Page 352 - Igor Ž. Žagar in Ana Mlekuž, ur. Raziskovanje v vzgoji in izobraževanju: mednarodni vidiki vzgoje in izobraževanja. Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut, 2020. Digitalna knjižnica, Dissertationes 38
P. 352
r aziskovanje v vzgoji in izobr aževanju: mednarodni vidki vzgoje in izobr aževanja
tislovja še zaostrila, iskanje ravnotežja dveh diskurzov pa postaja še bolj
nujno. Prispevek poskuša rehabilitirati pomen ne-instrumentalne dimen-
zije akademskega raziskovanja: pomen formuliranja in naslavljanja kritič-
nih vprašanj in hipotez, nasprotnih predpostavkam vseh akterjev, ki so
vpeti v oblikovanje politik.
Ključne besede: edukacijske politike, oblikovanje politik, reforme, neolibe-
ralizem, raziskovanje edukacije
Education and education policy research or on relation
between ‚kings‘ and ‚philosophers‘
The article deals with the relationship between education research and ed-
ucational policies in the present. This relationship is crucial in the design,
implementation and evaluation of education system reforms. Policymak-
ing in modern democracies is based on the principle that they must be evi-
dence-based, which brings about academic, “objective” research. Academ-
ic discourse provides the knowledge that administrative discourse uses as
an instrument in managing social life. However, the assumption that aca-
demic discourse would at the same time be stripped of its management re-
sponsibilities and superior to administrative discourse is problematic. The
concept of governance has not only an instrumental but also a substan-
tive dimension; on the other hand, the scientification of policy-making in
the modern age has led to the politicization of science. This is the source
of many contradictions that are not specific to the present age. Plato tried
to resolve the potential conflict between knowledge and power through
the fusion of the “king-philosopher”, which Kant later dismissed on the
grounds that it was not to be expected, nor desired, “because the posses-
sion of power necessarily corrupts the free judgment of the mind”. This is
not to be construed as a call to imprisonment in the “ivory tower”, which in
the last century actually happened in a specific way with the appearance of
so-called “the disengaged academic”. In the age of populism and the post-
truth world, however, these contradictions have only intensified, and the
search for a balance between the two discourses becomes even more ur-
gent. The paper attempts to rehabilitate the importance of the non-instru-
mental dimension of academic inquiry: the importance of formulating and
addressing critical questions and hypotheses, contrary to the assumptions
of all actors involved in policy making.
Keywords: educational policies, policy making, reforms, neoliberalism,
educational research
352
tislovja še zaostrila, iskanje ravnotežja dveh diskurzov pa postaja še bolj
nujno. Prispevek poskuša rehabilitirati pomen ne-instrumentalne dimen-
zije akademskega raziskovanja: pomen formuliranja in naslavljanja kritič-
nih vprašanj in hipotez, nasprotnih predpostavkam vseh akterjev, ki so
vpeti v oblikovanje politik.
Ključne besede: edukacijske politike, oblikovanje politik, reforme, neolibe-
ralizem, raziskovanje edukacije
Education and education policy research or on relation
between ‚kings‘ and ‚philosophers‘
The article deals with the relationship between education research and ed-
ucational policies in the present. This relationship is crucial in the design,
implementation and evaluation of education system reforms. Policymak-
ing in modern democracies is based on the principle that they must be evi-
dence-based, which brings about academic, “objective” research. Academ-
ic discourse provides the knowledge that administrative discourse uses as
an instrument in managing social life. However, the assumption that aca-
demic discourse would at the same time be stripped of its management re-
sponsibilities and superior to administrative discourse is problematic. The
concept of governance has not only an instrumental but also a substan-
tive dimension; on the other hand, the scientification of policy-making in
the modern age has led to the politicization of science. This is the source
of many contradictions that are not specific to the present age. Plato tried
to resolve the potential conflict between knowledge and power through
the fusion of the “king-philosopher”, which Kant later dismissed on the
grounds that it was not to be expected, nor desired, “because the posses-
sion of power necessarily corrupts the free judgment of the mind”. This is
not to be construed as a call to imprisonment in the “ivory tower”, which in
the last century actually happened in a specific way with the appearance of
so-called “the disengaged academic”. In the age of populism and the post-
truth world, however, these contradictions have only intensified, and the
search for a balance between the two discourses becomes even more ur-
gent. The paper attempts to rehabilitate the importance of the non-instru-
mental dimension of academic inquiry: the importance of formulating and
addressing critical questions and hypotheses, contrary to the assumptions
of all actors involved in policy making.
Keywords: educational policies, policy making, reforms, neoliberalism,
educational research
352
