Methods, interpretations, and different views of aspirations

摘要: Ellen Brantlinger's paper in the last issue of lnterchange--"What Low-Income Parents Want from Schools" raises methodological scholarship and class bias interpretations aspirations schooling. An article penned by Diana Crane late 1960s---"Fashion Science: Does It Exist?"---comes to mind as a useful way start discussion. Crane's title, I believe, came closer truth than did her analysis: fashion, false starts, data framed their own generative categories are part parcel inquiry. Science method is built upon scepticism, provisionality, tentativeness, specification conditionalities, and, above all, uncertainty. only within these constraints that logic, empiricism, parsimony findings, like give up provisional "truths." But can become kind cult itself which, ultimately, undermines understanding. In social sciences, we witness an irrational belief power regression "scientific," if numbers themselves could be treated understood prima facie apart context which generates them. They de facto correlations not every bit subject interpretive processes qualitative approaches. Such presentations technically, course, "mis-uses" method, but they indicative one will generate more valid type knowledge another. fashion. inquiry authentically open must go beyond fashions draw insights where it can. This helpful recall commenting on article. First, anticipate how others criticize work: involves comparing ideal design with actual practice. work, contain variety potential limits reliability validity. The non-parametric small; sample atypical for its target population (most low-income parents live large cities or rural areas, middle-sized cities); lower income families over 90 percent white; so on. Other criticisms may made methods: questions inter-observer reliability, inter-subjective agreement procedures interviewing, degree systemizing content analysis, checks split-half validity, issues countervailing interpretation all brought into question. Presented basis gathered researcher(s), case either external validity is, at best, tenuous. Raising such rightly critic's role. other role glean what do know advance our knowledge. aspect reviewing often forgotten favor dealing solely method. reviews frequently little paradigm disputes.