Pithouse-Morgan, K., & Samaras, A. P. (Eds.). (2015). Polyvocal professional learning through self-study research. Rotterdam, the Netherlands: Sense.

In this edited volume on self-study research, editors Kathleen Pithouse-Morgan and Anastasia Samaras bring together a unique group of contributors spanning different disciplines, countries, and research foci. The concept of polyvocality, or the enrichment of interpretations through the inclusion of multiple perspectives, runs as a common thread throughout the book, demonstrating the “power of ‘we’” (p. 17) in deepening the understandings gained through self-study. What constitutes the “we” varies from chapter to chapter: Some are coauthored by doctoral students and advisors (e.g., Stanley & Conway, ch. 8; Walton & Harrisson, ch. 12), others by groups of colleagues who have jointly found new interpretations through dialoguing (e.g., Pithouse-Morgan et al., ch. 9; Timm & Conolly, ch. 11). However, all emphasize the importance of “critical friends” in honing research questions, methods, and findings.

Each chapter in the book introduces a new angle on how self-study research can contribute to one’s professional learning. For example, Evans, Ka'ōpua, and Freese (ch. 2), and Gísladóttir and Guðjónsdóttir (ch. 4), demonstrate the power of polyvocal self-study research in constructing meanings that are deeply embedded in culture—Hawaiian in the former case, Icelandic deaf culture in the latter. Some chapters reveal what this approach can bring to contexts where self-reflection has been the tradition (e.g., Berry, Geursen, & Lunenberg, ch. 3) or where research has focused mainly on third-person approaches (e.g., Walton & Harrisson, ch. 12), without downplaying the challenges faced by self-study researchers in such contexts. The book also offers insights into the diverse data sources and methods employed in self-study research, including technological tools such as blogs and chats (Hernández Gil de Lamadrid & Mendoza, ch. 6), poetry (Johri, ch. 10; Pithouse-Morgan et al., ch. 9; Samaras et al., ch. 13), biographies (Mitchell & Khan, ch. 5), and visual art (Evans et al., ch. 2; Racines & Samaras, ch. 7).

Although many of the chapters are about teaching and teacher education, the editors point out that self-study research is relevant to many different professions. Indeed, the reader can easily see that the approach could be extended into other areas from such diverse professional contexts as humanitarian aid and global adversity (Mitchell & Khan, ch. 5), instructional coaching for teachers of English learners (Racines & Samaras, ch. 7), and music teacher education (Stanley & Conway, ch. 8). The diverse perspectives represented in the book make it a prime example of polyvocality in itself.

Johanna Tigert is a doctoral candidate in applied linguistics and language education at the University of Maryland. She has more than 10 years of experience teaching English learners, pre-K to adult. Her research interests include English learner literacy, ESOL teacher education, and heritage language learners.