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Building Research Collaboratives Among Schools and Universities: Lessons From the Field
Author(s) -
Kuriloff Peter,
Reichert Michael,
Stoudt Brett,
Ravitch Sharon
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
mind, brain, and education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.624
H-Index - 35
eISSN - 1751-228X
pISSN - 1751-2271
DOI - 10.1111/j.1751-228x.2008.01051.x
Subject(s) - negotiation , status quo , participatory action research , pedagogy , sociology , resistance (ecology) , scarcity , public relations , field (mathematics) , work (physics) , research center , citizen journalism , democracy , center (category theory) , political science , engineering ethics , social science , engineering , mechanical engineering , ecology , chemistry , mathematics , crystallography , politics , anthropology , pure mathematics , microeconomics , law , economics , biology
— In a previous issue of Mind, Brain, and Education , Hinton and Fischer (2008) argue that educational research needs to be grounded in the lived realities of school life. They advocate for research schools as a venue for accomplishing this. The Center for the Study of Boys’ and Girls’ Lives represents an alternative model—a research collaborative among independent schools and university‐based scholars. This article describes the Center’s experience with democratic, participatory action research. It discusses major roadblocks encountered doing such work, including difficulties selecting research topics collaboratively, epistemological differences in methods and design, the scarcity of time, and resistance to results when they challenge gender stereotypes or the status quo or involve student researchers. The article concludes with strategies for overcoming these roadblocks, including clearer, upfront negotiations with schools and a compact that specifies roles and responsibilities for both school and Center personnel.