Philosophy in Educational Research: Epistemology, Ethics, Politics and Quality

474 Pages·2017·5.06 MB·English

by  David Bridges (auth.)

David Bridges
Philosophy
in Educational
Research
Epistemology, Ethics, Politics and Quality
Philosophy in Educational Research
David Bridges
Philosophy in Educational
Research
Epistemology, Ethics, Politics and Quality
123
DavidBridges
ProfessorEmeritus
University of EastAnglia
Norwich
UK
and
Emeritus Fellow
St.Edmund’s College
Cambridge
UK
and
Emeritus Fellow
Homerton College
Cambridge
UK
ISBN978-3-319-49210-0 ISBN978-3-319-49212-4 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-49212-4
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2016957701
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To our grandchildren:
Louis, Lily, and Albert
(and anyone who may follow)
Acknowledgements
I have been very fortunate to have found very collegial and stimulating academic
homes over the period in which I have been working on the material in this book:
theUniversity ofEastAnglia (andespeciallythepowerhouseofideasthatwasthe
Centre for Applied Research in Education); the Von Hügel Institute and
StEdmund’sCollegeCambridge;and,mostrecently,theUniversityofCambridge
Faculty of Education, working in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania
Graduate School of Education and Nazarbayev University Graduate School of
EducationinKazakhstan.Ifeelveryprivilegedtohaveenjoyedthecollegialityand
friendship of so many people in these academic centres.
I have similarly enjoyed generous hospitality, friendship and stimulus in a
number of institutions in which I have spent shorter periods of time, including:
AddisAbabaUniversity,KaunasUniversityofTechnology,UniversityofOslo,the
Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Hong Kong
University, Chung Cheng University, and the University of Illinois at Urbana
Champaign.Iammostgratefultothosewhomadethesevisitspossibleandforthe
stimulus they provided.
For the last 12 years or so, I have been privileged to participate in the annual
seminars of an international Research Community focused on the Philosophy and
History of the Discipline of Education convened by Paul Smeyers and Marc
Depaepe of the Catholic University of Leuven. These have provided an annual
stimulus to writing and discussion which has issued in several of the papers
incorporatedinthisbook,andIammostgratefultoPaul,Marc,allparticipants,and
the Fonds voor Wetenschappellijk Onderzoek Vlaanderen for the opportunity they
provided.
Most of the chapters in this book have developed out of previous work, though
insomecasesthishasbeensubstantiallyreworked.Acoreofthemwerepublished
by Kluwer/Springer in 2003 as Fiction written under oath? Essays in philosophy
and educational research, of which this book is in a sense a second edition,
although one about double the length, and, as I have said, with considerable
re-editing. Other chapters have come from other sources, which are acknowledged
vii
viii Acknowledgements
at the beginning of each chapter. I am grateful to Taylor and Francis, Routledge,
Wiley Blackwell, Sage, the University of Leuven Press, and Springer for permis-
sion to use this material.
This book would probably not have reached completion without the great
assistance with copy-editing provided by Michael Neal, nor the support of, in
particular, Annemarie Keur at Springer. I am very grateful to both.
TheartworkusedonthefrontcoverisfromFieldsofGoldpaintedbymywife,
Angela Bridges. For this—and very much more—thanks.
Contents
1 Educational Research and Philosophy in ‘Interesting Times’ . .... 1
1.1 Part I: Education Research and Its Intellectual Resources. .... 3
1.2 Part II: Education as Applied Research: Practice and Policy.... 4
1.3 Part III: Philosophy and Educational Research.... ..... .... 5
1.4 Part IV: Truth(s) in Educational Research.... .... ..... .... 5
1.5 Part V: Ethics and Educational Research .... .... ..... .... 6
1.6 Part VI: Research Quality and Its Assessment .... ..... .... 8
1.7 Epilogue: Conversation in the Construction and
Representation of Educational Research . .... .... ..... .... 9
References. .... .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 10
Part I Educational Research and Its Intellectual Resources
2 The Disciplines and Discipline of Educational Research. ..... .... 13
2.1 Sources of Knowledge About Education. .... .... ..... .... 13
2.2 Education Is a Field of Research .. .... .... .... ..... .... 15
2.3 The Passage from Foundation Disciplines to
Postdisciplinarity.. ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 16
2.4 ‘Systematic and Sustained Inquiry Made Public’ .. ..... .... 21
2.5 Research as a Rule-Governed Activity .. .... .... ..... .... 23
2.6 Discipline as an Obstacle to Inquiry? ... .... .... ..... .... 26
2.7 In Praise of Diversity with Maturity.... .... .... ..... .... 28
2.8 The Quantitative/Qualitative Dichotomy: An Absence ... .... 30
References. .... .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 32
3 ‘Two Cultures’ Revisited: Science (‘Scientism’) and the
Humanities in the Construction of Educational Understanding.... 35
3.1 ‘Two Cultures’ Revisited .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 35
3.2 Scientism and Its Manifestations in the Discoursesof Higher
Education ... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 37
3.3 Qualifying the Claims of Scientism: Scientism Impoverishes
Science. .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 43
ix
x Contents
3.4 Scientism Excludes Crucially Important Humanistic
Understanding.... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 47
3.4.1 Placing the Human at the Centre... .... ..... .... 47
3.4.2 FocusingonHumanIntentionality,Experience,and
Consciousness. .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 48
3.4.3 Narrative: The Importance of the Story
Over Time.... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 49
3.4.4 Description ... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 50
3.4.5 Normativity... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 51
3.4.6 Sensibility .... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 52
3.5 Where Does All This Leave Us? .. .... .... .... ..... .... 52
References. .... .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 53
4 ‘TheProperStudyofMankind…’?InDefenceoftheHumanities
Against the Ambitions of ‘Scientific’ Psychology... .... ..... .... 57
4.1 Introduction . .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 58
4.2 Psychology as Science .. .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 58
4.3 William James and the Beginnings of ‘Scientific’
Psychology.. .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 60
4.4 Berlin, Vico, and La Scienza Nuova.... .... .... ..... .... 61
4.5 The Contribution of Philosophy to the Proper Understanding
of Mankind.. .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 64
4.6 The Humanities and ‘The Proper Study of Mankind’.... .... 66
4.7 The Proper Study of Mankind .... .... .... .... ..... .... 67
4.8 And Psychology? . ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 70
4.9 And Education? .. ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 70
References. .... .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 72
Part II Education as Applied Research: Practice and Policy
5 Educational Research and Practice . .... .... .... .... ..... .... 77
5.1 Educational Research as theApplication ofDiscipline-Based
Inquiry to Practice?..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 77
5.2 Limitations of the Discipline as Sources of Practice..... .... 80
5.3 Where Does the Practitioner’s Understanding of Education
Come from? . .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 83
5.4 Practitioner/Action Research and Discipline-Based Inquiry.... 84
References. .... .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 91
6 Educational Research and Policy... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 93
6.1 Epistemological Considerations in the Relationship Between
Educational Research and Policy .. .... .... .... ..... .... 94
6.2 What is ‘Policy’? . ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 99
6.3 The Logical and Rhetorical Standing of Policy Statements.... 100
6.4 The Process of Policymaking . .... .... .... .... ..... .... 102
6.5 The Components of Policy Decisions... .... .... ..... .... 103
Contents xi
6.6 The Normative Basis of Research and Policy. .... ..... .... 107
6.7 The Use—and Abuse—of Educational Research .. ..... .... 112
6.8 The Picture So Far ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 113
References. .... .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 113
Part III Philosophy and Educational Research
7 Philosophising About, As, and in Educational Research ..... .... 119
7.1 Introduction . .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 119
7.2 Philosophising About Educational Research.. .... ..... .... 120
7.3 Philosophising as Educational Research . .... .... ..... .... 122
7.4 Conceptual Clarification and Educational Research. ..... .... 125
7.5 The Wider Contribution of Philosophy as Educational
Research.... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 128
References. .... .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 130
8 Philosophy and Practice: A Philosopher in the Classroom?... .... 133
8.1 Introduction . .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 134
8.2 Philosophy of Action Research.... .... .... .... ..... .... 134
8.2.1 The Epistemology of Action Research... ..... .... 135
8.2.2 The Social Philosophy of Action Research .... .... 137
8.2.3 The Ethics of Action Research .... .... ..... .... 139
8.3 Philosophy in Action Research.... .... .... .... ..... .... 140
References. .... .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 144
9 A Philosopher at Court? A Reflection on an Education
Researcher’s Engagement with Policymakers. .... .... ..... .... 147
9.1 The Background.. ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 147
9.2 The Roles of Philosophy. .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 149
9.3 Mixing with Politics.... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 150
References. .... .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 153
10 The Roles of ‘The Philosopher’ in an Interdisciplinary Research
Group.... .... .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 155
10.1 Introduction . .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 155
10.2 The Farmington Trust Moral Education Project ... ..... .... 156
10.3 The Social Science Research Council School Accountability
Project . .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 157
10.4 A Multidisciplinary Project on Classroom Discussion.... .... 160
10.5 The Centre for Applied Research in Education at the
University of East Anglia.... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 162
10.6 The Cambridge/Nazarbayev University Collaborative
Research Project.. ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 164
10.7 Summary and Conclusion.... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 166
References. .... .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 167