Scientism and education : empirical research as neo-liberal ideology

This volume offers a critical examination of the mounting pressure placed on educators to apply scientific principles to improve education. By revealing many of the epistemological problems confronted by the social sciences, including education, the authors undermine the prevailing view that a science of education is possible or desirable. Instead it proposes alternative practices to strengthen democratic learning practices. 1402066775......Page 1 Contents......Page 12 Foreword......Page 6 Acknowledgements......Page 11 Authors......Page 14 1. Introduction......Page 15 1.1 Chapter Preview......Page 20 2.1 Introduction......Page 22 2.2 The History of Empirical Research in Education......Page 25 2.3 The Major Principles of Positivism......Page 34 2.4 Postpositivism: A Break from Scientism?......Page 44 2.5 Some Philosophical Criticisms of LPE......Page 47 2.6 Current Context of Scientism and Education......Page 48 2.7 Summary......Page 50 3.2 Critiques of Contemporary Social Science......Page 51 3.3 Structuralism: Implications for Education......Page 55 3.4 Conceptual Frameworks Shape Research......Page 60 3.5 Kuhn's Scientific Paradigms......Page 63 3.6 Popper and the Concept of Falsification......Page 67 3.7 Summary......Page 72 4.1 Introduction......Page 73 4.2 Quality Education and Assessment Practices......Page 74 4.3 The Problem of Researcher Bias......Page 79 4.4 Conceptual Confusion and Construct Validity......Page 88 4.5 The Problem of Generalizability......Page 91 4.6 Same Evidence Leads to Different Conclusions......Page 95 4.7 The Direct Reference Theory of Language......Page 97 4.8 Summary......Page 100 5.1 Introduction......Page 101 5.2 Conceptual Confusion and Logical Tautology......Page 102 5.3 The Case of Citizenship Education......Page 106 5.4 Empirical Research and Teaching Methods......Page 110 5.5 The Analytic Nature of Best Practice Claims......Page 115 5.6 Summary......Page 117 6.1 Introduction......Page 119 6.2 Summary of Research Problems in Social Science......Page 121 6.3 The Mechanisms of Ideology......Page 124 6.4 Standardized Testing as Ideology......Page 128 6.5 Empirical Research and Academic Passivity......Page 129 6.6 Scientism as Ideology......Page 130 6.7 Education for Democratic Citizenship......Page 135 6.8 Conclusion......Page 138 References......Page 140 M......Page 145 W......Page 146 I......Page 147 W......Page 148 This volume offers a critical examination of the growing pressure to apply scientific principles as a means to improve education. The authors trace the ideology of scientism to the early faith Auguste Comte placed in science and the scientific method as a panacea to all human problem solving. By revealing many of the epistemological problems confronted by the social sciences, including education, the authors undermine the prevailing view that a science of education is possible or desirable. Besides revealing the epistemological problems associated with education research, they suggest that the instrumentalism and micro level responsibility related to scientism in education constitute a manipulative ideological smokescreen to distract public attention away from the structural inequities that generate disparate academic outcomes among students in industrialized democracies. The book deals a severe blow to the belief that science is a suitable lens through which to view or strengthen educational practice. "One begins this book with the skeptical belief that it can’t be right. The task of reading, then, is to locate where Hyslop-Margison goes wrong to reach his radical and disturbing conclusions. At the very least, even the most skeptical will have to recognize that the unsayable—that current educational research has proven largely fruitless for discernable reasons—is certainly plausible. He brilliantly brings an issue that has been considered too eccentric to contemplate into the heart of current educational discourse. Everyone concerned with educational research—researchers and those policy-makers, administrators, and other educational workers who draw on the products of educational research should read this important book carefully." __Kieran Egan, Faculty of Education, Simon Fraser University__ "This volume offers a critical examination of the growing pressure to apply scientific principles as a means to improve education. The authors trace the ideology of scientism to the early faith Auguste Comte placed in science and the scientific method as a panacea to all human problem solving." "By revealing many of the epistemological problems confronted by the social sciences, including education, the authors undermine the prevailing view that a science of education is possible or desirable. Besides revealing the epistemological problems associated with education research, they suggest that the instrumentalism and micro level responsibility related to scientism in education constitute a manipulative ideological smokescreen to distract public attention away from the structural inequities that generate disparate academic outcomes among students in industrialized democracies. The book deals a blow to the belief that science is a suitable lens through which to view or strengthen educational practice."--Jacket