Advancing Social Studies Education through Self-Study Methodology provides a collection of works that highlights ways in which self-study of teaching and teacher education practices can advance conversations and knowledge in social studies education. Some of the pieces chosen for this book will provide theoretical connections between the two fields (e.g. how values and principles important to both fields work together, are similar, and can help each field expand). Others will provide specific examples of self-studies that focus on social studies specific concepts. The book provides a strong and clear introduction of self-study to the field of social studies education as well as an argument for its use to further understand social studies teaching and teacher education. It also provides the self-study community with an example of how self-study can be used to look at content specific aspects of teaching and teacher education.

In this volume teacher educators explicitly and implicitly share their visions for the purposes, experiences, and commitments necessary for social studies teacher preparation in the twenty-first century. It is divided into six sections where authors reconsider: 1) purposes, 2) course curricula, 3) collaboration with on-campus partners, 4) field experiences, 5) community connections, and 6) research and the political nature of social studies teacher education. The chapters within each section provide critical insights for social studies researchers, teacher educators, and teacher education programs. Whether readers begin to question what are we teaching social studies teachers for, who should we collaborate with to advance teacher learning, or how should we engage in the politics of teacher education, this volume leads us to consider what ideas, structures, and connections are most worthwhile for social studies teacher education in the twenty-first century to pursue.

This book offers a collection of original, peer-reviewed studies by scholars working to develop a knowledge base of teaching and facilitating self-study research methodology. Further, it details and interconnects perspectives and experiences of new self-study researchers and their facilitators, in self-study communities in different countries and across different continents. Offering a broad range of perspectives and contexts, it opens up possibilities for encouraging the collaborative and continuous growth of teaching and facilitating self-study research within and beyond the field of teacher education. The breadth of the scholarship presented expands scholarly discussions concerning designing, representing, and theorising self-study research in response to pressing educational and social questions. By documenting and understanding what teaching and learning self-study looks like in different contexts and what factors might influence its enactment, the book contributes to building a kaleidoscopic knowledge base of self-study research. Overall, this book demonstrates the impact on participants' professional learning and validates the authenticity and generative professional applications of self-study methodology for and beyond teacher education, providing implications and recommendations for practitioners on a global level.

Self-study is inherently collaborative. Such collaboration provides transparency, validity, rigor and trustworthiness in conducting self-study. However, the ways in which these collaborations are enacted have not been sufficiently addressed in the self-study literature. This book addresses these gaps in the literature by placing critical friendship, collaborative self-study and community of practice at the forefront of the self-study of teaching. It highlights these forms of collaboration, how the collaboration was developed and enacted, the challenges and tensions that existed in the collaboration, and how practice and identity developed through the use of these forms of collaboration. The chapters serve as exemplars of enacting these forms of collaboration and provide researchers with an additional base of literature to draw upon in their scholarly writing, teaching of self-study, and their enactment of collaborative self-study spaces.

Whether it is earning a GED, a particular skill, or technical topic for a career, taking classes of interest, or even returning to begin a degree program or completing it, adult learning encompasses those beyond the traditional university age seeking out education. This type of education could be considered non-traditional as it goes beyond the typical educational path and develops learners that are self-initiated and focused on personal development in the form of gaining some sort of education. Essentially, it is a voluntary choice of learning throughout life for personal and professional development. While there is often a large focus towards K-12 and higher education, it is important that research also focuses on the developing trends, technologies, and techniques for providing adult education along with understanding lifelong learners’ choices, developments, and needs. The Research Anthology on Adult Education and the Development of Lifelong Learners focuses specifically on adult education and the best practices, services, and educational environments and methods for both the teaching and learning of adults. This spans further into the understanding of what it means to be a lifelong learner and how to develop adults who want to voluntarily contribute to their own development by enhancing their education level or knowledge of certain topics. This book is essential for teachers and professors, course instructors, business professionals, school administrators, practitioners, researchers, academicians, and students interested in the latest advancements in adult education and lifelong learning.

This edited book is a continuation of Keith Barton’s Research Methods in Social Studies Education (2006), one of the most popular texts in the Information Age’s Research in Social Education series. (Re)Envisioning Social Studies Education Research: Current Epistemological and Methodological Expansions, Deconstructions, and Creations explores research in social studies education over the 15 years since. Chapters offer insight into how researchers use different epistemological frameworks and non-traditional or emergent methods to advance social studies scholarship. The book is organized into two sections: (1) methodology as epistemological stretches, revisions, and/or entanglements; and (2) emergent and non-traditional methods in social studies research and practice. Authors pull on diverse and emerging theoretical frameworks, review recently published research, and highlight their own experiences with inquiry in the field. This text serves as a platform to explore the processes and products of diverse research decisions to engage the field in broader conversations that can rethink, expand, and disrupt social studies education research. The intention is also to honor and center epistemological frameworks that have been marginalized in previous scholarship. This text can serve as an entry point for graduate students and novice scholars, while also helping seasoned researchers seek opportunities to expand their own work or mentor students.