Graduate School of Education - George Mason University
College of Education and Human Development
George Mason University GMU.edu

Students at Graduation
Graduate School of Education - George Mason University

Our Graduate School of Education is the alma mater for one third of teachers and administrators in Northern Virginia’s world-class school systems. Each year, more than 3,000 graduate students enroll in our innovative academic programs, which include advanced study for teachers and school leaders, instructional design and technology, and a renowned PhD in Education program that is among the largest in the country.

Sub-navigation:

School of Recreation, Health, and Tourism - George Mason University

The School of Recreation, Health, and Tourism (SRHT) offers exciting, career-ready majors in dynamic fields such as athletic training, tourism and events management, health and physical education, kinesiology, sport management, and recreation management. SRHT features renowned faculty, cutting-edge research, six laboratories and centers, and a diverse student body of more than 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students each year. Each major requires one or more internship or clinical experiences, ensuring that students graduate not just with a transcript but with a resume that demonstrates their professional aptitude and skills.

students at graduation
Areas of Study

How will YOU make an impact?

Sub-navigation:

graduating students
About CEHD

The College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) inspires undergraduate and graduate students to promote learning and development across the life span. Innovative, inclusive, and cutting-edge, the college and its two schools prepare professionals who improve lives and make a difference for our community and for the world.

Sub-navigation:

Dr. Brenda Bannan in classroom
About GSE

The College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) inspires undergraduate and graduate students to promote learning and development across the life span. Innovative, inclusive, and cutting-edge, the college and its two schools prepare professionals who improve lives and make a difference for our community and for the world.

Sub-navigation:

Students in front of George Mason statue
Our Student Goals

One of the goals of the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) is to provide all students with personalized, high-quality experiential learning opportunities, both regionally and globally with multiple pathways and delivery formats that will enable all graduates to pursue meaningful lives and successful careers.

Sub-navigation:

Research of Consequence
Research

The college’s innovative research and pace of performance has resulted in a research portfolio that has grown dramatically compared to peer institutions, with annual expenditures exceeding $16 million annually. This research of consequence, undertaken by faculty in both schools, advances knowledge in the learning and developmental sciences, benefiting the greater community in Virginia and beyond.

Sub-navigation:

Comparison of Definitions

  1. Research
  2. Teacher Research
  3. Comparing TR to Other Forms of Educational Research
Skip local navigation

Sub-Navigation Menu

INQUIRY

  • equally questioning
  • less rigorous and systematic in connotation, a more general term
  • less directed toward findings

EXAMPLE: Several teacher researchers might get together on a regular basis to discuss and analyze their work and call themselves an inquiry group

ACTION RESEARCH

historical term (British teachers investigating curriculum initiatives)

  • equally focused on teaching and learning
  • research question may not be freely chosen, included as part of curriculum initiative
  • less theory based, not striving to contribute to knowledge base  · more specifically directed toward changes in practice, therefore may be regarded primarily as professional development

EXAMPLE: A school system decides to begin the use of math manipulatives in the elementary grades. A group of teachers tests out their use and reports to their colleagues on what they found. NOTE: Sometimes this term is used interchangeably with teacher research.

REFLECTIVE PRACTICE

  • adapted from David Schon's ideas of the reflective practitioner
  • more descriptive of a way of teaching, not a way of researching

EXAMPLE: A teacher-researcher might use this term to refer to his or her work during years when he/she is not conducting research.

LORE

  • Term used to describe teacher knowledge
  • focused on teaching stories, handed down, may be valuable information
  • not reached by a process of systematic investigation
  • not valued as theory-based knowledge
  • sometimes a way of discrediting teacher knowledge

EXAMPLE: Don't smile during the first month of school if you want to establish who's in control. A teacher researcher might decided to change lore into a research question and investigate it: "What happens during the first month of school?"

Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research

Teacher research is a type of qualitative research, meaning that it involves the researcher in the lives of his/her subjects- observing, participating and reflecting on what happens within the context of the study environment. The chart below comes from "Understanding and conducting qualitative research" by Stainback and Stainback (1988, p. 8-9). They compare qualitative research to quantitative research (which is a positivistic approach of seeking facts through the collection of objective, quantifiable data under experimentally controlled conditions).

Dimensions Quantitative Qualitative
Purpose Prediction and Control Understanding- seeks why
Reality Stable- reality is made up of facts and do not change Dynamic- reality changes with people's perceptions
Viewpoint Outsider- reality is what quantifiable data indicates. Insider- reality is what people perceive it to be.
Values Value free- values can be controlled with appropriate methodological procedures. Value bound- Values are important and need to be understood during the research process.
Focus Particularistic- selected, predefined variables are studied. Holistic- a total or complete picture is sought.
Orientation Verification- Predetermined hypotheses are investigated. Discovery- Theories and hypotheses are evolved from data as it is collected.
Data Objective- data are independent of people's perceptions. Subjective- Data are perceptions of the subjects in the environment (context).
Instrumentation Non-human- reconstructed instruments such as surveys, questionnaires, rating scales, tests, etc. Human- the human person is the primary data collection instrument such as observing and reporting on behavior and expressed feelings.
Conditions Controlled- Investigations are conducted under controlled conditions. Naturalistic- Investigations are conducted under natural conditions.
Results Reliable- the focus is on design and procedures to gain replicable data. Valid- the focus is on design and procedures to gain rich, real and deep data.