Philosophy of Educational Research

Richard Pring is Emeritus Professor at the Department of Education, and Emeritus Fellow of Green Templeton College, University of Oxford, UK. He was Lead Director of the six year Nuffield Review of 14-19 Education and Training for England and Wales, and until 2003, Professor of Educational Studies, University of Oxford, UK, where he was Director of the Department. He is the author of John Dewey (2007), Philosophy of Education: Aims, Theory, Common Sense and Research (2004), Education for All (edited, 2009), The Life and Death of Secondary Education for All (2012) and Evidence-Based Practice in Education (edited with Gary Thomas, 2005).

Clear, comprehensive and highly readable, the third edition of this core text revisits certain education issues in the light of recent policy debate and development. For readers looking to understand philosophy of educational research the book is up-to-date and accessible: it remains in a class of its own.

• Foreword to Third Edition 1. Setting the scene: criticisms of educational research 2. Doing philosophy: defining what you mean 3. The focus of educational research: practice and policy 4. Research methods: philosophical issues they raise 5. Quantitative and qualitative research: a false dualism 6. Key concepts and recurring conflicts 7. Competing philosophical positions 8. Research into practice: action and practitioner research 9. Quality of educational research 10. Ethical dimensions to educational research 11. Political context of educational research 12. Conclusion: the nature and future of educational research Bibliography Index