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In this qualitative study, 11 mothers of toddlers with autism participated in interviews to investigate how they perceived their roles and their competency to support toddlers' social learning in the context of both professional-implemented and parent-mediated early intervention models. The authors conducted a thematic analysis with multiple layers of independent coding. Four resulting themes highlighted challenges and contributors to parent self-efficacy. First, related to child characteristics, challenges were most prominent in the early period as participants adjusted to the diagnosis and reached to connect when social difficulties emerged. Second, having a peripheral role in early intervention challenged participants' confidence in their abilities, while receiving guidance to assume an active leadership role supported their sense of efficacy for facilitating toddlers' social learning. In a third theme, participants described specific and general examples of their expertise. Fourth, participants considered the transactional context of parent-child interaction and largely viewed their toddlers' independent wills, natures, and preferences as strengths upon which to build social engagement. The results support the need for early interventionists to promote and leverage family capacity for facilitating toddler learning as social challenges begin to appear for toddlers with autism.

In this article, we introduce the special issue focused on diverse perspectives to discourse analysis for education policy. This article lays the foundation for the special issue by introducing the notion of a third generation of policy research--a strand of policy research we argue is produced at the intersection of education policy and discourse analysis. We also very briefly discuss discourse analysis writ large, noting that there is no single definition or orientation. Then, we present the six articles included in the special issue, highlighting the ways in which they offer contemporary understandings of the varying applications of discourse analytic perspectives to the study of education policy. We conclude by discussing key policy and methodological implications, as well as future directions for policy scholars working at the intersection of education policy and discourse analysis.

To date, relatively little research has examined the perceptions of children and parents involved in university-assisted partnership programs. In this paper, we present findings from a case study of a university-assisted community school (UACS) afterschool program wherein we interviewed participating students and their parents. We also completed participant observations at the school site and included the perspectives of the two central administrative staff (i.e., the school principal and the afterschool program coordinator), as this served to deepen our understanding. Our findings highlight how the students and parents positioned the UACS afterschool program as being significantly different from the regular school day, while also noting how the program positively shaped the children's lives. Further, we highlight how the administrative staff positioned the university as central to the afterschool program; in contrast, the students and parents did not mention the resources that were bound to the university. We conclude with implications for practitioners and scholars engaged in university-assisted partnership work.

A central challenge to addressing what becomes taken-for-granted in method in educational research is socialization into the field. During graduate training, students and their mentors are challenged by unique projects. Here, authors, two early career scholars and a faculty mentor, offer a critical interrogation of socialization experiences related to methods of anonymizing and masking, questions of responsibilities to varying publics, and the good that research might, or might not, do in the world by sharing a co-constructed narrative based on interactive interviews which took place over six months. The authors identify saddle points, or points of stillness, within these conversations that offer, but do not dictate, considerations for teaching practices of anonymizing and masking as part of qualitative research training and socialization.

While many research methods courses challenge students to make sense of their own researcher identities as they relate to research paradigms and perspectives, there is a lack of research that examines how students actually go about constructing these identities, particularly at the level of discourse. In this study, we attended to graduate students' talk in an introductory research methods course, taking note of how students used particular discursive resources to construct a research identity in online classroom discussions. We analyzed 93 discussion posts students were asked to make in response to a discussion board prompt after completing assigned readings related to research paradigms and researcher identity. We identified two discursive patterns through our analysis: 1) minimizing knowledge, and 2) justifying paradigmatic orientations. Our findings highlight how being asked to talk about one's research identity is a potentially fragile task, as evidenced by disclaimers of "knowing", and justifications. We highlight implications for teaching research methodology, particularly qualitative methods courses.

In this methodological paper, we respond to the call to advance a disability justice agenda within social science research. To do so, we invite readers to engage with the intersections of discursive psychology and disability theories. Specifically, we forward new possibilities for methodologically and theoretically leveraging discursive psychology to study disability, ableism, and anti-ableism as they unfold in everyday life. To do so, we offer a general overview of core concepts from some disability studies perspectives and point to the possibilities of discursive psychology engaging at the level of theory and methodology with these perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poetic inquiry as a form of arts-based research can penetrate the complexity, ambiguity, and multidimensional nature of representing participant emotions. This methodological approach allows researchers to explore the sensitive intersection of competing emotions without flattening the layered and often conflicting experience of participants' embodied experiences. In this article, we share participant-voiced poems generated from interviews with family caregivers of Alzheimer's patients and invite readers to sit with how these poems transcend mere descriptions and instead offer an emotive experience that defies words alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past four decades, a number of researchers have attempted to describe the reading habits of teachers. Some have investigated the impact of reading habits generally, while most have focused on some kind of loosely defined "professional reading." In relationship to this body of literature, the purpose of our descriptive survey study, which invited teachers from randomly selected schools in both large and small districts across the United States, was to both add to and update the available literature regarding teachers' professional reading habits. We found that reading for professional development appears to be a common activity for the classroom teachers who participated in our survey. We also found that that the bulk of the teachers' professional reading time was completed in the evenings and on weekends. We did not find statistically significant differences in reading preferences and behaviors when differences in degree were considered. Further, we did not find statistically significant differences in reading preferences when we compared the teachers' responses by years of experience. Teachers noted that limited time and lack of relevancy were two primary reasons for why they did not read. We discuss implications for professional development.

In this editorial, we introduce the special issue entitled, ‘Language and psychosocial oppression: Methodological approaches, challenges, and opportunities’. This special issue includes seven articles that were produced in relation to the growing attention being given to the psychological phenomena associated with (in)justice and (in)equity, with a particular focus on how justice-oriented agendas and interventions might be advanced. Specifically, the included articles point to ways in which more micro-oriented approaches to studying languaging practices might serve to analytically and theoretically foreground justice-oriented research aims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the beginning of the federal Race To The Top grant competition, Value-Added Measurement (VAM) has captured the attention of the American public through high-profile media representations of the tool and the controversy that surrounds it. In this paper, we build upon investigations of constructions of VAM in the media and present a discourse analysis of the policymaking process within the meetings of Tennessee's Teacher Evaluation Advisory Committee (TEAC), a 15-member panel appointed by the Tennessee governor to develop a new teacher evaluation policy under Race to the Top. The data included audio recordings of public meetings from March, 2010 through the end of the committee's work in April, 2011. As we analyzed the talk of the TEAC, we oriented to the particular version of VAM worked up within these conversations in relation to a descriptive metaphor in which VAM is compared to a "sentinel of trust." We present examples to illustrate three patterns in the construction of VAM as the sentinel of trust within teacher evaluation: (1) VAM alone defines effectiveness; (2) VAM is the only objective option; and (3) concerns about VAM are minimized. We discuss the implications of this way of thinking and talking about VAM and contrast it with other possibilities, including those constructed by teachers, researchers, and the media.

With roots in community development and the work of Dewey, a compelling case has been made for universities to be involved in urban school reform. Further, with increasing demands placed on universities to become responsive to community needs, university partnerships with K-12 schools are one means by which institutions of higher education have become involved in local educational issues. One particular type of community-school-university involvement approach is a University-Assisted Community School (UACS). Much of the research related to such school-university partnerships has focused on describing what a UACS "looks like," with little attention given to the day-to-day experiences of those that work within a UACS. In this paper, we present findings from a qualitative study examining the experiences of teachers and staff who have participated in the development of and/or taught at a UACS afterschool program. Findings highlighted (1) the challenges and transitions associated with being a pilot effort; (2) the felt differences between universities and schools as they relate to on-the-ground implementation; and (3) the potential of the UACS model as a collaborative vehicle for accomplishing tasks that neither institution can accomplish alone. We point to implications related to school--university partnerships and directions for future research.

The purpose of this study was to explore the experience of students with performance-based, in-class and learner-centered, online assessment and the effects of these formats on comprehensive exam scores in an educational psychology course required of participants in a teacher education program. In our quantitative analysis, we investigated the effects of in-class and online exams on undergraduate students' performance on an in-class comprehensive final (n=141). Students were randomly assigned by course section to take one proctored exam in-class and two other unit exams online in a learner-centered format. At the end of the course, students in all sections took a proctored comprehensive final, consisting of a series of multiple choice questions closely aligned with questions from the unit exams. No significant differences were found between content items initially assessed utilizing the traditional, in-class format and the learner-centered online format. In our qualitative analysis, students in one of the six sections (n=22) were selected to participate in open-ended interviews. A phenomenological method was used to collect and analyze responses to the question: "When thinking about your experiences with both the in-class exam and Blackboard exams in [course name], what stands out for you?" Findings from our qualitative analysis resulted in separate yet balanced themes for participants' perceptions of in-class and online exams. For both categories of themes, the constructs of stress, control, and knowing stood out for participants. Implications of this research project are discussed in relation to the use of learner-centered assessment. (Contains 3 tables and 1 figure.) [Note: The publication year (2009) shown on the PDF is incorrect. The correct publication year is 2008.]

Instructors often teach in isolation with very little collegial interaction guiding their practice. In light of the research that exists identifying the value of collaboration within learning environments, the merits of such isolated practice must be questioned. Even though collaboration within educational settings has been identified as critical to the development of both instructors and students, highly collaborative approaches to team teaching have not been fully explored. The purpose of this study was to examine our own experience as team teachers in a team taught, educational psychology course. Through a phenomenological analysis of our lived experiences as instructors engaged in collaboratively teaching an undergraduate course, we gained understanding of the benefits of team teaching within a broader context. A thematic structure emerged that captured our experience of the process of co-teaching. This shared thematic structure consisted of one ground theme, named "we didn't have a manual for this/finding our way through", and five themes, each providing insight into how we made sense of team teaching. The five emergent themes were (a) "You can't shoot from the hip"; (b) "Following and leading. . .all of us together"; (c) "If we walk away disagreeing, is it okay?"; (d) "The presence of another pushed us to go deeper"; and (e) "You build something bigger". Implications for the use of team teaching in higher education are also explored, highlighting the value of collaborative praxis. [Note: The publication year (2009) shown on the PDF is incorrect. The correct publication year is 2008.]

In this conceptual article, we draw upon recent literature to describe the theoretical, epistemological, and methodological anchors that can inform a working conception of practitioner-scholarship. We position practitioner-scholarship at the intersection of an individual's work as a practitioner and researcher, wherein a practitioner focuses on understanding localized problems of practice through in-depth inquiry. Through our discussion, we highlight three implications for leadership programs. First, practitioner-scholarship demands that all program faculty take a learning orientation. Second, research experiences provided to students should be immersed in leadership practice and directly situated within schools and districts. Third, we advocate increased consistency, rigor, and theoretical depth in methods training for educational leadership students.

In this paper, we report findings from a discourse analysis study of reading instruction in eight primary/elementary school classrooms in the United States. Drawing upon discursive psychology, we specifically examined 96 hours of reading comprehension instruction, with a focus on how teachers talked about the body during the instruction and noted how this gave rise to particular constructions of what it means to be a "good" reader and/or learner. We discuss two patterns from the analysis of our data, including: (1) emphasized versus embedded physical control as essential to being a "successful" reader, and (2), implicit physical control and freedom as essential to literacy learning and to students' identities as readers. We conclude by highlighting implications, with a focus on student identity.

In this article, we think with the ongoing conversations on "embracing digital worlds" through juxtaposing the methodological practices enabled by "digital worlds" with the writings of science fiction. Specifically, we leverage the criticality of a Chinese sci-fi text, Folding Beijing, to shed light on issues of equity and justice in qualitative inquiry. This approach allows us to interrogate, problematize, and trespass the boundaries of the digital worlds as well as the underlying digital infrastructure. We discuss three types of boundaries that shape our use of digital tools/spaces: broadband internet accessibility, the borders of language, and universal design and digital inclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The International Baccalaureate (IB) has expanded in Latin America. Drawing from a larger multi-sited qualitative case study, we examined the challenges associated with the implementation of the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) in a Colombian and bilingual context. Findings highlight (1) the intersecting nature of challenges associated with the PYP and bilingual education, (2) the importance of school-based support for teaching, and (3) the importance of school-based resources for bilingual instruction. The article concludes with a discussion of implications for the IB and other global educational organizations.

The use of computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS) has not been without controversy, with a pervasive sense of skepticism and resistance towards its adoption by many scholars. Language-based researchers in particular, such as conversation and discourse analysts, have been slow to embrace such tools for their work. In this paper we illustrate how we have used ATLAS.ti to support our own conversation and discourse analysis work, in order to demonstrate how such a tool can be leveraged to complete nine analytic tasks. Tasks and features we describe include, among others, transcribing and synchronizing transcripts with media files, engaging in unmotivated looking through creating quotations, and conducting a close, line by line analysis through writing memos. We illustrate how ATLAS.ti has allowed us to document our analytic decisions in a transparent, reflexive, rigorous and systematic way. We note, too, limitations of the software such as a lack of real-time collaboration support and challenges inherent to the analysis of video and online interactional data. Rather than taking control away from the researcher, we argue that ATLAS.ti enables the analyst to solve a range of methodological challenges, such as working with large data-sets and supporting deeper levels of analysis than is possible by hand.

This article reports findings from a discourse analysis, informed by a discursive psychology (DP) perspective, of pre-service teachers' beliefs about teacher effectiveness as constructed in reflective papers. DP treats beliefs as discursive productions that are occasioned by an interactional task and are made visible through discursive features. Our analysis highlights the discursive features employed by pre-service teachers as they wrote about teacher effectiveness in relation to their field observations. We conclude that in their texts, the pre-service teachers went about constructing identities of knowledgeable and legitimate speakers on teacher effectiveness, particularly as they gradually gained firsthand experience via classroom observations.

There is consensus around the value of conducting literature reviews across disciplines; however, little attention has been given to the potential(s) of engaging in a qualitative methodological literature review (QMLR). This article examines the possibilities of engaging in a QMLR by showing how it can inform qualitative research practice. After overviewing the history of literature reviews, we offer a series of questions that can inform and be integrated into a QMLR. We then demonstrate how such reviews can serve as an opportunity for qualitative inquirers to critically engage with the methodological literature with the intent of better understanding, enacting, and generating new methodological practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While some scholars have emphasized the culturally contingent nature of disabilities, far less research has attended to the situated and discursive contexts within which those with disabilities and their communities make relevant their own understandings and representations of disability. Drawing from a larger ethnographic study, in this article we report findings generated from the analysis of audio and video data from therapy sessions and waiting room conversations among children with autism labels, their parents and therapists. We share a detailed analysis from one therapy session, using selected excerpts to illustrate the patterns noted across the corpus of data. We drew upon a discursive psychology framework informed by critical notions of disability, poststructural understandings of discourse, and certain aspects of conversation analysis to explore ways in which therapists reframed non-normative behaviors. We found that, rather than orienting to their work as "fixing" the child, therapists supported the child in making sense of how others (outsiders) might interpret their words and bodies. We illustrate how participants discursively worked to co-construct an account for how problematic behaviors may have been "misunderstood." We argue that practitioners and others should consider ways in which they might reorient to and reinterpret children whose communication and behaviors fall outside of the norm.

This chapter focuses on the transitional experiences of youth with dis/ability labels and highlights how a critical orientation to dis/ability can inform adult educators.

This article offers an overview of a special issue that focuses on the reciprocal relationship between the digital tools and spaces that we use and the methodologies and methods that we take up in designing and carrying out a qualitative research study. In this editorial, we situate the special issue in the methodological literature around technologies and qualitative inquiry. We also provide an overview of the seven included articles, noting how each article offers new perspectives on the consequences of adopting digital research workflows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When this issue of "Peabody Journal of Education" was originally conceived, the authors of this article had several questions: What are universities doing to assist urban schools to meet their potential? How are universities leveraging human resources in service to schools, particularly as many such schools undergo restructuring? Do institutions of higher education have the capacity to make a measurable difference in relation to school reform? As the questions posed by this issue are practical in nature, so too are many of the answers. This article observes that the arguments put forward in this issue call for a reconsideration of what counts as "education reform research," particularly as it considers the place of university-assisted models of school reform. This article suggests that the authors push the bounds of what counts as university engagement in school reform processes, specifically as they engage in delivering and coordinating supportive service needs (Walsh & Backe and Officer et al.), catalyzing partnerships between other external partners (Walsh & Backe, Officer et al., Taylor et al., Harkavy et al., and Shields et al.), linking neighborhood improvement to school improvement (Officer et al., Taylor et al., and Harkavy et al.), building different university courses (Shields et al.), formulating a strategy for city-wide school reform (Taylor et al.), and creating evaluation and accountability frameworks (Furco & Lawson). Scholars working alongside practitioners to improve schooling face many challenges. However, the authors in this issue suggest that community-school-university partnerships exist, can be impactful, and should be recognized within the broader literature of school reform.

Background/Context: This paper illustrates how the media, particularly "The LA Times," entered the debate surrounding teacher evaluation, resulting in a storyline that shaped how the public perceives teacher effectiveness. With their series of articles in 2010, "The LA Times" entered the conversation about the place and value of value-added measurement (VAM), arguing that it is a tool to root out the presumably ineffective teachers. Research examining education policy is often represented by the media in ways that direct the public to take up specific positions and assign responsibility to particular parties. In this paper, we build upon research around the power of news media to create common knowledge and shape a prevalent worldview. Purpose/Objective/Research Question: We gave particular attention to the ways in which the media discourse functioned to politicize and (over)simplify issues related to VAM and teacher evaluation. We sought to understand the ways in which discourse choices worked to construct a certain version of policy issues related to teacher quality, positioning some individuals and even national groups on either side of a polarized debate. Research Design: We conducted a discourse analysis (Potter, 2004; Potter & Wetherell, 1987) of 52 articles published between 2009 and 2011 that were from or related to a series on VAM initially published in 2010 by "The LA Times." Conclusions/Recommendations: We argue that the striking similarities between the story of VAM in education reform, as told by "The LA Times," and the culturally familiar storyline of a quest romance or wish-fulfillment narrative (Frye, 1957) give this particular version of VAM a sense of familiarity, veracity and therefore power over the public imagination. We discuss the discursive features used to accomplish this and suggest the need for continued analysis of the role of the media in shaping public opinion on education policy.

Special educators frequently teach students with a variety of diagnostic labels, including autism and oppositional defiant disorder. Some of these diagnoses point to the presence of challenging behaviors that might be viewed as threatening and disruptive. Teachers working with these students must make daily choices in how they approach such students. Although at times teachers work with these students to develop self-regulatory behaviors, they often risk working against such students by applying strictly punitive measures. Historically, students with disabilities, particularly those with a diagnosis of an emotional or behavior disorder (EBD), have been overrepresented in school disciplinary reports, juvenile justice facilities, and jails; these trends have become more acute with the emergence of zero tolerance. Currently, a majority of teachers within the United States are obligated to follow zero tolerance policies, replete with mandatory consequences for specific behaviors. Unfortunately, zero tolerance policies often require teachers to follow mandatory policies regarding punishment for certain behaviors. How do teachers manage to honor the unique needs of their students while at the same time adhering to uniform school discipline policies? In this article, the problems with zero tolerance policies are addressed, beginning with a brief history of zero tolerance. Then, five principles are proposed and discussed as being potentially helpful to teachers, administrators, and school personnel who must navigate the tensions between policy and practice with regard to classroom discipline.

In the last few decades, there has been a proliferation of qualitative methodologies and methods. Within HRD, however, there has been a persistent use of particular kinds of qualitative methodologies and methods, with limited degrees of methodological innovation. In this article, we overview the literature on qualitative methodological innovation and the kinds of innovation that have been engaged within HRD. To move the field forward, we introduce a new design framework, which we suggest is a useful decision-making tool to guide a scholar in making research design choices as they consider innovative research designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To date, the study of how health and wellbeing are actualized in organizations and how an organization's interactional practices shape an environment that is potentially harmful to health is understudied. Much of the research around this topic has centered on personality and individual differences, as well as health and safety or ergonomics. Little understanding exists of how interactional practices might serve to prioritize health and wellbeing. In this paper, we introduce discursive psychology (DP) – a qualitative approach to studying talk and text that focuses on examining what is accomplished through people's interactional practices. We provide an overview of DP and discuss its underlying assumptions, analytic process, and quality measures. To illustrate the application of DP to HRD, we include data extracts that highlight the impact of question design. To conclude, we point to how DP might afford HRD scholars opportunities to generate new theoretical understandings about organizational practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child mental health assessments are complex and involve the analysis of data from multiple sources to inform treatment decisions. Question sequences are central to mental health assessments; however, little research has examined the functions of questions in child mental health interactions, particularly questions that aim to elicit information from children that might be used to inform diagnosis and treatment. In this study, we utilize a large corpus of video-recorded child mental health assessments to examine the use and function of a particular kind of wh-question—circular questions—that is, questions that seek clients' views on other family members' feelings, actions, and thoughts. Using conversation analysis, we identified three "broad" functions of circular questions in child mental health assessment. Our findings provide clinicians with clinically relevant examples for using circular questions to more fully involve children in the assessment process and acquire valuable information for diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Author(s): Michelle O'Reilly[sup.1] , Jessica Nina Lester[sup.2] , Tom Muskett[sup.3] Author Affiliations: (1) College of Medicine, Biological Sciences, and Psychology, The Greenwood Institute, University of Leicester, Westcotes Drive, LE3 0QU, [...]

The lack of opportunities for youth to engage in meaningful academic practices such as reading, writing, and speaking feeds the school-prison nexus. But budget cuts, teacher layoffs, and program depletions make providing a rigorous, well-rounded, 21st century education increasingly difficult. Yet is still possible to do, especially in a collaborative environment that includes K-12 schools, universities, and social service agencies. The University-Assisted Community School after-school program--the result of a partnership between Pond Gap Elementary School and the University of Tennessee in Knoxville--is a prime example.

It has become increasingly popular to say that individual teachers are the single most important factor affecting student achievement. This is hastily followed by pointing out the need to weed out "the ineffectives." Now this rallying cry is being used by educational consulting firms that position themselves as "partners in reform" to sell remedial, one-size-fits-all programs for professional development (PD). These canned PD programs contribute to a vicious cycle in which teachers appear to be failing and in perpetual need of more remediation. One example is from Tennessee, which has a multimillion-dollar contract with one of these firms--Battelle for Kids (BFK), a "national, not-for-profit organization that provides strategic counsel and innovative solutions for today's educational improvement challenges." BFK has contracts in a dozen states and several countries, so BFK's contract with Tennessee is an example of a much larger--and growing--problem with canned PD. As the authors warn against BFK's "solutions," they suggest that now is the time to rethink teacher PD. Systems of inequity in K-12 schools do not start and end with the school day. They are sustained by approaches that position teachers as failing, deficient, and in need of remediation, instead of as willing and capable of collaborating, investigating, and problem-solving. If students deserve a liberating pedagogy that empowers them to think independently and creatively, so do teachers. (Contains 5 notes.)