Leaders in Educational Research : a Intellectual Self Portraits by Fellows of the International Academy of Education

In this volume fourteen fellows of the International Academy of Education, whose research work is known internationally, reflect upon the ways in which their careers have been shaped by early family influences, by random events and surprise opportunities, and by nascent intellectual interests and academic mentoring. The authors come from many different countries (Australia, Belgium, Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Israel, Mexico, South Africa, and the USA), and from a number of disciplinary or intellectual orientations including curriculum development, economics, educational measurement and statistical analysis, history, philosophy, policy analysis, program evaluation, psychology, and sociology. They come from diverse social and cultural backgrounds; and in many cases rose above the travails presented by wars, social unrest, and social injustice to attain an education that launched them eventually into a research career. On this path, many were unexpectedly assisted by established researchers who served as mentors or “enablers.” Their personal stories, then, are of broad interest – and may even be a source of comfort and inspiration to younger colleagues who are commencing their careers in the international educational research community. Front Matter....Pages i-vi Introduction....Pages 1-3 It’s a Bit Hard to Believe: Reflections on an Unforseen Career Trajectory....Pages 5-17 A Globalizing, Optimistic-Pessimistic Educational Researcher....Pages 19-37 Growing a Theory of the Developing Mind – In and Around the Ivory Tower....Pages 39-58 Becoming a Research Methodologist and Psychometrician: Chances, Opportunities, and Influences....Pages 59-73 Serendipity and an Accidental Psychometrician....Pages 75-91 Finding the Right Focus....Pages 93-105 Becoming an Educational Researcher, as Mexican Education Became a Field of Research for the Social Sciences....Pages 107-124 The Development of a (Philosophical) Disillusionist....Pages 125-141 Biography of a Restless Scholar....Pages 143-159 Play: A Basis for Becoming an Educational Researcher....Pages 161-176 Finding the Words – an Anthropology of Educational Becoming....Pages 177-196 The Development of a Promoter of Higher Education Research....Pages 197-216 The Making of an Educational Economist in a Country in Transition....Pages 217-229 Autobiography of an Inadvertent Educational Researcher....Pages 231-239