خلاصة:
Speaking about the methodological characteristics of educational research is, to a significant extent, contingent upon explaining the 'whatness' of this type of research. Two competing approaches have been proposed in this field: the causal-technological approach and the practical wisdom (phronesis) approach. Based on the first approach, of which positivism is a prominent example, the whatness of educational research should be sought in its functional characteristics. In other words, this type of research is the result of applying findings from the humanities and social sciences toward achieving educational goals. Instrumentalism, in the form of the means-end relationship, holds a fundamental position in this approach. In contrast, the second approach, following Aristotle's view, denies the instrumental characteristic of educational research and, by distinguishing between two domains, "craft" (techne) and "practical wisdom" (phronesis), considers instrumentalism suitable for the former domain and educational research suitable for the latter domain as a type of practical wisdom. In practical wisdom, construction is not the issue, but rather acting is intended, and acting—or how to live—has an essentially moral aspect. According to this view, educational research cannot be conducted through methods in the form of means-end, but must be directed toward examining human action in terms of its moral characteristics and the essential nature of these characteristics. Teaching itself is a central example of this type of action and will be subject to study and investigation on this basis. Although the second view has strengths arising from its fundamental attention to the practical aspect of educational research, it is open to criticism in some respects because it does not pay attention to the existence of unavoidable instrumental or means-end aspects in educational phenomena. The suggestion of the present article, which goes beyond both aforementioned approaches in a way, is to seek the whatness of educational research in the dual value of action research. The phenomena studied in education are dual-valued actions. This duality, in relation to other domains of social studies, is as follows: while the phenomena studied in psychology and sociology are also imbued with value, educational phenomena, in addition to that, are directed toward a second layer of value that manifests in the form of educational goals. Accordingly, the methodology of educational research will be formulated in two types: philosophical and scientific. Philosophical research in education involves a rational and logical examination of values, goals, and their implications in practical methods. Scientific research in education, given that it is a type of action research and directed toward examining valued actions, will not deal with causal methods as a source and generator of actions, but will instead use methods directed toward the reasons for actions. Of course, findings obtained through the use of causal methods can be used in education, not as a source, but as a specifier of the limits of the actors' actions.
ملخص الجهاز:
According to this view, educational research cannot be conducted using methods in the form of means-end, but must be directed toward examining human action in terms of its moral characteristics and the essentialist nature of these characteristics.
This is because in the aforementioned model, "means" refers to that same objective fundamental knowledge which, by providing information related to real mechanisms, reveals its possibility of transforming itself into a technological domain for achieving the "goal" or the values and oughts desired by different individuals and societies.
In other words, the view is that educational research leads to lawful and general findings of the type of causal mechanisms, but like many applied fields, some case considerations will arise for flexibility (Sammons 1999, p.
The most important criticism leveled against the technological means-end approach in educational research is directed at its positivist implications; that is, educational activities are viewed within a cause-and-effect framework, similar to natural phenomena, and it is assumed that by finding the causal mechanisms in educational phenomena, the ways to realize educational goals can be smoothed out.
Of course, Clark agrees with the practical wisdom model for educational research insofar as this type of research deals with matters of value and cannot be considered in terms of causal mechanisms.
If educational science is considered as value-based action research, both cases will be achieved together, meaning that, while denying positivist characteristics, the possibility of obtaining empirical knowledge regarding educational activities, with the feature of gradual and probable generalizability, will be acceptable.
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