Engaging Students in Qualitative Research Practice and Understanding through Constructionist Perspectives: Socially Constructed Qualitative Research Pedagogies

Abstract

A growing number of books have explored how teachers teach students' qualitative research in second or foreign language classroom contexts step by step. It is rare, however, to find a book on research methods that includes a social constructionist approach to reflective and experiential learning for conducting qualitative research to help students become good qualitative researchers. To fill this void, Janet C. Richards, Audra Skukauskaitė, and Ron Chenail wrote a book entitled Engaging Students in Socially Constructed Qualitative Research Pedagogies (2022). This book is an important, forward-thinking, and useful resource for the rapidly expanding field of qualitative research pedagogy. In addition, it is applicable to a broader range of active teaching in higher education. The authors discuss a constructionist approach to education. The book is separated into three sections, each of which describes a unique strategy or method for actively incorporating students into qualitative research. Chapter authors with backgrounds in six countries (the United States, Lithuania, Canada, Israel, China, and Russia) present imaginative, practical, and theoretical methods for actively incorporating students in the research learning process. The book will be of interest to students, who will appreciate the inclusion of student projects and authentic scenarios through which instructors assist student learning and qualitative research. The book will also be interesting for instructors who want to improve their pedagogy and find new ways to teach.