Why is research important? By Elsa Auerbach

Research is always FOR something: it always serves certain interests and benefits certain people or institutions. My own bias is toward research that contributes to education for social justice. From this perspective, each of the questions could be framed in terms of its potential for shifting traditional power relations, deepening analysis of issues from the social context of participants’ lives and leading toward action. I am interested in those aspects of the research paradigm which entail collaborative relationships which directly benefit non-academic participants, which position the research ‘subjects’ as active agents in the research process, and which support action for change in multiple domains of participants’ lives. This model stresses repositioning those who are most often researched so that bilingual/ESOL students, community members, teachers and researchers collaborate with each other, transferring the tools of producing knowledge from those in dominant institutions to those in organizations on the ground.

In this model, a key function of research is that of uncovering critical issues in participants’ social contexts and applying the research in service of addressing those issues. Research domains could be classrooms or sites of community, workplace, or educational struggle. Organizations like unions, tenant rights groups, etc. or other contexts in which community members address injustices might incorporate language/ literacy research. In classroom contexts, inviting students to research literacy practices can be a way to discover struggles in their lives. Activities like asking students to do logs of language use or diaries about linguistically-charged encounters, can reveal interesting patterns or points of tension which can become content for the curriculum. Students would use ethnographic research tools (participant observation, interviews, inventories, surveys, diaries, photography, etc.) to look at literacy usage in these domains; in the process; however, it is likely that the research would contribute to deeper analysis of the issues (who is involved, how they interact, etc.). Photography of community literacy artifacts or community mapping might reveal issues related to discrimination, which in turn, may lead to analysis of power relations, and advocacy (e.g. demands for translators, protests against language policies in welfare offices). This model blurs the lines between research, teaching and activism, recontextualizing literacy work so that sites of struggle become sites of learning.

(Elsa Auerbach teaches at the University of Massachusetts/Boston and has researched and written numerous articles about literacy.)

What does a literature review tell us? By Cheryl Brown

A literature review tells us what is out there on a topic. It gives us some history or background on a topic and gives the rationale for the present research. It also gives us information about the topic and defines terms. Only by becoming familiar research and theory can we hope to contribute something that others will build upon and thereby extending the knowledge base. In my view, a literature review builds a foundation of knowledge, shows how a study advances, refines or advises on what is already known and provides models of methodology and instrumentation.

Cheryl Brown is the President of the Literacy Coalition and actively involved in carrying out research in literacy practice.

Why is research important? By Cheryl Brown

I think research is important because it documents what we are doing. This makes it easy to learn fro one another. It’s also important because it moves our respective fields forward. Research helps us find answers to problems and helps us test our assumptions. It keeps us thinking about our practice and improving our practice. Constant improvement is the state of quality.

“Ultimately the value or purpose of research in an applied field is to improve the quality of practice in that discipline. (Merriam & Simpson, 2000, p.7)