The empirical researcher as philosopher: the ‘effective teaching’ debate as a case study for philosophical pluralism

Abstract

The paper contrasts two schools of philosophy, linguistic analysis and philosophical pluralism, arguing that the latter avoids many of the former's faults. The McLeish/ Gibson debate concerning the possibility of identifying teacher effectiveness through a Skinnerian analysis of behaviour is then examined as a case study to show the relevance of philosophical pluralism for those concerned with empirical research. The conclusion reached is that the researcher builds various philosophical assumptions into his work and at that point becomes prey to philosophical difficulties which, if ignored, find expression in his empirical work. For this reason, amongst others, the researcher can be seen as a philosopher.