Sara Hennessy Bücher

Research Methods for Educational Dialogue provides an overview of the range of possibilities for researching various forms of educational dialogue, underpinned by a coherent theoretical foundation. The authors, Kershner, Hennessy, Wegerif and Ahmed offer an integrated understanding of different methodological approaches in this fast-growing area of education. The book includes critical discussion of a variety of methods for investigating the characteristics and quality of dialogues for individuals and groups of participants in different educational contexts. These include student-student, teacher-student and wider professional dialogues, conducted face-to-face, online or mediated by classroom technologies. The authors argue for the integration of ethical and methodological principles, and consider the potential for innovative research methods that are dialogic in themselves. Including chapter commentaries from invited experts in the field, authentic research examples and a glossary of terms, this is essential reading for anyone looking to research in the area of educational dialogue.

This book presents a fresh approach to bridging the perceived gap between academic and classroom cultures. It describes a unique form of research partnership whereby Cambridge University academics and school teachers together grappled with and reformulated theory—through in-depth case studies analysing practice using interactive whiteboards in five subject areas. The inquiry exploited the collaborators’ complementary professional knowledge bases. Teachers’ voices are particularly audible in co-authored case study chapters. Outcomes included deeper insights into concepts of sociocultural learning theory and classroom dialogue, more analytical mindsets, sustained new practices and ways of working collegially.