Closing Methodological Divides

Preface.Acknowledgments. 1. Introduction and Overview. Part I: Positivism and the Old Divides. Part II: Interpretivism and the New Divides. Part III: Ethical and Political Frameworks. Part I: Positivism and the Old Divides. 2. Two Dogmas of Educational Research. Dogma 1: The Quantitative/Qualitative Distinction. Dogma 2: The Fact/Value Dichotomy. Conclusion: Toward Closing the Old Divides. 3. The Quantitative/Qualitative Dogma. The Incompatibility Thesis and Research Practice. The Incompatibility Thesis and Epistemological Paradigms. Criteria for Evaluating Educational Research. Some Observations About Pragmatism. Conclusion: Compatibilist Educational Research. 4. Persistence of the Fact/Value Dogma. The Received View and Program Evaluation. The Received View and Educational Testing. Conclusion: Why the Fact/Value Dogma Persists. Part II: Interpretivism and the New Divides. 5. The Interpretive Turn. Epistemology. The Ontology of the Self. Politics. Conclusion: Toward Closing the New Divides. 6. The Constructivist Turn. Constructivism's Kantian Roots. Constructivism and the 'Linguistic Turn'. The Foundering of Radical Constructivism. Conclusion: Toward a Thoroughgoing Constructivism. 7. On the Threat of Epistemological Bias. What is Bias? What is Epistemology? What is a Biased Epistemology? Conclusion: Controlling Bias Through Inclusion. Part III: Ethical and Political Frameworks. 8. The Interpretive Turn and Research Ethics. The Traditional Problematic. The Contemporary Problematic. Conclusion: Continuity Through Change. 9. Toward Democratic Educational Research. A General Framework for Democratic Educational Research. The Democratic Framework Applied to Educational Policy Research. The Democratic Framework Applied to Pedagogical Research. Final Remarks. References.