Positivism,Prejudice and Progress in the Sociology of Education: who's afraid of values?

This article is a response to Hammersley's allegations that my discussion of positivism and differentiation‐polarisation theory (d‐p), previously published in this journal, was misguided, incoherent and prejudiced against positivism. I refute those allegations by demonstrating that Hammersley has either misunderstood or misrepresented my position. Furthermore, by revealing inconsistencies in Hammersley's arguments about positivism and d‐p I expose his incoherencies and prejudices regarding the role of political values in social research. Finally and constructively, I suggest that the ‘enlightenment’ aspect of the ‘political arithmetic’ tradition has much to recommend it as a framework for progress in sociology of education.     

Conceptualising the sociology of education: an analysis of contested intellectual trajectories

Abstract

This paper presents an account of the development of the sociology of education in the UK, by means of an analysis of papers published in the field’s flagship journal, the British Journal of Sociology of Education and its US equivalent, Sociology of Education. In particular, we examine the representation of two contrasting traditions in addressing social inequalities: ‘political arithmetic’; and the more recent ‘cultural turn’. We find that in the UK, the cultural turn dominates; whilst in the US, it is political arithmetic which does so. In accounting for these contrasting national profiles, we argue that they are underpinned by divergent social infrastructure and organisation. We also discuss some of the implications of the dominance of the cultural turn in the UK, specifically in terms of the relationship between the fields of academic research and policy and the development of a cumulative evidence base to address social inequalities in education.     

Differentiating between and synthesizing quantitative,qualitative, and longitudinal research on polarized school cultures: a comment on Van Houtte (2006)

Van Houtte provides a valuable large‐sample quantitative analysis of differentiation and polarization processes between and within school cultures in Belgium. Such research across 34 secondary schools provides greater confidence that the findings in the ethnographic tradition for the differentiation–polarization theory are not due to idiosyncracies of the individual schools chosen. However, it is unhelpful to contrast her large‐sample approach with the ethnographic tradition by characterizing the former as quantitative and the latter as qualitative. Many ethnographic studies of secondary schools have employed quantitative methods. It is better to characterize her research as multi‐site and the ethnographic tradition as case‐study. This illuminates how the two methodologies can be more constructively synthesized. Within large sample multi‐site approaches some selection of in‐depth case studies, together with longitudinal data analysis, are needed to disentangle socio‐economic class effects from differentiation effects in order to determine causality.     

Today's learning objective is to have a party: playing research with students in a secondary school special needs unit

The use of creative methods has been advocated within disability and childhood research as a means of including voices of inarticulate participants in research, as it can support and supplement the use of conventional language. This paper draws on a research project aimed at designing ‘the best school in the world’ with five students in a special needs unit of a secondary school in a socially deprived community in England, to suggest the use of playful creative methods in generating and representing data in inclusive education research. Play, as an activity occurring in an actual social reality yet not completely governed by its rules, offers an interesting starting point for researchers interested not only in describing the existing world but also in imagining viable alternatives to it. This paper discusses how using a playful methodology had an impact on power relations and provided an accessible context to foster participants' engagement in reflexive discussions about social norms and values. Creative and playful methodology was also useful in transgressing the primacy of language in educational research, thus opening spaces for other aspects of experience to be included in the analysis. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at: http://youtu.be/Lt9l1eab6rQ .     

古希腊反民主传统之根源研究

民主的摇篮是靠反民主传统之手推动的。在民主政治的发源地古希腊,它的反民主传统是古希腊人馈赠给人类的又一份丰厚的礼物。从古希腊的民主政治实践、古希腊人的贵族情结和哲学家们寻求社会稳定的心态等3个方面,全面分析反民主传统中蕴含的深刻的现实根源、文化根源和社会心理根源。     

The Sociology of Education in Australia in the 1970s

This paper sets the development of the Sociology of Education in the changing Australian social structure, emphasising particularly economic prosperity, the influence of the rapid growth in the 1970s of the tertiary sector, the continuation of a relatively high level of migration, the egalitarian political ideology and the nature of educational administration. During this period many social pressures worked to support the political arithmetic tradition, though less so as the decade progressed. The sub‐discipline does seem by some measures to have become more mature by 1980, but at the very moment when economic stringency has been applied to the education sector.     

Using research to promote equity within education systems: Possibilities and barriers

This article provides an evaluative account of its authors’ involvement in three major national improvement initiatives. Set in the context of three of the countries that make up the UK, these developments were focused in particular on the promotion of educational equity. Unusually, the analysis provided compares evidence collected from an insider perspective with data generated through independent evaluations. In so doing, it considers how research and researchers can contribute to system change by using research evidence to influence policy-makers and practitioners at all levels of the system. The article argues that this requires the coming together of different perspectives in a process of social learning and knowledge creation within particular settings. This means that researchers have to overcome a number of barriers related to social, cultural and political factors. They therefore have to develop skills in creating collaborative partnerships that span boundaries between actors who have different types of professional experience. It is argued that researchers also need to mobilise support in dealing with the pressures that this involves. The article concludes with the presentation of a strategic framework that can be used to think about how school systems can be helped to make better use of research knowledge.     

Learning in activity: exploring the methodological potential of action research in activity theorising of social practice

Cultural–historical activity theory (CHAT), founded on the seminal work of Vygotsky and evolving in the subsequent work of Leont’ev and Engeström, continues to emerge as a robust and increasingly widely used conceptual framework for the research and analysis of the complex social mediation of human learning and development. Yet there remains ongoing methodological ambiguity around its use in qualitative research and therefore questions regarding its effectiveness in fulfilling its intrinsic interventionist aspiration. Meta‐level research suggests that the primary methodology theorised for CHAT – Engeström’s development work research that is based on a highly localised developmental ethnography – is not in widespread application in CHAT‐based research. Instead, the majority of research employs an eclectic array of qualitative and quantitative methodologies and uses CHAT more as a heuristic device rather than engaging its more authentic interventionist motive. Given this, it is perhaps surprising there has been limited conceptualising around the prospective relationship between CHAT and action research, which remains largely under‐developed. This paper argues that action research may offer CHAT a legitimate and viable complementary interventionist methodology to investigate the increasingly complex environments of social activity, particularly given escalating expectations of more democratic and participatory modes of research engagement and social learning.     

第二语言写作教学方法研究综述

本文着重于研究跟第二语言写作有关的主要传统的和现代的研究和教学方法,包括"受控写作"、"段落模式写作"、过程方法、学术方向写作、基于网络平台的写作教学模式等。其中有些现代写作方法的研究领域涉及项目的、语篇的、学科的、政治的、还有网络技术的问题。最后,作者指出相关领域的教育者和研究人员应考虑利用理论知识和调查结果自己判断什么是真正对学生有用的模式。     

用Numerov算法求解一维无限深势阱的本征问题

用Numerov算法求解一维无限深势阱的十个本征值以及基态、第一、第二和第三激发态波函数的数值解，所得到的数值结果和解析解吻合很好，表明此算法有效可行。     

The promise of action research for critically reflective teacher education

Abstract

This paper is an analysis of the potential that action research theory and practice hold for educating preservice teachers to become more critically reflective. First, action research theory, especially as it informs current notions of educational research and practice, is reviewed. Then critically reflective teaching is described by grounding the term in critical social science views supportive of the social reconstructionist reform tradition in teacher education. Special attention is given in this review to the claims made by action research advocates regarding the power of action research to promote critically reflective teaching. Finally, to examine the empirical basis for these claims, a brief survey is made of several reports of the use of action research by teacher educators. The analysis reveals cautious optimism for the promise action research holds for critically reflective teacher education.     

从文学转向文化:中国当代文学研究走向

文章从文学研究面对文化研究的冲击所作的调整入手,分析新世纪的文学研究如何在自身传统与外来影响的交织中重新定位和进行价值立场的重建,从而构建中国文学研究的独立性。     

The revival of Confucianism in Chinese schools: a historical-political review

This article examines the “back to tradition” movement in Chinese schools and its political nature. It focuses on the launch of the “education in Chinese traditional virtues” project in the 1980s and various new developments at the present time, which continue a revival of Confucianism in Chinese society and education. The paper looks into the domestic and international background of the movement, the political nature of the Confucian tradition, and the government's support for the movement. The essay explores a resurgence of Confucianism in Chinese schools through moral education and the larger political purpose it serves. The article reveals how a popular grass roots education movement reflects particular social and political needs during changing times and how pedagogical functions of an education initiative become entangled with, and even overshadowed by, political demands within a politically centralised system.     

政治学在美国的开设与发展

美国政治学虽起源于欧洲,但与注重哲学和逻辑推理,强调使用正规的、历史的方法的传统不同,美国政治学注重走自己的路,大力提倡运用科学的方法研究新的知识,使其在全球确立了学科领军地位,美国成为研究政治学的大本营。文章介绍了与政治学密切相关的主要学科、学习政治学的重要性、美国政治学的教堂内容,以及学习政治学在美国的就业前景,对我国政治学的教学研究具有启发意义。     

Pragmatism and post-qualitative futures

This paper notes that there has been a relatively recent revision of the pragmatist philosophy canon, one that moves beyond a focus on epistemic and pedagogical theories, and locates pragmatism in a tradition of radical ontological theorizing and political action. This essay examines this revision for its relevance to the emerging materialist turn in qualitative research methodology. The essay focuses on two themes within contemporary and classical pragmatist philosophy: a reflexive realism and an ontology of the future. The methodological implications of these features are explored in detail. These implications are compared to post-structuralist conceptions of reflexivity that informed the last wave of qualitative research innovation and to the new materialism theories that are inspiring a new wave of methodological innovation. The most significant methodological implications of pragmatic philosophy are located in its ideas about the ontologically co-constituting relationship between inquiry practice and future possibilities.     

“I Thought I Hated Data”: Preparing MSW Students for Data-driven Practice

Social work is an applied profession using a combination of theory, research, and practice to meet the needs of client populations. First-hand experiential learning is central to social work education. Just as students learn clinical skills by interacting with clients in a practice setting, students need a forum to use real data to develop their skills in accessing, understanding, interpreting, and presenting answers to pertinent social work research questions. This paper describes one university's efforts to design and implement coursework opportunities for students to integrate the use of actual data to answer pertinent real-world research and evaluation questions.     

REVISITING A 90-YEAR-OLD DEBATE: THE ADVANTAGES OF THE MEAN DEVIATION

ABSTRACT:  This paper discusses the reliance of numerical analysis on the concept of the standard deviation, and its close relative the variance. It suggests that the original reasons why the standard deviation concept has permeated traditional statistics are no longer clearly valid, if they ever were. The absolute mean deviation, it is argued here, has many advantages over the standard deviation. It is more efficient as an estimate of a population parameter in the real-life situation where the data contain tiny errors, or do not form a completely perfect normal distribution. It is easier to use, and more tolerant of extreme values, in the majority of real-life situations where population parameters are not required. It is easier for new researchers to learn about and understand, and also closely linked to a number of arithmetic techniques already used in the sociology of education and elsewhere. We could continue to use the standard deviation instead, as we do presently, because so much of the rest of traditional statistics is based upon it (effect sizes, and the F-test, for example). However, we should weigh the convenience of this solution for some against the possibility of creating a much simpler and more widespread form of numeric analysis for many.     

If the past devours the future,why study? Piketty,social movements,and future directions for education

Abstract

In 2014, Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-first Century rocked the economic and political world, with its argument that inequality is destined to increase; in the field of education, however, this book has been almost entirely ignored. I argue that Piketty’s treatise is relevant to educational theories for three reasons: his rejection of meritocracy contributes to theories of social mobility; his critique of human capital theory provides fodder for debates about educational purpose; and his interdisciplinary analysis supports the political economy tradition in education. However, I also argue that it is necessary to move beyond the economic determinism in Piketty’s arguments, to explore the transformative potential of education as a consciousness-raising process, the agency of communities, the production process, and alternative solutions to inequality. I argue that education scholars should use the renewed interest in inequality generated by Piketty’s book to shift the dominant discourses about education, schools, and social justice.     

关于近代人力车夫群体的研究述评

人力车夫是近代底层社会群体的典型代表,是透视中国近代城市化曲折演进和社会嬗变的窗口,随着社会史研究的方兴未艾,这一问题逐渐受到了学术界的重视,其研究经历了三个阶段,即民国时期的社会学框架研究、20世纪八九十年代的政治史框架研究和新世纪城市史、社会史框架研究,虽成果斐然,但在史料的运用、视角的选择、地域的研究、方法的运用等方面尚有很大的发展空间,及时梳理该专题的学术史必将为研究的深入与拓展打下基础。