Learning in Context

The journal of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI), Learning in Context, offers opportunities to disseminate research on teaching and learning, grounded theoretically and empirically where relevance is given to the specific context within which learning occurs. Teaching and learning are complex endeavours which do not lend themselves to simple causal explanations. Accordingly, research needs to recognise that the actions, intentions and perspectives of participants including teachers, students, families and educational leaders, are key to understanding the situational complexity of learning. The emphasis, therefore, is on situated accounts of individual, institutional, cultural, and societal dimensions of learning: in other words, on research which investigates the phenomena of teaching and learning in ways that reflect their non-uniform, multifaceted and fundamentally open nature. Underpinning this emphasis is the importance of moving beyond a fixed, static view of context, simply presented as the setting or the background for a study. Rather it is the very lens that enhances the interpretations through which researchers make sense of human behaviour, beliefs and experiences. Fundamentally, our view of context is that it is dynamic, fluid and relational, and that meaning is constructed at the intersection between individuals and contexts. This means we expect submissions to address how learning changes the context and, at the same time, how it is shaped by the context.

The journal welcomes studies originating from across the lifecourse, including institutional settings from the early years through to higher education, workplace settings, and informal learning situations. We invite research from all domains related to learning, including for example, curriculum subjects; cross-cutting issues such as assessment; and less-researched areas such as museum education, or writing in out-of-school creative workshops. We encourage studies which report empirical research and theoretical analyses, including those adopting interdisciplinary frameworks. The journal creates space for dissemination of high-quality studies on learning and teaching that employ qualitative approaches (narrative, interaction, discursive analyses, phenomenography, grounded theory, case studies, design-based research; formative interventions etc.) and mixed method studies. Wholly quantitative studies are not preferred, as quantitative methods can make it difficult to address the nuanced and complex dynamics of learning in context.

Articles may be up to 10,000 words (excluding references and appendices) to allow for the greater number of words required to report qualitative research with rigour. However, we do expect authors to write succinctly. Before submitting an article to Learning in Context, please check the following aspects carefully before you submit: