(Re)Producing Certain Kinds of Knowledge: Methodological Skills, Values, and Identities of Emerging Special Education Scholars

• In Event: Critical Thinking About Special Educator Preparation and Teacher Learning

Abstract

Expanding the methodological traditions that special education research draws from is key to the field’s ability to better address inequities. As the future of special education scholarship, doctoral students can contribute to such progress. However, little research has examined how doctoral training influences their methodological perspectives. This presentation reports a mixed methods study that employed a survey with research judgement tasks and interviews to examine students’ methodological perspectives and the influence of doctoral training. Findings indicated that students valued mixed methods research and were fairly diverse in their methodological identities. However, doctoral coursework and experiences privileged quantitative research. We discuss implications for special education doctoral preparation that expands the kinds of knowledge that are produced and valued in the field.

Authors

• Hailey Love, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Catherine Corr, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Melinda R. Snodgrass, Illinois State University