Research Guides: EDUC 605: Informing Educational Practice to Affect Change: Explore Background Information

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Topics & Background Information

Education is a wide discipline with many areas to inspire research. Using background resources, like encyclopedias, handbooks, or some other books and websites can show you different directions your research might take.

Think about why you enjoy teaching or the topics that inspire you to become a better teacher. Research is often more enjoyable if you investigate something that matters to you.

Background sources are also helpful to understand how other people (including researchers) might talk about your topic, which gives you additional ideas for search terms.

Encyclopedias & Reference Texts

Sage Reference
Start your research with authoritative encyclopedias and handbooks in the social and behavioral sciences. Skip the search bar and scroll to "Browse by Discipline." Then, select "Education." Use the Quick Filters column on the left to limit results to either encyclopedias or handbooks, and use the plus sign next to Education to further refine your area of focus.

The Sage Handbook of Sociology of Education by Mark Berends, Barbara Schneider, and Stephen Lamb (Editors)
Publication Date: 2024
his Handbook offers rich, diverse perspectives on the interplay between education, social inequality, and human rights around the world, making it an invaluable resource for students, researchers, and practitioners across a range of fields, including sociology, education, and social policy.
The SAGE Encyclopedia of Higher Education by Miriam E. David and Marilyn J. Amey (Editors)
Publication Date: 2020
Topics include: students burdened with higher tuition fees; departments expected to produce courses and research that have clear and demonstrable social impact; what the university is and how it meets social and business requirements.
The SAGE Handbook of Critical Pedagogies by Shirley R. Steinberg and Barry Down (Editors)
Publication Date: 2020
This extensive text spans 12 core thematic sections—Section 1: Reading Paulo Freire; Section 2: Social Theories; Section 3: Key Figures in Critical Pedagogy; Section 4: Global Perspectives; Section 5: Indigenous Ways of Knowing; Section 6: Education and Praxis; Section 7: Teaching and Learning; Section 8: Communities and Activism; Section 9: Communication and Media; Section 10: Arts and Aesthetics; Section 11: Critical Youth Studies; and Section 12: Science, Ecology and Wellbeing.
Education: a Very Short Introduction by Gary Thomas
ISBN: 9780198859086
Publication Date: 2021-12-01
This book examines the ideas that have shaped education over the years, showing how and why today’s schools have grown into their current form. It explores how education has been molded by politics, philosophy, and social science, and focuses especially on arguments over the competing benefits of formality and freedom in teaching.

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EDUC 605: Informing Educational Practice to Affect Change

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Topics & Background Information

Encyclopedias & Reference Texts