The contribution of the ontological turn in education: Some methodological and political implications

Abstract

This paper follows recent debates on the ontological turn in the social sciences and humanities to exemplify how this turn creates important openings of methodological and political potential in education. In particular, the paper makes an attempt to show two things: first, the new questions and possibilities that are opened from explicitly acknowledging the methodological and political consequences of the ontological turn in education—e.g. concerning agency, transformation, materiality and relations; and second, the importance of being clear about how educators and educational researchers conceptualize ontology and engage with debates on the ontological turn in related disciplines. The paper sketches some of the methodological and political implications of the ontological turn for education, focusing in particular on the concept of learning.

Keywords:

• Ontological turn
• ontolology
• politics
• educational research
• learning
• methodology

Notes

1. I am indebted to one of the anonymous reviewers for pointing out this concern.