In this course, we will examine ways that critical qualitative research supports educational leaders in their quest to create lasting sustainable change grounded in community practice. The purpose of this course is to learn how to engage in qualitative research that challenges embedded system inequities in education and schooling. We are living, working, and researching during a time where now more than ever, research must be impactful on the work of educational leaders in the field. For this reason, we will be in a constant state of collective learning and doing.

We will explore qualitative research methods to examine forms of social inequality, particularly studies examining inequity in education. This analysis will focus primarily on the historical relationship between those who have been subjugated and the concept of scientific research and knowledge production. This critique will inform our approaches to socially engaged scholarship that employs research methods to move us toward social justice in education.

We will review critical theoretical frameworks and research methodological approaches (e.g., autoethnography, narrative inquiry, critical ethnography, narrative interviews, phenomenology, etc.) that are intentional and non-extractive, critical approaches to qualitative research. We will also review steps in qualitative data analysis. Moreover, this course will allow students the opportunity to practice, and apply learning in every class. The course is intended to support students on their research journey.