ABSTRACT

This book invites us to think about the value and uses of philosophy and theory in education research, and also to think specifically about education. Through the contributors’ stories, the book elicits a further perspective as well: the characteristics of those who have made some mark in education. In the dialogue chapters we hear how each of these prominent educationists have entered into and developed their own thinking about education: what they have studied, who and what they were influenced by, and how they began to develop the various kinds of research and diverse contributions to the education field for which they are now well known. Notwithstanding their differences, they talk about the value of theory, philosophy and research with some significant commonalities; their biographies, too, suggest some common characteristics that also speak to the focus of this book. In this final chapter I want to reflect on four themes I see as inherent in these earlier chapters, with a particular focus on implications for graduate students embarking on their own entry into research in education.