INTRODUCTION The mission of the USC Rossier School of Education is to prepare leaders to achieve educational equity through practice, research and policy. We work to improve learning opportunities and outcomes in urban settings and to address disparities that affect historically marginalized groups. We teach our students to value and respect the cultural context of the communities in which they work and to interrogate the systems of power that shape policies and practices. Through innovative thinking and research, we strive to solve the most intractable educational problems. This course aligns with Rossier’s mission as it supports students to learn inquiry skills leaders need to critically consume research, ask critical questions of research, and determine equitable approaches informed by systematic collection and analysis of data.

PURPOSE: This course exposes the complex relationship between education research and education (in)equity and prepares students to consume education research with critical consciousness. Students will learn to evaluate education research through the following lenses: 1) historicized understandings 2) quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods criteria and 3) application to practice. The emphasis is on providing students with knowledge about research methods in order to prepare students to conduct “inquiry,” which is the systematic collection and analysis of data for answering research questions and solving identified problems of practice. As the first in a series of two research methods courses that will prepare you to engage in a meaningful inquiry process, a key course’s objective is to introduce you to skills you will need to conduct research for your dissertation. Additionally, the course is designed to deepen students understanding of research so as to equip you with the skills to be critical consumers of others’ research whose findings may be used to inform decisions in practice.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: By this end of this course, students will be equipped to:
Build a community of learners, through respect, support, and the sharing of perspectives toward transformative learning Articulate ways research informs education practice, including one’s own practice Place current education research in historical context, in relation to educational (in)equity Define/identify key characteristics and categories of education research (including qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods as well as basic versus applied) Interpret data visualizations and common statistical terms like mean, median, mode, reliability and validity Evaluate education research by holding the research accountable to: the criteria of the particular study (e.g., qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods) Critically reflect on the relationship between purpose, theory of change, methodology, and implications of education research Pose a research question Write a proposal for systematic inquiry informed by a literature review. Explore possibilities of education research as a tool for critical consciousness and transformational justice in education in one’s own practice. Click for Syllabus