Abstract
This chapter provides a detailed discussion about positivist research and how it has emerged in social science and teacher research. It makes a case for moving beyond positivistic tendencies in teacher research because these methodologies require teachers to deny themselves as active participants in the research process. This omission of the Self from research stands in direct opposition to many teachers’ purposes for conducting research in the first place, since teachers often choose to do research to understand and change the lived experiences of their students (and themselves). The author encourages her readers to “unfreeze the positivist paralysis” by embracing Self and life in their work.
People! When you do this kind of work, you believe these numbers mean something! They represent the phenomena you are trying to study!1
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Kress, T.M. (2011). Positivist Research, Death of the Self. In: Critical Praxis Research. Explorations of Educational Purpose, vol 19. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1790-9_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1790-9_3
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