UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA
College of Education
⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄⋄
RSE4801: Research in Education
Assignment 2 — Learning Unit 2: Contexts of Research, 2026
⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄⋄
Module Code: RSE4801
Module Name: Research in Education
Essay Topic: The Influence of Context on Educational Re-
search
Assignment Number: Assignment 2
Due Date: 6 July 2026
Total Marks: 100
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for Research in Education — UNISA 2026
, UNISA | RSE4801 Context of Educational Research
The Influence of Context on Educational Research
The assignment question requires an explanation of how the context of research shapes educational re-
search, with attention to the meaning of research context, the influence of micro, meso, and macro fac-
tors, the constitutive role research itself plays in shaping social and educational contexts, the influence
of political, economic, cultural, historical, and environmental forces, and the bearing of neoliberalism,
neocolonialism, capitalism, globalization, and the Anthropocene on educational inquiry. Educational
research is never produced in a sealed laboratory removed from social life. Every choice a researcher
makes, from the topic selected to the method applied and the audience addressed, is conditioned by
surrounding circumstances. This essay works through these dimensions in turn, drawing on South
African and international scholarship to demonstrate that context does not merely surround research;
it actively structures what can be known, who is permitted to know it, and what that knowledge is then
used to do.
The Meaning of Context in Educational Research
Context refers to the network of conditions, relationships, and structures within which a study is con-
ceived, carried out, and received. It includes the institutional setting of the researcher, the historical
moment in which a question becomes thinkable, the resources available to pursue an inquiry, and the
relations of power that determine whose questions get asked. De Clercq, Jansen, Brahm and Bosse
(2021) describe research context as operating across nested layers, where the lived experience of an in-
dividual student or teacher cannot be separated from the institution surrounding them or the wider sys-
tem in which that institution sits. Context therefore does more than provide background information;
it determines what counts as a researchable problem in the first place, which methods appear credible,
and which findings are considered worth publishing or funding. A study of classroom discipline con-
ducted in a well-resourced urban school carries different stakes, assumptions, and constraints than the
same study conducted in an under-resourced rural school, even where the research instrument is identi-
cal.
Micro, Meso, and Macro Influences on Educational Research
Educational researchers commonly organise context into three interacting levels. The micro level con-
cerns individuals: the learner, the teacher, and the researcher themselves, including their identities, mo-
tivations, and immediate classroom relationships. The meso level concerns institutions and communi-
ties: schools, faculties, departmental cultures, professional networks, and the funding committees that
Page 2 of 8
College of Education
⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄⋄
RSE4801: Research in Education
Assignment 2 — Learning Unit 2: Contexts of Research, 2026
⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄⋄
Module Code: RSE4801
Module Name: Research in Education
Essay Topic: The Influence of Context on Educational Re-
search
Assignment Number: Assignment 2
Due Date: 6 July 2026
Total Marks: 100
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for Research in Education — UNISA 2026
, UNISA | RSE4801 Context of Educational Research
The Influence of Context on Educational Research
The assignment question requires an explanation of how the context of research shapes educational re-
search, with attention to the meaning of research context, the influence of micro, meso, and macro fac-
tors, the constitutive role research itself plays in shaping social and educational contexts, the influence
of political, economic, cultural, historical, and environmental forces, and the bearing of neoliberalism,
neocolonialism, capitalism, globalization, and the Anthropocene on educational inquiry. Educational
research is never produced in a sealed laboratory removed from social life. Every choice a researcher
makes, from the topic selected to the method applied and the audience addressed, is conditioned by
surrounding circumstances. This essay works through these dimensions in turn, drawing on South
African and international scholarship to demonstrate that context does not merely surround research;
it actively structures what can be known, who is permitted to know it, and what that knowledge is then
used to do.
The Meaning of Context in Educational Research
Context refers to the network of conditions, relationships, and structures within which a study is con-
ceived, carried out, and received. It includes the institutional setting of the researcher, the historical
moment in which a question becomes thinkable, the resources available to pursue an inquiry, and the
relations of power that determine whose questions get asked. De Clercq, Jansen, Brahm and Bosse
(2021) describe research context as operating across nested layers, where the lived experience of an in-
dividual student or teacher cannot be separated from the institution surrounding them or the wider sys-
tem in which that institution sits. Context therefore does more than provide background information;
it determines what counts as a researchable problem in the first place, which methods appear credible,
and which findings are considered worth publishing or funding. A study of classroom discipline con-
ducted in a well-resourced urban school carries different stakes, assumptions, and constraints than the
same study conducted in an under-resourced rural school, even where the research instrument is identi-
cal.
Micro, Meso, and Macro Influences on Educational Research
Educational researchers commonly organise context into three interacting levels. The micro level con-
cerns individuals: the learner, the teacher, and the researcher themselves, including their identities, mo-
tivations, and immediate classroom relationships. The meso level concerns institutions and communi-
ties: schools, faculties, departmental cultures, professional networks, and the funding committees that
Page 2 of 8
