Abstract
The image, style, and substance of educational research are currently undergoing reevaluation. This is not to say that the dominant form of educational research of well over the past quarter century—a form that Habermas calls “empirical/analytic” or “positivism”—has been without its critics. Since the emerging dominance of educational research in the guise of the logical empiricist reconstruction of the natural sciences, philosophy of education, more “humanistically oriented” scholars of education, and so-called “qualitative” methodologists have questioned the appropriateness of this model of research for explaining, understanding, and transforming educational practice. To a large extent, their critiques of and questions for such research were unheeded, often dismissed, or not always welcomed. Though philosophers always urge critical self-reflection on one’s labors as a cardinal virtue, it is understandable, at least, that educational researchers were more concerned to develop a knowledge-base in education congruent with their understanding of this alluring natural science model.
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Ericson, D.P. (1986). On Critical Theory and Educational Practice. In: Critical Perspectives on the Organization and Improvement of Schooling. Evaluation in Education and Human Services, vol 13. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-4229-5_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-4229-5_5
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