The aim of this paper is to examine the role of methodology in action research. It begins by showing how, as a form of inquiry concerned with the development of practice, action research is nothing other than a modern 20th century manifestation of the pre-modern tradition of practical philosophy. It then draws in Gadamer's powerful vindication of…

This symposium begins with a critique by Paul Hirst of Wilfred Carr's "Philosophy and Education" ("Journal of Philosophy of Education, 2004, 38.1"), where Carr argues that philosophy of education should be concerned with practical philosophy rather than "theoretical philosophy." Hirst argues that the philosophy of education is best understood as a…

This paper argues that the anxieties being expressed in the UK and elsewhere about the lack of impact that philosophy now has on education are nothing other than the inevitable manifestation of a fundamental intellectual disorder deeply rooted in our contemporary understanding of the philosophy of education. In trying to substantiate this claim,…

Naturalist and interpretive accounts of educational research lack an adequate philosophical account of its nature. Educational research is both interpretive and scientific. Only by repudiating divisions and distinctions that separate the research community from the educational community can research which is both educational and scientific by…