in the research process.


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The authors argue that the aim of research should be to improve practice through a process of critical reflection. Focusing clearly on the everyday concerns and problems of practitioners, they emphasize the importance of practical knowledge. Their definition of practice is wide, and includes the generation of theory and the doing of research as well as front-line teaching. They show how notions of adult learning and the adult learner have been constituted mainly through theory and research in psychology and sociology, and examine action research as a mode of understanding. They conclude by looking at the curriculum implications for the teaching of adult education as reflective practice."

With different pedagogic practices come different ways of examining them and fresh understandings of their implications and assumptions. It is the examination of these changes and developments that is the subject of this book.

The authors examine a number of questions posed by the rapid march of globalisation, incuding:

• What is the role of the teacher, and how do we teach in the context of globalisation?
• What curriculum is appropriate when people and ideas become more mobile?
• How do the technologies of the internet and mobile phone impact upon what is learnt and by whom?

The second edition of this important book has been fully updated and extended to take account of developments in technology, pedagogy and practice, in particular the growth of distance and e-learning.

With different pedagogic practices come different ways of examining them and fresh understandings of their implications and assumptions. It is the examination of these changes and developments that is the subject of this book.

The authors examine a number of questions posed by the rapid march of globalisation, incuding:

• What is the role of the teacher, and how do we teach in the context of globalisation?
• What curriculum is appropriate when people and ideas become more mobile?
• How do the technologies of the internet and mobile phone impact upon what is learnt and by whom?

The second edition of this important book has been fully updated and extended to take account of developments in technology, pedagogy and practice, in particular the growth of distance and e-learning.

Educational policy is often dismissed as simply rhetoric and a collection of half truths. However, this is to underestimate the power of rhetoric and the ways in which rhetorical strategies are integral to persuasive acts. Through a series of illustrative chapters, this book argues that rather than something to be dismissed, rhetorical analysis offers a rich and deep arena in which to explore and examine educational issues and practices. It adopts an original stance in relation to contemporary debates and will make a significant contribution to educational debates in elucidating and illustrating the pervasiveness of persuasive strategies in educational practices.
Rhetoric and Educational Discourse is a useful resource for postgraduate and research students in education and applied linguistics. The book will also be of interest to academics and researchers in these fields of study and those interested in discursive approaches to research and scholarship.

Ethics has traditionally been seen as a set of general principles which can be applied in a range of situations. This book argues that, in fact, ethical principles must be shaped within different research practices and hence take on different significances according to varying research situations. The book develops the notion of situated ethics and explores how ethical issues are practically handled by educational researchers in the field. Contributors present theoretical models and practical examples of what situated ethics involves in conducting research on specific areas.

Ethics has traditionally been seen as a set of general principles which can be applied in a range of situations. This book argues that in fact ethical principles must be shaped within different research practices and hence take on different significances according to varying research situations. The book develops the notion of situated ethics and explores how ethical issues are practically handled by educational researchers in the field. Contributors present theoretical models and practical examples of what situated ethics involves in conducting research on specific areas.

In 1991 the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) published "Postgraduate Taining Guidelines". Throughout the document emphasis is placed on the need for universities to make postgraduate research students aware of the methodological issues that affect their work.;This text explores the relationship between knowledge, methodology and research practice across the broad spectrum of the social sciences in langage that is accessible to researchers at all levels of their research careers. It follows the themes that there is no single practice or correct methodology, and that the diversity and variety in terms of methodology and disciplinary focus are a sign of the sophistication and complexity of the proceses of social research. The text examines socio-cultural contexts of social research and relates them to contemporary shifts in focus such as feminism, critical theory and postmodernism. The importance of selecting the research methodology most appropriate to the subject discipline concerned is emphasized.

In 1991 the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) published "Postgraduate Taining Guidelines". Throughout the document emphasis is placed on the need for universities to make postgraduate research students aware of the methodological issues that affect their work. This text explores the relationship between knowledge, methodology and research practice across the broad spectrum of the social sciences in langage that is accessible to researchers at all levels of their research careers. It follows the themes that there is no single practice or correct methodology, and that the diversity and variety in terms of methodology and disciplinary focus are a sign of the sophistication and complexity of the proceses of social research. The text examines socio-cultural contexts of social research and relates them to contemporary shifts in focus such as feminism, critical theory and postmodernism. The importance of selecting the research methodology most appropriate to the subject discipline concerned is emphasized.

This book offers some suggestions as to ways forward from this dilemma. Drawing on the new intellectual frameworks of critical pedagogy, feminism and postmodernism and their impact upon educational theory, practice and research, the book focuses on the changing contexts of adult education. By building on the notion of going beyond the limits of certain current adult education orthodoxies, the authors try to provide alternatives for practice. The final three chapters deal with research, focusing on a critical macro-analysis of mainstream paradigms, a review of alternative approaches, and a more micro-analysis centering on the role of the socially-located self in the research process.

This book explores educational research in terms of the relationship between epistemology, methodology and practice. Divided into two sections, the first examines the frameworks which underpin the methods educational researchers use. The second looks at a broad spectrum of approaches, including feminist approaches, action research, ethnography and biographical research. The issues covered are central to all within the research community including students undertaking research degrees or research methodology courses.

This book explores educational research in terms of the relationship between epistemology, methodology and practice. Divided into two sections, the first examines the frameworks which underpin the methods educational researchers use. The second looks at a broad spectrum of approaches, including feminist approaches, action research, ethnography and biographical research. The issues covered are central to all within the research community including students undertaking research degrees or research methodology courses.

Postmodernism and Education is a valuable book that needs to be vigorously engaged by educationalists and others wishing to rethink the contemporary crisis in education. An excellent introduction to postmodern social theory and its implications for pedagogy, educational policy and social transformation. Peter McLaren, University of California
This book responds to the growing interest in postmodernism as a way of understanding social, cultural and economic trends, and explores the impact which postmodernism has had upon the theory and practice of education, using a broad analysis of postmodernism and an in-depth introduction to key writers in the field.

In this book, the authors explore and clarify the nature of postmodernism and provide a detailed introduction to key writers in the field such as Lacan, Derrida, Foucault and Lyotard. They examine the impact which this thinking has had upon contemporary theory and practice of education, concentrating particularly upon how postmodernist ideas challenge existing concepts, structures and hierarchies. Usher has also published, with Bryant, Adult Education as Theory, Practice and Research (Routledge, 1989). Edwards has published, with Thorpe and Hanson, Culture and Processes of Adult Learning (Routledge, 1993), and Adult Learners, Education and Training (Routledge, 1993), with Sieminski and Zeldin.

The authors argue that the aim of research should be to improve practice through a process of critical reflection. Focusing clearly on the everyday concerns and problems of practitioners, they emphasize the importance of practical knowledge. Their definition of practice is wide, and includes the generation of theory and the doing of research as well as front-line teaching. They show how notions of adult learning and the adult learner have been constituted mainly through theory and research in psychology and sociology, and examine action research as a mode of understanding. They conclude by looking at the curriculum implications for the teaching of adult education as reflective practice.

Educational policy is often dismissed as simply rhetoric and a collection of half truths. However, this is to underestimate the power of rhetoric and the ways in which rhetorical strategies are integral to persuasive acts. Through a series of illustrative chapters, this book argues that rather than something to be dismissed, rhetorical analysis offers a rich and deep arena in which to explore and examine educational issues and practices. It adopts an original stance in relation to contemporary debates and will make a significant contribution to educational debates in elucidating and illustrating the pervasiveness of persuasive strategies in educational practices.
Rhetoric and Educational Discourse is a useful resource for postgraduate and research students in education and applied linguistics. The book will also be of interest to academics and researchers in these fields of study and those interested in discursive approaches to research and scholarship.

This text explores the different ways in which the various social practices in which people participate becomes signed as learning, how and why that occurs and with what consequences. It takes seriously the linguistic turn in social theory to draw upon semiotics and poststructuralism through which to explore the significance of lifelong learning as an emerging discourse in education.

This text explores the different ways in which the various social practices in which people participate becomes signed as learning, how and why that occurs and with what consequences. It takes seriously the linguistic turn in social theory to draw upon semiotics and poststructuralism through which to explore the significance of lifelong learning as an emerging discourse in education. The text explores the different ways in which learning conveys meaning and is given meaning. Given this, lifelong learning therefore is a way, and a significant way, in which learning is fashioned. The text then explores the notion that, if learning is lifelong and lifewide, what precisely is learning as distinct from other social practices and how those practices are given meaning as learning.

This book examines the philosophical, historical, political and social contexts of research and the implications of these for the collection and analysis of data. "Researching Education" looks at the theory and practice of researching education and examines the philosophical, historical, political and social contexts of research and the implications of these for the collection and analysis of data. Scott and Usher argue that while power is ever present in the construction of research texts, this is inevitable as research imposes a closure of the world through representations and thus is always and inevitably involved with and implicated in the operation of power. The authors provide a theoretical framework against previously compiled research can be judged to stimulates further study and consider key questions: What is legitimate knowledge? What is the relationship between the collection and analysis of data? How does the researcher's presence in the field impact on their data? This new edition has been completely revised to reflect new insights into education research and educational research methodology and the impact of recent political initiatives. "Researching Education" is invaluable reading for educational and social researchers as well as postgraduate and doctoral students.

In recent years there has been increasing interest in issues of space and spatiality in the social sciences and humanities generally, if less so in the study of education. This relative lack of interest is surprising given the importance of space and time in the organization of teaching, learning and research. For instance, the timetable and project timeline are central to the organization of learning and knowledge production whether in schools, colleges or universities. Classrooms, workshops and laboratories have different spatial layouts, which support certain forms of interaction and communication. When we add to this, the increasing distances across which knowledge, understanding and competence are being distributed through the use of information and communications technologies, the fact that issues of space have not been taken up seems more than an oversight. This relative lack of interest in space becomes even more surprising when one considers the extensive use of spatial metaphors in the discussion of education and pedagogy. For instance, the notions of open, distance and distributed learning and student-centredness, border crossing, and communities of practice all have a spatial dimension to them. Notions of a spiral curriculum act as a spatial imaginary. Indeed some metaphors, such as flexibility seem to be suggestive of the possibility that all constraints of space and time can be conquered in the provision of learning opportunities throughout life. This collection of chapters from researchers around the world attempts to address these issues, to examine the significance of space for curriculum, learning and identity.

In recent years there has been increasing interest in issues of space and spatiality in the social sciences and humanities generally, if less so in the study of education. This relative lack of interest is surprising given the importance of space and time in the organization of teaching, learning and research. For instance, the timetable and project timeline are central to the organization of learning and knowledge production whether in schools, colleges or universities. Classrooms, workshops and laboratories have different spatial layouts, which support certain forms of interaction and communication. When we add to this, the increasing distances across which knowledge, understanding and competence are being distributed through the use of information and communications technologies, the fact that issues of space have not been taken up seems more than an oversight. This relative lack of interest in space becomes even more surprising when one considers the extensive use of spatial metaphors in the discussion of education and pedagogy. For instance, the notions of open, distance and distributed learning and student-centredness, border crossing, and communities of practice all have a spatial dimension to them. Notions of a spiral curriculum act as a spatial imaginary. Indeed some metaphors, such as flexibility seem to be suggestive of the possibility that all constraints of space and time can be conquered in the provision of learning opportunities throughout life. This collection of chapters from researchers around the world attempts to address these issues, to examine the significance of space for curriculum, learning and identity.

This volume is a study of the theory and practice of researching education. It examines the philosophical, historical, political and social contexts of researching and the implications of these for the collection and analysis of data. The authors argue that power is ever present in the construction of research texts and this is inevitable, as research imposes a closure of the world through representation and thus is always involved with and implicated in the operation of power. The book addresses such fundamental questions as: "What is legitimate knowledge?," "What is the relationship between the collection and analysis of data?" and "How does the researcher's presence in the field affect his or her data?." Divided into three sections, the book reviews the philosophy of research; the strategies and methods of research; and the issues involved in research. The authors present the reader with a balance of theory and practice, providing case studies, examples and tables to support and illustrate their arguments.