The Study
Educational researchers have been consumed for some time by arguments about the relative merits of different genres of research. In this study, Mary M. Kennedy, professor in the Department of Teacher Education, examines a variety of contentions about research genres by asking teachers to read and discuss five examples of research each representing a different genre.

Findings
Kennedy points out that educational researchers have long been frustrated by the little interest shown in their work by policy makers and practioners. As a response, some education researchers have advocated different genres of research. Some advocate experiments, other ethnographies and narratives. Many genre advocates refer to teachers to justify their arguments, claiming that teachers need more authoritative knowledge (so researchers should conduct experiments), more dynamic portraits that reveal multiple truths (so researchers should write more narratives, or richly detailed accounts (so they should do more enthnographic studies). In order to examine the various contentions, Kennedy interviewed more than 100 teachers, each of whom was asked to read, respond to, and evaluate five articles describing research of one genre or another. All teachers were enrolled in some form of professional development. The interview consisted of two parts. In the first, teachers were asked about their own teaching – the subjects they liked and disliked, their approach to teaching, etc. The teachers were also asked whether or how they expected research to contribute to their practice. At the close of the first interview, the teachers were given a package of five articles to read in preparation for the second interview. During the second interview, the teachers were asked to discuss each of the articles. Kennedy found that teachers’ responses to those articles do not support any of the common contentions about research genres. Kennedy believes that her findings suggest that the genre of research is not as important as the issue it addresses. “Experiments and teacher narratives – genres that we think of as worlds apart – can be equally useful to teachers, provided they help teachers understand the relationship between teaching and learning.” Kennedy concludes that genre is not the most important determinant of an article’s value to teaching, and that arguments about genres are distracting educational researchers from other more important tasks.

Citation
Kennedy, M.K. (1999). A test of some common contentions about educational research. American Educational Research Journal, 36(3), 511-541.

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