"Once again, there is no such thing as teaching without research and research without teaching. One inhabits the body of the other. I continue to search and re-search. I teach because I search, because I question, and because I submit myself to questioning. I research because I notice things, take cognizance of them. And in so doing, I intervene. And intervening, I educate and educate myself. I do research so as to know what I do not know yet and to communicate and proclaim what I discover.”
Paulo Freire – Pedagogy of Hope (2001, p.35)
introduction
I start this statement from this quote by Paulo Freire because this quote encompasses a lot of my views about the need for and importance of educational research. Doing research, learning about research, and teaching about research have been part of my academic endeavors for about two decades. During that time, I have developed different research projects and disseminated the other findings, taught research and supervised students at all three levels of higher education, and proposed new methodological approaches to teaching, doing, and using research.
This research philosophy statement will share my overall views about research and some essential elements of my research agenda
This research philosophy statement will share my overall views about research and some essential elements of my research agenda
the meaning of research
To me, the idea of research starts with cultivating questions and awakening curiosity. Those are the two key elements that have sparked ideas and projects that have transformed our communities and practices. When I think of questions, I am talking about not being content with the obvious, going deeper into those ideas that concern us and make us wonder about the world. Research never appears out of complacency with the way things work, with the status quo. We start doing research because we are curious about what is happening, what is not evident, and what we can do better. Granted, there is a technical element to research, but that is not what fuels research; that is what takes our initial curiosities into projects and studies.
I believe we do not do research because we think everything is perfect. We research because we want things and people to be better. And we do it from this belief that we can contribute to society through research.
I believe we do not do research because we think everything is perfect. We research because we want things and people to be better. And we do it from this belief that we can contribute to society through research.
why research matters
My belief in the importance of research comes from one single idea: Research is the best (if not the only) way to develop sustainable practices in education. This is something I have told teachers on multiple occasions. We can create sustainable practices through research because this helps teachers become less dependent on the quick fixes they have long been told are the way to go and help them either test their ideas or find examples with more solid foundations.
However, research can only have a more substantial impact on helping teachers sustain and improve their practices if we strengthen the ties between higher education and schools. This disconnect is startling, even in the literature. I found this in a recent analysis of the research on critical literacy in Colombia (Mora, Cañas, Gutiérrez-Arismendy, Ramírez, Gaviria, & Golovátina-Mora, 2021): Most of the publications came from higher education contexts and very few from schools. Research matters if we get to hear more from teachers. Encouraging teachers to turn their classrooms into research labs can only have a lasting effect if we get to listen to their stories in different academic circles. We must advocate for their voices to be present through our positions as editors and editorial board members, in professional associations, and our participation in different policy circles.
Finally, in the context of teacher education, being a researcher must be a key component of our work. I have witnessed in different contexts how more preservice teacher education programs are infusing research as a critical element of their curricula. However, how can we tell our students about researching if they do not see their instructors participate in this research culture? How can we tell the students that research can help them reflect on their practice when they do not see us reflecting on our craft through critical inquiry? How can we promote to students the importance of sharing their classroom experiences if they never see us sharing our own experiences through any outlets, academic and otherwise?
However, research can only have a more substantial impact on helping teachers sustain and improve their practices if we strengthen the ties between higher education and schools. This disconnect is startling, even in the literature. I found this in a recent analysis of the research on critical literacy in Colombia (Mora, Cañas, Gutiérrez-Arismendy, Ramírez, Gaviria, & Golovátina-Mora, 2021): Most of the publications came from higher education contexts and very few from schools. Research matters if we get to hear more from teachers. Encouraging teachers to turn their classrooms into research labs can only have a lasting effect if we get to listen to their stories in different academic circles. We must advocate for their voices to be present through our positions as editors and editorial board members, in professional associations, and our participation in different policy circles.
Finally, in the context of teacher education, being a researcher must be a key component of our work. I have witnessed in different contexts how more preservice teacher education programs are infusing research as a critical element of their curricula. However, how can we tell our students about researching if they do not see their instructors participate in this research culture? How can we tell the students that research can help them reflect on their practice when they do not see us reflecting on our craft through critical inquiry? How can we promote to students the importance of sharing their classroom experiences if they never see us sharing our own experiences through any outlets, academic and otherwise?
research as mentoring
Doing research is very important in our work in higher education. However, if we are not actively participating in mentoring future generations of educators across the P-20 spectrum, we are only doing half the job. Part of our research efforts involves helping others discover what research is and why it matters to them. Mentoring researchers while researching is how we promote the idea of sustainable practices I mentioned earlier. I was fortunate early in my career as a graduate student to meet incredible mentors who not only asked me to serve as their “research assistant.” Still, I used the time to help me better understand the nuances of research methodology, what it means to guide novice researchers in a project, and help them navigate the process from brainstorming a problem, writing a proposal, carrying out fieldwork, interpreting the data, and sharing our findings with the world. I benefited from this mentoring, especially as I gained a deeper understanding of what it meant to be an academic in a language that I was learning to own, as was the case of English (there are elements germane to academic writing that transcend the native/non-native speaker binary).
I have taken those lessons and have shared them with the young researchers I have mentored in my research lab for over a decade, as well as in my master’s and doctoral seminars on research. My duties as a mentor are not just to teach them what research is and what methodologies they have at their disposal. Instead, as I mentor them, I want them to find interest and passion in the topics they choose for their projects and terminal work, at worst, so that they understand the importance of research in their careers and, at best, so that they can start building robust research agendas that go beyond writing a thesis or dissertation. I do this by first demystifying what research is and then making the fundamentals accessible to them. By accessible, I mean to use language that goes to the core of how research supports their teaching and helps them find quality resources and literature that can support their research journeys.
There is an additional layer to my work as a research mentor: To foster a culture of learning and collaboration. While it is true that terminal work tends to appear as solo efforts, we know that most research we do usually involves collaboration. As a mentor, I want to help my researchers understand what it means to work in a team, design projects together, and coauthor presentations and publications. Mentoring also involves creating not just research teams or labs but research communities where research is part of building bonds and trusting relationships that enrich our work, our teaching, and our lives.
I have taken those lessons and have shared them with the young researchers I have mentored in my research lab for over a decade, as well as in my master’s and doctoral seminars on research. My duties as a mentor are not just to teach them what research is and what methodologies they have at their disposal. Instead, as I mentor them, I want them to find interest and passion in the topics they choose for their projects and terminal work, at worst, so that they understand the importance of research in their careers and, at best, so that they can start building robust research agendas that go beyond writing a thesis or dissertation. I do this by first demystifying what research is and then making the fundamentals accessible to them. By accessible, I mean to use language that goes to the core of how research supports their teaching and helps them find quality resources and literature that can support their research journeys.
There is an additional layer to my work as a research mentor: To foster a culture of learning and collaboration. While it is true that terminal work tends to appear as solo efforts, we know that most research we do usually involves collaboration. As a mentor, I want to help my researchers understand what it means to work in a team, design projects together, and coauthor presentations and publications. Mentoring also involves creating not just research teams or labs but research communities where research is part of building bonds and trusting relationships that enrich our work, our teaching, and our lives.
promoting a research culture in education
I have found in my research methods courses that teachers usually worry that research may be inaccessible to them. Suppose we are making research unavailable to teachers regarding the possibilities of doing it and the accessibility to finding the published studies. In that case, we are failing them from our position as teacher educators.
To counter this, I have proposed a three-pronged model that informs my teaching and mentoring. I talk about research-as-doing, where we help teachers grasp the fundamentals of thinking of a research study in their classrooms and bring it to fruition. I also discuss the idea of research-as-reading to help teachers stay updated with recent trends in their fields. Finally, I promote research-as-using, where they can draw from their research and read to improve their and their colleagues’ practice.
This is an idea that I wish to develop even further as a research educator. We need to question the true impact of our research practices deeply. We need to advocate for more access to the research we publish (we need to be honest that some of our research is not reaching out to the constituencies we are working with), and we need to promote more spaces for practitioners to share their own experiences.
To counter this, I have proposed a three-pronged model that informs my teaching and mentoring. I talk about research-as-doing, where we help teachers grasp the fundamentals of thinking of a research study in their classrooms and bring it to fruition. I also discuss the idea of research-as-reading to help teachers stay updated with recent trends in their fields. Finally, I promote research-as-using, where they can draw from their research and read to improve their and their colleagues’ practice.
This is an idea that I wish to develop even further as a research educator. We need to question the true impact of our research practices deeply. We need to advocate for more access to the research we publish (we need to be honest that some of our research is not reaching out to the constituencies we are working with), and we need to promote more spaces for practitioners to share their own experiences.
epistemological and methodological considerations
When it comes to my views on research, I am a qualitative researcher by choice and training. I believe in looking at social and educational phenomena in depth and through the eyes and voices of those living the phenomena. I use my research as a platform for them to deploy these views and for us collectively to think of better worlds. As a socio-critical literacy scholar, I do not believe in doing research out of despair, and I fight against the deficit views of our students and teachers. Research is a personal endeavor for all parties involved, including us as researchers, so my research design is also imbued with a caring culture. One cannot be a true qualitative researcher and not show care for those we work with and oneself in the process. Caring, in this case, goes beyond the traditional ethical rules and IRB clearance. It means crafting studies where we can support all who participate in them and help them grow.
Over the years, I have experimented with different research epistemologies and approaches. My initial training as a qualitative researcher was in three areas: Participatory Action Research, Case Study, and Critical Discourse Analysis. In later years, although I still use these foundational experiences as part of my research education efforts, my research agenda has driven me to explore different elements of ethnographic studies. I use pieces from ethnography to help validate the different levels of life expertise that my research teams bring to the table. When working with novice and young researchers, it is a fact that they lack the methodological foundations to do research, and even in the design process, there is a great deal of teaching involved. However, these researchers bring life experiences that have enriched my projects, helped me understand younger generations better, and even expanded my experiences with gaming.
I find it fitting to clarify that my studies are ethnography-driven, not full-fledged ethnographies, again attending to the learning curve of my research team. That said, my researchers and I have experimented with different approaches to ethnography: For my work on literacies in the cities, we have used elements from urban ethnography to guide our work. For my work on gaming literacies, digital and virtual ethnography have been two powerful tools. My research has also delved into autoethnography and duo/diaethnography. All my studies include auto and duo/diaethnographic data. In addition, my spouse, Dr. Polina Golovátina-Mora, and I have explored the potential of using diaethnography to inform our collaborative teaching efforts over the years (Mora & Golovátina-Mora, 2017, 2021, 2024).
Over the years, I have experimented with different research epistemologies and approaches. My initial training as a qualitative researcher was in three areas: Participatory Action Research, Case Study, and Critical Discourse Analysis. In later years, although I still use these foundational experiences as part of my research education efforts, my research agenda has driven me to explore different elements of ethnographic studies. I use pieces from ethnography to help validate the different levels of life expertise that my research teams bring to the table. When working with novice and young researchers, it is a fact that they lack the methodological foundations to do research, and even in the design process, there is a great deal of teaching involved. However, these researchers bring life experiences that have enriched my projects, helped me understand younger generations better, and even expanded my experiences with gaming.
I find it fitting to clarify that my studies are ethnography-driven, not full-fledged ethnographies, again attending to the learning curve of my research team. That said, my researchers and I have experimented with different approaches to ethnography: For my work on literacies in the cities, we have used elements from urban ethnography to guide our work. For my work on gaming literacies, digital and virtual ethnography have been two powerful tools. My research has also delved into autoethnography and duo/diaethnography. All my studies include auto and duo/diaethnographic data. In addition, my spouse, Dr. Polina Golovátina-Mora, and I have explored the potential of using diaethnography to inform our collaborative teaching efforts over the years (Mora & Golovátina-Mora, 2017, 2021, 2024).