![]() This mismatch is commonly attributed to factors other than the paradigm itself-for example, to underperforming teachers, underfunded schools, changes in society or a lack of student effort. However, as occasionally occurs in a field of practice, a significant mismatch currently exists between theory and observation normal practice in school education is not delivering the results it was expected to deliver. This paradigm has theoretical underpinnings, concepts, rules and methods that guide ‘normal’ practice. The relevance of this to school education is that schools also can be thought of as operating within a prevailing paradigm. Change, if it occurs, usually takes considerable time and occurs through a growing shift in the distribution of professional allegiances. ![]() ![]() Some scientists may never accept the new contender. There is inevitably opposition to paradigm change, especially from those who have spent their scientific careers working within the earlier paradigm. Kuhn observes that the introduction of a new paradigm is always controversial. The new paradigm may incorporate concepts and terminology from the earlier paradigm, but these often take on new meanings. This proposed paradigm offers a different way of thinking and, ultimately, a new approach to ‘normal’ science. It is under these conditions that an alternative paradigm may emerge offering to better address the problem that has led the old paradigm into crisis. If this cannot be done, the existing paradigm comes under increasing pressure and, within the relevant scientific community, there may be a growing sense of crisis. In Kuhn’s words, an attempt is made to force nature into the box the current paradigm provides. When this occurs, the initial response is not to reject the current paradigm, but to attempt to modify it to accommodate the problem. These anomalies may call into question the appropriateness and usefulness of the paradigm itself. At any given time, the prevailing paradigm consists of current theories, concepts, supporting technologies, methods and literature, which together enable what Kuhn refers to as the practice of ‘normal’ science.īut occasionally normal science encounters unexpected observations that are inconsistent with existing theory. Kuhn refers to such shifts in perspective as changes in the ‘paradigm’ within which scientists work. These shifts may resemble a gestalt switch the drawing initially seen as a duck suddenly is seen as a rabbit. In his book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Thomas Kuhn observes that progress in science, too, occurs not only in small increments, but through occasional fundamental shifts in how scientists see and understand some aspect of the world. When this happens, some aspect of experience is never quite the same again. But occasionally, advances are made in leaps-for example, when the penny drops and something is seen in an entirely new light. Progress in life is often made in small, incremental steps. Time for a paradigm shift in school education?Īustralian Council for Educational Research
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