And the beat goes on....

And the beat goes on.... A recent article (Kohn, 2006) rekindled interest in a paper begunyears earlier but never completed. Stimulated by Mile Kohn'sobservations concerning the misuse or even abuse of research in theeducational community the author looks back over a lengthy career inacademe and laments that the discipline of education is still on theoutside looking in. ********** Although science has been defined and redefined over the centuries,at its core it is a human enterprise which has as its basic goal theformulation, understanding, and utilization of an accurate conceptualmodel of the universe. Education is a human enterprise, and education,too, has been defined and redefined. But the comparisons end. Ifeducation is a science, or if there is a science of education, its basicpurpose has thus far eluded searchers. Questions as to the nature ofeducation's ultimate goal or goals abound in the journals and mediaof today and may be traced as far back as Aristotle, and perhaps even tothe dawn of civilization. Unfortunately, the background noiseaccompanying the quest for Verb 1. quest for - go in search of or hunt for; "pursue a hobby"quest after, go after, pursuelook for, search, seek - try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of; "The police are searching for clues"; "They are searching for the educational truth is so loud that for allpractical purposes the search itself is doomed, for as few can profess pro��fess?v. pro��fessed, pro��fess��ing, pro��fess��esv.tr.1. To affirm openly; declare or claim: "a physics major to be scientists or to have done science, almost all have experiencededucation at one time or another. Thus, everyone (including the author!)lays claim to an experiential ex��pe��ri��en��tial?adj.Relating to or derived from experience.ex��peri��en expertise of sorts and has his or her pettheory as to what education is or ought to be. In the spring of 1969, the author was completing auniversity-coordinated internship internship/in��tern��ship/ (in��tern-ship) the position or term of service of an intern in a hospital. internship,n the course work or practicum conducted in a professional dental clinic. as a Supervisor of Science in a smallagricultural community in a moderately large northcentral state andliving in a two-room apartment on the northern end of a local motel. Asa participant in a National Science Foundation-sponsored Institute forScience Supervisors, and as a young man looking for Looking forIn the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. the next step in hisprofessional life, he needed to make a decision--return home to awaiting job as a high school chemistry teacher, look for a position as asupervisor of science, or stay at the university and enter the doctoralprogram. He chose the third alternative and, as a research fellow housedin the R & D Center at a major research university, soon committedto the quest for a theory of education based upon what has been shown tobe true as opposed to what someone hopes or believes to be true. Twosources, Thomas Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions anda chapter by Arthur Foshay in Harry Passow's Curriculum Crossroads,guided his early thinking. Kuhn's Theory Kuhn (1964), who wrote of the process by which science advances,was of the opinion that during periods of what he termed normal scienceall persons working in any given field were possessed of the sameparadigm--concepts, ideas, and opinions that pertained to the day-to-dayworkings of that field of study. He characterized the work of thescientist as puzzle-solving and noted that each individual operatesunder the same paradigm and under the conviction that any problem issolvable--the answer will come if only the investigator is clever andskillful skill��ful?adj.1. Possessing or exercising skill; expert. See Synonyms at proficient.2. Characterized by, exhibiting, or requiring skill. enough to do what no one has done before. Kuhn observed thatprogress during times of normal science is rapid because researcherschoose to concentrate on problems that will fail to be solved onlythrough their own shortcomings A shortcoming is a character flaw.Shortcomings may also be: Shortcomings (SATC episode), an episode of the television series Sex and the City . Troubles arise with the discovery ofresults which do not fit the existing paradigm. Such results, ifpersistent, may lead to an uneasy situation until the issue is resolvedor a new paradigm New ParadigmIn the investing world, a totally new way of doing things that has a huge effect on business.Notes:The word "paradigm" is defined as a pattern or model, and it has been used in science to refer to a theoretical framework. is formulated. If the new paradigm is incompatiblewith the one in place, a Kuhnian revolution occurs--the old paradigm isdiscarded and a new period of normal science is begun. Normal science istherefore, not random in its choice of direction but proceeds alongpredictable lines; and research, as Kuhn observes, "... is directedto the articulation of those phenomena and theories that the paradigmalready supplies." In other words Adv. 1. in other words - otherwise stated; "in other words, we are broke"put differently , investigators, freed from theneed to search for the paradigm itself, can devote their energies to thefilling of gaps in--or the logical extensions of--the existing order ofthings. At times when one paradigm is in the process of being replaced byanother, normal science makes little progress. Such periods are markedby insecurity and much debate over what Kuhn describes as"legitimate methods, problems, and standards of solution." Hefurther notes that, without the existence of a basic paradigm, all factspertaining per��tain?intr.v. per��tained, per��tain��ing, per��tains1. To have reference; relate: evidence that pertains to the accident.2. to a specific situation or phenomenon may be seen as equallyrelevant. The normal progression of an enterprise conforming to theabove conditions would be long periods of slow steady progressinterrupted at somewhat irregular intervals by shorter periods of littleprogress. Moreover, each long period would probably end at the time of(or close after) some truly unique discovery or innovation. From adistance, an observer might see progress in such a system as a functionof swift, isolated leaps. Through Kuhn's eyes one can see the period after Aristotle asnormal science of a kind. Disturbing data produced by Copernicus andconfirmed by Kepler were ultimately clarified by the new paradigm ofNewton. In like manner, the theories of Einstein were as foreign toNewton's physics as his had been to Aristotle's, andrelativity became the paradigm of the atomic age atomic agealso Atomic Agen.The current era as characterized by the discovery, technological applications, and sociopolitical consequences of nuclear energy. . Progress was similarin other areas in response to the contributions of Lavoisier, Pasteur,Darwin, Harvey, Maxwell, and others. In each case normal science, nowprovided a road map so to speak, could explore along any of the pathsindicated as long as it stayed on the map. A new paradigm, however,would constitute a different map, a different set of guidelines, and arelated period of new explorations. But, is the nature of scientific progress unique in the history ofmankind? Kuhn's theory had been anticipated and expanded to otherareas by Arthur Koestler Noun 1. Arthur Koestler - British writer (born in Hungary) who wrote a novel exposing the Stalinist purges during the 1930s (1905-1983)Koestler in The Act of Creation (1964). Commenting onthe cyclic cyclic/cyc��lic/ (sik��lik) pertaining to or occurring in a cycle or cycles; applied to chemical compounds containing a ring of atoms in the nucleus. cy��clicor cy��cli��caladj.1. nature of man's creative endeavors, Koestler had notedthat ... science, like poetry or architecture or painting, has its genres, 'movements,' schools, theories which it pursues with increasing perfection until the level of saturation is reached where all is done and said--and then embarks on a new approach, based on a different type of curiosity, a different scale of values. Foshay's Criteria And what of education, does it, too, have its genres, movements,schools, current and discarded theories regarding the proper functioningof schools? Writing in Curriculum Crossroads (1962), a collection ofessays on curriculum edited by Harry Passow and published by TeachersCollege Press of Columbia University Columbia University,mainly in New York City; founded 1754 as King's College by grant of King George II; first college in New York City, fifth oldest in the United States; one of the eight Ivy League institutions. , Arthur Foshay wrote that all truedisciplines possess a domain or area of concern, methods or rules ofprocedure for seeking and handling data and judging generalizations, anda history. He contended that of the three, the establishment of thehistory was most important, for it was from this history that both thedomain and rules of procedure evolved. Education, characterized in itsday-to-day workings by bandwagonism and an almost total unawareness ofits past, would seem to fail to meet Foshay's criteria. Speaking ofcurriculum, Kliebard (1968) observed that our "... inability or ourunwillingness to develop a sense of where we are in relation to where wehave been in curriculum has created a kind of astigmatism astigmatism(əstĭg`mətĭz'əm), type of faulty vision caused by a nonuniform curvature in the refractive surfaces—usually the cornea, less frequently the lens—of the eye. such that wecannot see the past for the present nor the present for the past." Does education have an agreed-upon domain? Pella (1975), implyingthat in trying to be all things for all people education had succeededin becoming nothing for a great many, portrayed the field as including"... all of pedagogy and educationese and all of commonsense." Koerner (1963), starting with the qualification thateducation, bound up as it is with the dreams and aspirations of allmankind, may be beyond accurate definition, questioned its mostfundamental of all assumptions--that most children are capable oflearning--in observing that "... there is no body of evidenceacceptable to most educationists to support this assumption, and it maywell be ill-founded." He then hedged his bet by adding "... onthe other hand, there is no cogent COGENT - COmpiler and GENeralized Translator evidence to support opposing orcontrasting views." Switching his attack to a perceived lack ofconsensus among educators as to proper directions and an establishedbody of knowledge, Koerner added that educators are free to explore anyquestion they wish about whatever they deem appropriate. Nock nock?n.1. The groove at either end of a bow for holding the bowstring.2. The notch in the end of an arrow that fits on the bowstring.tr.v. nocked, nock��ing, nocks1. (1932)cited what he termed as errors in the theory upon which education in theUnited States Education in the United States is provided mainly by government, with control and funding coming from three levels: federal, state, and local. School attendance is mandatory and nearly universal at the elementary and high school levels (often known outside the United States as the has been based. These he delineated de��lin��e��ate?tr.v. de��lin��e��at��ed, de��lin��e��at��ing, de��lin��e��ates1. To draw or trace the outline of; sketch out.2. To represent pictorially; depict.3. as "fantastic andimpractable" concepts of both equality and democracy, and a"fantastically exaggerated idea of the importance of literacy inassuring the support of a sound and enlightened public order." Nockbelieved that the United States' commitment to educate all personswas the flaw from which all educational problems emanated. It was hiscontention that serious education would be a waste of time for all but asmall percent of persons, and advocated vocational training for thepopulation in general. With respect to agreed upon Adj. 1. agreed upon - constituted or contracted by stipulation or agreement; "stipulatory obligations"stipulatorynoncontroversial, uncontroversial - not likely to arouse controversy methods or rules of procedure, Koerner(1963) cited the imprecision im��pre��cise?adj.Not precise.impre��cisely adv. of stated goals, disagreements as to plansfor their attainment, and the growth of a type of language unique toeducators as major characteristics of education. Pella (1972) seeminglyagreed in noting that the numerous and many times conflicting claimsmade over the years by a host of educational proponents and criticsalike "... have not and in most cases cannot be demonstrated."He added that due to "... inadequacies in conceptual vocabulary andframes of reference for assessment, the results of our research arecontradictory." Sounding the same theme in a 1966 publication, hesaid, "We are unable to communicate with each other because of thelack of meaningful conceptual constructs within the area." Earlier,Paul Hurd, speaking in Theory Into Action in Science Curriculum (NSTA NSTA National Science Teachers AssociationNSTA National School Transportation AssociationNSTA National Spasmodic Torticollis AssociationNSTA National Substitute Teachers Alliance (Fresno, California)1964), had observed that a fundamental problem in curriculum developmentwas the absence of a commonly held theory of education upon whichdecisions could be based, a position comparable to that voiced byGibboney (1989) who maintained that "... the corpus of educationalresearch provides nothing that advances comprehensive theory orpractice." The absence of Foshay's first two criteria would seem tonegate ne��gate?tr.v. ne��gat��ed, ne��gat��ing, ne��gates1. To make ineffective or invalid; nullify.2. To rule out; deny. See Synonyms at deny.3. the presence of the third, but that may not be the case. Is itthat we have no history, or have we merely ignored our history? Koerner(1963) proposed that education, along with business administration,social work, and a few other fields of study, came into being before itwas ready. Perhaps before time--and the subsequent history--had beengiven enough of a chance to provide the basic foundation of theory andpractice characteristic of more established areas. He was of the opinionthat education had assumed discipline status "... simply becauseenough people thought that [it] ought to be a separate field." Koerner's idea makes some sense. Certainly education hasborrowed heavily from some of the other social sciences, particularlypsychology, for much of its basic beliefs and methodologies.Outsiders--interested laymen and professionals from otherdisciplines--have markedly influenced the history of education in thiscountry. Indeed, in this nation we even place the governance of ourschools in the hands of local businessmen, lawyers, barbers, insurancesalesmen, and a host of other vested-interest representatives, manytimes with personal agendas diametrically di��a��met��ri��cal? also di��a��met��ricadj.1. Of, relating to, or along a diameter.2. Exactly opposite; contrary.di opposed to the best interestsof the schools themselves. One of the practices educators borrowed from psychology was itselfappropriated from the sciences. In an article devoted to the nature ofresearch in education, Gibboney (1989) attributed the quest forscientific objectivity to Descartes' seventeenth century attemptsat separating the act of measurement from the person doing themeasuring. Gibboney voiced the opinion that while the physical scienceshave advanced "... on the strong legs of measurement andmathematics," education and the other social sciences continue topursue "... a naive empiricism empiricism(ĕmpĭr`ĭsĭzəm)[Gr.,=experience], philosophical doctrine that all knowledge is derived from experience. For most empiricists, experience includes inner experience—reflection upon the mind and its that ignores ideas." Observingthat in a true science, findings must be related to theories, hecharacterized educational research as atheoretical a��the��o��ret��i��cal?adj.Unrelated to or lacking a theoretical basis. and noted that itspractitioners routinely mistake isolated facts for scientific truth.Koerner (1963) related education's seeming preoccupation withmeaningless quantification as an indication that in its quest forrespectability re��spect��a��bil��i��ty?n.The quality, state, or characteristic of being respectable.Noun 1. respectability - honorableness by virtue of being respectable and having a good reputationreputability it had fallen into the trap of scientism sci��en��tism?n.1. The collection of attitudes and practices considered typical of scientists.2. The belief that the investigative methods of the physical sciences are applicable or justifiable in all fields of inquiry. , and viewedreliance on the scientific method and the search for a science ofeducation as continuing reflections of concern for status andprofessionalism. It may be this same concern for image that promptedKliebard (NSSE NSSE National Survey of Student Engagement (Indiana University)NSSE National Study of School EvaluationNSSE National Special Security Event (US)NSSE National Security Special Event , 1988) to observe that the cyclic nature of school reformwas in some way tied to a breed of school administrator whose successand job security was largely determined by how well he kept the systemup-to-date, or prompted this author (Ogden, 1974) to deplore de��plore?tr.v. de��plored, de��plor��ing, de��plores1. To feel or express strong disapproval of; condemn: "Somehow we had to master events, not simply deplore them"thetendency for educational institutions "... to put ideas intopractice for the sake of innovation before researchers have providedthem a solid theoretical foundation." Neglected History George Sarton George Alfred Leon Sarton (1884-1956) was a Belgian-American polymath, historian of science, and father of the writer, May Sarton. He wrote the seminal classic works, History of Science, The Study of the History of Science (1952), the noted historian of science, observed that"no one should be recognized as a master in any subject that doesnot know at least the outline of its history." Ernst Mach Noun 1. Ernst Mach - Austrian physicist and philosopher who introduced the Mach number and who founded logical positivism (1838-1916)Mach (1893),the German scientist whose name has come to represent the speed ofsound, had earlier noted that those individuals who "... know theentire course of the development of science" will have a bettergrasp of any current situation than those who, "... limited intheir views to the age in which their own lives have been spent,contemplate merely the momentary mo��men��tar��y?adj.1. Lasting for only a moment.2. Occurring or present at every moment: in momentary fear of being exposed.3. Short-lived or ephemeral, as a life. trend that the course of intellectualevents takes at the present." In education, Bellack (1969) hasacknowledged the ahistorical a��his��tor��i��cal?adj.Unconcerned with or unrelated to history, historical development, or tradition: "All of this is totally ahistorical. nature of school curriculum development andObourn (1963) observed the past to be "... an ever-presentfoundation upon which a future must be built." If, indeed, it ispossible to "... create a dialogue not only among ourselves, butwith our professional forbears" as Kliebard (1962) suggests, whatmight such a dialogue reveal? Three theories as to the nature of the learning process had emergedprior to the turn of the twentieth century. The three, mentaldiscipline, natural unfoldment, and apperception apperception/ap��per��cep��tion/ (ap?er-sep��shun) the process of receiving, appreciating, and interpreting sensory impressions. ap��per��cep��tionn.1. , were speculative asopposed to empirical and were based upon assumptions as to man'smoral and actional makeup. Mental discipline, the oldest and for a whilethe most widely held, viewed education as the training of the mind. Inplace from the days of Plato and Aristotle, proponents saw knowledge asa body of universal truths. Benefit could not only be derived from thepossession of such knowledge, but also from the discipline that the minditself would derive as a result of the interaction. Natural unfoldment,stemming from the ideas of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Johann HeinrichPestalossi, broke from mental discipline in viewing the learner asbasically good rather than evil or neutral. Although both theoriesassumed an active nature for man--characteristics are inborn--theydiffered as to his moral nature and the role of the environment withrespect to developing or corrupting the individual. Apperception, asopposed to both mental discipline and natural unfoldment, assumed aneutral/passive nature and held that everything comes from the outside.Although the idea can be traced to Aristotle, John Locke'sseventeenth century Tabula Rasa tab��u��la ra��sa?n. pl. tab��u��lae ra��sae1. a. The mind before it receives the impressions gained from experience.b. The unformed, featureless mind in the philosophy of John Locke.2. or blank tablet theory gave itsubstance. Locke held that all information comes through the senses andis interpreted in light of what the organism has already experienced. ToLocke and to the followers followerssee dairy herd. of Johann Friederich Herbart, calledHerbartians, education should focus upon training the senses rather thanin disciplining the mind. (Bigge, 1971) Although both natural unfoldment and apperception had impactedAmerican education, particularly by making headway into the curriculumof the teacher-education institutions of the last half of the 1800s,mental discipline was still the standard by which subjects and studentswere judged. During the 1880s and 1890s, when its supposed benefitsbegan to be questioned, neither was able to fill the void or to counterthe serious charges levied by an experimentally-oriented cadre (company) CADRE - The US software engineering vendor which merged with Bachman Information Systems to form Cayenne Software in July 1996. ofpsychologists. Principles of Psychology The Principles of Psychology is a monumental text in the history of psychology, written by William James and published in 1890.There were four methods in James' psychology: analysis (i.e. , an 1890 book by William James Noun 1. William James - United States pragmatic philosopher and psychologist (1842-1910)James ,seriously questioned the claims of mental discipline advocates and, inso doing heralded the beginnings of behavioral theory. Was this arevolution? If mental discipline can be considered to have been aparadigm, then James' work seriously challenged it and set off aKuhnian debate. Whether the resulting new paradigm is again underquestion, or whether we have been in a between-paradigm period for thelast one hundred and twenty-five and counting years, or whether we arestill in search of a first paradigm, educational research continues toproduce inconsistent results. In the early decades of the twentieth century work by suchindividuals as Edward L. Thorndike and Louis Terman in measurementcoupled with advances in science and the related scientific movement inbusiness and industrial management, stimulated by the work of FrederickW. Taylor, caused educators of the time to try to adapt the methods ofstatistics and business efficiency to education. Writing in theSeventeenth Yearbook (NSSE, 1918), Thorndike noted that "whateverexists at all exists in some amount" and added that "... toknow it thoroughly involves knowing its quantity along with itsquality." Schoolmen, accordingly, sought to capture this image bystressing both quality and quantity in their product and in pursuing asupposedly-attainable science of education which David Snedden (1927),Professor of Education at Teachers College, Columbia, viewed as capableof providing the answers to questions involving selection of the bestmethodologies, capabilities of and the social needs of learners,advantages and disadvantages of various types of teacher training, andthe effects of time allotment, building utilization, and a number ofother unspecified factors. Increasingly, education came to employ the methods of businessmanagement and measurement in the conduct of its affairs. Education forSocial Efficiency became the catch-phrase of the times; objectivesreplaced the less-precise aims in course descriptions; and subcategoriesappeared for general, specific, immediate, and ultimate outcomes.Franklin Bobbitt, of the University of Chicago, was one who attainednational recognition in attempting to apply business efficiencyprocedures to education. Utilizing a technique called activity analysis;Bobbitt applied field-generated inventories of behaviors to curriculumdevelopment. In the Twenty-Sixth Yearbook (NSSE, 1927), he contendedthat the "... first step in curriculum-making is to formulate astatement of the activities which constitute a proper quality of humanliving." He then added, "These are the processes. They are thecurriculum." Callahan (1962) viewed the consequences of attempting to convertthe nation's schools to the business model as an-American tragedyin education. He saw the situation as one in which an emergingprofession, lacking a strong foundation of tradition and accepted waysof handling public pressure, found itself swept up in a nationalobsession. Following decades of concern for reform, a supposedresearch-based panacea Some antidote or remedy that completely solves a problem. Most so-called panaceas in this industry, if they survive at all, wind up sitting alongside and working with the products they were supposed to replace. from a prestigious sector of society, bearing theirresistibly appealing label of scientific management, and championed soextensively in the public media of the day, was impossible for astatus-seeking cadre of top educators to resist. Callahan viewed theheart of the tragedy to be the "... adoption of values andpractices indiscriminately and applying them with little or noconsideration of educational values or purposes"--applyingattitudes and procedures found to be successful in the production andsale of things and services to the education of children. Accordingly,emphasis came to be on that which was most measurable (cost) as opposedto the product (an educated child), and the paying public loved it! Of additional importance were the parallel but related efforts ofother educators in changing normal schools to colleges, colleges touniversities, and in the creation of the Doctor of Education degree.These efforts were not in and of themselves harmful, but, inCallahan's words, by labeling its accounting procedures scientific,educational leaders had "... built an empire of professionalcourses on a foundation of sand." Given such a foundation, and theprevailing attitude of many doctoral dissertation directors that anypractical school problem could tightly be studied under the umbrella ofscientific investigation, Callahan was probably justified incharacterizing much subsequent educational research as a dissent intotrivia. Koerner (1963) may have been a bit harsher in noting that manygraduate programs of the time turned out both school personnel andfuture professors of education who were what he saw as the very"... antithesis antithesis(ăntĭth`ĭsĭs), a figure of speech involving a seeming contradiction of ideas, words, clauses, or sentences within a balanced grammatical structure. Parallelism of expression serves to emphasize opposition of ideas. of the liberally educated person." Callahannoted that for years to come, through their own efforts and those oftheir students, such professors would control the direction of educationand educational research to maintain that which he characterized as thecult of efficiency. Conclusions Kliebard (1968) observed that "each generation [of educators]is left to discover anew a��new?adv.1. Once more; again.2. In a new and different way, form, or manner.[Middle English : a, of (from Old English of; see of) + new the persistent and perplexing per��plex?tr.v. per��plexed, per��plex��ing, per��plex��es1. To confuse or trouble with uncertainty or doubt. See Synonyms at puzzle.2. To make confusedly intricate; complicate. problems thatcharacterize the field." Is the current generation any closer toresolving them than when its ancestors AncestorsSee also father; heredity; mother; origins; parents; race.archaisman inclination toward old-fashioned things, speech, or actions, especially those of one’s ancestors. Also archaicism. — archaist, n. grasped at the first straw? Iseducation a discipline? Probably not, but it seems to be based upondisciplines. Is education a science? It doesn't seem to be. Is ascience of education possible? The answer is probably no. Can educationbe studied scientifically? The answer is probably yes ... but withmodification. Like it or not, education is a human enterprise with all thefrailties, tribulations, and triumphs that that designation suggests. Inher excellent 2000 publication. An Elusive Science, the title of whichsubsumes much of the content of the current manuscript, Ellen CondliffeLagemann correctly points out that "... successful innovations ineducation are more dependent on entrepreneurship than on the validity ofthe research that supports them." In an earlier issue of thisjournal the author (Ogden, 2002) also noted "... curriculum andmethodology matter nothing if not put into play by a competent, caringteacher." First, educators need to realize that the behavioralmodel--which fails to even consider the possibility that organisms canthink--while apparently satisfactory for dogs, pigeons, rats, and othermore conditionable life forms, is probably of limited use with humanbeings. In electing to concentrate only upon observable behavior,researchers have made the assumption, which Gibboney (1989) has sosuccinctly suc��cinct?adj. suc��cinct��er, suc��cinct��est1. Characterized by clear, precise expression in few words; concise and terse: a succinct reply; a succinct style.2. captured, that" ... visual acuity visual acuityn.Sharpness of vision, especially as tested with a Snellen chart. Normal visual acuity based on the Snellen chart is 20/20.Visual acuityThe ability to distinguish details and shapes of objects. compensates for themisdirected eye." In other words, researchers are focusing uponsurface data and ignoring the underlying conditions which may, or maynot, produce it. Even astronomers Famous astronomers and astrophysicists include:Directory: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZAMarc Aaronson (USA, 1950 – 1987) George Ogden Abell (USA, 1927 – 1983) question if that which is observableat the surface of a star is an accurate indication of conditions in itsinterior. Much of educational research is concerned with surfacephenomena--class size, time on task, size of school, ability grouping ability groupingn.1. The practice of placing students with others with comparable skills or needs, as in classes or in groups within a class.2. See tracking. ,and methodology employed--to the exclusion of that which really matters:the interaction among student, subject matter, and teacher that produceslearning. Why? Because it's vastly easier to apply numbers to thatwhich is observable--think quantifiable, think (gasp) trivial. What has time revealed with respect to most of the variablesstudied? Has Snedden's belief in the potential value of researchbeen realized? One of the most depressing answers is contained in J.M.Stephens' 1968 publication The Process of Schooling. Chapter seven,"The Constancy con��stan��cy?n.1. Steadfastness, as in purpose or affection; faithfulness.2. The condition or quality of being constant; changelessness.Noun 1. of the School's Accomplishment,"delineates factor after factor for which years of research have yieldedapproximately equal numbers of conflicting studies plus larger numbersof studies reporting no significant difference. The conclusion seems tobe that regardless of what they are taught, and why or how they aregrouped, instructed, or tested, kids seem to show pretty much the sameadvances. Although Stephens' book was published in 1968, little hasbeen revealed in the intervening years to contradict his findings.Either the tests are not measuring correctly, are measuring the wrongthings Wrong Things is a collaborative short-fiction collection by Poppy Z. Brite and Caitlin R. Kiernan, released by Subterranean Press in 2001. This short hardback includes one solo story by each author and one story written in collaboration, as well as an afterword by Kiernan. , the factors researchers have been studying don't make muchof a difference, or (back to Kuhn) in the absence of a basic paradigm,all arguments may seem equally relevant--or irrelevant! Second, if educators must (and by now the use of measurement ineducational information gathering approaches what Tevye from Fiddler onthe Roof would characterize as tradition) apply statistical analyses toour research efforts, let's be a little more correct in their usageand let's be a little more realistic in our expectations. Use ofparametric statistics Parametric statistics are statistics where the population is assumed to fit any parametrized distributions (most typically the normal distribution).Parametric inferential statistical methods are mathematical procedures for statistical hypothesis testing which assume that is completely inappropriate below the intervallevel of measurement, where the difference between ranks is known andusually equal, yet, they are many times employed in the analysis ofordinal (mathematics) ordinal - An isomorphism class of well-ordered sets. or even nominal data nominal dataa type of data in which there are limited categories but no order. . Additionally, if external variables are sodifficult, if not impossible to hold constant, why are researchers soriveted into the .05 or .01 levels on tests of significance? Why not .50or .70? Wouldn't teachers find something helpful if, with limitednumbers of subjects and in the absence of controlled variables,expectations were a bit less stringent? An article by Frymier andassociates (1989) discussed the results of a study involvingsimultaneous replication and proposed the technique as a useful one forconducting large-scale research. Smaller confidence intervals confidence interval,n a statistical device used to determine the range within which an acceptable datum would fall. Confidence intervals are usually expressed in percentages, typically 95% or 99%. might befeasible in simultaneous replications where the total number ofparticipants would be large. Remember--the smaller the number ofsubjects, the larger an effect needs to be to show statisticalsignificance--and vise versa. One of the fundamental problems involved in trying to force aphysical science research model onto investigations involving humanbeings is that controls cannot be governed as rigidly--students, unlikebacteria or mice or molecules, do not exist in a tightly regulatedenvironment in which all variables but the one under study can be heldconstant. Moreover, scientific replication, a hallmark of the hardsciences, in education and other social sciences is almost nonexistent non��ex��is��tence?n.1. The condition of not existing.2. Something that does not exist.non .Acknowledging that even if true replication was attempted it would bedifficult to achieve, Frymier's team rightfully pointed out thatmost educational research is purposefully pur��pose��ful?adj.1. Having a purpose; intentional: a purposeful musician.2. Having or manifesting purpose; determined: entered the room with a purposeful look. modified to fit localconditions--procedural changes, time constraints In law, time constraints are placed on certain actions and filings in the interest of speedy justice, and additionally to prevent the evasion of the ends of justice by waiting until a matter is moot. , modification ofinstruments, and the like. Nevertheless, simultaneous replication,conducting identical studies at the same relative time in a number ofdifferent locations, can be a reasonable and workable method forstudying a problem, A second technique referred to in the Frymier article was that ofmeta-analysis-comparison of similar studies conducted independently andmost likely at different locations and times. While meta-analysis,coming as it does after-the-fact, cannot control variables as tightly asin simultaneous replication, it, too, is a workable method of makingcomparisons among related studies; and both may prove to be useful inmoving education from the fact to the theory or principle level. Reprise re��prise?n.1. Musica. A repetition of a phrase or verse.b. A return to an original theme.2. A recurrence or resumption of an action.tr.v. And, as the old Sonny and Cher song suggests, the beat goes on. Inthe absence of demonstrable de��mon��stra��ble?adj.1. Capable of being demonstrated or proved: demonstrable truths.2. Obvious or apparent: demonstrable lies. evidence supporting ideas for educationalpractice, the voice of authority--or maybe just the voice of someonewith strong vocal chords--still rings loud! In the rapidly approachingforty years that have passed since that spring of 1969, and as the nownot so young man now contemplates retirement from a career that hasspanned all levels of the educational ladder, are educators any closerto the millennium their counterparts of the first third of this centuryenvisioned or does the search continue? Assuming that education, likescience and poetry and architecture and painting, is a human activitytaking place in human society, and remembering Kuhn's (1964)contention that in the absence of a basic paradigm any and all argumentsmay be seen as equally relevant, can education be seen as an enterprisein search of (maybe "lacking" is better) a basic paradigm?Acknowledging the contention (Koerner, 1963) that education became afield of study before the years and "countless individual and groupefforts" had evolved "... a substantial body of specializedknowledge of proven worth and techniques for continued investigation andadvancement of the subject," and that as such it fails to meetFoshay's (1962) criteria for a "true discipline," are wein education simply to hang our collective head and go away? Probablynot ... but maybe it's time It's Time was a successful political campaign run by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) under Gough Whitlam at the 1972 election in Australia. Campaigning on the perceived need for change after 23 years of conservative (Liberal Party of Australia) government, Labor put forward a we put egos aside and listened to theevidence! References Bigge, M.L. (1971) Learning theories for teachers. New York New York, state, United StatesNew York,Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of : Harper& Row. Callahan, R.E. (1963) Education and the cult of efficiency.Chicago: University of Chicago Pess. Foshay, A. (1962) in Passow, H. Curriculum crossroads, New York:Teachers College Press. Frymier, J., L. Barber, B. Gansneder and N. Robertson (1989)Simultaneous replication: technique for large-scale research. Phi DeltaKappan. 71(3), 228-231. Gibboney, R.A (1989) The unscientific unscientificUnproven, see there character of educationalresearch. Phi Delta Kappan. 71 (3), 225-227. Kliebard, H. (1962) in Witt, P.F.W. Technology and the curriculum,New York: Teachers College Press. Kliebard, H. (1968) Curricular objectives and evaluation: Areassessment ReassessmentThe process of re-determining the value of property or land for tax purposes.Notes:Property is usually reassessed on an annual basis. You may request a "reassessment" if you disagree with your assessment. . The High School Journal. 51 (3), 241-47. Kohn, A. (2006) Abusing research: The study of homework and otherexamples. Phi Delta Kappan. 88(1), 9-22. Koerner, J.D. (1963) The miseducation of American teachers. Boston:Houghton Mifflin Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. The company's headquarters is located in Boston's Back Bay. It publishes textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers Company. Koestler, A. (1964) The act of creation. New York: Dell PublishingCompany. Kuhn, T. (1964) The structure of scientific revolutions. Chicago:University of Chicago Press The University of Chicago Press is the largest university press in the United States. It is operated by the University of Chicago and publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including The Chicago Manual of Style, dozens of academic journals, including . Lagemann, E.C. (2000) An elusive science, Chicago: University ofChicago Press. National Science Teachers Association (1964) Theory into action inscience curriculum practice. Washington, D.C.: NSTA. National Society for the Study of Education (1918) The seventeenthyearbook of the national society for the study of education. Chicago:University of Chicago Press. National Society for the Study of Education (1927) The twenty-sixthyearbook of the national society for the study of education. Chicago:University of Chicago Press. National Society for the Study of Education (1988) Theeighty-seventh yearbook of the national society for the study ofeducation. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Nock, AJ. (1932) The theory of education in the united states. NewYork: Harcourt, Brace and Company. Obourn, E.S. (1963) Prologue pro��loguealso pro��log ?n.1. An introduction or preface, especially a poem recited to introduce a play.2. An introduction or introductory chapter, as to a novel.3. An introductory act, event, or period. to the future. Journal of Research inScience Teaching. 1(1), 10-11. Ogden, W.R. (1974) Objecting to the behavior. Theory into Practice.13(1), 54-57. Ogden, W.R. (2002) The real crisis in the classroom: Where have allthe teachers gone?" Education, 123 (2), 365-369,374. Pella, M. (1966) A structure for science teaching. Journal ofResearch in Science Teaching. 4(4), 251. Pella, M. (1972, March) Scientific literacy According to the United States National Center for Education Statistics, scientific literacy is the knowledge and understanding of scientific concepts and processes required for personal decision making, participation in civic and cultural affairs, and economic productivity. within the framework ofscience. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the NationalAssociation for Research in Science Teaching, Los Angeles Los Angeles(lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . Sarton, G. (1952) A history of science. New York: John Wiley John Wiley may refer to: John Wiley & Sons, publishing company John C. Wiley, American ambassador John D. Wiley, Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison John M. Wiley (1846–1912), U.S. &Sons, Inc. Snedden, D. (1927) What's wrong with American education?Philadelphia: LB. Lippincott Company. Stephens, J.M. (1968) The process of schooling. New York: Holt,Rinehart, and Winston, Inc. William R. Ogden, Professor, Educational Leadership, Text A&MUniversity-Commerce. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Dr.William R. Ogden at bill_ogden@tamu-commerce.edu.