The legitimation crisis of educational change

The Journal of Educational Change publishes important ideas and evidence of educational change. Contributions represent a range of disciplines, including history, psychology, political science, sociology, anthropology, philosophy, and administrative and organizational theory. The journal also draws attention to a broad spectrum of methodologies, including quantitative and qualitative approaches, documentary study, action research, and conceptual development.

As the journal’s editor-in-chief, Dennis Shirley, explains in his introduction to the August issue, the five articles published this month point us in “promising directions for improving our schools and enhancing the legitimacy of our public educational systems.”

Shirely argues, “The quest for legitimacy has driven many governments to turn to data and a more scientific approach to educational change. On the one hand this is a felicitous development, especially for researchers. On the other hand, the pursuit of certainty through the quantification of education has itself proved nettlesome. It seems that the mathematization of teaching and learning can conceal a number of blind spots that can create new problems for teachers and students. How this occurs and can be overcome is represented vividly in this new issue of The Journal of Educational Change.”

To read Shirley’s complete introduction, click here: The legitimation crisis of educational change.