Educational Poetics: Inquiry, Freedom, and Innovative Necessity (

Educational research and poetics are often not included in the same conversation. Educational Poetics: Inquiry, Freedom and Innovative Necessity is one of the only texts to explore the possibilities of linking these domains to develop an emergent form of inquiry. Such an inquiry utilizes our human potential to go beyond the seductive force of everyday commonsense to consider and put into place alternative perspectives that are often hidden from view. These alternative perspectives, in turn, help create the ability to free ourselves from mental slavery as we change in inventive ways, a form of innovative necessity.

The Authors: Andrew Gitlin is a professor in the Department of Education, Culture and Society at the University of Utah. His writing focuses on issues of social justice and equity as they pertain to epistemological issues, schooling and teacher education. Recent books include: Power and Method: Political Activism and Educational Research; Becoming a Student of Teaching: Linking Knowledge Production and Practice (with R. Bullough); and Teachers Voices for School Change: An Introduction to Educative Research.
Marcia Peck is a middle school teacher in Salt Lake City and a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Utah. She recently completed research in her classroom on democratic education and nontraditional assessment which was funded by a grant from the Spencer Foundation. She has a long-standing interest in the theory and practice of teacher research.