Graduate Students’ Conceptualization of Educational Research: Redefining the Core Through DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) Advocacy

• In Event: Friday Roundtable Session 9:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Roundtable: New Perspectives and Approaches in Teaching and Learning Research Methods (Table 21)

Abstract

This study explores graduate students’ understanding of educational research and examines the relationships across their personal and professional backgrounds, learning experiences, and professional identities. Findings derived from the thematic analysis of ten interviews illustrate the dynamic fluidity in participants’ conceptualization of educational research shaped by the public’s growing attention to DEI issues in education. Furthermore, some students, mostly students of color, showed a strong commitment to research knowledgebase because they viewed research competency as a pivotal tool for their advocacy work and fight for social justice. This study offers important insight into the role of critical consciousness in enacting the synergistic confluence of participants’ teacher and researcher identities, which challenges the existing knowledge hierarchy in educational research and practices.

Authors

• Jae Hoon Lim, University of North Carolina - Charlotte

• Jada Marie Deiderich, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools

• Xiaoxia A. Newton, University of North Carolina - Charlotte