Understanding the politics of research in education

Research in education is a value-free, unbiased, neutral, social scientific pursuit of truth, using the best methods, and models available-or so we we re told when we were learning the craft. The past 30 years have witnessed d ramatic changes in how we view research and education. Traditional paradigm s of research of methodology now compete with a variety of qualitative appr oaches and critical theory has unmasked the neutrality of education. This a rticle provides an introduction to these issues and concerns of the politic s of research on education as well as an outline of each chapter.