Special Session - Fish is Fish: Learning to See the Sea We Swim In: Theoretical Frameworks for Education Research

Every research project is built on one of four theoretical frameworks: positivism, interpretivism, critical theory, or post-structuralism. Research in engineering disciplines, such as Electrical Engineering and Civil Engineering, are appropriately based in positivism. In Social Science research, such as education, however, positivism is frequently not the best theoretical framework from which to operate. The overarching goal of this special session is to introduce the alternative theoretical frameworks of interpretivism and critical theory so that participants can choose which framework is best for their education research projects. The theoretical framework of a research project automatically invokes assumptions about reality, truth, objectivity, and how one can "know" something, as well as about researcher role, ethics, and accountability. Hence, if one is to conduct high quality research in education, then one should be able to choose wisely an appropriate framework and to articulate why it is appropriate