In Defence of Ideas, or Why 'What Works' is Not Enough

Atkinson, Elizabeth

doi:10.1080/713655359

Cited by 80 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Atkinson (2000) argues that such a preoccupation with tangible evidence on the part of funders and policy developers can lead to a limited view of learning and teaching. In such a view ideas such as the value of doubt are not entertained and do not fit with the epistemological stance that evidence provides certainty.…”

Section: Teaching Students and Teacher Educators To Doubtmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dead Certainty? The Case for Doubt in Teacher Education.

Schuck

Buchanan

2012

AJTE

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Section: Teaching Students and Teacher Educators To Doubtmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dead Certainty? The Case for Doubt in Teacher Education.

Schuck

Buchanan

2012

AJTE

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“…Why what works is not enough Atkinson (2000) strongly contests Hargreaves' claims to a lack of theoretical basis for teacher day-to-day thinking and practice. Atkinson believes strongly that the 'what works' notion does not take into account the complexity of the personal, social and cultural world in which teachers move or the thinking processes that inform their pedagogy (2000, p. 323).…”

Section: The Engineering Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Educational research for professional practice: More than providing evidence for doing ‘x rather than y’ or finding the ‘size of the effect of A on B’

Rogers

2003

Aust. Educ. Res.

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Educational research has been criticised by governments and practitioners. For some politicians and policy makers, there is a tendency to look for direct links between research and successful, effective and efficient practice.Research is needed to inform their evidence-based practice as policy makers, and to provide the kind of research teachers need to base their practice on the best available evidence for doing 'x rather than y' (Hargreaves 1996) or predicting the 'size of the effect of A on B' (Blunkett 2000). There is no doubt that both teachers and policy makers do make decisions on a daily basis based on some form of evidence. This paper explores Hargreaves' notion of evidencebased practice, providing a range of criticisms. It also examines Carr's historical account of 'praxis' and 'poiesis' to suggest a notion of evidencebased praxis based partly on the historical notion of 'phronesis' -practical wisdom. The basis for this is the argument that wise and practical ethical and moral judgements are central to an understanding of teachers' daily work. What to do in a specific educational situation cannot be determined solely by theoretical beliefs or by 'techne'. However the ethical dimension is not the only consideration. The paper suggests that evidence-based praxis use Stenhouse's notion of 'actionable evidence', which includes the ethical dimension, but also Thomson's concept of 'thisness', which describes the unique contextual characteristics of a school. If disadvantaged schools can make some sort of difference to learning opportunities for students, it is argued that teachers might engage in evidence-based praxis which involves them in reflecting on, and theorising what is happening in classrooms, schools and neighbourhoods. This 'praxis' also involves them in modifying their theories, critically analysing •65The Australian Educational Researcher, Volume 30, Number 2, August 2003 'what works', questioning how they know and developing ideas about how things might be done differently. There will be an element of developing knowledge about teaching and learning strategies (Hargreaves' 'body of knowledge'), but it will be in the context of the ethical and moral dilemmas associated with education. It will take up the question of local differences as well as a realistic approach to what constitutes actual school improvement. Evidence-based praxis is also essentially a collective activity not an individual approach. Future development of the notion of evidence-based praxis might also include involving students in a more reciprocal and open learning process like that highlighted by researchers who focus on student participation linked to school reform.

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“…Whatever the legitimacy of these general denunciations of educational research -and they have been rigorously contested (see, for example, Hammersley, 1997;Atkinson, 2000; but see Lagemann, 2000) -the strident criticisms noted above have led to a number of developments in the UK (some of which reflect developments taking place more widely) that will undoubtedly impact on the conduct of research in education in general, and in mathematics education in particular, over the coming years. These emerging developments are examined in the concluding parts of this chapter.…”

Section: Research In Mathematics Education Volumementioning

confidence: 99%

Research in Mathematics Education: Some Issues and Some Emerging Influences

Jones

Morgan

2001

Research in Mathematics Education

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Research carried out by members of the British Society for Research in Mathematics Education (BSRLM) is not only grounded in knowledge of developments in the field and of mathematics classrooms and other sites where mathematics teaching and learning occurs, but is also influenced by developments in education generally (in both practice and policy) and in closely related fields such as psychology and sociology, as well as mathematics itself. Recent research, such as that contained in this volume of BSRLM research papers, has been undertaken against a backdrop of severe criticism of the quality of education research in general, although little of this criticism appears to have been especially directed at mathematics education research. Nevertheless, emerging UK and international developments, some a direct consequence of the general criticisms of educational research, are likely to have a considerable impact on educational research in general, and on research in mathematics education in particular, in the coming years.The purpose of this chapter is to introduce the papers in this collection of extended research reports from BSRLM [1]. We do that by first reviewing the general criticisms of educational research, looking briefly at the (possible) relationships between research, policy and practice. We then locate this collection of research papers in relation to some of these issues. As research in education is coming under increasing scrutiny it is appropriate to consider the likely impact of emerging research policy developments. These are considered in the second part of this chapter USES AND ABUSES OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCHUsers of educational research are, it is claimed, most interested in 'what works'. Griffin (2001), for instance, has observed that the types of 'products' of research in the social sciences that best meet the needs of policy makers are:• those that provide answers;• those that provide clear questions in the absence of clear answers;• those that demonstrate a clear accumulation of findings over time;• those that can be distilled to a single set of bullets. Teachers, according to Desforges (2000), want the following from education research:• standard and stable models of learning;• coherent, organised, well-established findings;• vibrant working examples of success; Research in Mathematics Education volume 3• research results converted as far as possible into the technologies of educationinto curriculum or other pedagogic materials. Desforges argues that teachers "cannot work with models that change with the wind" and that they "do not have time for literature searches or for refined academic debates". He also suggests that, for teachers, "That something works is one thing. Examples of how it can be got to work are crucial." (p.3, emphasis in the original) Such observations indicate ways in which educational research is said be useful, providing, for example, evidence that can inform both policy and practice. Yet, as Edwards notes:

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In Defence of Ideas, or Why 'What Works' is Not Enough

Cited by 80 publications

References 34 publications

Dead Certainty? The Case for Doubt in Teacher Education.

Dead Certainty? The Case for Doubt in Teacher Education.

Educational research for professional practice: More than providing evidence for doing ‘x rather than y’ or finding the ‘size of the effect of A on B’

Research in Mathematics Education: Some Issues and Some Emerging Influences

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