Some of the different ways of researching situations that can arise when working in education and working with children and young people will be examined. You will explore distinct and influential ways in which people think about and study the complexities around working with children and young people, the practices involved in learning and teaching and the structures that support and impact on them. You will become familiar with the different theoretical tools used in research, which will enable you to begin to interrogate research literature and the research process itself.

Course learning outcomes

After studying this course, you should be able to:

• Appreciate why theory is relevant to and important for research
• Recognise how research perspectives offer ways of linking theory to the practice of research
• Understand what a research paradigm is and how paradigms can be distinguished from each other
• Recognise how the choice of a research paradigm and its associated research methodology relates to how a research problem or enquiry is conceptualised
• Understand how different research positions have led to different views about what counts as evidence and, as a consequence, what is judged to be valuable or reliable evidence in research
• Appreciate how having a clear view of the theories and concepts informing a study offers a useful framework for research.