Chapter 5: A View From The Other Side: Practitioner Research on Critical Mathematics Pedagogy in an Urban High School

Educational researchers are often outsiders to the schools they study, having never attended or worked in them (Carr & Kemmis, 1986). While the outsider perspective can provide important results, such outsider researchers may have a difficult time understanding schooling from the perspective of teachers and students. As outsiders, these researchers may ask questions and focus on reform agendas that have little value or relevance to local actors. Understanding the perspectives of local participants is important, especially if it is hoped that a new method will be implemented after a study is completed or if teachers elsewhere will find the report of findings compelling enough to use in their classrooms.