From scientific revolutions to social knowledge construction: The case of education communities

Abstract

This article presents two scientific logics related to scientific communities and analyzes the archetype of researcher underlying them. It presents some communities guided by empirical rationality which demands the rigorous use of the scientific method for observation, experimentations and validation of scientific laws. On the other hand, under the assumptions of sociology and history, there are some scientific communities which recognize the place of the system of beliefs, values and ideologies, as well as the use of techniques in the researcher praxis. In order to illustrate this second logic, the article presents some results of the research project in education led to interpret how research practices in this knowledge field are conceived and regulated.