Week 11. Critical Theory

We learned two weeks ago that there are a lot of different theories we can use to direct our research. And we also learned that there is a hierarchy for those theories. This week we talked about critical theory, a big umbrella that covers a lot of other micro theories. Critical theory is an emancipatory theory, that looks for freedom, social justice and power balance in our society. It deals with very complex and sensitive topics providing understanding and interpretation.

This theory is not free of critiques, one of the biggest being its political agenda that can generate a strong bias in the researcher. Concerning this, we had an interesting exercise today, a debate considering how unbiased has to be a researcher. I think that it is impossible to completely isolate the science of the context, especially in the educational context. Our area is an ever-evolving field where context acquires a particular importance in order to achieve appropriate comprehension of the studied phenomenon.

We should develop relationships in order to access data, we must take the research to the participants instead of moving them into the research. We don't have the luxury of controlled environments and variables, so the best way to confront this is with the correct theoretical foundation and a research project design that has approaches and methodologies that fit the purpose.