Self-study Methodology Research Articles

Learning about place from Indigenous Elders: self-study in social studies education

PurposeThis paper explores the effects of land education on the practice of a White social studies teacher educator who wanted to teach about the ecological crisis.Design/methodology/approachThe teacher educator used self-study methodology to analyze her experiences with local Indigenous leaders when she was a high school social studies teacher and currently as a social studies methods professor. Data sources included journals, field notes, course-related materials, and formal writings.FindingsThrough experiences, Indigenous leaders helped the teacher educator identify contrasting cultural paradigms to broaden her understanding of where she lives. This learning enabled the teacher educator to use the two paradigms in her teaching about place and the ecological crisis.Originality/valueThis research shows inner work that can position teacher educators to understand the value of Indigenous wisdom regarding place when teaching about the ecological crisis.

Analyzing Methods, Data Collection, and Trustworthiness in Self-Study Research: A Content Analysis of the First 19 Volumes of Studying Teacher Education

ABSTRACT Self-study researchers have periodically considered the essence of self-study, its objectives, its applications, and potential future trajectories. To address this imperative, our study undertakes a content analysis of the initial 19 volumes of Studying Teacher Education (STE), the flagship journal of self-study research. We focus specifically on the methodological dimensions of the scholarship featured in the journal, encompassing the spectrum of self-study methodologies employed, data collection techniques utilized, and measures of trustworthiness adopted. Through our analysis, we identify prevalent trends within each thematic domain, alongside an evolving consensus over time regarding the characteristics of high-quality self-study research. Nonetheless, we also discern persistent challenges concerning the lack of definitional precision and consistent implementation across diverse methodologies, data collection approaches, and trustworthiness measures. Echoing previous scholarship, we advocate for the establishment of a shared lexicon within the self-study community and the cultivation of explicit understandings regarding the diverse modalities of its application. Furthermore, drawing from our analysis, we introduce a typology delineating three distinct epochs of self-study research within the journal’s history while also envisioning the emergence of a fourth era poised to both reaffirm self-study’s foundational role as a form of counter-scholarship and chart innovative pathways forward.

Learned from a Semester Spent in Schools

ABSTRACT This article reports on the experiences of a mid-career teacher educator who spent a full semester supervising student teachers in schools. Adopting a self-study methodology, she and a critical friend collected and analyzed data, often in the form of reflection, on her experiences of third space and liminality. The time that she spent on the project helped her to develop more nuanced understandings of the complex daily realities faced by elementary teachers, which led to changes in her instruction with the preservice teachers with whom she worked. Importantly, the experience helped her to rediscover a sense of passion for her work. Her approach led to deeper insights on the importance of spending time in schools and of emotions and relationships in the work of teacher education. The experience points toward interesting professional development possibilities for teacher educators at mid-career.

Understanding Collaborative Design Practice Through Self-Study

Designing online teacher professional development (oTPD) grounded in participatory practices is complex. An intense interdisciplinary collaboration of teacher educators, online learning experts, and instructional designers is needed. Achieving shared understanding is essential for successful collaboration, yet varied perspectives of interdisciplinary experts can cause tensions. Under the right conditions, conflict can be positive and productive. This study of collaborative design practice examined the process of aligning technology and pedagogy when designing participatory oTPD using the self-study methodology. Data analysis revealed relevant interrelationships and uncovered a consistent pattern related to purposeful use of technology. While self-study was an effective inquiry method and provided valuable insights into our practice, it also fostered an environment of trust and collaborative knowledge exchange necessary for successful joint problem solving, cognitive synchronization, and innovation in interdisciplinary design teams.

Implementing a Democratic Pedagogy into a Service-Learning Course During COVID-19: A Self-Study of Online Practice

ABSTRACT The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on all levels of education has been well documented. In this article, the authors drew on self-study methodology to explore how one member of the research team applied principles of democratic pedagogy in response to COVID-19 enforced changes to a service-learning course in a three-year undergraduate degree. The findings indicate that the disruptions provided a catalyst for the lecturer to reflect on his own beliefs and practices, and explore new ways of assessing students in an SL course. The article discusses the potential implications of these findings for higher education as further pivoting between face-to-face, online, and hybrid teaching becomes commonplace. We see potential for greater contributions from students in higher education’s increasingly blended learning environments. We argue that negotiating content and assessment presents a genuine opportunity to engage students in actively thinking about their own learning.

Exploring Autoethnographic and Arts-Based Approaches to Planetary Health: Honoring Diversity through Creativity, Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Loving Relationships

The complexity of contemporary global challenges concerning biosocial–political wellbeing comprises humanity’s actions on many scales. Planetary Health and One Health are examples of broad fields emerging in the last decade to address these complexities. Scientific research has been focusing mainly on the biological aspect of the problem, and the role of indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) as drivers of change in Planetary Health is poorly explored. Transdisciplinary approaches are needed, and, thus, it is essential to highlight the social–political side of this reality by integrating social sciences and humanities in these research communities. The Africa Community of Planetary Partners for Health and Environment (ACOPPHE), through its Art and Indigenous action team, seeks to explore this integration by interrogating and engaging in research using self-study methodologies and arts-based research methods. In traditional scientific research, it is common practice that the researcher is positioned outside of their research. The results are expected to offer complex scientific answers that are often not useful for communities in need of solutions. Frequently, the arts have not received sufficient exploration as a means for research. Another aspect of this problem is that the indigenous peoples of many places in the world have often had their knowledge of human and planet health marginalized because it was practice-based and passed down through the embodiment of knowledge and not through modern-day written knowledge. Autoethnographic and arts-based methodologies have great potential here in bridging the communication between the scientific world and the lived experience of the communities through their cultural and traditional practices. They make room for intersectionality, as well as making the knowledge from research findings valuable and explicit to the layman. Self-study methodologies offer the space for sharing lived experiences, critical dialogue, and possible solutions for the biosocial and political issues that our world faces today.

Exploring our Open Educational Practices in Support of Excellence in Graduate Education: A Collaborative Autoethnography

This paper presents the findings of our exploration of our open educational practices (OEP) with graduate students. As reflective practitioners, we used a self-study methodology and collaborative autoethnographic methods to interrogate our open approaches to teaching and supervision. We draw on our developing competencies to support the wisdom, critical thinking, resilience, and adaptability of our graduate students. The article extends preliminary findings about graduate education and open practices in relation to and emerging from earlier work (Ives et al., 2022), which committed us to further exploration of our practices. Using our definition of OEP which expands on the work of several open scholars, we report new findings from our in-depth collaborative analysis of data collected over two years. We found a gap in the literature examining the use of OEP with graduate students. Findings include OEP and their alignment with our values and competencies, as well as OEP within our teaching, course design, and graduate supervisory practices. We offer insights into the outcomes of our practices for students and ourselves, and ways we can improve.

An outdoor educator’s self-study of enacting a pedagogical model for outdoor adventure education to facilitate affective learning experiences

ABSTRACT Background: Outdoor Adventure Education (OAE) has a long history of being associated with the facilitation of affective learning experiences. This research explores this relationship between OAE and the facilitation of affective learning experiences by enacting a pedagogical model. This inquiry was prompted by the publication of two papers in Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy – ‘A new pedagogical model for adventure in curriculum’ [Williams, A., and N. Wainwright. 2016a. “A New Pedagogical Model for Adventure in the Curriculum: Part One – Advocating for the Model.” Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy 21 (5): 481–500. doi:10.1080/17408989.2015.1048211; Williams, A., and N. Wainwright. 2016b. “A New Pedagogical Model for Adventure in the Curriculum: Part Two – Outlining the Model.” Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy 21 (6): 589–602. doi:10.1080/17408989.2015.1048212]. Purpose: Two research questions were developed for this exploration: (i) What are the realities of enacting a pedagogical model for OAE?; and (ii) When facilitating a programme for OAE, what affective learning experiences emerge and what are the processes involved in their facilitation? Method: A self-study methodology was used for this research and was guided by LaBoskey’s [2004. “The Methodology of Self-Study and Its Theoretical Underpinnings.” In International Handbook of Self-Study, of Teaching and Teacher Education Practices, edited by J. Loughran, M. L. Hamilton, V. K. LaBoskey, and T. Russell, 817–869. Dordrecht: Springer] approach to self-study. Ciaran (first author) – a facilitator of OAE programmes – conducted a self-study of their enactment of the pedagogical model for OAE in facilitating affective learning outcomes/experiences. Data sources included reflective journal entries and micro (a co-instructor of OAE) and macro (Dylan [second author]) critical friend meetings. Data was analysed following Charmaz’s [2014. Constructing Grounded Theory. Sage] approach to data analysis. Findings: The findings are captured in three categories: (i) Handing over the control to the students: realities of enacting a pedagogical model for OAE; (ii) The importance of creating an environment where affective learning can occur; and (iii) The potential of the pedagogical model for the creation of an environment where affective learning can be facilitated. Discussion: Throughout the findings, examples and considerations are given where the ‘non-negotiables’ of the pedagogical model for OAE can support and/or enhance and/ or facilitate affective learning outcomes/experiences of motivation, emotional responses, self-concept, and resilience [Teraoka, E., H. J. Ferreira, D. Kirk, and F. Bardid. 2021. “Affective Learning in Physical Education: A Systematic Review.” Journal of Teaching in Physical Education 40 (3): 460–473. doi:10.1123/jtpe.2019-0164]. Conclusion: This research highlights the possibilities and potentialities of a pedagogical model for OAE [Williams, A., and N. Wainwright. 2016a. “A New Pedagogical Model for Adventure in the Curriculum: Part One – Advocating for the Model.” Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy 21 (5): 481–500. doi:10.1080/17408989.2015.1048211; Williams, A., and N. Wainwright. 2016b. “A New Pedagogical Model for Adventure in the Curriculum: Part Two – Outlining the Model.” Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy 21 (6): 589–602. doi:10.1080/17408989.2015.1048212] in facilitating affective learning experiences/outcomes. We strongly encourage and advocate OAE facilitators/teachers to adopt, adapt, and enact the model to benefit the students’ affective learning development in OAE settings.

Trauma-informed practice: A self-study examining the readiness of pre-service early years professionals

ABSTRACT Childhood psychological trauma is currently gleaning attention in many fields of study. Subsequently, Trauma-Informed Practice (TIP) is becoming integral to many organizations that service children and families. A gap, however, is noted in literature between this approach to practice and pre-service early years professionals who study to work in care and education settings as either early childhood educators or teachers. Furthermore TIP, using Self-Study (SS) methodology, is deficient in literature. Thus, a Self-Study was enacted by four pre-service early years professionals, in their fourth and final year of their degree, to investigate their preparedness to employ TIP in their work post-graduation. A Critical Friend, versed in this topic, engaged in this study as this is habitual to SS methodology. Findings of this research convey that TIP is covertly addressed in course content, indicating that this area of pedagogy requires more explicit attention in pre-service curriculum. Outcomes of this study also illuminate the urgency for early years professionals to address their own adverse experiences so that they are situated to cultivate attuned and responsive trauma-informed climates in their pedagogical practice.

Learning about fostering student engagement during online teaching: A collaborative reflective inquiry of two teacher educators

The rapid shift to online teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic required lecturers to think of altering their pedagogical approaches to suit online learning. One of those pedagogical approaches is fostering student engagement. We are two teacher educators who collaborated using a self-study methodology to look into our practice to learn about fostering student engagement in an online teaching environment. This study was guided by the theory of experiential learning and collaboration. Data were collected from our journal entries and collaboration discussions to narrate how our collaborative endeavours enabled us to learn about fostering student engagement in an online teaching platform. While the findings of what we learnt about fostering student engagement when teaching online are not entirely new in literature, we found that our collaborative endeavours helped us to deal with our fears and vulnerabilities as well as noticing pertinent aspects of student engagement in online teaching. We recommend that lecturers need to embrace collaboration in negotiating new and challenging educational situations.

From “Am I just too old for this?” To “Hey – I think I could do that!”: a collaborative self-study of the implementation of blended synchronous learning in initial teacher education

Blended Synchronous Learning (BSL) refers to when students located in physical classrooms learn together with peers who attend remotely, via networked digital technologies. The Covid-19 pandemic, along with ambitions to increase flexibility in learning delivery mode for students, has led to the increased implementation of BSL in tertiary education. The current evidence-base around BSL provides important principles for its use, but relatively little research has examined the experiences of teaching staff in depth. This article uses a self-study methodology to explore educators’ experiences of BSL implementation in a post-graduate Initial Teacher Education course in Australia. Six teaching staff, all co-researchers for the study, contributed reflective data, and engaged in analysis and interpretation of the data via structured critical friendships. Insights related to four key themes were derived from the analysis: institutional and pedagogical factors; educator wellbeing, self-efficacy and professional identity; staffing support; and collegial professional learning. The implementation of BSL, while aligned with existing recommendations, produced significant challenges for educators in relation to institutional support and training, pedagogical practices, operation of BSL technologies, professional identity and self-efficacy. Cognitive overload was a prominent feature of the BSL teaching experience. On the whole, while drawing on existing skills and teaching experience, educators held significant concerns with the overall quality of student learning in BSL—especially for remote students. Training, practice, technical and co-teaching support, as well as collegial relationships, were important mediators of educator experience. The findings suggest that the implementation of BSL requires substantial investment in staffing, training, skill development, and opportunities for authentic, meaningful practice and prototyping. The findings also affirm the value of timely, organisationally supported and collaborative professional learning as part of BSL implementation.

Academic writing challenges faced by chemistry doctoral students: A self-study informed by three writing theories

This research investigated the challenges faced by chemistry Ph.D. candidates writing in English as a second language. Drawing from Second Language Writing, Genre Theory, and Academic Writing Instruction and Support, we investigated the linguistic, cultural, and disciplinary factors that might affect these students' writing development. Nineteen doctoral students participated in the study, which relied on a self-study methodology. Attitudes towards writing, idea generation, revision, criticism, cooperation, and writing process awareness were only some topics covered in a seven-part online survey on academic writing. Language, method, outcomes, style, and substance were found to be the most salient aspects of academic writing as seen by graduate students. There were five major classes of issues with academic writing, including text, errors, competence, support, and dissemination medium. By drawing on the fields of Second Language Writing, Genre Theory, and Academic Writing Instruction and Support, we propose strategies for enhancing students' abilities in academic writing. These strategies range from providing more detailed instructions on the writing process to emphasizing the importance of close communication between faculty advisors and their students. The ramifications of these results for graduate education programs that want to help their students with their academic writing are substantial.

The Impact of Covid-19 on Academic Practice: A Dilemma-Driven Self-Study Inquiry at an Institution of Higher Learning

This inquiry was a dilemma-driven, object-inquiry self-study. The study followed visual methodologies in unpacking the impact of Covid-19 on the practices of a practitioner at a rural university. During the Covid-19 pandemic, I was becoming increasingly dissatisfied with my daily practice as an academic because I struggled to locate my footing in what has been dubbed the ‘new normal’ about online student teaching and assessment. In my bid to investigate the dissatisfactions I faced due to Covid-19, I followed the self-study methodology, which entailed my engagement in reflexivity cycles, and feedback from critical friends. My critical friends played a crucial validation role during my data collection, analysis, and drawing of conclusions from multiple data forms that included journal entries and discussions with others. The collected data was thematically and analyzed from deductive to inductive perspective through the process of coding. This inquiry established that the outbreak of Covid-19 led to dilemmas of practice that stemmed from my being deskilled, techno and Covid-phobic; poor individual adaptability; inadequate TPKC; and the shortcomings of working as an isolated silo. It emerged that these dilemmas of practice escalated into professional traumas through working in isolated silos in virtual platforms. Thus, through making our challenges of practice public, we tend to benefit from the pool of probing expertise of others. Whilst the advent of Covid-19 posed unwelcome professional traumas, it was through the probing power of ‘the second voice’ that the over-shadowed professional growth opportunities in this pandemic induced ‘new normal’ was unveiled.

Research as a Strategy for Equity in Independent Schools

Independent schools are increasingly looking to research as a strategy for building equitable systems and practices, through the creation of an embedded researcher position. This commentary grapples with how independent schools are building internal research capacity find. Using a self-study methodology with interviews, job document review, and educational autobiographies, we examine the practices and positions of researchers at six independent schools—five in the United States and one in Turkey—through the lens of research as a strategy for equity. We that researchers and leaders conceived of the research roles as aligned with equity-focused improvement, yet implementation was contingent on how the role was situated in the organization and the ability of the researcher to negotiate definitions of research and research processes with leaders, teaching faculty, and students. We conclude with theoretical and practical implications of using research and the role of an embedded researcher as a strategy for equity-focused school improvement in independent schools.

From Colleagues to Critical Friends: Exploring Avenues of Professional Learning to Support Equity-Based Pedagogies in Mathematics Education

ABSTRACT This article describes a collaborative self-study of seven early career mathematics teacher educators. Our collective group sought to improve our practice in, and enhance transparency around, supporting prospective teachers as they engaged in equity-based mathematics pedagogies. The collaboration evolved into a critical friendship and provided a space to study, reflect and supportively challenge our practices. We found that self-study methodology matched our motivation to improve our practice as teacher educators, while recognizing the contexts of our other professional and institutional obligations and upholding our own values. We draw upon a traffic roundabout as a metaphor for our experience in self-study, noting the ways it provided professional learning and moved our work with prospective teachers forward.

Culturally Responsive Pedagogy Amid the Internationalization of Teacher Education: Self-Study of Teaching International Teacher Candidates in U.S. Teacher Education Program

ABSTRACT The internationalization of teacher education has impacted the curriculum and contexts of teacher preparation in the United States (U.S.). While an increasing number of studies explore the effectiveness of international practicums where teacher candidates from U.S.-based teacher education programs immerse into different cultural and linguistic experiences, studies investigating teacher educators’ perspectives in the context of preparing international teacher candidates (ITCs) in U.S.-based teacher education programs are scarce. This self-study research explores how a teacher educator negotiates and responds to the internationalization of teacher education, particularly to the learning-to-teach process of ITCs. This qualitative research uses a self-study methodology to explore challenges and culturally responsive practices while working with ITCs’ diverse backgrounds, knowledge, and motivation. Data were collected over three academic semesters, including memos and notes, teaching journals, and lesson plans. Findings emphasize the importance of shifting perspectives and practices to meet ITCs’ academic, cultural, and linguistic needs. Implications for self-study research and teacher education programs promoting the internationalization of teacher education are discussed.

Investigating New Literacies Among Teacher Educators: A Multi-Institution Collaborative Self-Study

This multi-institutional, collaborative self-study explores how teacher educators learn to embed new literacies (NL) in teacher education coursework. Utilizing collaborative self-study methodology, seven faculty engaged in a year-long collaborative study focused on the incorporation of NL in preservice teacher education courses, meeting regularly over the course of the year to share reflections, provide feedback to one another, and continually revise course and assignment designs related to NL. Data sources included recordings of collaborative planning meetings, written reflections, annotated teaching artifacts, notes and transcripts from partner and whole group recorded Zoom sessions and post-meeting reflections. The findings describe diversity in both conceptualizing and teaching NL, parallels between teacher educators’, preservice teachers’ and P-12 teachers’ challenges integrating NL into their teaching, and institutional barriers to collaborative study, curricular revision, and the use of new technologies. The authors discuss these findings in relation to the potential value of multi-institutional study groups and collaborative self-study as a methodology for helping support literacy teacher educators’ ongoing learning.

I was a good classroom teacher, why do I feel so lost now? Examining a doctoral student’s transition with becoming a teacher educator during and post pandemic

Employing self-study methodology this work examines not only the transition from classroom teacher to teacher educator but also the increased complexity of this experience while teaching online during the pandemic, and the transition back to some sense of normalcy with teaching in person. Data sources include Author One’s reflective journal, recordings of meetings with critical friends providing feedback throughout the process, and student artifacts from different activities applied from year 1 to year 2. From our coding of the journal from year 1, several codes were identified about Author One’s identity as a teacher educator being tied to the types of interactions he fosters in his classroom.  As he transitions to teaching in person in year 2 (Fall 2021) we look to see how he takes what he learned about fostering these interactions in an online environment and applies them to his in-person teaching. Techniques learned from his semester 2 experience of online teaching guide him in this process and critical friend meetings will focus on attending to the transitional moments in his identity as he makes yet another shift in developing who he is as a teacher educator.

Facilitating loose parts play with elementary school staff: professional development and implementation from the perspective of the facilitator

ABSTRACT Background The evidence on loose parts play suggests its potential for positive impact on physical activity levels, social-emotional and cognitive outcomes, and the overall quality of play experiences in the outdoors. The facilitator plays a key role in ensuring these effective measures are fostered. However, literature specific to facilitators’ (e.g. teachers, professional development (PD) providers) roles and responsibilities with loose parts play is limited. It is the intention of this research to expand beyond what loose parts play is and its benefits, and include how it can be implemented in a safe and meaningful way from the perspective of the facilitator. Purpose The purpose of this research was to explore Adrian’s roles and responsibilities as a facilitator of PD about loose parts play. Investigating and critiquing the roles and responsibilities of Adrian, has the potential to offer evidence and insight to individuals and school communities considering their own loose parts play implementation. Method This research used a self-study methodology. A self-study allowed Adrian to focus on learning from and through their experience as a facilitator to ultimately challenge and/or reinforce their pedagogical approaches for providing PD on loose parts play implementation. Self-study methodology allowed for in-depth explanations of Adrian’s roles and responsibilities and while interrogating their new learning to share insights to improve facilitation practices. Data from facilitation sessions and guided journal reflections were collected and analysed using Braun and Clarke’s (2012) thematic analysis framework. Findings Five themes describe the roles and responsibilities of a loose parts play facilitator: (a) experiential learning; (b) explicit communication; (c) contextual considerations; (d) relationships and (e) reflective practice. The themes generated reinforce existing findings in the literature on facilitation and PD such as offering experiences that are ‘hands-on’ and practically involving the audience; ensuring clearly communicated goals are part of the instruction process; deepening relationships by engaging dialogue between school communities; knowing your audience and adapting to their needs and readiness; and encouraging participants to be reflective. This research contributes to the literature, validating the roles and responsibilities of the facilitator, by demonstrating continuity between the five themes and the components of Comprehensive School Health (healthy school policy; social and physical environment; teaching and learning; partnerships and services) a framework used to build healthy school communities. For example, school policy can be unique to its context and needs to be explicitly communicated with all involved partners to ensure the expectations of implementation are commonly understood. Additionally, teaching and learning includes drawing upon and acknowledging a participant’s lived experience with play through experiential play opportunities. Furthermore, one way to attend to the social environment is to foster relationships with students by guiding their involvement throughout implementation. Whereas the quality and availability of the physical environment, specific to each context, will impact where, when and how play can be facilitated. Conclusion In committing to these roles and responsibilities the facilitator is dedicated to facilitating PD about, and implementing loose parts play using a comprehensive approach that supports the achievement of academic and health outcomes in students.

Who takes part in participation? Challenges to empowering student voice in music teacher education

ABSTRACT In this study, we employ a participatory action research framework to investigate how preservice music teachers can take part in developing their own education. The main focus is on how two music teacher educators at two institutions in Norway work to create a space for student voice and participation. The study’s data are analysed and presented through a combination of self-study methodology and narrative analysis conducted by two of the authors, followed by reflections by the two other authors. In these analytical steps, we identify four teacher roles in the form of metaphors: ‘the impatient manager’, ‘the conflicted gatekeeper’, ‘the balancing artist’ and ‘the reluctant host’. These roles are further discussed in light of theoretical perspectives on student voice and participation. The results reveal challenges in the use of participatory action research and in making changes to music teacher education.