Narratives of Doctoral Studies in Science Education ─ Making the Transition from Educational Practitioner to Researcher

This book explores the ways in which small scale research studies arise from issues of practice, and how they are conceptualised, theorised and implemented using a variety of methodological approaches and frameworks. The narratives written by thirteen doctoral students tell real stories of projects and challenges that researchers face when making the transition from educational practitioner to researcher.

Considering case studies from the UK, Sweden and Germany, chapters seek to investigate and inform others about how doctoral students solved individual and typical problems linking practice and research. Each methodological journey highlights and illustrates the iterative and cyclic nature of research, and the normality of the process of going back and forth between data and theory, making changes of direction as research proceeds. The book includes frameworks for combining research, theory and practice, drawing from the methodological decisions and conclusions each contributor made to develop their own practice oriented research.

Narratives of Doctoral Studies in Science Education will be key reading for researchers and academics in the fields of educational research, science education, research methods and higher education, as well as masters and doctoral students undertaking their own research projects.

Shirley Simon is Professor of Science Education at the UCL Institute of Education, University College London, UK.

Christina Ottander is Associate Professor and Senior Lecturer in Science Education at the Department of Science and Mathematics Education, Umea University, Sweden.

Ilka Parchmann is Professor and Head of the Chemistry Education Department at the Leibniz-Institute for Science and Mathematics Education, Germany, and Professor of Chemistry Education at the Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Germany.