Educational Enquiry - Report Example

Topic: Educational Enquiry Educational Enquiry They have being different experiences of researching learning using various methods that raises issues about the relationships between them ,and the ways that learning is conceptualized. Learning is a theoretical and linguistic structure widely used in various cultures, and societies but with different meanings that are partly contradicting, and contested. The value of qualitative research has currently become questionable. This has been stirred by external criticism of educational research because it does not serve evidence based well practice. In this paper will be analyzing the conceptual significance of different methods of research learning based on Hargreaves teaching as a research based profession, possibilities, prospects and Hamersley educational research to evidence based practice. Based on their advantages, disadvantages and which is the best method. This paper will help in understanding the key and methods perspectives in educational enquiry, how a choice of research paradigm, and associated methods relate to solving research problem. Hargreaves criticizes educational researcher is much of a non cumulative because it does not explicitly construct on earlier research by confirmation or falsifying it, expanding or refining it, and by replacing with better theory. The difficulty is a few small scale investigations of an issue are never followed up unavoidably hence producing inconclusive , and contestable finding of modest practical relevance.Morover replications that are a necessity in the society than the natural sciences because of the importance of contextual , and cultural variations are surprisingly rare. Regardless of the significant work there are few areas that have yielded a quantity of research evidence regarded as scientifically concrete, and as a worthwhile resource to direct professional action. Hargreaves’s view of what or should constitute educational research is discovered when he says “There is a poor infrastructure to the knowledge base of teachers compared to natural sciences, and biology doctors. It was once thought that this could be created through psychological, and sociological theory, and research from which general laws on learning, and organizations might be applied to educational phenomena. The outcome so far has been disappointing, though it may be that cognitive psychologists and neuroscientists will soon produce something finer.”Hargreaves argues current educational research is neither adequately cumulative nor relevant to teachers’ practical concerns for it to initiate the contribution required. He draws a contrast between the role of research in education, and role to the practice of medicine by means of evidence based medicine as a model. He claims few teachers use psychology, sociology, philosophy, and history. This makes the teachers work more effective (Reynolds & Trinder, 1997, pg 56) Hargreaves is not very explicit about the form he believes educational research should take. He is neglective of strict methodological problems that are faced by educational researchers. He seems to view the procedure of developing cumulative knowledge about the outcome of different pedagogical methods directly. The use of a standard in judging current educational research that assumes direct and instrumental form of the relationship. Hargreaves argues educational research has failed to provide practitioners with the required knowledge about pedagogical strategies work, and those that do not ensure competence of the practitioner; he claims that it is not only terms of practical skills but familiarity with practice relevant to the research. While Hammersley points out that it is the language Hargreaves uses implies a commitment to a method that many would deem positivist that it values research that emulates the scientific approach.Hammersley challenges the assumption by arguing this type of evidence is effective in improving practice on the basis that scientific methods, and the concern to test the effectiveness of pedagogic strategies, until dominant approach was recently used in educational research. The reason for declination of its use was failure to produce the convincing, cumulative findings Hargreaves argues for. Hence the instrumental value claimed by Hargreaves for this approach of educational enquiry of establishing has not been met. Hammersley argues that it is very difficult in the identification of pedagogic methods, and the problems measurement. To conceptualise, and measure difficult aspects such as what individuals should learn, and what they actually learn with any measures of soundness, and reliability is difficult. He argues that the causation in teaching and learning involves context insightful patterns that interpretation, and decisions on the part of the teacher and student play an important role (Hammersley, 49) A paradigm position occurs as a researcher makes clear his or her ontological and epistemological positions using the research literature as tools in the procedure. Ultimately as ontological and epistemological positions evolve, and a researcher learns he or she may change their methods or paradigm position completely. Hargreaves states that teachers make insufficient use of declarative research knowledge such as research evidence in comparison to craft knowledge of acknowledging ways of being a teacher through learning from people, and their experiences. He states that professional practitioners can have slight insights lost to research, and involvement in a massive amount of inventive activity that leads to the development of professional thinking.Pardigms are more than assumptions about ontology, epistemology, methodology, and ethics. Paradigms are the social phenomenon in which acknowledged examples of actual scientific practice such as law, theory, applications, and instrumentation. In 1989 Gage, appropriately imagined the situation 30 years in the future. He argued that there were three possible outcomes available as stated as follows the positivist, establishment, mainstream, standard, objective seeking, and quantitative approach had failed because of the inflicted critics, there was no peace because of no earnest dialogue, leading to new level of insight of the discussion, improvement towards practical solutions of, and generating theory that were compatible. Positivism is a research paradigm linked with scientific theories. It can be characterized as a way of thinking about knowledge, and enquiring that views natural sciences, as it urbanized after the seventeenth century. Gage believed that the success of natural science developed from the refusal of scientists to go beyond the support of empirical evidence especially that is resulting from careful observed or experimental manipulation of them. He had hopes that human social life would give way for significant social and political progress through detecting beliefs, and practices based on tradition, and replacing them with scientific evidence. Another common feature is that transparent methods must follow to produce better knowledge to achieve procedural objectives. This reflects the belief that there is an external, objective, and experience is stable considering contexts, and individuals. Hargreaves argues that educational research has failed to establish practitioners with the knowledge required about pedagogical strategies that work, and those that fail. He states that it is not only practical skills but familiarity with the practice relevant to the research. He defines evidence based on education as functioning in two levels they are used of educational research, and establishing of concrete research evidence through academic practices which attend to the criteria of scientific soundness, high quality, and practical relevance (Wellington, pg 79) The goals of learning in a social constructive perspective differ, and learning is characterized by the subjective reconstruction of society means, and models by carrying out negotiations of meaning in social interaction. Its focus is on interaction within the local setting because they are viewed as automatically related. It is noted that neither an individual learner’s activity nor the local micro culture can be understood without the consideration of the other. These changes the research that is learning compared with a cognitive constructionist research.Constructionism is associated with qualitative data where as sociocultural approaches the original data collection is qualitative because the focal point is on interactions, and dynamic. Learning opportunities arise but research is done on experiences and changes entailed. Many social cultural studies focus on learning as a transformation of identity to forefront the personal characteristics, and have little to say about the system. They still remain concerned with aspects of social order, especially social, and cultural representations about possible ways of being individuals, and understanding the world that influences individuals’ position of learning environments. A socio-cultural researcher might focus on the learners, and outcomes of the results brought out as language resources to learning, recognition, and utilization while learning. Individuals are shaped in activities, and shape the activity while learning. The social environment deepens learning as an active dynamic process emerging as individuals engagement in social activities. Researchers need to pay attention to the interpersonal characteristics the roles they play in culture, society, politics, and history. Gage focuses on the debates between the research paradigm a society about the productive constitutes, evidence, and adequate research. He observes positivistic research decline as interpretive, and that positivists viewed social phenomena as less productive as education is a necessity for politics. He observed that the differences between paradigms is a reflect to different experiences between individuals that lead to depth differences of orientation of intellectual. These differences are not capable of being solved because research is not obviously, dependable, and stable enough to identify paradigm society to another. The affinities of various research methods with variety conceptualizations of learning influence research but are not determiners. It is possible to have a view of learning that varies from the selected method, but requires extensive effort, and an alert awareness of the restriction of the methods. In conclusion learning technology research is presently dominated by a paradigm that divides the research into two types qualitative, and quantitative. The division is normal science in learning, and has provided an agreement that has permitted researchers to shun disagreements over fundamentals, and an outline for standard research training. The standard structure is under pressure from developing research methods that are relevant to learning. Educational research fails to supply a cumulated body of concrete knowledge about the effectiveness, and efficiency of different methods. May be paradigm could finally be resolved in the natural sciences, because the outcome of research was unreliable .They should be a transformation of teaching, and research. It involves extending the accountability of teachers further than examinations, and tests to the necessity that they give good reason for the details of learning. (Hammersley, pg 29) Conceptual learning has the probability to inform research on policy, and reform implications by situating accomplishment in the framework of the broader research, and practice. Research on implementation focuses exclusively on the dynamics of local advance efforts. It moves beyond questions of teacher learning but when developed it continues concurrently with, and are deeply interwined.To me contrasting learning and research Bibliography Bruner, J. 1996: The Culture of Education: Cambridge: Harvard University Press Hammersley, M. 2007: Educational research & evidence based practice: California: SAGE publishers Ercikan , K. &Roth , W, M. 2009: Generalizing from educational research: beyond qualitative and quantitative polarization: Routledge: Taylor & Francis publishers Reynolds, S & Trinder, L. 2000: Evidence based practice, a critical appraisal: New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Wellington, J. Educational research, contemporary issues & practical approaches: London: Continuum international publishing group Read More