Mainstreams, Margins and the Spaces In-between - New possibilities for education research (Hardcover)

This book explores the complexities of investigating minorities, majorities, boundaries and borders and the experiences of researchers who choose to work in these spaces. It examines epistemologies that appear to shape researchers beliefs about the forms of research that are valued in educational research and theory. It also considers the researched and notions of privilege, voice, agency, authority and authenticity. "Researching Mainstreams, Margins and Spaces In-Between" engages with issues of ethics, disclosure, and representation and contends with and seeks to contribute to emerging debates around power and the positioning of researchers and participants. It also considers the motivations that researchers bring in relation to participant transformation and empowerment, and the importance of research that genuinely seeks to explore voice, culture, story and identity.

Resisting the backdrop of standardisation, performativity and accountability agendas pervading governments and organisations, this book attends to the stories of real people, to understand regional and rural landscapes, to examine culture and the human condition, and to give voice to those at the fringes of society who remain largely neglected and unheard. This text therefore provides an overview of the many types of research being engaged in, revealing the value of different kinds of research, and gaining insight into how meaning and findings are disseminated in research and educational sectors, and back into the contexts where research takes place.

The book will interest early career researchers and academics internationally. It will also appeal to postgraduate students completing research methods courses in the field of education, and the wider social sciences."