The place of theory in educational policy research

Abstract

Our goal in this text is to discuss the place theory has occupied in educational policy research. Firstly, we present brief remarks about the concept of theory to signal implications and consequences of their presence / absence in educational policy research. Subsequently, we analyze the role of theory in educational studies, in order to score a critical and creative dimension. Thirdly, we present the consequences of withdrawal from theory and the weakening of the concepts of knowledge, considering teacher development and the formation of researchers. The argument we have developed is epistemologically anchored at the interface of a pluralistic and rationalist theoretical perspective taken in its critical-analytical epistemological positioning, besides the epistemological approach of complexity. Thus, we make use of robust and flexible concepts that allow us to understand, clarify and explain the proposed problem, that is, to seek a satisfactory answer to the question: What is the place and the importance of theory in educational policy research? In this way, we designed a theoretical analysis that seeks to explore complex and diverse interactions, considering the field in which such problems are located, namely the educational policies and their relationship to the research.

Keywords

• Theory.
• Research.
• Epistemology.
• Educational policy.