Theoretical Perspectives on Learning and Teaching

Jane Andrews is a Professor of Education at University of the West of England, UK, and is joint programme leader of the Professional Doctorate in Education (EdD) programme.Richard Waller is Professor of Education and Social Justice at University of the West of England, UK, and is joint programme leader of the Professional Doctorate in Education (EdD) programme.Laura Manison is a Senior Lecturer in Education in the School of Education & Childhood at the University of the West of England, UK.

Theoretical Perspectives on Learning and Teaching deserves to take its place as essential reading for both doctoral candidates and their supervisors. The editors have collated a diverse set of cases that provide student and supervisor perspectives on the emerging use of theory in doctoral work. Each chapter supports the editors’ suggestion that the research degree is a vital site of theoretical engagement and innovation; and that, despite the possibility of some initial “theory fright”, theoretical engagement is a means of opening eyes, or “providing clarity around meaning and understanding.” The student writers in the volume do an admirable job in showing that work with theory is not just an academic endeavor, but also takes its place in their lives, implicating the professional, pedagogical, and political. I would want any doctoral candidate who needs inspiration about how they might apply, adapt, or generate theory in their work to consult this book.

• Chapter 1. Introduction – Working with Theories in Doctoral Studies of Learning and Teaching; Jane Andrews, Richard Waller, and Laura ManisonSection 1. Learner and Educator Perceptions Chapter 2. Learning, Unlearning and Not-For-Learning: From Funds of Knowledge to Pedagogies of Discomfort; Sally Tazewell, Richard Waller, and Tessa Podpadec Chapter 3. Perceptions of Virtual Reality in the Further Education Healthcare Curriculum in England: Insights into Adoption through a Critical Realist Lens; Laura Sheerman and Jane Andrews Chapter 4. Learning to be and Becoming a Journalist: Applying Theory to Understanding Learning and Teaching in Journalism Education; Myra Evans and Emma Agusita Chapter 5. A Conversation between Theory and Life: Personal Epistemology and Self-Authorship in a Narrative Inquiry with Undergraduate Law Students; Rachel Wood and Catherine Rosenberg Section 2. Calls for Change Chapter 6. Finding and Using Funds of Anti-racist Education: A Research Study with Racially Diverse Teachers in the Rural Southwest of England; Malcolm Richards and Sarah Whitehouse Chapter 7. Compassion in Action: Public Health Nursing Students’ Experiences of Caring Pedagogy; Joanne Seal and Laura Manison Chapter 8. From Theory to Practice: Designing a Parent Intervention to Reduce the Transmission of Maths Anxiety; Paula Fieldhouse and Marcus Witt Chapter 9. Developing Researcher Reflexivity through Exploring Leadership Self-Efficacy; Chris Baker and Paul Redford Chapter 10. A Roadmap for the Researcher: Parallel Journeys into Communities of Practice; Sara Bird and Helen King Section 3. Development of New Theoretical Frameworks Chapter 11. Developing and Testing Theoretical Propositions in Qualitative Education Research: Exploring Global Citizenship using a Critical Realist Case Study Design; Christine Comrie and Neil Harrison Chapter 12. Becoming FEAR-Less: Adventures in Heterotopic Affinity Space; Andrew King and Richard Waller Chapter 13. Synthesising Theories for Insight: Building a New Conceptual Framework to Understand the How and Why of Transitions from School to Home Education; Sarah Gillie and Harriet Pattison Chapter 14. A Novel Theoretical Lens: Learning to Look in Visual Research; Will Grant and Timothy Clark Chapter 15. Education Doctorates and Education Research: Apprenticeship, Contribution and Transition; David James