Bal Chandra Luitel & Roshan Thapa

Activity One  What do you mean by science? Why do we refer to science in educational research?

Research and Science  science as a process  science as a basis for systematic inquiry  science as a model for knowledge production  Is there a single science or a single view of science?

Newtonian Science: Key Features  explanatory metaphors: control, manipulation, standardization, replication  process of knowing: structured, isolated, piecemeal, mechanistic approaches

 equilibrium as the ‘featuring assumption’ about reality  linearity – singular concept of scientific process...  reality is made up of ‘simples’ (i.e., machine- like objects)

Activity Two  ‘Speaking for a minute’ Activity

Newtonian Science: Logic  logic of reductionism: (i) make your knowledge claims declaratively, (ii) privilege scientific worldview over local worldviews, (iii) choose one of two sometime competing views  logic of dualism: (i) reality is divided into two mutually exclusive entities, (ii) select one of them on the basis of their immediate importance, (iii) privilege one entity over the other

Newtonian Science: Language  third-person writing style (invisible self)  language detached from the context of knowledge generation  propositional, monological, mono- vocal, ‘plain English’...

Newtonian Science: Quality Standards  validity – external and internal validity  reliability – consistency  objectivity – does not contradict with the existing premise, researchers’ self is invisible

Activity Three

New Science(s)  science of emergence – complexity science  reality made up of complexes  multiple sciences: Multi-worldview sciences  dissipative structures, science beyond ‘stable equilibrium’

Complexity Science: Features  Emergence  Auto-generation/production  Fluid structures  Organicism

Emergence  Contingency (as opposed to planned)  Possibility  ‘Emergence’ in educational inquiry  An example of classroom research

Activity

Auto-generation/production  Any individual or living system is capable of self-governance  A research participant is capable of forming his/ her own perspectives  This is about acknowledging creative dimension of researchers and their research participants

Activity

Fluid structures/ Dynamic Systems  Social or otherwise structures are dissipative (dissolving, loosened boundaries)  Boundary may exist but it is temporary (e.g., teaching techniques, school and social system)  Examples: A researcher can also become a research participant. A teacher can also be a researcher...

Activity

Organicism  Interdependence is the key feature of organicism, i.e. one organ depending upon many other organs of the ‘individual or social body’  Whole is more than sum of its parts  ‘Organic thinking’ as opposed to mechanistic thinking  Example: accounting for feeling, logic, emotions of researcher and research participants

Activity  An example of organic writing