Considers the influence of rationalism on educational research and philosophy, highlighting the theories of Imre Lakatos and Karl Popper. Discusses the concept of methodological falsification, Lakatos's appraisal of the growth of knowledge, the consequences of the rationalists' proselytizing of scientific methodology, and Lakatos's appeal for…

Examines how four major versions of neo-Marxism (i.e., Hegelian, Phenomenological, Structuralist Marxism, and the Frankfurt School) attempt to overcome the base-superstructure thesis of the political economists of education. Considers the implicit social ontological and epistemological assumptions and the related theory of education of each.…

Examines the career choices and aspirations of women in two contexts: social divergency theories derived from Marx and Simmel, and personal symbolization theories based on George Mead's writings. Presents a series of propositions to help formulate a coherent social theory about women's career choices, supported by empirical confirmation. (AYC)

Explains the theoretical positions of Russian Marxist psychologist and educator, L. S. Vygotsky, and their philosophical foundations. Discusses Vygotsky's major psychological theories regarding cognitive development, the development of scientific and spontaneous concepts, the zone of proximal development, and language's relationship to thought.…