Philosophical Worldviews (Epistemology)
Any research problem in social, behavioral and human sciences conforms to some philosophical assumptions and a specific epistemological stance which influence and guide research practice (Crotty, 1998; Creswell, 2015; Patton, 2015). According to Crotty (1998), epistemology “provide(s) researchers with a sense of stability and direction as they go on to do their own building; that is, as they move towards understanding and expounding the research process after their own fashion in forms that suit their particular research purposes” (p. 2). In other words, we as researchers, need to have a good knowledge about multiple epistemologies that underpin any educational research in, social sciences (Bryan, 2012).
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This philosophical worldview is widely used in qualitative research.
The transformative worldview is politically oriented, and it seeks social justice, and better lives for indigenous and minority groups who are oppressed in their countries. This worldview encourages collaborative work with members of these communities to build knowledge based on their experiences. This worldview conforms with the believes of qualitative researchers in cultural studies programs (Creswell, 2014)
Unlike quantitative and qualitative epistemological worldviews, the pragmatic worldview holds the radical middle epistemological stance (Patton, (2015). In other words, it does not conform its worldview to either quantitative and qualitative worldviews, instead it believes of the coexistence of both quantitative and qualitative epistemological worldviews and the use of quantitative measures and qualitative life stories to have a good understanding of the research problem. The pragmatic worldview is widely used among mixed methods researchers. As far as this study is concerned with investigating vocabulary strategies by using quantitative and qualitative research methods, the pragmatic worldview was adapted in the context of this study. I believe that there is not only one way in which we understand and interpret the meaning and knowledge in the world (Crotty,
The topic for our research paper is oppression against women in the Indian Act. Discrimination against Aboriginal people has been a key issue for many years; however society generally skims the surface of this act and tends to give lip service to it without acknowledging the deeper issue of how these oppressions come with it. In the beginning of our research we quickly made a parallel between the oppression of Aboriginal women and the injustices they face and the breakdown in Aboriginal families and communities. As future social workers working from an anti-oppressive practice perspective the proposed research will help acquire the knowledge in building transformative politicized social work. Our team feels that by focusing on the female gender and how these women throughout history have been oppressed we will be able to perform our roles as social workers from a truly empathetic position; thus our future work with all aboriginal people will be more effective.
At student orientation, we were given a wooden key with the word courage carved in. As a service provider, I ask myself “How can I reduce barriers for Indigenous clients and deliver services following cultural competency/safety/sensitivity?”. By applying “we are all Treaty people” to my work could be a way to equal the power balance between service user and service provider. For instance, Garret said that if he could, he would want to have a one-on-one dialogue with each of us to ask why we want to be social workers.
... To provide Indigenous people with adequate health care, emphasis needs to be placed on understanding indigenous beliefs and the social detriments Indigenous communities are faced with. Applying a suitable model of health to each individual situation will provide the best outcome. This was evident in the case study discussed in the essay. Rodney’s experiences within the medical world ended with a positive and desirable result, but if the appropriate transcultural care was not given, that positive result would have created a negative outcome, which could have been detrimental to Rodney’s future health.
In the essay "Worldviews in Conflict," Charles Colson and Nancy Pearcey compare and contrast the ideas of Christianity and the views of today's society. Throughout the essay they provide information about how the changes in society affect views regarding Christianity. Charles Colson and Nancy Pearcy's essay was written to contribute information so others could understand their views about the shifting cultural context and how it affects society's beliefs.
In the book foundations of Christian thought by Mark Cosgrove in part 1 the, Concept of Worldview, in chapter 5, Integration of Faith and Learning, Cosgrove explains the model of faith being broken down into four simple approaches. These models are the sole authority, separate authorities, equal authorities, and foundational authority. First, I will define Sole Authority, also known as the Against model, defined as faith against learning. In this model, it says that there is no point in studying human knowledge and that human knowledge is probably going to be incorrect. Everything worth learning, we can learn from God’s word. Secondly, is the Separate Authorities model, also known as the Parallels are faith and learning. This model says
Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2007). Research methods in education (6th ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
For example, in my research, my social constructivism stance accepts that what is real may vary between groups of individuals. Also, reality may change when individuals become more informed due to social interactions, which may affect their learning approach, decisions, and what they consider important in respect to their health. Therefore, considering that Indigenous ontology and epistemology focus on learning and relationships from numerous sources, Self Determination Theory (SDT) which was utilized as the underpinning theory for the development of the health education tool supports decolonization,
Having an impact on an individual’s life is their worldview. A worldview influences your thoughts and . This is their point of view and how they interpret and relate to the world. It shapes their interactions and behaviors to those around them (Waddell, 2014). One key element to an individual’s worldview relates to ethics. These may be shaped by what someone believes and what they have experienced while growing up. Ethics is an individual’s morals, their sense of what is right and what is wrong (Hiles & Smith, 2014).
In Thomas King’s lecture “Truth About Stories”, he states that the truth “is all we are, it’s turtles all the way down”. As individuals, we are carrying the world on stories, developing our own social construction of realities, yet a key element is one’s own interpretation of values and ideologies in these stories, as often many pieces of these stories are left out, it is not a solid foundation. As critical social workers, one must break those stories down, and engage in self-reflection. Being a non-indigenous practitioner working with Indigenous groups and community, social work practitioners must look at the values of empathy, respect and past experiences dealing with power and oppression that influence interpretation of the
York’s School of Social Work believes “through research, curriculum and critical pedagogy the school will develop a critical appreciation of the social construction of reality” (York University, 2016, p. 1). Reality is constructed through subjective experiences of individuals and objective experiences of society. The treatment of Indigenous people in Canada was an act of social injustice. From society’s perspective, the ‘specialized’ treatment helped to ease their transition in assimilating into the Canadian culture. Through the Indian Act, it was and still is today, social legislation that regulates the lives of Indigenous peoples, including government’s guardianship over Indian lands, and controlling the process of enfranchisement (Hicks and Stokes, 2016, p. 27.6) The government was not critically conscious, in which they lacked knowledge of the various forms of systems such as race and gender. (Sibblis, 2016) Furthermore, during the 60’s Scoop, children were kidnapped from their homes and placed in the foster care system. These children were placed into white homes in which it caused many to develop a lack sense of self (Hayden, 2016). In Thomas King’s lecture, he describes a hierarchy, that is made up of a series of traits in both the Native and Christian culture, keeping in mind, these are the two societies in which Canada is founded upon. These include cooperation,
I believe in a holistic approach to social work and this is something that the Aboriginal approach to social work represents. Hart writes that the Aboriginal approach “recognizes and incorporates the need to understand the process and effects of colonialization on all facets and levels” (p. 50). I think that it is imperative that all non-aboriginal social workers are able to use self-reflection to understand who they are but also understand and empathize with the horrific pain that has been caused by our ancestors and under the framework of religion, capitalism, patriarchy and colonialism. It is also necessary that we examine current agencies, protocols, policies and procedures, legislation and practices that do not subscribe to an anti-oppressive theory and that we lobby for the necessary
Positivism Paradigm is considered the “scientific method”; Interpretivist Paradigm approaches understanding using the world of “human experience”. Critical and Transformative researchers "believe that inquiry needs to be intertwined with politics and a political agenda" (Creswell, 2003, p.9). Pragmatism theorists are not committed to any specific system of philosophy or model that use the most relevant theory applicable to their research. Understanding paradigms is essential to preparing for dissertation research. Paradigms provide a framework to write and explain my philosophies, accurately support the data compiled and structure the narrative research. Selecting the paradigm will determine if the research will include qualitative data, quantitative data or a mixed method which will incorporate a blended method approach. Choosing an incorrect approach can lead to research flaws and
Truth and beliefs contribute in building the knowledge of a person. Cogent reasons for the beliefs convert the beliefs into knowledge. However, sometimes the beliefs are actually assumption, so they may be wrong. Truth is the facts known from different sources. Something can be considered as knowledge, only if it is true. The word epistemology refers to studying the source of knowledge. The epistemology helps in understanding the process of development of knowledge, sources of knowledge and makes distinctions between belief and actual truth. I critically examined and analyzed the origin and the process of acquiring the knowledge for the two essays I wrote earlier. One essay, an analytical one, was written on the subject of increasing prison population and improper justice system. The second essay was written on the subject of human resource management. To develop the knowledge and understanding I demonstrated in the essays, I had to search for resources, rationalize the information gained and evaluate it in conjunction with my personal beliefs.
Although we may not all see eye to eye, we all still have our own worldview. The central idea of a worldview is to be the different beliefs that is an understanding of how we see the world around us. It will be understood by how a person feels about different emotions and ideas that are encountered on a daily basis. A worldview is a response of our heart or inner being: our intellect, emotion and will. (Weider, Gutierrez,59) We create our own personal worldview based on things we believe are true and norms to society. A worldview perspective shapes, influences, and generally directs a person's entire life. (Samples 2007)
Research philosophy, refers to the development of knowledge adopted by the researchers in their research (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2009). In other words, it is the theory that used to direct the researcher for conducting the procedure of research design, research strategy, questionnaire design and sampling (Malhotra, 2009). It is very important to have a clear understanding of the research philosophy so that we could examine the assumptions about the way we view the world, which are contained in the research philosophy we choose, knowing that whether they are appropriate or not (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2009). According to Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill (2009), three major ways of thinking about research philosophy are examined: ontology, epistemology and axiology. Each of them carries significant differences which will have an impact on the way we consider the research procedures. Ontology, “is concerned with nature of reality”, while epistemology “concerns what constitutes acceptable knowledge in a field of study and axiology “studies judgements about value” (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2009, p110, p112, p116). This study is intent on creating some “facts” from objective evaluations which are made by the subjects. Therefore, epistemology will be chosen for this study as the way of thinking about the research philosophy.