Pragmatism and Educational Research

Gert J. J. Biesta is professor of educational theory at University of Exeter. Nicholas C. Burbules is professor of educational policy studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and the editor of Educational Theory.

• Chapter 1 Series Preface Nicholas C. BurbulesChapter 3 1. What is Pragmatism?Chapter 4 2. From Experience to KnowledgeChapter 5 3. The Process of InquiryChapter 6 4. Consequences of PragmatismChapter 7 5. Pragmatism and Educational Research

Biesta and Burbules's Pragmatism and Educational Research is the best book I have seen on the implications of pragmatism for social and educational research. It offers a sophisticated yet clear exposition of Dewey's work on experience, knowledge, inquiry, and truth, among other subjects. His pragmatism is then put to work, throwing light on current controversies in educational research. The upshot is a way of approaching educational research that is simultaneously scientific and humane and avoids the polarizing pitfalls of positivism, post-positivism, and post-modernism. This book deserves to have a major influence on the way educational research is conceived.