This volume offers a critical examination of the mounting pressure placed on educators to apply scientific principles to improve education. By revealing many of the epistemological problems confronted by the social sciences, including education, the authors undermine the prevailing view that a science of education is possible or desirable. Instead it proposes alternative practices to strengthen democratic learning practices.
Author(s): Emery J. Hyslop-Margison, M. Ayaz Naseem
Edition: 1
Year: 2007
Language: English
Pages: 152
1402066775......Page 1
Contents......Page 12
Foreword......Page 6
Acknowledgements......Page 11
Authors......Page 14
1. Introduction......Page 15
1.1 Chapter Preview......Page 20
2.1 Introduction......Page 22
2.2 The History of Empirical Research in Education......Page 25
2.3 The Major Principles of Positivism......Page 34
2.4 Postpositivism: A Break from Scientism?......Page 44
2.5 Some Philosophical Criticisms of LPE......Page 47
2.6 Current Context of Scientism and Education......Page 48
2.7 Summary......Page 50
3.2 Critiques of Contemporary Social Science......Page 51
3.3 Structuralism: Implications for Education......Page 55
3.4 Conceptual Frameworks Shape Research......Page 60
3.5 Kuhn's Scientific Paradigms......Page 63
3.6 Popper and the Concept of Falsification......Page 67
3.7 Summary......Page 72
4.1 Introduction......Page 73
4.2 Quality Education and Assessment Practices......Page 74
4.3 The Problem of Researcher Bias......Page 79
4.4 Conceptual Confusion and Construct Validity......Page 88
4.5 The Problem of Generalizability......Page 91
4.6 Same Evidence Leads to Different Conclusions......Page 95
4.7 The Direct Reference Theory of Language......Page 97
4.8 Summary......Page 100
5.1 Introduction......Page 101
5.2 Conceptual Confusion and Logical Tautology......Page 102
5.3 The Case of Citizenship Education......Page 106
5.4 Empirical Research and Teaching Methods......Page 110
5.5 The Analytic Nature of Best Practice Claims......Page 115
5.6 Summary......Page 117
6.1 Introduction......Page 119
6.2 Summary of Research Problems in Social Science......Page 121
6.3 The Mechanisms of Ideology......Page 124
6.4 Standardized Testing as Ideology......Page 128
6.5 Empirical Research and Academic Passivity......Page 129
6.6 Scientism as Ideology......Page 130
6.7 Education for Democratic Citizenship......Page 135
6.8 Conclusion......Page 138
References......Page 140
M......Page 145
W......Page 146
I......Page 147
W......Page 148
