I've been asked to lead the BERA Practitioner-researcher e-seminar on an epistemological
transformation in educational knowledge, from the 16-22 February on the new BERA web-
site. Whilst this is only open to BERA members I'm hoping that because of our shared
interest in practitioner-research you will help me to improve the clarity and invitational
quality of the introductory comments below. I'll be sending in my introductory comments
for posting, on the 13th February for posting on the new BERA web-site to begin the week
long seminar. The topic is closely related to the focus of our year long 2008-9 seminar so
do please let me have your suggestions for improving the introductory comments. Don't
hesitate to be 'robustly critical'.
(Brian - I've tried to simplify the language of the first draft and put some of the urls into
the notes and references)
"An Epistemological Transformation in Educational Knowledge
A few words of introduction.
The introductory ideas for this e-seminar are on pages 28-29 of Issue 105 of Research
Intelligence (November 2008) on an epistemological transformation in educational
knowledge. You can access Issue 105 at:
http://www.bera.ac.uk/blog/category/publications/ri/
My focus on the standards of judgment used in the Academy to legitimate the educational
knowledge in educational theories relates to a mistake made by some Academics about
the nature educational theory. This mistake has had serious consequences for
programmes of professional development. It led many academics to believe that the
practical principles used by educators to explain their educational influences in learning
were "at best pragmatic maxims having a first crude and superficial justification in
practice that in any rationally developed theory would be replaced by principles with
more fundamental, theoretical justification." (Hirst, 1983, p. 18).
The mistake in ‘replacing’ the explanatory principles of educators by the principles from
the disciplines of education, is still within the habitus of higher education. The mistake
has a 2,500 year history and can be traced back to the language and logic of Aristotle. It
is a mistake that is both difficult to recognise and to rectify. I hope that this e-seminar
will help by making explicit the energy-flowing and values-laden practical principles that
educators use to explain their educational influences in learning. I am thinking of
explanations that draw insights from the theories of the disciplines of education, without
being reduced to the conceptual frameworks of any individual theory or any combination
of such theories.
I use the term, living educational theories to distinguish these explanations from
explanations derived from theories in the traditional disciplines of education.
I am hoping that this seminar will serve to widen the influence of living educational
theories in an epistemological transformation of educational knowledge. I believe that it
will draw attention to the educational knowledge created by practitioner-researchers who
see themselves as ‘creators of a body of professional knowledge’ (Saunders, 2009, p. 10).
I also believe that it will highlight forms of educational enquiry that are owned by
professionals in doing the job better and perhaps go beyond the provision of a tool-kit
(Pollard, 2009, p.10) in asking, researching and answering questions of the kind, ‘How do
I improve what I am doing?’
References and Notes
1) Hirst, P. (Ed.) (1983) Educational Theory and its Foundation Disciplines. London;RKP
2) Pollard, A. (2009) in Hofkins, D. (2009) Eight letters starts with… P, Teaching: GTC
Magazine, Spring 2009.
3) Saunders, L. (2009) in Hofkins, D. (2009) Eight letters starts with … P, Teaching: GTC
Magazine, Spring 2009.
4) I think Biesta’s insights about educational responsibility might help in the recognition of
the mistake and support the need to go beyond a language of learning in the creation of
a new epistemology for educational knowledge:
“…education is not just about the transmission of knowledge, skills and values, but is
concerned with the individuality, subjectivity, or personhood of the student, with their
“coming into the world” as unique, singular beings.” (Beista, 2006, p. 27). Biesta, G. J. J.
(2006) Beyond Learning; Democratic Education for a Human Future. Boulder; Paradigm
Publishers.
5) My educational research programme at the University of Bath between 1973-2009 has
focused on the nature of educational theory. You can access my 1988 Presidential Address
to BERA on How do we Improve Research-based Professionalism in Education?-A question
which includes action research, educational theory and the politics of educational
knowledge. at http://www.bera.ac.uk/blog/category/publications/presidents/ and my
paper on ‘Creating a living educational theory from questions of the kind, "How do I
improve my practice?'. Cambridge Journal of Education, Vol. 19, No.1,1989, pp. 41-52,
at: http://www.bera.ac.uk/blog/category/publications/presidents/
6) My latest 2008 publication on A Living Theory Methodology In Improving Practice And
Generating Educational Knowledge in Living Theories in the Educational Journal of Living
Theories, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp 103-126 , can be accessed from http://ejolts.net/node/80
7) Some 26 ‘living theory’ doctoral theses, completed over the past 12 years will be used
as evidence that new living standards of judgment for educational knowledge have been
legitimated in the Academy. You can access the theses at:
http://www.actionresearch.net/living.shtml "
Love Jack.
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