‘Scientific’ Research in Education

Abstract

This chapter explores the nature of research in Education, in the light of a broad post-positivist notion of science and scientific research. It is not suggested that all educational research must be seen as ‘scientific’, but rather the chapter argues that educational research can be ‘scientific’, and some of it should be consid- ered that way. The chapter begins by considering how ‘science’ itself is currently understood and demarcated, before considering the nature of research in Education and the so-called paradigms of educational research. This provides a basis for exploration of some key basic epistemological and methodological issues, as they are understood in relation to the natural sciences, which will be drawn upon later in the context of educational research. Exploring how a post-positivist notion of science can encompass research in Education illuminates the types of criteria that educational research must match to be considered as scientific.