Complexity and Truth in Educational Research

Abstract

This paper considers the impact of complexity theory on the way in which we see propositions corresponding to the reality that they describe, and our concept of truth in that context. A contingently associated idea is the atomistic expectation that we can reduce language to primitive units of meaning, and tie those in with agreed units of experience. If we see both language and the reality that it describes and explains as complex, this position becomes difficult to maintain. Complexity theory, with its emphasis on non-linear and dynamic interactions between multiple variables, within indeterminate and transient systems, supports the case for a connectionist and holistic analysis. Theories are more likely to be under-determined by evidence and open to interpretation, with the potential for 'certainties' weakened. If educational situations are complex, then the drive towards specific and focused research findings that will support policy and practice, and the associated notion of control, is illusory. Rather than providing evidence for prescription, research is thus understood as descriptive and explanatory, within a range of interpretative possibilities. Action takes place within a necessarily incomplete and constantly changing situation, more appropriately understood in terms of survival than control.

Envisioning Complexity: Towards a New Conceptualization of Educational Research for Sustainability

“…As it was implicated before, the educational research from the complexity point of view is necessarily connected with theoretical, paradigmatic and methodological pluralism. Complexity paradigm asks for the qualitative research complementing the quantitative studies and establishment of hermeneutic social science that would describe and explain the dynamics of social systems as complex adaptive systems mainly in terms of communication and information flow and their constitutive impact on clusters of possible causes and effects (Horn, 2008;Radford, 2008).…”

Just UnDo It: Men Faculty Addressing Gender Inequities in Academia

“…The complex critical framework that undergirds the A&A Program directs explicit recognition of the harms of a gendered hierarchy for both men and women while simultaneously highlighting the benefits inherent in inclusive/diverse groups (Dailey-Hebert & Dennis, 2015;Kania & Kramer, 2013;Radford, 2008;Semetsky, 2008). This analysis reveals that men benefit from cultural and institutional changes that benefit women (J. L. Smith et al, 2017), and thereby provides a compelling path forward for addressing gender inequities.…”

Siete vo vzdelávaní: možnosti využitia analýzy sociálnych sietí v pedagogickom výskume

“…Jednou z najčastejších výhrad je fakt, že sociálne fenomény sú tak komplexné a navzájom prepojené, že odmerať a popísať všetky ich súčasti je prakticky nemožné. Čo však sociálne vedy robiť môžu a robiť by mali, je využiť dostupné prostriedky a prinášať nové zistenia, ktoré ak aj nebudú odrážať objektívnu pravdu, budú sa k nej aspoň približovať (Radford, 2008). Analýza sociálnych sietí (social network analysis -SNA) má potenciál takýmto prostriedkom byť a na množstvo fenoménov sociálneho sveta priniesť nový -realistickejší pohľad.…”