Education, Epistemology and Critical Realism

This book addresses fundamental questions in relation to education and its epistemology. The position taken by the author is critical realist; and thus throughout the relationship between education and critical realism is foregrounded. Themes and issues that surface at different times in the book are: a critical realist view of education research; a resolution of the quantitative/qualitative divide; criteria for judging the worth of educational texts and practices; differences between scientific and critical realisms; empirical research methods in education; structure-agency relationships; pragmatist views of educational research; foundations and paradigmatic differences; and educational critique and transformation.

David Scott is Professor of Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment at the Institute of Education, University of London. He has previously worked at the universities of Warwick, Southampton and Lincoln. His most recent book is Critical Essays on Major Curriculum Theorists published by Routledge.