Conclusion [Visual Research Methods in Educational Research]

Abstract

In this concluding chapter our purpose is two-fold. The first is to draw out some of the common themes which underpin the chapters. In part, we commenced this task in arranging the book into the four sections of Images of Schooling, Performing Pedagogy Visually, Power and Representation and Ethical Issues. However, in recognition that, like all categorisations, this was arbitrary and potentially reductive, we now revisit the contributions making connections across and between the chapters. A related and second task of this conclusion is to highlight gaps and limitations of what we have gathered together in this collection. Inevitably, this book does not speak to all of the issues embedded in a visual approach to educational research. In recognising this partiality, our aim is to gesture towards the types of questions and concerns that VRMs raise and still require educational researchers to think about — and in differing ways.