When evidence enters humanities and society, with its scientific and effective characteristics, it gradually becomes a new paradigm for educational research and practice. It is becoming popular worldwide (Slavin, 2020). At present, all over the world, evidence-oriented evidence-based research has become one of the critical analysis methods in the…

In response to concerns about the credibility of many published research findings, open science reforms such as preregistration, data sharing, and alternative forms of publication are being increasingly adopted across scientific communities. Although journals on giftedness and advanced academic research have already implemented several of these…

The author of this commentary argues that physical scientists are attempting to advance knowledge in the so-called hard sciences, whereas education researchers are laboring to increase knowledge and understanding in an "extremely hard" but softer domain. Drawing on the work of Popper and Dewey, this commentary highlights the relative…

In this commentary, the author argues that there is a considerable degree of similarity between research in the hard sciences and education and that this provides a useful lens for thinking about what constitutes "rigorous" and "scientific" education research. He suggests that the fundamental property of hard science research…

This paper is written in response to Angela Chapman and Allan Feldman's research study, "Cultivation of science identity through authentic science in an urban high school [classroom]". I utilize this forum piece to extend the call for "awakening a dialogue" that critically assesses the effectiveness of current K-12 science…

This essay explains the relevance of fiction to the practice of rural education research, in so doing engaging questions about the nature and purposes of research and, therefore, of science itself. Although many may assume science and fiction (in this account, novels) harbor contrary purposes and devices, this essay argues that, to the contrary,…

This is the second of four essays discussing John Dewey's short essay, "Education as engineering". Dewey's views are remarkably timely against the background of recent discussions about the role of evidence in educational practice and a call for research that tells us "what works". Dewey's view is nuanced and helps one to see what one should and…

Greenhow, Robelia, and Hughes (2009) argue that Web 2.0 media are well suited to enhancing the education research community's purpose of generating and sharing knowledge. The author of this comment article first articulates how a research infrastructure with capabilities for communal bookmarking, photo and video sharing, social networking, wikis,…

In response to Howe (2009), the author argues that educational research needs multiple thoughtful perspectives. The author's standpoint is that of a mixed methods research methodologist. Mixed methods research provides an antidualistic and syncretic philosophy and set of approaches or possibilities for merging insights from diverse perspectives;…

Howe's (2009) critique of positivistic tendencies in the education research community is valuable and pertinent. His analysis is nonetheless one-sided, finding fault with one side of current divisions alone. In an effort to retain the good points of his analysis, the author first summarizes Howe's argument, interpreting it as a critique of hasty…

By examining the respective contributions of Karl Popper and Thomas Kuhn to the philosophy of science, the author highlights some prevailing problems in this article with the methods of so-called scientific research in education. The author enumerates a number of reasons why such research, in spite of its limited tangible return, continues to gain…

In literacy education, neuroscience research has been alluded to increasingly in work meant to substantiate cognitive models of the reading process related to text decoding and its instruction. As a result, this material tends to focus on early reading or reading disability and dyslexia (e.g., Hudson, High, & Al Otaiba, 2007; Shaywitz, 2003). It…

The usefulness of positivist traditions in education research has been debated for some time, and there continue to be various epistemological and methodological camps regarding the question of what constitutes "good" or "real" research. The importance of educating all children necessitates that we think about what are the most effective and most…

In "The Politics of Inquiry", Benjamin Baez and Deron Boyles critique recent trends in education research to argue against the "culture of science." Using the National Research Council's 2002 report "Scientific Research in Education" as a point of departure, they contend that the entire discourse on education science…

Recent federal education policies and reports have generated considerable debate about the meaning, methods, and goals of "scientific research" in mathematics education. Concentrating on the critical problem of determining which educational programs and practices reliably improve students' mathematics achievement, these policies and reports focus…