Living Educational Theory Research
[PM version 24th April 2024]
1. Who are you?
We are assuming you are a practitioner seeking to fulfill your responsibilities as a professional and as a global citizen. These responsibilities include:
- holding yourself to account for your practice and the consequences
- contributing to the growth of a global knowledgebase of educational, values-laden knowledge professional practitioners generate
Living Educational Theory Research can help you to fulfill both these responsibilities.
The pages that follow are focused on a specific form of educational research called Living Educational Theory Research. If you have an interest in this distinctive form of educational research, then it is likely that you have already developed a particular perspective on your professional practice as an educator. For example, while you may or may not be a member of a professional body, it is likely that:
- you accept your responsibilities as a professional educator, which include holding yourself to account by researching your practice to better understand it and to improve it
- you wish yourself and those you work with and those in the wider world to flourish as human beings – to grow and develop in a healthy and vigorous way
- you wish the outcome of your research to itself be educational for all those involved in it, including those who read your scholarly accounts of your research enquiries.
- you hold distinctive personal values – principles, standards, or qualities you identify as significant, worthwhile and desirable – that guide your intentional educational actions.
A significant aspect of Living Educational Theory Research is that it gives prominence to the values – personal and societal / political – that inform and are expressed in educational practice. This emphasis makes this research paradigm unique.
2. What is Living Educational Theory Research?
Living Educational Theory Research (with upper case) is a unique field of educational research activity. It can be conceptualised as the procedure that a practitioner researcher engages in to create their own living-educational-theory (with lower case, hyphenated).
A living-educational-theory is an educational practitioner's descriptions and explanations of their educational influence in their own learning, the learning of others and the learning of social formations – as they explore questions of the sort "How do I improve what I'm doing in my educational practice?"
- It is living because it is based on the lived experience of researchers as they try to improve the quality of their professional educational practice.
- It is educational because it offers guidance for the improvement of educational practice.
- It offers educational theory to other educational researchers that can be used to inform their own educational enquiries.
The researcher's values are identified and clarified as they emerge in the course of the research. They are used as:
- the explanatory principles that form the basis and structure of the account
- the practical standards of judgement to support claims, also publicly validated, to have improved educational practice
- epistemological standards of judgment, also publicly validated, to evaluate the validity of knowledge-claims.
Living Educational Theory Research is routinely carried out world-wide in countries as diverse as Nepal, South Africa, the UK, the USA the Philippines and Canada. Living Educational Theory Researchers form a world-wide collaborative community. By means of this international reach, its principal intent is to make a contribution to the flourishing of Humanity in all its manifestations.
3. Why do it?
Engaging in Living Educational Theory Research enables a practitioner, whatever their field, discipline or context of their practice, to realise their responsibilities as a professional and as a global citizen. These responsibilities include:
- holding themselves to account for their practice and the consequences with respect to their humane values
- contributing to the growth of a global educational knowledgebase for the benefit of all and; helping others to do so too.
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[Previous versions]
What is Living Educational Theory Research? It is a form of professional practitioner educational research. A professional practitioner accepts their responsibilities as a professional, which include holding themselves to account by researching their practice to understand and improvement and generate a valid explanation for their educational influence in the learning of the social formation that is the context of their practice and in the learning of those and in their own learning to realise to their values-laden raisons d'être. A professional practitioner may or may not be a member of a professional body.
Why bother? I believe most people want to flourish - not just survive but to flourish. 'Flourish' for me communicates the warm feeling of satisfaction someone gets when they feel they are living according to their values and helping others to do so too. I also believe that most people that sense of 'flourishing' includes feeling they are contributing to a world where humanity can flourish - their own humanity, the humanity of others and the flourishing of Humanity as a species. Living Educational Theory Research can provide a way of developing their contribution.
1. What is LETR?
Living Educational Theory Research (with upper case) is a unique field of educational research activity. It can be conceptualised as the procedure that a practitioner researcher engages in to create their own living-educational-theory (with lower case, hyphenated).
A living-educational-theory is an educational practitioner's descriptions and explanations of their educational influence in their own learning, the learning of others and the learning of social formations – as they explore questions of the sort "How do I improve what I'm doing in my educational practice?"
- It is living because it is based on the lived experience of researchers as they try to improve the quality of their professional educational practice.
- It is educational because it offers guidance for the improvement of educational practice.
- It offers educational theory to other educational researchers that can be used to inform their own educational enquiries.
Living Educational Theory Research is routinely carried out world-wide in countries as diverse as Nepal, South Africa, the UK, the USA the Philippines and Canada. By means of this international reach, its principal intent is to make a contribution to the flourishing of Humanity in all its manifestations. (Written 22nd March 2024)
2. Why do it?
Engaging in Living Educational Theory Research enables a practitioner, whatever their field, discipline or context of their practice, to realise their responsibilities as a professional and global citizen. These responsibilities include: holding themselves to account for their practice and the consequences with respect to their humane values; contributing to the growth of a global educational knowledgebase for the benefit of all and; helping others to do so too. (EJOLTs Practitioner Flyer v.030223).
As a professional practitioner I accept responsibility for researching to improve my ethical practice - and helping others to do so too by making public accounts of my research.
People around the world are contributing to this movement. Find some by visiting the living-posters homepage on Jack's website.
- enquire within
Jack Whitehead brought Living Educational Theory research into existence during the 1980's as a lecturer in the University of Bath, UK. Since then it has been taken up worldwide is now an established educational practitioner research paradigm and methodology.
A few landmarks and resources as a starter
- Whitehead, J. (1989) Creating a living educational theory from questions of the kind, "How do I improve my practice?'. Cambridge Journal of Education, 19(1); 41-52.
- Whitehead, J. (1993) The Growth of Educational Knowledge. Creating Your Own Living Educational Theories. Originally published by Hyde publications in 1993
- EJOLTs (the Educational Journal of Living Theories) is an international peer review academic online journal established in 2008.
- Whitehead, J. (2018) Living Theory research as a way of life. Bath, Brown Dog Books. Order hardcopies from your favourite online bookshop.
- The first International Living Educational Theory Research Conference was held 2020.
- The global community of researchers is growing; some of whom can be found on the living-posters homepage.
- There is a Living Educational Theory research FaceBook Group and a Wiki of Living Educational Theory
- Jack's own website has a wealth of resources including many papers, Masters and Doctoral research and links to many other sites.
And now your help is needed...
This website provides another way of finding what you are looking for. Are you new to Living Educational Theory research and wondering where to start? Or are you an experienced educational practitioners looking to extend your understanding, knowledge and practice of Living Educational Theory research? This site is work in progress and needs your help develop pathways through the wealth of resources that exist and are being created. Cant find what you need? Tell us what you are looking for and we will evolve the site to meet your needs adding papers, references, videos, links to support and whatever we can to help. Looking forward to hearing from you...
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