Australian Journal of Teacher Education
Abstract
Put simply, educational research is the systematic study of educational problems and practices. Its basic purposes would at least be seen to cover such things as evaluating new and existing policies, programmes, curricula and practices; strengthening the information base underlying educational planning, the formulation of educational policy and the design of educational programmes; increasing the problem solving capacity of education systems, institutions and teachers; increasing knowledge and understanding of educational problems and processes; and raising questions concerning assumptions and identifying weaknesses. Research into these problems and practices has commonly been designed and structured so as to lay claim to 'scientific' respectability (Brim: 1974). This claim remains a constant theme throughout the literature concerning education and in the normal parlance and value judgements made by educators. However, it has also been a feature of educational research that many of its practitioners have confused academic excellence and scholarly endeavour with the requirement to become as 'scientific' as possible in their research designs. This is in spite of the now recognised triviality and irrelevance of much of the so called 'scientific' research undertaken by postgraduate students.
Recommended Citation
Cumming, A., & Moore, T. (1984). Educational Research - Two Paradigms : Two Epistemologies. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 9(2). https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.1984v9n2.5