ABSTRACT
The editors of this volume asked us to present in this chapter a selective survey of perspectives for literacy research, and in particular, research approaches that have the potential to provide insight about the development of engaged readers and engaged teachers. Providing even a selective survey in a single chapter is no small feat, of course. Complete books have been written to synthesize educational research perspectives (e.g., Jaeger, 1988); large sections of research handbooks have been prepared that deal with methods of educational research (e.g., Part I of Wittrock, 1986); and full texts have been created that describe specific research methodologies (e.g., Campbell & Stanley, 1963; Eisenhart & Borko, 1993; LeCompte & Preissle, 1993). Hence, our treatment of research methods in this chapter is neither comprehensive nor detailed.
