Product Description The purpose of this introductory level text is to provide the reader with a background for understanding the uses of qualitative research in education, to examine its theoretical and historical underpinnings, and to discuss specific methods for conducting qualitative research. This new edition places qualitative research within current debates about research methods and alternative ways of knowing. While the authors approach the subject from a sociological perspective, they also take care to reflect the many changes in conceptualization of qualitative research brought by post-structural and feminist thought. From the Back Cover Educators need to be able to understand the research in their field. This book provides readers with the necessary background information needed for understanding the uses of qualitative research in education. This edition places qualitative research within current debates about research methods and alternative ways of knowing. Educators, sociologists of education. Hardcover