Education, Epistemology and Critical Realism

Education, Epistemology and Critical Realism PDF Author: David Scott
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134027338
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 175

Book Description
This book addresses fundamental questions in relation to education and its epistemology. The position taken by the author is critical realist; and thus throughout the relationship between education and critical realism is foregrounded. Themes and issues that surface at different times in the book are: a critical realist view of education research; a resolution of the quantitative/qualitative divide; criteria for judging the worth of educational texts and practices; differences between scientific and critical realisms; empirical research methods in education; structure-agency relationships; pragmatist views of educational research; foundations and paradigmatic differences; and educational critique and transformation.

Education, Epistemology and Critical Realism

Education, Epistemology and Critical Realism PDF Author: David Scott
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134027346
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 161

Book Description
This book addresses fundamental questions in relation to education and its epistemology. The position taken by the author is critical realist; and thus throughout the relationship between education and critical realism is foregrounded. Themes and issues that surface at different times in the book are: a critical realist view of education research; a resolution of the quantitative/qualitative divide; criteria for judging the worth of educational texts and practices; differences between scientific and critical realisms; empirical research methods in education; structure-agency relationships; pragmatist views of educational research; foundations and paradigmatic differences; and educational critique and transformation.

A Critical Realist Perspective of Education

A Critical Realist Perspective of Education PDF Author: Brad Shipway
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134010540
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 256

Book Description
Explores the capability of critical realism to throw light on educational theory. This book investigates the convergence and divergence between two forms of critical realism. It outlines the key characteristics that are necessary for a theological position to claim the term 'critical realist'.

Religious Education from a Critical Realist Perspective

Religious Education from a Critical Realist Perspective PDF Author: Johnny C. Go
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 135101661X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 164

Book Description
This book examines the possibility and necessity of critical thinking in religious education through the lenses of critical realism and the Christian doctrine of sensus fidei (‘sense of faith’). Drawing on Bhaskar’s original critical realism and data from a survey of over a thousand teachers in the Philippines, the author argues for a view of critical thinking based on components of ‘disposition’ and ‘competence’. As such, critical thinking becomes the expression of a commitment to judgemental rationality and, in a Christian religious education, is guided by the individual’s sensus fidei. A philosophical and theological discussion of the process of coming to know in the religious domain, Religious Education from a Critical Realist Perspective also offers concrete recommendations on how to promote the practice of religious critical thinking in confessional religious education classrooms. As such, it will appeal to scholars of philosophy, theology and pedagogy with interests in religious education and curriculum development.

Critical theory and epistemology

Critical theory and epistemology PDF Author: Anastasia Marinopoulou
Publisher: Manchester University Press
ISBN: 1526105381
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 279

Book Description
This volume in the Critical Theory and Contemporary Society series explores the arguments between critical theory and epistemology in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Focusing on the first and second generations of critical theorists and Luhmann’s systems theory, the book examines how each approaches epistemology. It opens by looking at twentieth-century epistemology, particularly the concept of lifeworld (Lebenswelt). It then moves on to discuss structuralism, poststructuralism, critical realism, the epistemological problematics of Foucault’s writings and the dialectics of systems theory. The aim is to explore whether the focal point for epistemology and the sciences remain that social and political interests actually form a concrete point of concern for the sciences as well.

Critical Realism for Psychologists

Critical Realism for Psychologists PDF Author: David Pilgrim
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000739805
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 209

Book Description
This is the first dedicated text to explain and explore the utility of critical realism for psychologists, offering it as a helpful middle ground between positivism and postmodernism. By introducing its basic concepts, Pilgrim explains critical realism to psychologists and shows how the interface between the natural and social worlds, and the internal and external, can be used to examine human life. This both/and aspect of human life is important in another sense: we are both determined and determining beings, making choices but within the material constraints of both our bodies and the social context of our unique existence. The book offers an exploration of academic and applied psychology with that inward and outward curiosity in mind, beginning with the premise that both inner and outer reality are the legitimate interest of psychologists. In doing so, it shows how critical realism endorses the remaining advantages of positivism and postmodernism, while discarding their philosophical errors. A range of case studies are presented to show how psychologists can use critical realism when working with real life problems, as researchers or practitioners.

Soft Systems Methodology in Education

Soft Systems Methodology in Education PDF Author: Jenny Gilbert
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 303099225X
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 396

Book Description
This book explores the application of Soft Systems Methodology in educational research as a qualitative research tool to generate theory, and identifies the mechanisms that engender the behaviours and discourse of social groups. Grounded within the literature from philosophy and science, the approach is predicated on the ontology and epistemology of critical realism. The authors consider the tenets of systems thinking, recognizing that emergent features appear at higher levels of complexity within a hierarchy and that unintended consequences can occur when making decisions in complex situations with interacting components. The central element of the book is the formulation of a research strategy entitled ‘Worldview, Metaphor and Power of Social Objects’ (Womposo) and its application to a research study of the practicum experience of teachers in training. Integral to the methodology is the creation of rich pictures and diagrams. Additionally, images representing different stakeholders’ views of the whole system are presented in revealing illustrations, allowing the reader to grasp each holistic metaphor. It is suitable for postgraduate students and researchers in education and other social science programmes

A Realist Approach for Qualitative Research

A Realist Approach for Qualitative Research PDF Author: Joseph A. Maxwell
Publisher: SAGE
ISBN: 0761929231
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 241

Book Description
Are cultural and material phenomena equally real? How can one study the relationships between cultural constructions, social behavior and material conditions and draw a valid conclusion from the data? In contrast to interpretive or constructivist positions, realism supports the insights of critical theory in social and educational research regarding the relationships between actors' perspectives and their actual situations, while avoiding the epistemological objectivism associated with positivism and some forms of post- positivist empiricism. This book will explain how readers can use realism to conceptualize and conduct their qualitative study to get results with greater validity.

Why Knowledge Matters in Curriculum

Why Knowledge Matters in Curriculum PDF Author: Leesa Wheelahan
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0415522005
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 210

Book Description
What should we teach in our schools and vocational education and higher education institutions? Is theoretical knowledge still important? This book argues that providing students with access to knowledge should be the raison d’être of education. Its premise is that access to knowledge is an issue of social justice because society uses it to conduct its debates and controversies. Theoretical knowledge is increasingly marginalised in curriculum in all sectors of education, particularly in competency-based training which is the dominant curriculum model in vocational education in many countries. This book uses competency-based training to explore the negative consequences that arise when knowledge is displaced in curriculum in favour of a focus on workplace relevance. The book takes a unique approach by using the sociology of Basil Bernstein and the philosophy of critical realism as complementary modes of theorising to extend and develop social realist arguments about the role of knowledge in curriculum. Both approaches are increasingly influential in education and the social sciences and the book will be helpful for those seeking an accessible introduction to these complex subjects. Why Knowledge Matters in Curriculumis a key reading for those interested in the sociology of education, curriculum studies, work-based learning, vocational education, higher education, adult and community education, tertiary education policy and lifelong learning more broadly.

Education, Culture and Epistemological Diversity

Education, Culture and Epistemological Diversity PDF Author: Claudia W. Ruitenberg
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9789400720664
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 162

Book Description
In the recent educational research literature, it has been asserted that ethnic or cultural groups have their own distinctive epistemologies, and that these have been given short shrift by the dominant social group. Educational research, then, is pursued within a framework that embodies assumptions about knowledge and knowledge production that reflect the interests and historical traditions of this dominant group. In such arguments, however, some relevant philosophical issues remain unresolved, such as what claims about culturally distinctive epistemologies mean, precisely, and how they relate to traditional epistemological distinctions between beliefs and knowledge. Furthermore, can these ways of establishing knowledge stand up to critical scrutiny? This volume marshals a variety of resources to pursue such open questions in a lively and accessible way: a critical literature review, analyses from philosophers of education who have different positions on the key issues, a roundtable discussion, and interactions between the two editors, who sometimes disagree. It also employs the work of prominent feminist epistemologists who have investigated parallel issues with sophistication. This volume does not settle the question of culturally distinctive epistemologies, but teases out the various philosophical, sociological and political aspects of the issue so that the debate can continue with greater clarity.