EXPANDING THE RESEARCH AGENDA FOR INSTRUCTIONAL COMMUNICATION - RAISING SOME UNASKED QUESTIONS

During a time when the disciplines of education and communication have been waging lively and far-reaching debates about models of instruction, theories of communication, and methods of inquiry, the sub-discipline of instructional communication has remained insulated from these discussions. As a result, the research has not fully addressed many of the most compelling practical and theoretical questions about communication in education. Six questions are identified that have been insufficiently explored by instructional communication researchers. The analysis reveals that the limited approach to inquiry has had the effect of privileging existing social and political arrangements. Alternative perspectives, largely informed by critical approaches to pedagogy, suggest a rich research agenda for instructional communication scholars.