Practical criticism of the art of conversation: A methodological critique

If conversation is a practical art, then a discipline that studies conversation should “assume the full burden of the critic. “In an effort to clarify and extend this notion, the present essay offers a tentative account of the methodological requirements of practical criticism, and examines six research studies representing various methodological approaches from that perspective. The critique suggests both the unique contributions of each method and the necessity for intense interaction among methods within the framework of a critical discipline.     

Examining thought in action: A theoretical and methodological critique of research on interactive teaching

The current status and condition of theory and method related to research on interactive teaching is examined using conceptions from cognitive psychological theory, sociolinguistics, and research on professional thinking. Specifically, the conception of teacher-as-decision-maker and the method of stimulated recall are critiqued as means for understanding and researching teachers' thinking-in-action. It is suggested that these be replaced with a conception of teacher-as-professional and a multimethod research approach combining constitutive ethnography, microanalysis of psychological tasks, and in-depth knowledge interviews.     

Learning Hierarchies: a critique

Learning hierarchies have received much attention from developmental and instructional psychologists. This article notes that conceptual confusions and methodological deficiencies occur in much of the research so far published. The conceptual confusions concern the terminology used; the ‘likelihood’ or ‘causal’ relationships between elements in the hierarchy; the distinction between ‘prerequisition’ and ‘positive transfer'; the distinction between single pieces of learning and classes of learning; the inclusivity of hierarchical relationships. The methodological deficiencies arise from an inability to measure ‘causal’ relationships; the omission of measurements of ‘positive transfer'; the difficulty of measuring the range of possible relationships within a hierarchy; the need to remove instructional effects from hierarchy validation studies. It is concluded that these confusions and deficiencies preclude data from learning hierarchy studies from being used to diagnose learning failure and in test construction. Suggestions for alternatives to, and improvements on, current methods are made.     

Education for the Environment: a critique

This paper acknowledges that, in many contexts, the term ‘education for the environment’ has generated powerful images which have resonated with educators seeking empowerment for themselves and their students. We also acknowledge that it has enabled inquiry into socio‐political dimensions of environmental issues. However, we propose that this term has become a slogan and, as such, its use has been insufficiently problematised. We identify anomalies and inconsistencies associated with the use of ‘education for the environment.’ Further, we argue that the term is conceptually and linguistically flawed and that we may not need, or want, the structures that it imposes. In challenging, rather than casually accepting, this terminology, we seek to regenerate a fundamental dimension of the discourse within environmental education.     

Postmodernist perceptions of teacher professionalism: a critique

This is an era of significant government involvement in schools in England, despite consistent rhetoric from the Department of Education to the contrary. In such a period, signs can be detected of the juncture between a postmodern identity and post-professional status, two models of teacher professionalism supposed in Hargreaves’ work on the fourth age of professionalism. This paper focuses on the former as the nature of the contemporary context. Defining features of postmodernity are considered through a focus on the broad issue of teacher professionalism. For this paper, this is embodied by teachers’ involvement with the development of the Primary National Curriculum for England. Evidence will be drawn from just before its 1988 introduction until 2013 in order to critique several of the key tenets of postmodernity as identified by Hargreaves. This is of particular importance in a context where a strong defence is necessary to enable the sustainment, and growth, of teachers’ professional autonomy. This paper aims to propose some strategies teachers could enact in the face of postmodern challenges.     

The Business Studies Sandwich Degree: a critique

ABSTRACT

This article examines the case for the sandwich degree as the flagship for undergraduate business education in the UK and uses a range of available, but limited, evidence to show that the history of the practical implementation of the concept is such as to undermine its credibility. The theoretical benefits of the sandwich year are not delivered in practice, especially for students. The costs to students and to the public purse appear to outweigh the alleged benefits. The article uses existing published sources to cast doubt on the wisdom of pursuing the sandwich concept but concludes that available evidence is sketchy and inconclusive. Further research is planned at Bolton Business School to identify the impact of the business studies graduate on the labour market and alternative models for the development of business and personal competencies.     

Classroom teacher effectiveness research: a conceptual critique

Teacher effectiveness research now informs the rationale of much Australian education policy aimed at redressing student under‐achievement. The approach draws a ‘straight line’ between teacher practice and student outcomes, ‘controlling’ for and ultimately dismissive of other possible influences. The paper calls into question this conception of teaching–learning relations, particularly the extent to which teaching practice can be reasonably quantified and improvements in students' academic achievement can be solely attributed to and/or sole responsibility placed on the pedagogic strategies employed by teachers. Drawing on the theoretical resources of Foucault and Bourdieu, the paper argues further that teacher effectiveness research is flawed in both means and ends. It concludes that in its ranking of student and teacher performance, such research actually works against the purposes of education; specifically, authentic teaching and learning.     

Experience in Adult Education: a post-modern critique

ABSTRACT The concepts of experience and experiential learning are of critical significance in both the study and practice of adult education. Adults are seen as uniquely characterised by their experience, experiential learning an alternative to didactic and knowledge-based modes of education. In this paper a critique is presented of the powerful discourse of the autonomous subject based on humanistic psychology which, it is argued, has shaped adult education in a misleading, inappropriate and unhelpful way. A postmodern perspective drawing on Continental philosophy is utilised. The 'situated' subject provides a conception of subjectivity and experience which preserves a needed dimension of agency whilst avoiding psychologism and individualism.     

Values and Health Education: a critique of individualism

Contemporary health education and promotion programmes are criticised for their confused and equivocal value positions. Where any recognisably distinct moral stance is discernible in current approaches, this is typically supported by an appeal to some form of individualistic ethics which has its roots in the traditional medical model of health and illness. It is argued that value‐neutral and information based strategies should be replaced by programmes with clearly articulated and rationally supported value foundations. The hidden curriculum of individualism in health education is attacked on the grounds that it fails to acknowledge the structural inequalities in society which effectively determine the health of individuals. In its place a social model of practice, incorporating an analysis of the socio‐economic determinants of health and illness, is recommended, and this is supported by appeals to utilitarian ethics and to social morality and justice.     

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Reading Recovery: a critique

This paper attempts to examine critically evaluation studies concerned with the implementation of Reading Recovery, an intensive individualised early intervention programme, by focusing on teacher, child and systemic change. Some conceptual and methodological shortcomings which have characterised many evaluations to date are discussed, together with ways in which these weaknesses could be redressed in future studies.     

’Loosely Coupled’ Schools: a structuralist critique

The ascendant model of the school in the specialist administrative and organisational literature is the ‘loosely coupled’ system. There are, however, ambiguities in the way this model has been applied, whether as a research tool or as a theoretical device to mark out institutions such as hospitals, schools and prisons where the elements of functional analysis (goals, technology, structure) have no predictive interdependence. The irony that a model which derives from biological and cybernetic thinking should become a tool of demystification of orthodox functional theory is interesting in itself and perhaps points to a major conceptual weakness in its formulation and application. It is argued that ambiguities in the model can be addressed by a structuralist approach which distinguishes the surface features of looseness from the more determining patterns of the inter‐relationship between rules and rituals within either the institutional or the technical ‘core’ of school organisation.     

Making the invisible visible: a methodological and a substantive issue

This article discusses the issue of ‘making the invisible visible’ from a methodological and a substantive viewpoint. The ideas emerged from a doctoral research study into individual target setting with middle ability students in an English secondary school. The students involved had been identified by assessments as ‘average’ and by their teachers as quiet, unnoticed children. It is suggested that the methods used by the researcher to elicit the students' perceptions could also be used by teachers in order to engage these quiet students in a learning discourse.