Research for liberation : an extension of pedagogical theory to research practice

As part of coursework from my first year of graduate school, I was tasked with developing a proposal for an education intervention. The central mechanism of my proposed intervention was to provide a professional development workshop to teachers. As the framework for retrospectively examining the existence of oppressive practices within my proposal, I draw on three works by Kevin Kumashiro (2004), Leslie Baxter (2005) and Fleckenstein, Spinuzzi, Rickly, and Papper (2008). As part of this examination, I also explore how metaphors are enacted in education research and the implications for using specific metaphors to position research subjects, specifically teachers, within this field. Finally, drawing from pedagogical theory, I consider how education research could be re-envisioned to be more sustainable and equitable in its relationship with participants and stakeholders.