Considering the epistemological tools of higher education [blog]

As subject disciplinarians the central debate around whether epistemology (ways of knowing) is always and inevitably personal, is endless. As educators and pedagogic researchers, the argument is much less ambiguous. Whilst disciplinarity can ultimately set the scene for our ontological stance, education remains a social science, at the heart of which lie facets of subjectivity, interactive dialogue and relationality-in basic terms we are humans who interact with one another, with evident impact. We can acknowledge our personal stance (our position relative to the research issue), but pedagogic research ultimately has an agenda with a probe into the heart of the researcher (a sentiment echoed far more eloquently by Bateson, 1972).