Developing collaborative research methodology: mapping the context of student learning by developing school-based research hypotheses

A great deal of educational research contains assumptions concerning the respective roles of the different actors within educational settings. Those ‘problems’ addressed by the research community are often defined by those outside the school setting. This article examines an attempt to engage students in the process of research. It sets out the methodological strategies that were employed in the design of a survey concerning students' experiences of schooling. The findings of this survey are presented elsewhere (Doherty, 2001). The purpose of this article is to argue that collaborative, action-orientated research is best able to develop contextually sensitive research hypotheses and research questions that address the problems of practitioners and participants.