This case study examines the challenges of researching one of the most sensitive topics in education contexts: racism. Based on a research project that critically examined the culture in a U.K. university, data were collected using participant observation and in-depth interviews with participants from an underrepresented group. The data were then…

This research focused on the context of educational leadership, which sought to explore the possibilities of leadership opportunities for students with disabilities in a Malaysian secondary school. We utilized a phenomenological case study approach. We were keen on exploring this niche area as often leadership opportunities for students with…

Qualitative interviews can be enhanced through using creative methods within them to prompt discussion and conversation. The research project upon which this case focuses sought to explore the space between policy and practice in pre-entry widening participation work in universities. This is an area where often people focus on telling you about…

In this case study I reflect on challenges and successes of building relationships with native people before and during my dissertation research. Obstacles encountered include switching from in person recruiting and interviews to online strategies because of the COVID-19 pandemic. I review strategies in building resilience into the research…

This case study discusses how theory and deductive analysis can be used to better understand work-based learning (WBL). Based in a U.K. teacher education setting, it discusses a project which examined how novice teachers in English Further Education develop their professional knowledge and how their experiences might help understand WBL more…

In the research project which formed part of my PhD study, I dealt with the topic of inequity in education. My main interest was to find out how (formal) educational careers can be fostered even if the starting position within the system is one which makes a successful educational career very difficult. Despite the fact that in the Austrian…

This case study sheds light on lessons learned from the perspective of a PhD candidate. Focusing on male primary teachers, this study explores how issues of masculinities are navigated and negotiated on a daily basis. Although limited research of masculinities has been conducted in educational contexts and settings in Ireland, previous studies…

The purpose of this case is to understand the process of a case study research as it was employed to investigate a government-initiated curriculum reform in secondary schools. The policy to practice aspect of school education has long been a contested field. Certainly, previous research has highlighted the problematic nature of implementing policy…

Accessing narrative oral history and phenomenological lifeworld experiences was significant for my doctoral research of teacher learning because I was able to explore individual post-reflection as story and the pre-reflective meaning on lifeworld in order to understand interconnections across experience. Education research predominately reports on…

The research on which this case account is based was motivated by my interest to understand what counts as literacy in schools. I started my career as a primary school teacher, teaching English language to children. The children were avid readers. Although they were good readers and communicators, what baffled me were the dismal language scores…

In January 2014, I began working as an evaluator on an education reform project being implemented by faculty in science and engineering departments at my university. The core goals of the project were for participating faculty members to improve students' learning, engagement, and recruitment and retention in selected introductory-level courses…

In the 2010-2011 academic year, I conducted an ethnographic case study of a Ukrainian university in a predominantly Russian-speaking city that was beginning to teach subjects in English. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship among these three languages and additional foreign languages in the university, as well as the…

This case study focuses on a qualitative research project into families' experiences of a schools-based family residential programme. This research project is part of a doctoral study exploring the development of a professional pedagogy of work with families through outdoor and experiential learning. While overall the research focuses on the…

This case is based on our cross-cultural study of Israeli middle-class mothers' engagement in their children's education. The mothers in our study belong to three social-cultural groups: Palestinian Israeli, Russian immigrants, and Israeli-born Jewish. These three groups participate today in the Israeli middle class, albeit with different…

I am currently a doctoral candidate at the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education, Department of Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning in the final stages of writing my doctoral thesis. I began my PhD in 2012 while also a sessional instructor at Brock University in the Department of Teacher Education. The goal for my doctoral studies was twofold:…