Educational Research and the Science of Education

This paper argues that educational research has not created a science of education in the sense of amassing the body of knowledge, skills, and values that, once acquired, would certify a candidate as a professional teacher. Educational research has not developed a science of education due to: the rigid boundaries between disciplines, the masculinization of research and the feminization of teaching, and the legacy of the grandmasters, Thorndike, James, and Dewey. The contemporary acceptance of interdisciplinary work, the occupational liberation of women and the advent of computers, and the availability of senior investigators in many different disciplines may make it a propitious time to create a true science of education.