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My research is situated within a transformative paradigm, as it centers the voices and experiences of marginalized groups and is explicitly oriented toward advancing equity and social justice. At the same time, I draw on a pragmatic stance in my use of mixed methods, selecting approaches that most effectively address the research questions at hand and support policy and advocacy goals. This combined orientation enables me to produce scholarship that is both critically grounded and practically impactful.

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I see myself as being a pragmatist when it comes to research. This is because I value the use of both quantitative and qualitative methods to conduct research. I believe that using mixed methods provides the most wholistic view of the problem or question at hand. While I relate to aspects of all paradigms, pragmatism encompasses the belief that there can be multiple solutions to one problem. I see myself as someone who values different perspectives, and that informs my research by encouraging me to explore all methods in order to come to a conclusion.

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I’d choose the pragmatist paradigm because my topic might look at how school leadership and policies support or limit culturally responsive teaching in urban versus suburban early childhood classrooms . I think pragmatism fits since it lets me use both data and personal perspectives. I could look at policies and leadership practices on paper, but also talk with teachers about how those policies actually play out in their classrooms.

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I see myself in the constructivist paradigm (as of today) because I believe people’s experiences and backgrounds shape how they view the world. I don’t think there’s just one fixed truth, and I’m more interested in the stories and perspectives that explain why people see things differently.

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After careful consideration, I have decided that my research most likely settles within a postpositivist/pragmatism point of view because it focuses on the desire to learn more about people, why they do what they do, and the affect that outside stimuli have on the development of a person, specifically early childhood. The postpositivist side is seen in my desire to utilize scientific research, experiments, as well as observation to gain knowledge. The pragmatic side comes in my desire to freely choose the way in which I'd like to go about handling the research and experiments to help answer my questions. I like to solve problems.

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If I had to align myself with a research paradigm, it would have to be a transformative and postmodern world view. I feel this way because I recognize that historically, research has often left out marginalized groups which then in turn means that research now should focus on those voices that were left out so that findings can be more inclusive. At the same time, I also think that truth is not absolute and there are different variables that can affect it so that is why I align myself with a postmodern worldview as well. I also do feel like a transformative worldview and postmodern worldview go hand in hand and have a lot of similarities.

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The paradigm guiding my research is primarily transformative because it feels the most grounded in a commitment to addressing inequities and acknowledges that there are multiple realities that are shaped by social constructs. This paradigm is an elevated and more current version of constructivism which values many perspectives. This shapes my approach to research because I feel that research can have the power to create social change.

At the same time, my work incorporates aspects of pragmatism, mostly because of the flexibility with which I select methods and tools that are going to the be the most effective in answering the research question.

Both of these paradigms I feel are practical because they help with the ethics of research as well as understanding the need to use the approach that best fits the context of the research.

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As a researcher, I feel aligned with both pragmatic and constructivist paradigms. I value the importance of the pragmatic paradigm that highlights solving practical problems with what works, each child is so different that there is not always one answer to apply to everyone. I also align with the constructivist point of view because it is crucial as an educator to understand meanings and lived experiences of their students to get a full picture. The subjective nature of the constructivist point of view allows us to understand the role of individual perspectives in shaping our understanding of the world around us.

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My research is situated within a pragmatic paradigm, as it focuses on solving problems by using what works and understanding that consequences shape the choices you make. Using multiple methods allows you to have a more rounded view of the problem that you are focusing on. I value having different perspectives because it helps to shape my research, allowing me to dive deeper and explore other views.

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The paradigm that resonates with me is Pragmatism because I believe research should be useful and practical in real life. I think different methods can be combined to answer questions, and the most important thing is to find solutions that help people. This matches my view as a teacher, since I want my work to make improvements and support children’s learning in meaningful ways.

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My research is situated within constructivist theory because my topic is about how support staff can help struggling students. With constructivist theory it requires Interviews, participant observation, field notes, documents, narrative analysis. I would like to speak to teachers and the support staff to get there perspectives on how they can work together in the classroom to support struggling students.