Showing papers on "Social constructivism published in 2008"

From Constructivism to Realism in the Sociology of the Curriculum.

Abstract: What is educationally worthwhile knowledge, and what are (and what should be) the significant differences between curriculum or school knowledge and the every day, commonsense knowledge that people acquire at home, in the community and in the workplace? Until the 1970s, answers to these questions were either taken for granted by both sociologists of education2 and curriculum researchers as being part of existing educational systems or seen as issues to be left to philosophy. Education was seen as a good thing; the only big issues for sociology were distributional?in particular, the persistence, in all forms of selective education, of social class inequal ities (Jencks, 1975). Why was progress to upper secondary and higher education lim ited to the few, and how could these persistent inequalities, found in all systems of mass education, be explained and reduced or overcome? The what of education, the knowledge that students did or did not acquire, was not questioned, at least by sociologists.3 It was taken for granted that school and nonschool knowledge were different; they had always been so. Only rarely in the past, and invariably around religious issues, did the content of the knowledge that was included in the curricu lum become part of educational debates, let alone those involving the wider public.

What Science Offers the Humanities: Integrating Body and Culture

Abstract: What Science Offers the Humanities examines some of the deep problems facing the study of culture. It focuses on the excesses of postmodernism, but also acknowledges serious problems with postmodernism's harshest critics. In short, Edward Slingerland argues that in order for the humanities to progress, its scholars need to take seriously contributions from the natural sciences - and particular research on human cognition - which demonstrate that any separation of the mind and the body is entirely untenable. The author provides suggestions for how humanists might begin to utilize these scientific discoveries without conceding that science has the last word on morality, religion, art, and literature. Calling into question such deeply entrenched dogmas as the 'blank slate' theory of nature, strong social constructivism, and the ideal of disembodied reason, What Science Offers the Humanities replaces the human-sciences divide with a more integrated approach to the study of culture.

Design trajectories: four experiments in PLE implementation

Abstract: Increasingly, there is a shared understanding that the educational approach driving the development of Personal Learning Environments (PLEs) is one of learner empowerment and facilitation of the efforts of self-directed learners. This approach fits well with concepts of social constructivism, constructionism, and the development and execution of learning plans. This paper describes how these have been increasingly supported in four successive PLE prototypes. These prototypes have successively moved towards support for communities of learners by basing PLE design on social networking services, and support for the formulation of learning plans and transformation of those plans into public exhibits of growing knowledge.

Persuasion, Interaction and the Construction of Knowledge: Representing Self and others in Research Writing

Abstract: It is now increasingly accepted that academic knowledge is closely related to the social practices of academic communities, and particularly to their discourses. Texts are persuasive only when they employ rhetorical conventions that colleagues find convincing, and in recent years corpus analyses have helped to underpin this social constructivist position and to reveal some of the ways this is achieved. In this paper I discuss the role of interaction in this process. Based on an analysis of 240 published research papers from eight disciplines and insider informant interviews, I explore the nature of interactive persuasion in this genre. I show here the importance of interaction in academic argument, suggest some of the ways this is achieved, and indicate how these choices reflect and construct disciplinary communities.

Developing student understanding of assessment standards: a nested hierarchy of approaches

Abstract: This paper presents a framework of approaches to sharing meaningful knowledge of assessment standards amongst an academic community, particularly students. Presented as a nested hierarchy, these approaches encompass: a ‘laissez faire’ approach in which students’ knowledge of standards is acquired in ad hoc and serendipitous ways; an ‘explicit’ approach focusing on the explicit articulation of standards; a ‘social constructivist’ approach where active use and application of standards develops understanding; and finally, a ‘community of practice’ approach that centres on how students and teachers are absorbed into and become part of the academic practices of their disciplinary community. We propose three practical ways in which such a community approach within the assessment environment may be prompted and enhanced through the use of: social learning space, both physical and virtual; social learning and collaborative assessment practices within curricula; developing student ‘pedagogical intelligence’ (Hutch...

Innovations in Teacher Education: A Social Constructivist Approach

Abstract: The intention of this book is “to propose certain goals and standards for pre-service education, and continue a conversation about directions for our field” (Beck & Kosnik, 2006, p. 5). The authors believe that social constructivism can provide an important, practical direction for achieving such meaningful and practical goals and standards. They see social constructivism, not only as a theoretical construct, but passionately advocate its use as a strategy for addressing educational problems such as the gap between university culture and the classroom and between academic knowledge and popular culture. They also believe that the implementation of social constructivism can address the attrition rate of teachers, the drain of resources by universities, and the enhancement of the profession. This is a tall order but the authors have provided theoretical as well as practical ways in which this focus can make a significant contribution to these areas.

Culture and achievement motivation

Abstract: This symposium and the papers that compose it reflect the fact that the study of culture and achievement motivation has truly “come of age.” Gone are the days when a few hearty souls from Europe, G...

Compulsory participation in online discussions: is this constructivism or normalisation of learning?

Abstract: A constructivist approach in teaching and learning requires one to change various habitual ways for thinking (von Glasersfeld 1995). There is a need for different ways of thinking and doing things, if conventional education is to realise a constructivist worldview. Educators and trainers in both academic and work sectors are promoting the use of the Internet for flexible and learner‐centred learning. The intention of this paper is to examine the popular online learning pedagogy and question if the emerging formal higher education practices advocate a constructivist view of knowledge. The discussion begins with an introduction to the constructivist view. Although participation in online discourse is popularly recognised as social constructivism, the problematisation and critique of online practices help to challenge the formal education interpretation of constructivism. References to the emerging research and established literature on learning are used to identify the normalising influences of academic cou...

Beyond Social Constructivist Perspectives on Assessment: The Centring of Knowledge.

Abstract: Over the past few decades assessment has been heralded for its key role in the improvement of teaching and learning. However, more recently there have been expressions of uncertainty about whether assessment is in fact delivering on its promised potential. Against this backdrop of uncertainty and circumspection this paper offers a critical reflection on higher education assessment discourses with a particular focus on the discourse of criterion referenced assessment. The central argument is that while the social constructivist perspective has significantly illuminated our understanding of assessment, inadvertently the very object of assessment – knowledge – has been eclipsed. I propose that a fruitful way forward for our assessment practices is the centring of disciplinary forms of knowledge as an explicit component of the object of our assessment. Drawing on sociologists of education – Basil Bernstein and Karl Maton – I stake out some of the theoretical ground for reconceptualising the relationship betwe...

Content Analysis in Computer-Mediated Communication: Analyzing Models for Assessing Critical Thinking Through the Lens of Social Constructivism

Abstract: Abstact This article reviews content analysis studies aimed to assess critical thinking in computer-mediated communication. It also discusses theories and content analysis models that encourage critical thinking skills in asynchronous learning environments and reviews theories and factors that may foster critical thinking skills and new knowledge construction.

Social constructivist teaching methods in Australian universities – reported uptake and perceived learning effects: a survey of lecturers

Abstract: Pragmatic social constructivist teaching methods require students to construct knowledge by engaging collaboratively with realistic problems, cases or projects. It is hypothesised that they are more effective than traditional didactic teaching methods in developing undergraduate students’: (1) theoretical knowledge; (2) profession‐specific skills; and (3) knowledge creation capacity. Results of a survey show the second and third learning effects to be salient among Australian university lecturers, but not the first. Lecturers report that these teaching methods have been adopted more widely in human service‐related faculties and design‐related faculties than in business‐related faculties, possibly owing to the lesser emphasis placed by business lecturers on developing students’ profession‐specific skills and knowledge creation capacity. A corresponding survey of business practitioners revealed a surprising gap between the value that business practitioners place on new graduates’ knowledge creation capacity...

ZPC and ZPD: Zones of Teaching and Learning

Abstract: The goal of this article is to examine students' mathematical development that occurs as a teacher works within each of 2 zones of learning: students' zones of proximal development (ZPD) and students' zones of potential construction (ZPC). ZPD, proposed by Vygotsky, is grounded in a social constructivist perspective on learning, whereas ZPC, proposed by Steffe, is grounded in a radical constructivist perspective on learning.

Developing Relational Epistemology Through Relational Pedagogy: New Ways of Thinking About Personal Epistemology in Teacher Education

Abstract: Personal epistemology research over the past few decades has helped us to understand better the nature of effective learning and teaching in teacher education. However, personal epistemology has been based predominantly on psychological frameworks in which knowledge and beliefs are individually constructed. In this chapter, we present a social constructivist perspective on the development of epistemological beliefs in which beliefs are constructed through interactions with social and learning contexts. We argue for the term “relational epistemology” to be used rather than “personal epistemology” to better reflect the role that external and internal relations play in the social construction of epistemological beliefs. From this framework, we then report on research into early childhood professionals’ beliefs that provide new ways of thinking about the referential and structural dimensions of relational epistemology and how these might be facilitated using an extended model of relational pedagogy in teacher education.

Student Cognitive and Affective Development in the Context of Classroom-Level Curriculum Development.

Abstract: This qualitative study examined the impact of teacher curriculum approaches (curriculum-transmitter/ curriculum-developer/ curriculum- maker) on student cognitive change (reading, writing, speaking, and listening abilities) and their affective change (motivation and interests). This study's conceptual framework was grounded in teacher curriculum development (Ben-Peretz 1990; Remillard 1999; Craig 2006), curriculum implementation (Snyder, Bolin, and Zumwalt 1992; Randolph, Duffy, and Mattingly 2007), curriculum-making (Clandinin and Connelly 1992; Doyle 1992; Shawer 2003), student cognitive and affective change (Erickson and Schultz 1992; Craig 2001) and social constructivism (Vygotsky 1978; Wells 1999; Terwel 2005). The study made use of the qualitative paradigm at the levels of ontology (multiple curriculum realities, Jackson 1992), epistemology (interaction with rather than detachment from respondents) and methodology (idiographic methodology and instruments) (Guba and Lincoln 1994; Cohen, Manion, and Morrison 2000). Research design involved qualitative evaluation (Clarke 1999) as the research strategy and general interviews, pre- and post- lesson interviews, group interviews and participant observation. Grounded theory (Glaser and Strauss 1967; Strauss and Corbin 1998) was the data analysis approach. Based on work with English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers and mixed-nationality college students, the results indicated that classroom-level curriculum development improved student learning and motivation; whilst curriculum-transmission did not result in significant student learning or increase their motivation. The study provides recommendations for curriculum and school development and future research.

An Analysis of the Peer Review Process from the Perspective of Sociology of Science Theories

Abstract: Although a large number of studies have been published up to now on peer review in science, only few of them employ a theory-guided approach. Most of the studies fail to connect the empirical findings to theory. The few available theory-guided empirical studies are found predominantly in the older peer review research, which was strongly influenced by the more tra- ditional sociologists of science, referred to as the Mertonians, or the "North American school" of Robert K. Merton. The aim of the present contribution is to present a theoretical framework that includes also recent theory developments and that can serve as a basis for future empirical research on peer review. To do this, peer review is examined from the points of view of the three most important theoretical directions in the sociology of science: (1) the North American school, (2) social constructivism, and (3) social systems theory.

Linking Pedagogical Theory of Computer Games to Their Usability

Abstract: This article reviews a range of literature of computer games and learning theories and attempts to establish a link between them by proposing a typology of games which we use as a new usability measure for the development of guidelines for game-based learning. First, we examine game literature in order to understand the key elements that constitute games. This is then followed by the theoretical discussion of the relationship between the game components and the learning theories, namely behaviourism, cognitive constructivism, and social constructivism. Ten games are analysed using the learning theories and a typology of game is proposed that classifies games into four major categories. Then based on these findings we developed a set of guidelines for game-based learning using Human Computer Interaction (HCI) methods.

Problems of definition, description and meaning

Abstract: The dominant paradigm of entrepreneurship research practices, positivism, has brought about a fundamental paradox: researchers often try to analyse a phenomenon that cannot properly be defined. As a result, much entrepreneurship research is fragmentary and focuses narrowly on aspects of entrepreneurship. Nonetheless, there are very rich descriptive data on what people mean when they talk about 'enterprise'. The argu- ment is developed that interpretative methodologies - new lenses for seeing entrepreneurship - such as social constructionism, are required to extend people's understanding. If the fragmentary positivistic approaches are imagined as pieces of a jigsaw, it can be seen how a social constructivist approach can provide an overview of how the pieces match, fit and come together. Following this way of thinking, the authors propose Giddens 's structuration as an orienting framework for these interpretative lenses.

E-Learning meets the Social Semantic Web

Abstract: The social semantic Web has recently emerged as a paradigm in which ontologies (aimed at defining, structuring and sharing information) and collaborative software (used for creating and sharing knowledge) have been merged together. Ontologies provide an effective means of capturing and integrating knowledge for feedback provisioning, while using collaborative activities can support pedagogical theories, such as social constructivism. Both technologies have developed separately in the e-learning domain; representing respectively a teacher-centered and a learner-centered approach for learning environments. In this paper we bridge the gap between these two approaches by leveraging the social semantic Web paradigm, and propose a collaborative semantic-rich learning environment in which folksonomies created from studentspsila collaborative tags contribute to ontology maintenance, and teacher-directed feedback.

Developing forward‐looking and innovative school leaders: the Singapore Leaders in Education Programme

Abstract: The Leaders in Education Programme is a six‐month full‐time programme for specially selected vice‐principals and ministry officers in Singapore to prepare them for school leadership. This paper describes and analyses the design of the programme and identifies the key underlying principle as that of knowledge construction, sharing and application using a social constructivism paradigm. In particular, it examines one particular component, the Future School project, in detail so as to illustrate these principles and how they operate in action. Drawing from the experiences of the Future School project, this paper suggests some pointers to designing a programme for school leadership.

An Essay for Educators: Epistemological Realism Really is Common Sense

Abstract: “What is truth?” Pontius Pilot asked Jesus of Nazareth. For many educators today this question seems quaintly passe. Rejection of “truth” goes hand-in-hand with the rejection of epistemological realism. Educational thought over the last decade has instead been dominated by empiricist, anti-realist, instrumentalist epistemologies of two types: first by psychological constructivism and later by social constructivism. Social constructivism subsequently has been pressed to its logical conclusion in the form of relativistic multiculturalism. Proponents of both psychological constructivism and social constructivism value knowledge for its utility and eschew as irrelevant speculation any notion that knowledge is actually about reality. The arguments are largely grounded in the discourse of science and science education where science is “western” science; neither universal nor about what is really real. The authors defended the notion of science as universal in a previous article. The present purpose is to offer a commonsense argument in defense of critical realism as an epistemology and the epistemically distinguished position of science (rather than privileged) within a framework of epistemological pluralism. The paper begins with a brief cultural survey of events during the thirty-year period from 1960–1990 that brought many educators to break with epistemological realism and concludes with comments on the pedagogical importance of realism. Understanding the cultural milieu of the past forty years is critical to understanding why traditional philosophical attacks on social constructivist ideas have proved impotent defenders of scientific realism.

Comparative History of Communication Studies: France and Germany

Abstract: The aim is to outline general differences in two academic cultures, considering historic perspectives: German 'Kommunikationswissenschaft' with its roots in 'Publizistik-' and 'Zeitungswissenschaft' and French 'Sciences de l'information et de la communication' with its roots in semiotics and cultural views on communication. There are differ- ent internal and external (societal and political) means which influenced the development of communication studies and theories in each of the two countries. The Sciences de l'information et de la communication (SIC) gained their academic acceptance in France in 1975 which under international comparison was late. One strong external moment of the instutionalization of SIC was the political aim to modernize the French University for the so called 'information society'. The French researchers developed their own focus. Semio-pragmatics and social constructivism are two basic theoretical orientations which, after the end of the limiting structuralistic paradigm of the 1960 ths , lead to a fruitful connection of the analysis of the micro and the meso-level of communication processes. Thus, Pragmatics and Symbolic Interactionism played an important role in French SIC much earlier than in Germany.

Information Literacy and Knowledge Management: Preparations for an Arranged Marriage

Abstract: This article discusses a conceptual framework developed as part of ongoing PhD research looking at workplace information literacy (IL) and exploring its relationships to knowledge management (KM). An empirical study is researching conceptions of effective information use and learning practices of staff at a national, over the phone, health service operating 24/7, using a phenomenographic approach combined with a consideration of structural aspects of the workplace environment related to institutional initiatives for KM. The proposed framework involves three main elements: an epistemological approach to learning based on social constructivism and hermeneutics; the analysis of situated practice from a sociological and philosophical viewpoint based on critical realism; and a definition of literacy as a multimodal semiotic tool for learning. The concepts of literacy and literacies are discussed in contrast to information literacy, and it is suggested that seeing information literacy as an aspect of literacy, rather than as an independent concept, is a more fruitful approach to the study of the core processes involved in sense-making, learning and decision-making in situated practice and particularly in organizational environments.

Reframing e‐assessment: adopting new media and adapting old frameworks

Abstract: Over the past 10 years, learning and teaching have benefited from greater use of social constructivist and situated learning, through more widespread adoption of the ideas of Dewey, Piaget, Vygotsky and Bruner (e.g., Lave and Wenger 1991; Brown 2004). However, assessment has consistently failed to follow through these innovations, substantially because it squares the desire for improved constructivist learning against the demand for institutional and external reliability and accountability. Consequently, assessment has not kept pace with these developments and has remained largely transmission orientated in both conception and practice (Knight and Yorke 2003). This new generation of e-assessment is still in its early days, but its foundations are broader and more solid. No longer the speciality of a technologically-aware few, the pedagogical, social and even political dimensions of the problems of e-assessment are better known. Wide access to the knowledge and tools needed to deploy and develop innovative technology for learning has blurred the boundaries between pedagogical and technical specialists. Institutional support has improved, and open source virtual learning environments are being built by people who know both pedagogy and technology. E-assessment is starting to deliver measurable and successful improvements; but there is still much work to be done.

An Online Social Constructivist Tool: A Secondary School Experience In The Developing World

Abstract: With the rapid advances in technology, several online learning tools come onto the stage. Being an online learning delivery tool to support a full range of teaching and learning activities conducted by educational institutions Moodle facilitates online content creation and collaboration by entailing various social and communication tools that support teacher-student, student-student, and teacher-teacher interactions. This paper presents the "Moodling"(Moodle, 2005) experience within a secondary school in a developing country, namely Turkey. Based on a focus discussion group with the foreign language teachers, the author depicts the critical points that need to be taken into consideration so that an effective collaborative online platform for both teachers and students to learn together can exist.

Microtraining as a support mechanism for informal learning

Abstract: Most companies are confronted with fast changing learning demands and the need of new concepts. Companies very much overestimate and overinvest in formal training programs, while missing out the opportunities to foster more natural and informal learning processes. For informal learning to flourish it is crucial to develop flexible mechanisms which support this kind of learning, while avoiding the drawbacks that coincide with informality. The Microtraining method is being developed as a mechanism to support predominantly informal learning activities. Microtraining should be understood as a learning arrangement of about 15 minutes for each learning occasion. Each session contains elements like an active start, demo or exercise, feedback or discussion and a shared view on how to proceed. Such an occasion can be face-to-face, online or in mixed modes depending on the circumstances and possibilities. The concept is based on a number of theoretical considerations of which Social Constructivism is an important element, next to the notions of Connectivism and the Levels of Mastery. Microtraining requires an organisational framework to effectively apply this method relative to the learning issue, the skills of the initiator and the employees and their daily working schedule. In practice, it is shown that this framework helps to collectively develop solutions for workplace related learning with ample opportunities for information transfer. Microtraining supports informal learning close to the workplace, thereby increasing the learning capacity of the company. The Microtraining1 concept is being developed in the framework of the Leonardo da Vinci program of the European Union

A qualitative research approach to new ways of seeing marketing in SME's: implications for education, training and development

Abstract: There is myriad research that explores the nature of marketing generally, and more specifically within SME (small to medium sized enterprise) contexts. Most of this research, however, focuses upon orthodox and relational marketing. Recently, it has also been argued that the literature fails to pay adequate attention to the role that critical studies might take in helping to understand marketing. Moreover, qualitative approaches to researching SME marketing have recently gained favour. This thesis takes the opportunity to employ a qualitative approach to researching SME marketing while at the same time exploring the implications for education, training and development (ETD). This research explored how the subjective individual can make sense of particular social arenas. Adopting a social constructivist approach involving the researcher and participants, this research offers some clarity to the SME marketing ETD context. To illuminate new ways of seeing, this research looked to both SME and ETD participants to be part of a study located in the North East of England. The study employed a semi-structured interview that, when transcribed, provided research texts that were then analysed through a Discourse Analysis lens. This allowed discourses to emerge from the texts that illuminated aspects of marketing in a SME context, as well as aspects of ETD. It is clear from the research that the extant nature of orthodox marketing’s central model, known as the 4Ps, is for the SME participants obvious and in the background. For the ETD participants this model is still central to how they see marketing ETD for SMEs in their role as educators, trainers and developers. However both SME and ETD perspectives include relational components, particularly networking. Critical components, in the light of Critical Theory and the turbulent business environment, can also be seen in the discourses of this thesis. The standpoints that the participants of this study combine, adapt, juxtapose or shape to fit conditions to their everyday lives, were exposed. The research texts contain metaphoric and other references that negotiate key tensions leading to confrontation and resistance to the dominant orthodox marketing form. This thesis explores the ways that participants use marketing-related discourse to inscribe their behaviours in a complex ideological system, immersed in social worlds. Marketing realities are found to be more critical than at first assumed. A schema is developed that portrays the relationships between these actors and this social arena. I therefore assess themes that emerge from the narratives of participants and within each theme discourses are used to describe participants’ world views. This thesis provides a new way of seeing marketing and develops the relational, orthodox and critical (ROC) schema of SME marketing, applied to ETD. This schema informs thinking on a range of issues such as flows of information, relationships, network coordination and specific competencies. The schema should be considered carefully before the design and delivery of any form of SME marketing ETD programme and any materials are devised. The findings of this thesis suggest that the ROC schema is potentially applicable to other marketing contexts.

Questioning EU Constitutionalisms

Abstract: This paper takes a step back and tackles a question that a great majority of proponents of EU constitutionalism in their sometimes overly enthusiastic constitutional enterprise surprisingly failed to address. Beyond constitutional nominalism, that is, beyond the pervasive constitutional labeling, what kind of constitutionalism are we actually talking about?

Facilitating Historical Discussions Using Asynchronous Communication: The Role of the Teacher

Abstract: This study examines the effectiveness of asynchronous communication in facilitating historical discussions among adolescents, with a specific focus on the ways in which teachers can affect this process. Threaded discussion board posts and teacher-student email correspondence from a five-week American history summer course are analyzed and triangulated with interview and observational data as part of a single case study. Using a social constructivist framework, the results suggest that the students in this particular course did not critically engage in discussions of a historical nature and often relied on unsubstantiated opinions that rarely challenged preexisting or canonical notions of history. The results also suggest that the teacher's actions or lack thereof may have contributed to the perfunctory social experience that students received. Although this study only serves as one example of K-12 e-learning, the findings offer implications for teaching and learning social studies within online environments.

Techtalk: Wikis and Collaborative Knowledge Construction

Abstract: In the last column, we began discussing Web 2.0 applications. In this column, we'll review participatory, social networking software called "wikis." We'll define wikis, discuss their use in college classrooms, explore benefits provided for collaborative knowledge construction, and explain five types of wikis with applications to developmental education (DE).What is a Wiki?Wikis are a variety of dynamic Web pages that can be edited using Web browsers (Wikipedia Foundation Inc. [WFI], 2008a). Although the best example of a wiki is Wikipedia, others include MySpace or YouTube discussed in our last column. Wikis allow a group to collaboratively construct a document online by subscribing and then editing multimedia using simple text editors. Tags, RSS (Real Simple Syndication), feeds, and full-page editing are often available. If unwanted changes occur, a moderator can easily launch a previous version from a catalog. For more information, view Wikis in Plain English (LeFever & LeFever, 2007).Examples of WikisWikis have been used in a variety of college assignments, and examples are generally accessible after joining a wiki site and searching for "educational applications." For example, a quick search on the topic "wikis in college" in WikiSpaces (2008) at the time of this writing found 87 education wikis. Applications of DE wikis can be found at the Online Teaching and Learning Wiki site created by Julie Hutchin's project for TIDE in 2006 (Hutchin, 2008) or the Developmental Education Wiki site created by Caverly (2008).Researchers have consistently documented the value of publishing students' collaborative writing in terms of increased motivation, positive attitudes, and greater achievement (Ajjan & Hartshorne, 2008). Newer research is suggesting writing using Web 2.0 technology changes how students construct meaning (Writing in Digital Environments [WIDE] Research Center, 2008).Coconstructing Meaning with a WikiA wiki blurs the line between the reader and the writer. Both are encouraged to coconstruct knowledge through reading and editing text (in the broad sense of print, graphic, audio, and video), adding tags to classify meaning, and participating in a learning community where the group coconstructs knowledge and takes ownership of a message (Cummings, 2008). Wikis thus provide a social constructivist, epistemological stance (Vygotsky, 1978) allowing knowledge to be collaboratively constructed among students (Resta & Laferridere, 2007). Truth is relativistic, variable, and determined by the group (Garfinkel, 2008). Through the "wisdom of the crowd" (Liotta, 2008) and students discussing, writing, and sharing combined knowledge and perceptions of reality, an understanding (i.e., truth) is determined.Wikipedia (WFI, 2008b) builds upon this phenomenon in their creation of an online, wild-based encyclopedia. It seemingly is the first source students seek out for new information. Still, Wikipedia does not purport to present the "truth" about what is known about a given topic as documented by experts. Rather, it presents what the "crowd" thinks is the truth, using a different epistemological set of standards including three policy thresholds for inclusion into its wiki (WFI, 2008c): (a) "verifiability policy," where justification that the information is published is the criteria for acceptance, not experts' evidence; (b) "no original research policy," where no original thought is accepted; and (c) "neutral point of view policy," where all points of view are presented regardless of validity. These epistemological standards are counter to expectations of a postsecondary education.Recent research has compared Wikipedia to more traditional sources. Chesney (2006) compared 55 academics reading either Encyclopaedia Britannica entries or Wikipedia entries and found generally no difference in their credibility, suggesting the accuracy of Wikipedia was high. However, Rector (2008) compared nine Wikipedia entries to Encyclopaedia Britannica, The Dictionary of American History, and American National Biography Online. …

Locating and extending livelihoods research

Abstract: Much poverty and development research is not explicit about its methodology or philosophical foundations. Based on the extended case method of Burawoy and the epistemological standpoint of critical realism, this paper discusses a methodological approach for reflexive inductive livelihoods research that overcomes the unproductive social science dualism of positivism and social constructivism. The approach is linked to a conceptual framework and a menu of research methods that can be sequenced and iterated in light of research questions.