López-Alvarado, J. (2017). Educational Research: Educational Purposes, the Nature of Knowledge and Ethical Issues. International Journal of Research and Education (IJRE), 2(1), 1-5. https://cmich.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/educational-research-purposes-nature-knowledge/docview/1913347024/se-2

Julio Lopez-Alvarado’s article Educational Research: Educational Purposes, the Nature of Knowledge and Ethical Issues, peels the curtain back on the ‘why’ of educational research. Citing Purpose, Nature of Knowledge, and Ethics as the three main components, Lopez-Alvarado outlines the underlying factors (and issues) that influence educational research. He describes the history of education comparing Liberal Education to Progressive Education and specifically calls out the differences in which societies institutionalized education (indoctrination, training, etc.). Lopez-Alvarado’s themes are consistent with that of Labaree (2003), citing, “But with the current metrics used to rank educational institutions and Countries, a lot of emphasis is made on results that are measurable (test results, e.g. PISA report), and there is not always a direct correlation between test results and how well students are prepared for work and life,” (Lopez-Alvarado, 2017). 

However, in all of this his driving purpose for this article is within the Nature of Knowledge and how it contributes to educational research. Lopez-Alvarado cites two driving factors within educational research: Ontology, one’s beliefs about reality, and Epistemology, “theory of knowledge, especially with regard to its methods, validity, and scope, and the distinction between justified belief and opinion,” (Hacking 2001). Lopez-Alvarado claims that how one views reality and what they believe about the world around them dictates the way they interpret knowledge. In other words, “What the researcher believes about the nature of reality will dictate what kind of relationship the researcher should have with whatever is being studied,” (Lopez-Alvarado, 2017). This has a direct impact on educational research as it completely alters the way research is executed and perceived by individuals, according to Lopez. 

Finally, Lopez addresses the ethical considerations which make educational research itself even more challenging, writing, “good educational research will always be influenced and constrained by ethical concerns. Is it possible to make a really unbiased social research and at the same time give the participants all the information regarding the purpose of the research? Will the participants in the research behave in the same way with all the information about the purposes of the research? Is it easy, or even possible, to predict all possible psychological/health effects of an experiment in all potential participants?” (2017). This idea builds on the foundations established by Labaree’s The Peculiar Problems of Preparing Educational Researchers (2003) and Berliner’s Educational research: The hardest science of all (2002). Lopez-Alvarado’s article highlights not only the why of educational research, but builds upon previous notions of the difficulty of educational researchers’ work. The context and variables that persist within the field and the variety of factors that have underlying influence make the quality of research in Education difficult to interpret.

Lopez-Alvarado lacks a formal study but presents a new perspective on the challenges facing educational researchers. He excels in acknowledging what education has been perceived as (in some cases, continues to be perceived as) and what it has become in the modern age. I find his breakdown of these three underlying issues to be insightful as it is something often not considered in the wide range of educational research. What knowledge is perceived as to an individual varies and that has implications on how we evaluate practice as well as the field of education. Offering a fresh perspective of these challenges facing researchers adds a new layer to the overarching conversation of what educational research is and what it needs to be. While his acknowledgements are in no way groundbreaking and new findings, it does push to the forefront education’s purpose, an ideal/belief that is at the heart of educational research.

Lopez-Alvarado’s article didn’t offer me any new interest or extend any ideas for my research I already had. That said, for someone who has just entered a Doctoral Program, it has opened my perspective on educational research as a whole. Lopez discusses the significance of cultural background and world view and how it plays a role in a researcher’s entire study, something I had never considered prior. Whether a realist or relativist, that specific view on the world can alter how individuals proceed in their research, how they plan their study, what level of involvement they have, and how that impacts their conclusions about specific results. It’s fascinating and yet, nearly impossible to shy away from. Education and cultural societal perspective shape how we assess the world we live in and it shapes how we make decisions. This is especially true within the field of educational research in which our own educational views can alter how we proceed to evaluate education all together. While it may not have completely shifted my interests or aided in my development of new ones, I find this article extremely applicable in the sense that it provides me another layer to be cognizant of. As someone beginning the long, strenuous journey within my research, it is an aspect of research that I hadn’t considered prior, but is something that will be a leading aspect of my research moving forward. 

Sources
Berliner, D.C. (2002). Educational research: The hardest science of all. Educational Researcher, 31(8), 18-20.

Larabee, D. F. (2003). The Peculiar Problems of Preparing Educational Researchers, Educational Researchers 32(4), 13–22.

López-Alvarado, J. (2017). Educational Research: Educational Purposes, the Nature of Knowledge and Ethical Issues. International Journal of Research and Education (IJRE), 2(1), 1-5. https://cmich.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/educational-research-purposes-nature-knowledge/docview/1913347024/se-2