Fiction written under Oath?: Essays in Philosophy and Educational Research (Philosophy and Education, 10)

The essays bring to contemporary debates about educational research both a first hand familiarity with the practices and arguments of the educational research community and a clear grasp of the ways in which philosophical sources and analysis can inform them. They are both measured and passionate - sparked by an intense personal curiosity, which takes Bridges into unexpected resources and territory (such as the insights of museology into debates on educational research as narrative fiction) as well as more familiar material relating to, for example, issues about the assessment of quality of educational research and the concern for its relevance. The book makes an articulate case, by its own example as well as in its argument, for the continuing contribution of philosophical thinking to the development and critique of educational research. It will be essential reading for researchers already engaged in this development and for masters and doctoral students who are coming to terms with educational research, and it offers a contribution to the literature in philosophy of education which is richly grounded in the wider field of educational research. A ‘biographical positioning’....Pages 1-11 Introduction: philosophising about educational research....Pages 13-19 Philosophising as and in educational research....Pages 21-31 The discipline(S) of educational research....Pages 33-50 Educational theory, practice and research: pragmatic perspectives....Pages 51-66 Educational research: pursuit of truth or flight into fancy?....Pages 67-88 Narratives, fiction and the magic of the real....Pages 89-104 Narratives in history, fiction and educational research....Pages 105-114 Quality and relevance in educational research....Pages 115-132 ‘Nothing about us without us’: the ethics of outsider research....Pages 133-151 Research for Sale: moral market or moral maze?....Pages 153-170 ‘Fiction written under oath?’ Ethics and epistemology in educational research....Pages 171-179 From philosophising about research to researching philosophy: reflections on a reflective log....Pages 181-192 The measured and passionate essays in this volume bring to contemporary debates about educational research both a first-hand familiarity with the practices and arguments of the educational research community and a clear grasp of the ways in which philosophical sources and analysis can inform them. It will be essential reading for researchers, masters and doctoral students who are coming to terms with educational research. David Bridges argues for the continuing value of philosophical contribution to the development & critique of educational research. His essays offer fresh perspectives as well as the evidence of his long familiarity with the practices & arguments of the educational research community Some thirty years ago I was attending the first meeting of a group embarking on an MA programme in Ethics under Robert Dearden's guidance at the London Institute of Education.