Positivism & Post-Positivism Positivism in education BEd Hons 2017 EDUC4129 Educational Theory, Research & Enquiry I 1

Behaviourism : denial of mind in relation to learning and teaching “ “We teach behaviors one at a time … We are not inclined to attribute them to inner causes … To impart knowledge of ‘how to do things’ is simply to teach a person to behave in certain ways”. (BF Skinner, 1968:10-11) If X, then Y X  Y S  R BF Skinner 1904 -1990

Skinner’s commitment to D–N explanation universal laws of behaviour conjecture DEDUCTION observation explanation prediction control of behaviour

Laws of Learning Positive Reinforcement a behaviour is strengthened if it is followed by a positive condition Negative Reinforcement a behaviour is strengthened if it stops or avoids a negative condition Punishment a behaviour is weakened if it is followed by a negative condition Extinction a particular behaviour is weakened by the withdrawal of a positive condition

Token reinforcement economy

Shaping “the method of successive approximation” - Skinner https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtfQlkGwE2U

Curriculum… “programmed learning text” Content ‘designed down’ from outcomes/objectives ➘ performance assessment next level of content towards outcomes/objectives ➘ etc. Content ‘designed down’ from outcomes/objectives ➘ performance assessment next level of content towards outcomes/objectives ➘ etc. “programmed learning text” “…makes it possible to present carefully designed material in which one problem can depend upon the answer to the preceding problem and where, therefore, the most efficient progress to an eventually complex repertoire can be made.” (Skinner, 1968: 24).

Programmed instruction Skinner’s four items of advice to educators: “Be clear about what is to be taught” “Teach first things first” “Stop making all students advance at essentially the same rate” “Program the subject matter” (Skinner, 1984, The shame of American education. pp.122-124)

Programmed learning and the role of the teacher in its delivery ... “These requirements are not excessive, but they are probably incompatible with the current realities of the classroom.… An organism is affected by subtle details of contingencies which are beyond the capacity of the human organism to arrange. Mechanical and electrical devices must be used. … The simple fact is that, as a mere reinforcing mechanism, the teacher is out of date.” Skinner (1968: 21-22).

The teaching machine If S, then R

Education Structures and Functions organic analogy

Structural-Functionalism How does education contribute to the maintenance and wellbeing of society? What are the relationships between education and other parts of the social system? Emile Durkheim – one of the main functions of education is to bind members of society together –social unity and solidarity. It passes on the culture of a society particularly its core values. Talcott Parsons (1902-1979) Education is a key component of the social body, just like the heart is integral to the functioning of the human body, education is fundamental to the health of the social body.

Functionalism How does education contribute to the maintenance and wellbeing of society? What are the relationships between education and other parts of the social system? Emile Durkheim – one of the main functions of education is to bind members of society together –social unity and solidarity. It passes on the culture of a society particularly its core values. Talcott Parsons (1902-1979) Education is a key component of the social body, just like the heart is integral to the functioning of the human body, education is fundamental to the health of the social body.

The function of social institutions “… in order for social integration to be achieved, society has, through a process of gradual evolution, thrown up a number of institutions which function as agencies of socialization – the church, the family, and importantly, the education system” (Barton & Walker, p. 59) Pattern maintenance Internal integration Goal attainment Adaptation

Functions of education Passing on culture – education is a ‘functional prerequisite’ through which a new generation of children acquire the ‘central’ norms, values and culture of their society - glues people together by creating a ‘value consensus’. Socialisation - schools are sites of ‘secondary socialisation’ - provide a bridge between the ‘particularistic’ values of the family and the ‘universalistic’ values of meritocracy of contemporary industrial society. Providing a trained and qualified labour force – education provides society with people equipped with the right skills to do the job society needs. Close functional relationship with the economic system in creating a division of labour.

Parsons’ commitment to D–N explanation universal functional laws of society conjecture DEDUCTION observation explanation prediction control of behaviour

Consensus model of society Organic analogy – consensus model of society Explaining society in general – function of education to maintain social harmony Social problems – “explanations … conceived … in terms of dysfunctions either in internal structural organization or the education system or in the structural relationships between education and other social subsystems”. (Barton & Walker, p.295). … as opposed to a conflict model of society

Universal generalizations in education? “the validity and reliability of proven scientific knowledge” “little is known about the effectiveness of particular policies and programs designed to improve learning. … This motivates for an agenda of impact evaluation to inform policy making”. (Mohohlwane & Taylor, p.101) The place of ‘impact studies’ in education research. If X, then Y

Research: the pre-eminence of the experiment In an experiment we can isolate the effects of one mechanism of nature from the effects of others, to see what that mechanism does on its own. “an attempt to trigger a single kind of mechanism … in relative isolation, free from the interfering flux of the open world, so as to observe its detailed workings or record its characteristic mode of effect” (Bhaskar, 1998:35)

Robert Slavin - “Evidence-Based Education Policy”, 2002 Abstract

quasi-experiments Quasi-experimental design (groups not matched) Randomized Control Trials (RCTs) (groups matched)

RCTs (randomized control trials) in medicine counterfactual – “what would have happened to program recipients in the absence of an intervention?” (Mohohlwane & Taylor, p.102) cure drug personality poverty fitness gender physique nutrition “Gold standard”

RCTs (randomized control trials) in education “Through using a lottery to allocate participants to intervention and control groups, an RCT constructs a credible counterfactual scenario” (Mohohlwane & Taylor, p.102) school performance study guide personality poverty language gender distance nutrition Gold standard ?

Ref:

Can education be a science? Should education be a science?