The Nature of Enquiry

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1 The Nature of Enquiry Dr John Ravenscroft (Course Organiser) Credit Rating 20 credits, SCQF 11 Course Summary The aim of this course is to introduce philosophical and epistemological perspectives that inform research practice in the social sciences in an educational context. The course provides an essential introduction to the issue of values and ethical problems in educational research. It discusses conceptions of education and their implications for educational research processes. Within MSc by Research (Education). Course Description The aim of this course is to introduce philosophical and epistemological perspectives that inform the aims and practices of social and educational research. Discussion of the main debates between positivism, critical theory, constructivism, post modernism, feminism will lead to a consideration of the arguments and assumptions which each makes about the social world. The course will focus on issues of knowledge, what is knowledge, how do we know what knowledge is as well as determining what knowledge is for education research. Learning Outcomes critically evaluate the main traditions and paradigms of educational research analyse the ways in which the different methodological positions affect research questions, and research design demonstrate critical awareness of the values and ethical debates inherent in social and educational research Teaching 10 x 2.5 hour weekly sessions in semester 1. The course combines lectures, group discussion, film clips, guest speakers and student presentations. Core reading will be distributed in advance of each session.

2 Course Assessment Students are required to complete an assignment on:- The best research exposes causal relationships all other research is secondary. Discuss. The word limit is 4,000 words (excluding references). Please refer to the Generic MSc Handbook for guidelines on the preparation and presentation of assessments, and for full details of the marking criteria. A comprehensive reading list for each session is detailed on the Learn page. Indicative Content This will include: modes of philosophical, historical and empirical enquiry epistemology research values and research ethics positivism interpretivism / constructivist structuralism feminist epistemology post-critiques Reading List Introduction: The nature of educational research * Hirst P & Carr W (2005) Philosophy And Education - A Symposium, Journal of Philosophy of Education, vol. 39, 4, pp Holma K (2009) The Strict Analysis and the Open Discussion, Journal of the Philosophy of Education, Vol. 43 (3), pp ] Peters R S (1968) Education as Initiation, pp in Philosophical Analysis and Education, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London

3 Virtue epistemology * Pritchard, D. (2013), Epistemic Virtue and the Epistemology of Education. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 47: Paul, R. (1993): Critical Thinking, Moral Integrity and Citizenship: Teaching for the Intellectual Virtues, In: Paul, R.. Critical Thinking: What Every Student Needs to Survive in A Rapidly Changing World, Dillon Beach, CA: Foundation For Critical Thinking. Dewey, J. (1916). Experience and Thinking. (Chapter 11, pages ) in Democracy and Education. in the Public Domain, Champaign, ill: Project Gutenberg. Background reading on Virtue Epistemology (to be read before class): Mark Ortwein. Virtue Epistemology and Education. Encyclopaedia of Educational Philosophy and Theory. Kotzee, B. (2013), Introduction: Education, Social Epistemology and Virtue Epistemology. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 47: Kotzee, B. (2013), Introduction: Education, Social Epistemology and Virtue Epistemology. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 47: Heather Battaly (2008). Virtue Epistemology. Philosophy Compass 3 (4): What is Knowledge * Pritchard, D. (2009). Analysing Knowledge. In Knowledge. University of Edinburgh, Palgrave Philosophy Today. p 3-21 Pritchard D. (2009). Understanding and the Value of Knowledge. University of Edinburgh, Palgrave, Phophy Today p Pritchard D (2007) Recent Work on Epistemic Value, American Philosophical Quarterly (44), pp De Paul M & Zagzebski L, (2007) Intellectual Virtue, Perspectives from Ethics and Epistemology Ed by De Paul M & Zagzebski L, Clarendon, Oxford, 2nd Ed, 1st Published 2003

4 Positivism to Rationality. The war on Induction *Schrag, F. (1992) In Defense of Positivist Research Paradigms. Educational Researcher, 21 (5): 5-8. Elliot W. Eisner Respnse to Schrag Source: Educational Researcher, Vol. 21, No. 5 (Jun. - Jul., 1992), pp. 8-9 Achinstein, P (2010) The War on Induction. Evidence, Explanation and Realism, Essays in the Philosophy of Science. Oxford University Press. Some type of Constructivism *Howe, K. (2005). The question of education science: Experimentism versus experimentalism. Educational Theory, 55(3), MacIntyre, A. (1981). After virtue. Indiana: Notre Dame. Chapter 8: The character of generalizations in social science and their lack of predictive power. Pawson, R. & Tilley, N. (1997). Realistic evaluation. London: Sage Publications. Chap 2 Critical Theory in educational research/ Marxism in Educational Philosophy *Comstock DE (1982, edit 2002) Knowledge and Values in Social and Educational Research, Philadelphia, Temple University Press Raduntz, H (1997) Developing a Marxian approach to education research in 'new times' available at Postmodernism * Baxter, J. (2002) 'Competing discourses in the classroom: a Post-structuralist Discourse Analysis of girls' and boys' speech in public contexts', Discourse and Society, 13(6): Jones, A. (1993) 'Becoming a "Girl": Post-Structuralist Suggestions for Educational Research, Gender and Education, 5(2): Laclau, E. and Mouffe, C. (1987) 'Post-Marxism Without Apologies', New Left Review, No.166, November/December.

5 Feminist epistemology * Ackerly, B. and True, J. (2010) Doing Feminist Research in Political and Social Science. London: Palgrave. Chapter 2: The Feminist Research Ethic Explained Harding, S. (1987) 'Introduction: Is There a Feminist Method?' in Harding, S. (1987) (ed) Feminism and Methodology. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Narayan, U. (2004) ' The Project of Feminist Epistemology: Perspectives from a Nonwestern Feminist' in Harding, S. (2004) (ed) The Feminist Standpoint Theory Reader: Intellectual and Political Controversies. New York: Routledge. Values, Ethics and the politics of educational research *Greenbank, P. (2003) The role of values in educational research: the case for reflexivity, British Educational Research Journal, 29 (6): McNamara, D.R. (1979) Paradigm Lost: Thomas Kuhn and Educational Research, British Educational Research Journal, 5 (2): Carr, D (2003). [Political Dimensions of Education?] Making Sense of Education. Routlege Falmer, London So just what is the value of research? * Hammersley, M. (2004). Some questions about evidence-based practice in education. In G. Thomas & R. Pring (Eds.), Evidence-based practice in education. (pp ). Maidenhead: OU Press. *ebba, J. (2004). Developing evidence-informed practice and policy in education. In G. Thomas & R. Pring (Eds.), Evidence-based practice in education. (pp ). Maidenhead: OU Press. [Moray House Library: LB1028 Evi] O Sullivan, M. (2007). Research quality in physical education and sport pedagogy. Sport, Education and Society, 12(3), UPDATED: 12 August 2015

the paradigms have on the structure of research projects. An exploration of epistemology, ontology

Abstract: This essay explores the dialogue between research paradigms in education and the effects the paradigms have on the structure of research projects. An exploration of epistemology, ontology and