Well-warranted critiques are fundamental to sound research. While much critique focuses on single studies or sets of studies (via peer review), the focus of this entry is on broader critiques of the field of education research, of different approaches within the field, and of recommendations for what the field should become. Different “approaches” to research can be defined variously by substantive area, by discipline, by methodology, by philosophical perspective, or by some combination of these. Sometimes, critiques of education research are explicit; sometimes they are implicit in recommendations for reform; and critiques of both types are considered here. All are historically situated, responding to a particular set of circumstances at a particular time, and are best interpreted in light of those circumstances.

During the past few ...