Having evolved from the Archival and Biographical Special Interest Group of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), these 21 chapters explore facets of qualitative research, methodological issues of biographical research, archival research, educational biography for dissertation research, and implications for the field of education. Forthright advice to aspiring educational biographers is offered in the epilogue. Paper edition (unseen), $24.95. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This collection examines the many influences of biographical inquiry in education and discusses methodological issues from the perspective of veteran and novice biographers. Contributors underscore the documentary, interpretive, and literary concerns of biographical and archival work, and their essays reveal the complexity, distinctiveness, and sense of exploration of scholarly endeavors.

Introduce your students to these amazing biographies with creative strategies to teach literacy skills and address the multiple intelligences in any classroom. Activities such as creating a time line, drawing a mural, writing a biography, and acting out a scene from history allow students to engage with the biographies of some of the world's most influential leaders of the past century. Stimulate student interest with provided TIME magazine covers and background information. Meet the needs of all students with tiered activities to target all students.

Over recent years biographical studies have gained an increasingly important place in academic study. The two are inextricably linked. Education uses biography in teaching, and in biography, education features strongly as a formative stage in personal development. This book elaborates on the analytical work that has drawn attention to biography and education, and seeks to expand the understanding of lives in educational contexts. Mainstream sociology has been quick to embrace this treatment of individuals as biographical appearances, but it is even more relevant in the field of education.

Incidents in an Educational Life chronicles the educational journey of John M. Swales. A leading scholar in the field of Applied Linguistics and its subfield of English for Specific Purposes, Swales has taught across the globe in places such as Italy, Sweden, Libya, the United Kingdom, and the University of Michigan. His memoir offers a rare glimpse into the professional journey of a prominent scholar and educator. Incidents in an Educational Life explores the lessons Swales learned by teaching and by being taught. The story follows his gradual transformation from an English as a Second Language teacher to one of the leading international figures in his field, stopping along the way to tell the sometimes amusing, sometimes painful anecdotes that have made him the recognized educator he is today. His entertaining prose make this volume a must-read for anyone considering the field, or the many ways in which we all become teachers. John M. Swales is one of the leading international scholars in the field of English for Specific Purposes. He retired in the summer of 2006 from the University of Michigan after teaching at multiple universities overseas. He is the co-author of the international bestseller Academic Writing for Graduate Students (3rd ed.).