Methodological issues in identifying and describing the way knowledge is constructed with and without information and communications technology

Abstract

The methods a researcher uses to identify and describe any element of human activity are dependent upon epistemological and culturalpolitical factors. In order to contribute to the improvement of education, researchers who adopt sociocultural methods need to recognise that policy makers are an integral part of the cultural-historical context of education, and adopt a stance of interactive engagement with them. It is clear that the context of learning is critically important, and educational institutions are not normally good environments for learning. Participatory research methods are suggested as the most appropriate way of researching the hidden, private and personally unique process of knowledge construction. A range of methods for data collection and analysis are described, including the use of texts retrieved from electronic communications. Activity theory is suggested as a good framework for intervention studies to explore how the structures of educational institutions could be radically changed to enable information and communications technology (ICT) to transform learning. Such studies would involve researchers working cooperatively with teachers, pupils, parents, the local community, and local and national policy makers in schools where all teachers and students have access any time, any place to ICT. The process of change would be informed by parallel studies of self-directed learning in innovative web-based learning communities, which would be fed back to participants in intervention workshops.