Department of Education, Unit Catalogue 2007/08 |
ED60272 Educational research: philosophy and practice |
| Level: Doctoral |
| Modular: no specific semester |
| Assessment: CW 100% |
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This unit is designed to enable participants to fulfil some of the overall aims of the EdD degree by providing an advanced introduction to the philosophy and practice of educational research so that participants will be able, firstly, to understand, critically evaluate and themselves contribute to debates about the arguments and justifications for various methodological and methodic approaches to educational research; and secondly, appreciate that a range of quantitative and qualitative techniques can be employed and that discriminating judgements need to be made about when such techniques should be employed. In summary, the unit is designed to make students 'research literate' in respect of understanding and application. Aims: The unit's aims are to provide participants with a critical understanding of: (i) the philosophical issues concerned with the limits and possibilities of educational research as a means of gaining knowledge and understanding of educational systems and processes; (ii) those principles, theories, techniques and standards of judgement associated with the collection, analysis and interpretation of quantitative data; and a critical understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of such processes; (iii) those principles, theories, techniques and standards of judgement associated with the collection, analysis and interpretation of qualitative data, and a critical understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of such processes; (iv) the different forms of representation which can be used in the generation of educational theories; (v) when it is appropriate to employ particular methodologies and methods, to collect certain types of data, and use particular modes of analysis. Learning Outcomes: As a result of the development of that critical understanding, participants will be able to: (i) understand and evaluate the approaches to research described in published papers, and be able to form critical judgements about the worth and effectiveness of such research; (ii) make appropriate judgements about which approaches to educational research they can most appropriately use in their own research enquiries so as to meet their own research objectives; (iii) carry through those enquiries efficiently and effectively, and thus meet the requirements of the EdD degree as a whole. Assignment: Students will be expected to complete one written assignment of 8,000 words which will involve one or more of the following: (i) Designing a piece of research to address a particular educational problem discussing the strengths and limitations of the design. (ii) Engaging in a critique of standard views of educational research methodology and/or methods in research texts; (iii) Engaging in a critique of the research reported in one or more published papers. Content: Section 1: The Philosophy of Educational Research (i) Positivism and Empiricism in the natural and social sciences: Foundationalism and its problems. (ii) Post-empiricist theories of natural and social sciences: the problems of Naturalism: Judgmental relativism and its problems. Critical and post-modern theories of research enquiry. (iii) The links between the philosophy of research methodologies and research methods - problem-based methodologies. Section 2: Quantitative Approaches (i) An introduction to the principles and techniques of statistical enquiry including, basic statistics, the testing of hypotheses, the analysis of variance and multiple regression. (ii) Quantitative literacy: the limits and possibilities of statistical enquiry. (iii) The critical reading of quantitative research. Section 3: Qualitative Approaches (i) An introduction to the various qualitative techniques including: interviewing, grounded theory, ethnography, participant observation, analytical induction, action research, and liffe histories. (ii) Qualitative literacy: the limits and possibilities of qualitative enquiry. (iii) The critical reading of qualitative research. Section 4: The Application of Research Methodologies and Methods (i) Research ethics. (ii) When to apply either quantitative or qualitative techniques and why. |