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Educational Policymaking and the Methodology of Positive Economics: A Theoretical Critique
Author(s) -
Gilead Tal
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
educational theory
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.21
H-Index - 42
eISSN - 1741-5446
pISSN - 0013-2004
DOI - 10.1111/edth.12066
Subject(s) - conviction , agency (philosophy) , positive economics , materialism , value (mathematics) , education theory , epistemology , sociology , educational research , social science , higher education , political science , economics , law , philosophy , machine learning , computer science
By critically interrogating the methodological foundations of orthodox economic theory, Tal Gilead challenges the growing conviction in educational policymaking quarters that, being more scientific than other forms of educational investigation, inquiries grounded in orthodox economics should provide the basis for educational policymaking. He argues that the main methodological problem with accepting orthodox economic theory as a guide to educational policymaking is not, as commonly claimed, its alleged reliance on a materialistic and egoistic conception of human nature, but rather its embracement of a value‐free conception of science and the hypothetico‐deductive model of prediction. These, Gilead maintains, prevent economics‐based investigations from adequately dealing with questions of human agency and ethics, which are central to education. Orthodox economic thinking, he concludes, should not be accorded a dominant role in educational policymaking, but rather should only be viewed as providing one additional source of insight that has limited applicability.