Curriculum and Imagination - Process Theory, Pedagogy and Action Research

• Offers an innovative and accessible approach to educational research by providing practical examples of the application of theory
• Gives 'hands-on' accounts for the researcher and practitioner
• Explains and discusses complex ideas in the light of experience in using and applying them
• Covers the application of major theorists such as Bourdieu, Foucault, Weber, Derrida, and Vygotsky

For beginning researchers, theory can be one of the most stimulating – yet intellectually daunting – aspects of academic work. Applying Theory to Educational Research provides new educational researchers with a uniquely accessible introduction to the process of selecting and applying theories in their own work. Written by a team of leading educationalists writing from the perspective of new researchers, clearly structured chapters introduce individual theorists and their ideas, present their applications and limitations, and provide extensive references and suggestion for further reading. Major theorists such as Pierre Bourdieu, Michel Foucault, Max Weber, Jacques Derrida, and Lev Vygotsky are included, along with many more recent educational theorists. Throughout the text, helpful hints and signposts are provided to alert readers to the potential pitfalls of applying theory.

Innovative and illuminating, Applying Theory to Educational Research offers a wealth of practical insights that will point the way for novice researchers struggling to navigate an often daunting intellectual obstacle course.

Curriculum in Early Childhood Education: Reexamined, Rediscovered, Renewed provides a critical examination of the sources, aims, and features of early childhood curricula. Providing a theoretical and philosophical foundation for examining teaching and learning, this book will provoke discussion and analysis among all readers. How has theory been used to understand, develop, and critique curriculum? Whose perspectives are dominant and whose are ignored? How is diversity addressed? What values are explicit and implicit?

The book first contextualizes the historical and research base of early childhood curriculum, and then turns to discussions of various schools of theory and philosophy that have served to support curriculum development in early childhood education. An examination of current curriculum frameworks is offered, both from the US and abroad, including discussion of the Project Approach, Creative Curriculum, Te Wh?riki, and Reggio Emilia. Finally, the book closes with chapters that enlarge the topic to curriculum-being-enacted through play and that summarize key issues while pointing out future directions for the field. Offering a broad foundation for examining curriculum in early childhood, readers will emerge with a stronger understanding of how theories and philosophies intersect with curriculum development.

This is the first research methods book to focus entirely on physical education and youth sport. It guides the reader through the whole research process; from the first steps to completion of a dissertation or practice-based project, and introduces key topics such as:

• formulating a research question
• qualitative approaches
• quantitative approaches
• mixed method research
• literature review
• case studies
• survey, interviews and focus groups
• data analysis
• writing the dissertation.

Each chapter includes a full range of useful pedagogical features, including chapter summaries, practical activities, case studies, dialogues with active researchers and guidance on further reading and resources. With contributions from some of the world’s best-known researchers in the field, this book is indispensible reading for all students and professionals working in physical education, youth sport, sports coaching and related subjects.

Why does understanding really matter?

Why do some learners fail to understand?

At a time when league tables can be everything, examination grades matter.  Perhaps more than many would admit, the cost is a lack of understanding.

The new edition of Teaching for Understanding provides practical advice about how to support understanding in both children and adults. It is for all teachers and lecturers, experienced or otherwise, who want learners to do more than simply memorize and regurgitate information.  It describes what understanding means in the different subjects and offers a framework for supporting understanding.

Revised and updated to reflect evolving ideas about education and the latest challenges facing teachers and learners, this new edition includes a section on the role of e-learning, as well as additional classroom contexts and extra strategies for supporting understanding.?

Topics explored include:

• What is understanding and why is it so valuable?
• How understanding happens: the mental processes
• The relationship between understanding and creative thought
• Reasons for misunderstanding and how to combat them
• The impact of learners’ motivation and strategies for self-help
• How to evaluate understanding.

Teaching for Understanding: What it is and how to do it addresses a real problem at all levels of education, and is essential reading for all teachers and lecturers in schools, colleges and universities.