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  2. The Impracticality of Practical Research: A History of Contemporary Sciences of Change That Conserve

The Impracticality of Practical Research: A History of Contemporary Sciences of Change That Conserve

Thomas S. Popkewitz 2020
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There is an alluring desire that research should lead us to find the practical knowledge that enables people to live a good life in a just and equitable society. This desire haunted the 19th century emergence of the social sciences as a discipline, then became more pronounced in the postwar mobilizations of research. Today that desire lives on in the international assessments of national schools and in the structure of professional education, both of which influence government modernization of schools and also provide for people's well-being. American policy thus reflects research in which reforms are verified by "scientific, empirical evidences" about "what works" in experiments, and "will work" therefore in society.

The book explores the idea that practical and useful knowledge changes over time, and shows how this knowledge has been (re)visioned in contemporary research on educational reform, instructional improvement, and professionalization. The study of science draws on a range of social and cultural theories and historical studies to understand the politics of science, as well as scientific knowledge that is concerned with social and educational change. Research hopes to change social conditions to create a better life, and to shape people whose conduct embodies these valued characteristics—the good citizen, parent, or worker. Yet this hope continually articulates the dangers that threaten this future. Thomas Popkewitz explores how the research to correct social wrongs is paradoxically entangled with the inscription of differences that ultimately hamper the efforts to include.

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ISBN(s)
  • 978-0-472-13173-0 (hardcover)
  • 978-0-472-12642-2 (ebook)
  • 978-0-472-03774-2 (paper)
Subject
  • Sociology
  • Education
  • Cultural Studies
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  • Table of Contents

  • Resources

  • Stats

  • Cover
  • Title Page
  • Copyright Page
  • Dedication
  • Contents
  • Acknowledgments
  • Preface
  • Section One. The Problems and Problematics of Studying Practical Research
    • 1. Introduction
    • 2. The Reason of Research
  • Section Two. Historical Traces, Movement of Lines, and Limits in the Making of Practical Research
    • 3. The Emergence of Science as Changing Everyday Life
    • 4. Virtue in Secular Saintliness
    • 5. What Is “Really” Taught as the Problem of Research?
  • Section Three. Coming to the Present
    • 6. American Progressivism
    • 7. The Reason of “Systems” and Practical Knowledge
    • 8. Numbers, Desires, and International Student Assessments
    • 9. Teacher and Teacher Education Research
  • Section Four. A Method of Study, Critique, and Change
    • 10. The Impracticality of Practical Research
  • Notes
  • References
  • Index of Names
  • Subject Index

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The image shows how the OECD-Sweden review team provides tailored advice in education policy. The first is knowledge from international evidence, the second is contextualization of a country’s needs, and the third is recommendations, considerations, and specific proposals

The OECD-Sweden Education Policy Review Process, 1

From Chapter 8

Fig. 7. The OECD-Sweden Education Policy Review. Reprinted from The OECD-Sweden Education Policy Review: Main Issues and Next Steps (Pont et al. 2014, 2). Reprinted by permission of the OECD.

The image shows the OECD-Sweden review process. The starting point is an education system’s specific needs. The OECD previsit is about analysis and organization of the visit’s meeting with some stakeholders. The OECD review team then visits the country under OECD guidance having 10-day meetings and school visits. Later, the OECD writes reports to provide comments and produces its final publication. The final objective of this review process is dissemination of strategies for action with a long-term perspective

The OECD-Sweden Education Policy Review Process, 2

From Chapter 8

Fig. 8. The OECD Education Policy Review Process: Sweden. Reprinted from The OECD-Sweden Education Policy Review. Main Issues and Next Steps (Pont et al. 2014, 3). Reprinted by permission of the OECD.

The graph shows the percentages of top performing 15-year-old students in mathematics literacy, ranging from 55 percent in Shanghai, China, to nearly 0 percent in Colombia and Argentina. Each nation is represented by their scores to mark their ranking in the PISA tests. In the United States, 9 percent of 15-year-old students scored at proficiency level 5 or above. The percentage of top performers in mathematics in the United States overall (9 percent) was higher than the state of Florida (6 percent), but lower than Massachusetts (19 percent) and Connecticut (16 percent). In mathematics literacy, the percentage of 15-year-old students performing below level 2 ranged from 4 percent in Shanghai, China, to 76 percent in Indonesia. The percentage of low performers in mathematics in the United States overall (26 percent) was higher than the states of Connecticut (21 percent) and Massachusetts (18 percent) (Kelly et al. 2013)

Percentage of 15-year-old students performing at PISA mathematics literacy proficiency levels 5 and above and below level 2

From Chapter 8

Fig. 9. Percentage of 15-year-old students performing at PISA mathematics literacy profi-ciency levels 5 and above and below level 2. Reprinted from Performance of U.S. 15-Year-Old Students in Mathematics, Science, and Reading Literacy in an International Context—First Look at PISA 2012 (Kelly et al. 2013, 14). Reprinted by permission of the National Center for Education Statistics.

The graph shows that McKinsey follows a two-step process to select the school systems that form the subject of this research, presented as an arrow on the left side of the figure. One the right side of the figure are 20 nations listed according to how they perform in the international and national assessments. Check marks are presented to show whether or not a nation meets the standard of sustained improvers and a promising start

Sustained Improvers and Promising Starts

From Chapter 8

Fig. 10. Sustained improvers and promising starts. Exhibit from “How the World’s Most Improved School Systems Keep Getting Better.” November 2010, McKinsey Company, www.mckinsey.com. Copyright © 2019 McKinsey Company. Reprinted by permission.

The graph shows the student truancy reported by 15-yearold students and principals in 2012, with Sweden represented as an oval with dark black letters in gray on the bottom left of the chart. The Yaxis represents the percentage of principals’ reporting that students’ arriving late hinders learning. The Xaxis represents the percentage of students’ reporting having arrived late for school. A linear line represents R2=0.16 going slightly up from the left to the right of the chart. Nations are represented as dots in the figure

Student truancy reported by 15 year old students and principals 2012, PISA

From Chapter 8

Fig. 11. Student truancy reported by 15-year-old students and principals 2012, PISA. From The OECD-Sweden Education Policy Review. Main Issues and Next Steps (Pont et al. 2014, 3). Reprinted by permission of the OECD.

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