Blind Faith? Empowerment and Educational Research

ABSTRACT

This paper questions the efficacy of ‘empowerment’ in educational research by interrogating its casual use in a range of different, sometimes contrasting, research discourses. In particular it draws attention to the distinction between ‘empowerment’ and ‘giving a voice’, demonstrating that the former cannot be read off automatically from the latter. It concludes by suggesting that those who are persuaded by ‘conviction research’ should abandon use of the term ‘empowerment’ (and all that it implies) in favour of a more realistic research aim: one that is informed by the principles of ‘critical social research’.

I think our task is to criticize each other in the best sense of learning from each other; otherwise how will the tradition grow and learn from its mistakes? Because we are on the democratic Left we must model a kind of openness and democratic behaviour in our own discourse. We must welcome criticism — when it is given in an open and honest fashion ‐ if we are not to capitulate the relations we are supposed to be fighting against. (Apple, 1993, p. 180)