Research, Actionable Knowledge, and Social Change

St. John’s book offers hope for practitioners, researchers and policymakers interested in moving past studying problems and moving toward addressing them. He provides both theoretical and practical guidance for individuals designing and engaging with actionable research. This book serves as a useful tool for graduate students, seasoned scholars, and those outside the academy who are interested in building partnerships.

Ronald Hallett, Assistant Professor, Director, Creating Opportunities Via Education - Benerd School of Education, University of the Pacific

“St. John has spent his career studying the intersections of policy, practice, and research. He has struggled with how those of us concerned with social justice might move away from entrenched notions of research and measurement and instead infuse our work in more direct ways to achieve ends aimed at improving the public good. This book summarizes his ideas and suggest that actionable research has the potential of promoting social justice and fairness in education and social systems. The book will appeal to educational and social researchers interested in collaborating with practitioners committed to improving equity.”

William G. Tierney, Wilbur-Kieffer Professor of Higher Education - , University of Southern California

“St. John pushes us to reconsider the one-size-fits-all educational interventions of the day by demonstrating the effectiveness of the action-inquiry model on organizational change. In a brilliant elaboration on the theory of justice and human capabilities approach, he urges us toward a more sophisticated, multidimensional view of policymaking.”

Gilia Smith, Associate Director, Committee on Global Thought - , Columbia University

St. John’s book offers hope for practitioners, researchers and policymakers interested in moving past studying problems and moving toward addressing them. He provides both theoretical and practical guidance for individuals designing and engaging with actionable research. This book serves as a useful tool for graduate students, seasoned scholars, and those outside the academy who are interested in building partnerships.

Ronald Hallett, Assistant Professor, Director, Creating Opportunities Via Education - Benerd School of Education, University of the Pacific

Illustrations
Foreword - Penny A. Pasque
Preface
Acknowledgements
Introduction

1. Reframing Social and Educational Research
2. Critical-Empirical Approach
3. Action Inquiry Model
4. Professional Development
5. Organizational Change
6. Public Policy
7. Leadership and the Public Good
8. Conclusions

Appendix: Dissertation Research
References
Index

Edward P. St. John

Edward P. St. John is Algo D. Henderson Collegiate Professor of Education at the University of Michigan’s Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education. He is interested in education, justice, and public policy. He serves as series editor for Readings on Equal Education and has received awards for his leadership from the Association for the Study of Higher Education and for scholarship from the National Association of Student Financial Aid.