RESEARCH
AND THE "PARADIGM OF COMPLEXITY"
Today,
an epistemological reflection is taking place brought about by the developments
of new scientific theories which seek to understand the intelligibility
of the universe through such concepts as "complexity," "organizing disorder,"
"auto-organization," or "chaos." This line of inquiry seeks to explore
how today's researchers in human and social sciences, and in education
in particular, are increasingly aware of the limits traditional scientist
frameworks impose on their disciplines, as those frameworks reveal themselves
to be at times mechanistic, reductionistic, and inescapably linear. How
can science--whose ambition it is to discover/uncover the hidden order
of nature--call upon the organizational potential of "disorder" and "chaos"?
In
this context, rationality would be the ability to recognize areas of complexity
as well as areas of non-knowledge about certain aspects and domains of
life. Maffelosi (1993) pointed out that only a few scholars are capable
of such a vision. Has research to do as much with art as with science?
Does not sound research call upon an ability to approach reality with skills
akin to intuition, creation, imagination, and improvisation as well as
"rigor"? Doesn't it require an understanding of ambivalence and ambiguity,
sensibility and empathy, and a tolerance to, or better still, a curiosity
for the unknown? Einstein for one certainly believed so.
NARRATIVE INQUIRY
Narrative
inquiry has developed into a field of extreme diversity and complexity,
drawing
upon a variety of approaches, methodologies, theoretical perspectives
and
disciplinary traditions. Its diverse histories and theoretical
contradictions help understand this complexity. I am particularly
interested in those theoretical
contradictions and elements of narrative research which are supported
or
explained (or were inspired and made possible) by the work in
philosophy, especially since late nineteenth century. AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL
RESEARCH - CURRERE
Currere autobiographical study is a technique Madeleine Grumet and Bill Pinar (Toward a Poor
Curriculum) have developed as a pedagogical and research approach,
writing about personal experiences associated with course topic.
ACTION
RESEARCH
Over
fifty years ago a research approach, specific to social sciences, emerged
under the name of action-research, and developed in North America and in
Europe. A classic concept of action-research believes that this methodology
is nothing but an extension of traditional research in social sciences.
However, another more radical concept opens it to an epistemological revolution
hardly explored as of yet. This type of research cannot be done without
a "just" appreciation of the complexity of the contexts, events, circumstances,
and individuals in which and with whom it takes place. (paper on that subject
presented at AERA 2000, New Orleans)
TEACHER
RESEARCH
I
explore the concept of action-research in a course taught to the fifth
year graduate teacher education program Interns at LSU (in art, English,
forein languages, math, science, social science). This course culminates
in proposals which the Interns enrolled in this program, in consultation
with their main advisor, can choose to implement the following semester,
and, beginning Spring 2005, in a completed research project and report.
M.Ed. students' research projects. |
