Conflicting theories of social and educational change : a typological review
This paper presents a review in phenomenological perspective of the diagnostic and prescriptive literature that asks why and how educational reforms occur. The work has three objectives. The first is to search the historical and current international literature for educational reform theories and to demonstrate how these theories are rooted in systematic orientations concerning social reality and the social change process. The second objective is to demonstrate how the major educational reform theories lead to logically consistent assumptions concerning necessary preconditions, rationales, processes, and the like. The third objective is to stimulate a greater awareness among educational planners of how their biases constrain their ability to explore the full range of potentially effective strategies for reform. Findings include the following: (1) systematic attempts to explain and predict educational reform phenomena are fairly numerous but lack analytical rigor and testability; (2) a number of theoretical orientations can be identified; (3) these orientations are not random or eclectic but, rather, follow from personal bias concerning theoretical and ideological orientations to social reality and social change process; and (4) the literature is deficient in work that acknowledges personal bias in attempts to conceptualize reform causes and effects. An extensive bibliography is included. (Author/RM).
"This paper presents a review in phenomenological perspective of the diagnostic and prescriptive literature that asks why and how educational reforms occur. The work has three objectives. The first is to search the historical and current international literature for educational reform theories and to demonstrate how these theories are rooted in systematic orientations concerning social reality and the social change process. The second objective is to demonstrate how the major educational reform theories lead to logically consistent assumptions concerning necessary preconditions, rationales, processes, and the like. The third objective is to stimulate a greater awareness among educational planners of how their biases constrain their ability to explore the full range of potentially effective strategies for reform. Findings include the following: (1) systematic attempts to explain and predict educational reform phenomena are fairly numerous but lack analytical rigor and testability; (2) a number of theoretical orientations can be identified; (3) these orientations are not random or eclectic but, rather, follow from personal bias concerning theoretical and ideological orientations to social reality and social change process; and (4) the literature is deficient in work that acknowledges personal bias in attempts to conceptualize reform causes and effects. An extensive bibliography is included. (Author/RM)."@en
Pittsburgh Univ., Pa. University Center for International Studies.
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