15 Into the Future: Moving Forward with Refl ective Practice on Paradigms

[Extract] This book sought to bring to you, the reader and scholar, reflections on the endeavours of PhD candidates and emerging scholars as they engaged with the notions of research paradigms and to comprehend how and why the underlying assumptions of their respective paradigm informed their topic and research design. Each chapter portrayed the authors’ challenges and enlightenment as they journeyed to seek clarity in understanding their paradigm and grounding of their research in ways that are true to their paradigm. For the editors of this tome, attention is drawn to Ling and Ling’s (2016: 364) observation that, ‘paradigms, as well as being organisational and analytical devices used to categorise research undertakings, can be concepts that transform thinking about oneself as a researcher, a teacher or a learner’.