Unit name | Philosophy of Social Sciences |
---|---|
Unit code | EDUCM5506 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | M/7 |
Teaching block(s) |
Academic Year (weeks 1 - 52) |
Unit director | Professor. Erduran |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | School of Education |
Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
This is a graduate level overview of key 'meta-theoretical' developments and debates in the understanding of social sciences with particular reference to education. The unit covers: the purpose of general theory in social science disciplines; the character of explanatory practice; and the conceptual 'dualisms' in the philosophy of social science such as, realism/constructionism, positivity/reflexivity, objectivity/partiality, science/ideology and explanation/description, RCT/qualitative case studies. Some of the methodological perspectives to be covered include interpretivism, positivism, feminism and discourse analysis.
Aims:
The unit is taught intensively over 3 days. The course includes practical activities, reading tasks, discussion and opportunities to relate course material to participants’ own research ideas.
Formative assessment tasks include oral presentations and class participation in the context of different philosophical perspectives and methodologies (Learning outcome 2)
Summative assessment consists of 4000 word evaluation of a student selected report of research which will have both an empirical as well as a theoretical foundation (Learning outcomes 1 and 3)
Benton, T., & Craib, I (2001). Philosophy of social science : the philosophical foundations of social thought. Basingstoke : Palgrave.
Hesse-Biber, S., Gilmartin, C. & Lydenberg, R. (Eds) (1999), Feminist approaches to theory and methodology. New York: Oxford University Press.
Sherrat, Y. (2006). Continental philosophy of social science : hermeneutics, genealogy and critical theory from ancient Greece to the twenty-first century. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Smith, Mark J. (1998) Social science in question: Towards a post-disciplinary framework. London: Sage.
Journal articles from Public Understanding of Science, British Journal of Sociology of Education, Philosophy of Science, Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, Theory & Psychology.