Claims of philosophy, education and research

Abstract

This paper is a response to Richard Pring's ‘Reclaiming philosophy for educational research’, which appears in this issue. While it provides broad support for the case for the importance of philosophy in the study of education that Pring advances, it seeks to refine and to extend this. It does this through a consideration of three sets of claims. First, it considers the claims that can be made for the nature and value of the philosophy of education, about which the paper identifies and evaluates rival points of view. Second, it considers the kinds of claims that can reasonably be made upon philosophy by education in terms of the need for practical relevance. Third, it assesses the nature of the claims that are made in the name of educational research. It suggests that a failure of nerve has left educational research cramped and contained by its own self‐conception.