Engaging New Forms of Social Inquiry and Social Action

Evaluating the use of developmental action inquiry in constructing a problem‐based learning curriculum for pre‐registration nursing education in Hong Kong: a student perspective

“…While the scientific paradigm detaches the researcher from the researched subjects and values objectivity, the engaged paradigm values inquiries that span self (first‐person), face‐to‐face others (second‐persons) and people at a distance (third‐persons) and that integrate inquiry and action as practised in real‐time social living (Torbert 2000). As far as education is concerned, they support Boyer's (1990) notion of scholarship, that only when universities become ‘engaged universities’ will they be able ‘to continue the scientific enterprise to impact world problems in all their natural complexity’ (Sherman & Torbert 2000, p. 2).…”

“…In order to seek relevant answers that address issues the world faces today, Sherman and Torbert (2000) contend that the modern scientific paradigm that upholds empirical positivism has to give way to an engaged, participative paradigm for knowledge construction by combining social action and social inquiry. While the scientific paradigm detaches the researcher from the researched subjects and values objectivity, the engaged paradigm values inquiries that span self (first-person), face-to-face others (second-persons) and people at a distance (third-persons) and that integrate inquiry and action as practised in real-time social living (Torbert 2000).…”