Pluralism

The Nature of Pluralism

The goal of theoretical pluralism is not to produce a single theory that explains all aspects and attributes of a phenomenon; rather, it is intended to integrate and organize alternative theoretical perspectives in order to develop a broader perspective about the phenomenon of interest than is possible with a single theory. Theoretical pluralism can be considered as scholarly inquiry because it generates new or expanded theories to explain certain phenomena. It can occur in a variety of ways, but in each case it is intended to provide stronger theoretical support to the research than what is available in a single theoretical perspective.

Rationale for Pluralism

In recent years, researchers have recognized that many of the phenomena they are studying are too complex to be framed within a single theory. For instance, common explanations of race do not sufficiently explain why adolescent suicide is more common in some ethnic groups than in others. Practitioners in a variety of practice fields have long complained that research has lagged behind the advances in practice. One reason for this is that researchers have tended to rely on single theories to explain practice phenomena; these do not accurately reflect the changing realities of practitioners' worlds. Some of the current theories are focused on the individual; these are inadequate to explain multifaceted phenomena, such as health, at a societal or population level. In addition, in most areas of study, there now exists a plethora of theories, each with its own concepts, language, and underlying assumptions, but there is a lack of critical comparison, integration, and synthesis in this body of theory, resulting in conceptual clouding and ambiguity. For example, concepts such as social capital have been obscured because the various theories that represent the concept differ greatly as to whether it is considered an attribute of a community or a person, and there is considerable variation in how it is operationally defined. Finally, there are new areas of study that have previously drawn on generalized theories but are now requiring a more distinct and differentiating theory than what has been previously articulated. These concerns have given rise to the need for theoretical pluralism.

Forms of Pluralism

The most common form of theoretical pluralism is when theories that pertain to a common phenomenon are blended together to form a single theoretical framework. For example, three theories of motivation (one that refers to attributions made about ability, another that discusses motivation as a socially constructed phenomenon, and another that proposes that motivation is the result of reinforcements from authority figures) could be used to form a theoretical framework for a study about students' motivation to study for exams. The concepts and constructs of the separate theories could be organized into a single whole; that is, a new theory that incorporates the components of all three theories. Such a study would then include research methods that examined how individual students perceived their academic success or failure, the social and contextual influences in students' motivation, and how teachers' interactions with students reinforced, negated, or fostered students' motivation to study.

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