Searching for gems in the mud: an example of critical reflection on research in education

Midgley, Warren (2008) Searching for gems in the mud: an example of critical reflection on research in education. International Journal of Pedagogies and Learning, 4 (1). pp. 14-24. ISSN 1833-4105

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Abstract

This paper presents a critical autoethnographic reflection upon a study I conducted two years previously. The original study reports on research conducted in two classes at a Japanese university on the students’ attitudes towards different forms of addressing a foreign teacher in a conversational English class. The research incorporated a visualization exercise with a free writing response in an attempt to indirectly investigate student attitudes to various forms of address. The results were inconclusive with respect to the original research objectives, because none of the proposed forms of address were found to be universally acceptable in either class. A report on the research was written, but never published. Two years later, I reflexively interrogated the text of the original report in an attempt to explore the values and beliefs that influenced the design, implementation and reporting of the original research. Thus the original research report became the data for the current study. This paper demonstrates the process I undertook in critically reflecting upon my own research by presenting the original report (written two years ago), providing notes on my critical reflection upon that research, and then discussing the implications of this approach, highlighting the mutability of researcher values and beliefs.

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Item Type:	Article (Commonwealth Reporting Category C)
Refereed:	Yes
Item Status:	Live Archive
Additional Information:	Author retains copyright.
Faculty/School / Institute/Centre:	Historic - Faculty of Education (Up to 30 Jun 2013)
Faculty/School / Institute/Centre:	Historic - Faculty of Education (Up to 30 Jun 2013)
Date Deposited:	18 Feb 2008 02:33
Last Modified:	02 Jul 2013 22:58
Uncontrolled Keywords:	critical reflection; education research; forms of address; language teaching; autoethnography
Fields of Research (2008):	16 Studies in Human Society > 1608 Sociology > 160807 Sociological Methodology and Research Methods 13 Education > 1302 Curriculum and Pedagogy > 130207 LOTE, ESL and TESOL Curriculum and Pedagogy (excl. Maori) 20 Language, Communication and Culture > 2002 Cultural Studies > 200209 Multicultural, Intercultural and Cross-cultural Studies
Socio-Economic Objectives (2008):	C Society > 95 Cultural Understanding > 9502 Communication > 950201 Communication Across Languages and Culture
URI:	http://eprints.usq.edu.au/id/eprint/3853

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