Epistemological Diversity, Constructionism, and Social Justice Research in School Psychology

Abstract

Calls for school psychology researchers to produce scholarship explicitly centered on social justice have grown in recent years. There is a growing community of scholars dedicated to this research area but the knowledge base produced so far remains narrow and constrained in nature. We connect the constrained nature of this scholarship to the epistemological dominance of objectivism which has manifested in many ways, including calls to standardize the meaning of social justice. Social justice researchers must produce their research (whether qualitative, quantitative, or mixed) within the confines of objectivist culture even though social injustice exceeds the constraints of any one epistemological framework. We argue that in order to foster social justice research in school psychology, a plurality of epistemologies is crucial. We present the epistemology of constructionism, and provide various examples of what an epistemologically diversified approach to school psychology research, practice and teaching in social justice may look like. Impact Statement The authors critique the restrictive role of objectivism in social justice-related research in school psychology. This paper can assist the field of school psychology to broaden its epistemological boundaries through constructionism which in turn can allow equity-oriented school psychologists to have a deeper engagement with issues of power, inequity, and injustice in research, practice, and teaching.