Education, Epistemology and Critical Realism / Edition 1

by David Scott

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415617185
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	10/21/2010
Series:	New Studies in Critical Realism and Education (Routledge Critical Realism)
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

David Scott is Professor of Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment at the Institute of Education, University of London. He has previously worked at the universities of Warwick, Southampton and Lincoln. His most recent book is Critical Essays on Major Curriculum Theorists published by Routledge.

Table of Contents

@contents: 1. Introduction and Initial Thoughts 2. Critical Realism and Empirical Research Methods in Education 3. Resolving the Quantitative–Qualitative Divide 4. Epistemic Relativism, Ontological Realism, and the Possibility of Judgemental Rationality 5. Educational Judgements: Epistemic, Parasitic and External Criteria 6. Judgemental Rationality 7. Empirical Indicators and Causal Narratives 8. Structure and Agency – Key Ontological Concepts 9. Educational Critique 10. Arbitrary and Non-Arbitrary Knowledge

Editorial Reviews

'[R]ich, scholarly, and rigorous.'

'Research students in the sociology of education are especially likely to derive benefitr from Scott's book.'
-Ronald Barnett, Institute of Education, University of London in London Review of Education, vol. 9, no. 1, March 2011

From the Publisher