| Memorandum on | Mitch Bleier U ED 70300 Prof. K. Tobin Spring 2008 |
| Thayer-Bacon, B. and Moyer, D. (2006). Philosophical and historical research. In K. Tobin and J. Kincheloe (Eds.). Doing educational research: A handbook (pp. 139 – 155). |
Thayer-Bacon and Moyer (2006) discuss the hegemonic nature of the Natural Sciences, which casts an air of illegitimacy on other models and traditions of meaning making. They argue that “scientific forms of argumentation are considered the norm in research, and other forms…are considered inferior [at best]” (p.140). Students in educational research courses learn quantitative and qualitative research, “both of which are scientific forms of research” (p. 140), but philosophical arguments and logic are rarely included.
The authors make a case for historical and philosophical research as alternatives more appropriate for some types of educational research. Although these are venerable fields (in fact, there was a time when scientific reasoning was subject to the hegemony of philosophy), the authors state that in the current climate they must continually defend and justify not only their findings and conclusions, but also the methodology and methods that they employ. It is not just scientific forms of research to which status and funding are proffered, but even within their own fields of study, the authors report that their “practitioner-oriented” research is seen as inferior to “pure” philosophy and history.
The authors provide examples of their own research, defend it as serious professional practice, and in making the case for the significance of their contributions, criticize the “dismissals and…shortsightedness” of institutions and other researchers. They conclude that “it is…dangerous for scientific research to deceive itself into thinking that it doesn’t need history and philosophy to critique itself.” This arrogance ultimately will lead to its own demise.
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