Based on an individual interest theory as a sensitising theory, empirical data are used to gain social interest concepts, as there are situated collective interest and interest-dense situation. These concepts serve as a basis for a social extension of a psychological interest theory. Its construction combines social interactions, the dynamic of…

The societal perception that mathematics is absolute and infallible reinforces a transmission pedagogy and is considered to be a major stumbling block for women returning to study mathematics. Children at risk in mathematics are found to rely on rules and procedures and similar findings are evident with adults. A reliance on rules is consistent…

Suggests that knowledge organization must encompass theories that focus on the more fundamental and less technical view and raises the questions of epistemology and general linguistic theory. Focuses on the meaning aspect of language and the terminological aspect of knowledge organization. Considers theories of terminology, language and meaning,…

A specialist in marketing traces the evolution of the study of consumer behavior as a discipline and distills from it some lessons learned in the process. Topics examined include establishing legitimacy, using scientific procedures, and borrowing from other disciplines. Literature on the philosophy, sociology, and history of science is reviewed.…

The conception of knowledge was studied for 213 14- and 15-year-old students in Singapore and their 37 teachers and 96 students in the United States, with their 10 teachers. Cultural differences, including those in epistemological frameworks, are discussed, and their implications for education considered. (SLD)

Integrating critical thinking and reasoning skills with content in the humanities and the social science curricula at the postsecondary level invites students to become co-participants in discovering and constructing knowledge as members of a learning "community." Readers of the research literature on critical thinking confront many…

This paper suggests that the current confusion regarding character formation is related to a postmodern dilemma about the nature of the individual child. By looking at John Dewey's concept of "potentials," and by applying this concept to his ideas about the self and experience, this paper develops a naturalistic version of the idea of…

In composition studies, negotiation and consensus are threatened by growing epistemological schisms that privilege one way of knowing, one kind of knowledge, even one kind of language over another. Those who assert that one epistemology is more "right" set the stage for paradigmatic conflict. Some theorists predict a dismal resolution of…

In competitive debate, a view of meaning as something that a team has a right to pre-select is inconsistent with Ludwig Wittgenstein's conception of meaning as use. The "language-linked value objection" rejects conventional value objection of identifying the negative consequences of taking a stance in the hypothetical world of the…

Most students leave school with good or acceptable grades in mathematics, despite the fact that very few actually grasp basic mathematical concepts. Schools appear to be providing ways of acquiring the necessary knowledge without promoting true mathematical comprehension. This is made possible by reducing mathematics, cognitively, to a merely…

A linguistic model of communication is preeminent in Western culture, and part of its power arises from the Western preoccupation with word, particularly the Christian meditation on the Word, the second person of the Trinity. Augustine's philosophy and theology of the word made him a proponent of a linguistic epistemology: all knowledge is…

Using Kenneth Burke's conceptualization of the "representative anecdote," this paper explicates Burke's own theoretical frame. By examining Burke's system through the two anecdotes of "drama" and "nuclear war," the paper demonstrates that Burke weaves together two distinct theoretical threads, one a theory of Being,…

Scientific researchers traditionally have held that the use of data represents a test of hypotheses or theories. Social psychologist William McGuire has developed a contrary position, arguing that instead of testing hypotheses and theories, research merely specifies their limitations, generality, and assumptions. McGuire's contextualism suggests…

Four concepts are considered in light of their impact on instructional technology and design, i.e., the value status of technology, the proliferation of worldviews, equity in education, and the relationship of ethical issues to practice. The assumption that instructional technology is a value-neutral method of conveying instructional information…

The origins of social science as a discipline are analyzed in terms of the German scientific community before 1920, which tended to define itself according to the theories of Karl Marx or Immanuel Kant. Following a brief introduction about the nature of social science debates in intellectual Germany, section 2 of the paper considers whether the…