This is a piece I wrote about the harm that educational research has inflicted over the years. Given a track record of making things worse for school and society, educational researchers would do well to heed the wisdom in the Hippocratic Oath. If our work often fails to make things better, we should at least … Continue reading Do No Harm
Category: Educational Research
Max Weber’s “Science as a Vocation”
Today I'm posting Max Weber's classic piece on "Science as a Vocation." It was originally delivered as a speech at Munich University in 1918. Its relevance for scholars today is as great as it was then, asking these questions: What does it mean to be a scientist? What are the sources and limits of scientific … Continue reading Max Weber’s “Science as a Vocation”
The Five-Paragraph Fetish
This is a piece I published in Aeon last year about the persistence of the five-paragraph essay, which has evolved into the five-chapter dissertation and the five-section journal article. Formalism reins supreme. Here's the link to the original. Schools and colleges in the United States are adept at teaching students how to write by the … Continue reading The Five-Paragraph Fetish
10 Week Academic Writing Class — Including Syllabus, Slides, Readings, and Text for Editing
This is a class on academic writing for clarity and grace. It is designed as a 10-week class, with weekly readings, slides, and texts for editing. It's aimed at doctoral students who are preparing to become researchers who seek to publish their scholarship. Ideally you can take the class with a group of peers, where you … Continue reading 10 Week Academic Writing Class — Including Syllabus, Slides, Readings, and Text for Editing
Doctoral Dysfunction — Many Doctoral Students Today Tend to Fall into One of Two Disturbing Categories: Academic Technicians or Justice Warriors
This piece was published in Inside Higher Ed in June, 2020. Here's a link to the original. Doctoral Dysfunction Many doctoral students today are tending to fall into one of two disturbing categories: academic technician or justice warrior, writes David F. Labaree. David F. Labaree June 18, 2020 After nearly 40 years as a university … Continue reading Doctoral Dysfunction — Many Doctoral Students Today Tend to Fall into One of Two Disturbing Categories: Academic Technicians or Justice Warriors
Sermon on Educational Research
This is a piece I published in 2012, drawing on my experience over the years working with doctoral students in education. The advice, basically, is to approach your apprenticeship in educational research doing the opposite of what everyone else tells you to do. Enjoy. A Sermon on Educational Research David F. Labaree Published in 2012 … Continue reading Sermon on Educational Research
The Lure of Statistics for Educational Researchers
This is a paper I published Educational Theory back in 2011 about the factors shaping the rise of quantification in education research. It seems relevant to a lot of issues in the field educational policy. The Lure of Statistics for Educational Researchers by David F. Labaree Published 2011 in Educational Theory, 61:6 Philosophy is … Continue reading The Lure of Statistics for Educational Researchers
David Labaree on Schooling, History, and Writing 