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Ethics and educational research: philosophical perspectives
Academic Virtue
Within the broader framework of moral philosophy and philosophy of education, there is an extensive contemporary and historical literature which focuses on morality not so much in terms of rule following or even obedience to one's own principles but rather in terms of established characteristics or personal traits, habits of behaviour which have become deeply embedded in one's personality and which, if they are seen to constitute forms of human excellence (either in general or in connection with particular worthwhile human activities) are referred to as virtue(s). One set of such virtues is of course the category of academic virtue (though there is debate as to whether such virtues are or are not distinguishable from general human virtues)
[Some key references here on this philosophical literature and websites]
It is interesting to consider the application of this sort of philosophical framework to educational (as indeed other) research. This poses questions about eg
- (i) What might be the virtue(s) we look for or seek to develop in an educational researcher?
This question is discussed in a paper by Richard Pring under the title ‘The virtues and vices of an educational researcher' originally published in Journal of Philosophy of Education 35:3 pp 407-422 and also re-issued in eds. McNamee, M. and Bridges D. The ethics of educational research , London , Blackwell. It has since also appeared in Sikes,P., Nixon, J. and Carr, W. eds. 2003 The moral foundations of educational research: knowledge inquiry and values , Maidenhead, OUP.
An extract from a discussion of these issues in Bridges, D. 2003 ‘Fiction written under oath'? Essays in philosophy and educational research , Dordecht, Kluwer is available on this site. Go to extract.
- (ii) How are such virtues developed?
A quick fix training in ‘virtue skills' does not sound quite the answer. Philosophers tend to resort to a much softer language to capture what is no doubt a more elusive process: ‘nurturing', ‘fostering', ‘cultivating'. Such qualities are learned through the example of people we admire, perhaps the expectations they have of us and the habits they require. But they are not just represented in individuals, they are sustained by communities. If we want virtuous researchers, says Pring, then we need ‘virtuous research communities'.
Pring deals briefly with this question in the sources indicated above, but if you want to dig a little deeper refer to [reference here] and also to Alasdair MacIntyres account of ;'communities of practice' in his highly influential book ‘After Virtue' (MacIntyre,A. 2000 second edition, After Virtue , Duckworth.
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