EPOL 593

Credit: 4 hours.

All research is guided by theory. Theory provides a vocabulary, a set of laws or generalizations, a background literature, and a conceptual framework for any effort to plan, design, and execute a research study. There is no theory-free inquiry. This is true in the social sciences as well as the natural sciences. All research seeks to explain phenomena: a theory provides an explanation for those explanations. However, these theoretical assumptions are often implicit and unreflective. Researchers may think they have no theory, or have a theory that is so taken for granted that they don’t recognize it as an assumed theory. Much of educational research suffers from this lack of theoretical self-awareness. Like any other aspect of research, theories are falsifiable. They must stand the test of evidence – which may go against them. The goal of the class is not to identify the "right" or "best" theory, but to make the identification and selection of a theory more critical and reflective. Any major theory has insights, and each has limitations.

4 graduate hours. No professional credit.