The Necessity of Studio Art as a Site and Source for Dissertation Research

The issue raised by the authors in this article question why studio art continues to be ignored as a site and source for research in art education. The necessity of the field to be able to participate within the research community in addressing cultural, social, educational and political concerns is acknowledged. It is argued, however, that the exclusive use of methods of inquiry that align with the conventions of social science research has been done at the expense of fully appreciating the capacity of artistic research undertaken in studio contexts. This tendency is especially prevalent in doctoral research in higher education. Three accounts of dissertation research are given that incorporate studio activity as a central agency of inquiry in conceptualising and theorising issues. Each highlights the capacity of art practice to reveal insights that are a consequence of what the researcher did in the studio setting as issues, ideas and interpretive stances emerged, and problems were re‐conceptualised. What is different in these accounts from more mainstream approaches to research is the readiness to accept that constructing new knowledge is a creative and critical process.     

Living while being alive: education and learning in the Treatment Action Campaign

This paper is based on research into the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) in South Africa. The research investigated whether, through being active members of this social movement, HIV‐positive activists learn things they could not otherwise learn about their status and the epidemic, and how they put such knowledge to use. We show how activists develop a critical understanding of the underlying causes of their ill health and its link to economic poverty and global politics. The paper concludes by suggesting that adult educators can assume direct responsibility for poverty reduction by working in and with social movements.     

The IT2 Survey: contextual knowledge (XK) influences on teacher candidates’ intention to integrate technology

Educational technology research and development - Prior to this study, a testable model for the influence of contextual knowledge (XK) on teacher candidates’ intention to integrate technology...     

Commentary: Positive Youth Development Goes Mainstream

Evidence has accumulated that confirms the success of a positive youth development (PYD) approach. Importantly, a positive development approach is just that—an approach. It is not a particular program or curriculum but a set of practices designed to achieve one or more positive outcomes. As such, PYD practices can be added onto other programs to make positive outcomes more likely. For example, a tutoring program can work hard to hire and train staff to work with students in a trusting, respectful relationship. Camp counselors can be encouraged to build rapport and positive bonds among the campers.     

Moving an Evidence‐Based Parenting Program Into the Community

Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch‐up (ABC) is a parenting program developed to enhance sensitivity among parents of infants who experience early adversity. In several randomized clinical trials, the intervention's efficacy has been demonstrated. Moving interventions into the community with adequate fidelity is challenging, though, and intervention effects are often much smaller than when tested in randomized clinical trials. To enhance the likelihood that ABC is delivered with high fidelity, a microanalytic fidelity assessment was developed. Using this fidelity tool as a central component of training, supervision, and certification, changes in parent sensitivity for 108 families with children ages 6 months to 2 years were as large as those seen in laboratory settings. These findings are discussed with regard to implications for moving other evidence‐based interventions into the community.     

Individual,co‐operative and collaborative data use: A conceptual and empirical exploration

In recent decades, the belief has originated that data use contributes to more thought‐out decisions in schools. The literature has suggested that fruitful data use is often the result of interactions among team members. However, up until now, most of the available research on data use has used ‘collaboration’ as an umbrella concept to describe very different types of interaction, without specifying the nature of collaboration or the degree of interdependency that takes place in interactions. Therefore, the current study investigates and describes Flemish teachers’ individual, co‐operative and collaborative data use. In doing so, the level of interdependency of teachers’ interactive activities (storytelling, helping, sharing, joint work) is taken into account. The results of a qualitative study with semi‐structured interviews show that teachers’ data use is predominantly of an individual nature and that felt interdependencies among teachers are few. The study enhances knowledge and opens the conceptual debate about teachers’ interactions in the context of data use.