Scientific Knowledge And Social Science

1 William Molnar

Week 2 Assignment By William Molnar

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select one social science (or behavioral science), say what science is and how scientific knowledge differs from other sorts of knowledge, explain whether the definition that you give applies to the social science that you selected, present at least one moderately plausible or documented reason why someone might believe that the social science that you selected is not a science, and evaluate that reason.

The social science that I have selected is education. Science is facts, concepts, principles, laws, theories, and models that can be acquired in many ways. Steven D. Schafersman (1994) states science is discovering facts about them, formulating laws and principles through systemic observation. In its broadest sense, science refers to any systematic knowledge or practice on its more usual restricted sense; science refers to a system of acquiring knowledge as well as to the organized body of knowledge gained through such research. Dictionary.com defines “Science” as a “branch of knowledge or study dealing with a body of facts or truths systematically arranged and showing the operation of general laws. It is the systematic knowledge of the physical or material world gained through ovservation and experimenation”. In the field of scientific knowledge, Peter Anthony Glick (2007) states that scientific knowledge is developed by a living system and is a mix of experience, values and insights. Sayer (1992) states “knowledge is primarily gained through activity both in attempting to change our environment through labor or work and through interaction with other people , using shared resources, in particular a common language” (pp 13-14).

2 William Molnar

I believe that Schafersman’s definition of science applies to education especially his comments on systematic observation being a natural event and conditions in order to discover facts about them. In the field of education, students observe through visual, tactile, and aural senses and discover facts through these senses. Education is experience and information, values, and insights that provide a framework for gaining new experiences and information.

It

would be difficult to document why someone might believe that education is not a science because all of Sayer’s points can prove that it is. One could argue assessments are based on subjective criteria and makes it difficult for results to be reproduced. What works for one teacher does not work for another due to the individual dynamics. The human element can never be fully reproduced during the implementation process, which further blurs the line between that which is science and that which is an art. I do not accept this argument. Education is a process whereby a student learns knowledge of unknown material based on material already known. Sayer states “to develop ‘knowledge’ we need raw materials and tools on which and with which we can work… in trying to understand the world, we use existing knowledge and skills, drawn from whatever cultural resources are available, to work” (p 16). In his discussion on the relationship between subject and object, the subject side of his example is an example of the student and the object side, the thing being studied is the knowledge being discovered by the student. Sayer’s model of subject and object can be applied to the field of education. Sayer states that subjects such as academics are in a double relationship to their object and to other subjects. In relation to education, Sayer’s point on social phenomena can be applied. These ideas, beliefs, etc. are held by the educator and are transferred to the observer, the student. In conclusion, Sayer states that “Knowledge-whether

3 William Molnar

adequate or not-never develops in a vacuum but is always embedded in social practices and we can more fully understand the former if we know the latter” (p 43). I believe the message Sayer is trying to convey is that knowledge is never developed within an empty space and we are surrounded by knowledge in the social practices we perform, in my case education. Knowledge can be better understood if we understand the social practice we are involved in such as education.