[NIFL-AALPD:337] Divergent Research Traditions

From: George E. Demetrion (sophocles5@juno.com)
Date: Tue May 06 2003 - 09:12:01 EDT


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From: "George E. Demetrion" <sophocles5@juno.com>
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Subject: [NIFL-AALPD:337] Divergent Research Traditions
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As a way of indirectly entering into the discussion between Tom and
Catherine on the nature of what counts as evidence, I recommend the
following article by Goktung Morcol, who etaches at Kennesaw State
University in Georgia.  Its titled Postpostivist Policy Analysis:  A
Midterm Assessment of its Contributions.

I hope I have the web citation right.  This is what I have:

(http://ksumail.kennesaw.edu/~gmorcol/positivi.htm)

As a note, in Research Methods in Education and Psychology,  Donna
Mertens uses the term, postpositivism to refer to that school of thought
which builds on and refines the classical school of early and mid-20th
century positivism.  Morcol, and much of the other literature that I've
seen refer to postpostivism as representing other research paradigms such
as constructivism, critical theory, hermeneutics, ethnography, feminist
theory, etc., which build on alternative epistemologies.

Given the intellectual fundamentalism creeping into the US Department of
Education, it is now more important than ever to publicly discuss and
cite alternative perspectives--alternative perspectives that have been
part of the academic literature for nearly a century, which perhaps the
Department doesn't view legitimate data?

This is worth further discussion  and analysis as theories and models
ofprofessional development have referrants to intellectual traditions
that give shape to 20th century social science research and the related
field of social philosophy.

George Demetrion
on the run



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