Literacy research in the next millennium: From paradigms to pragmatism andpracticality

IN THIS essay we argue that literacy inquiry has often been less effective than it should be. Policy makers and self-proclaimed experts with narrow po litical agendas easily capture public attention by assaulting our inquiry w ith arguments grounded in the rhetoric of public accountability, scientific rigor, and the future of our children. While literacy researchers are ofte n ignored or discredited in the broader arena of educational policy and the popular media, we remain internally divided by arguments over paradigms, m ethod, and instructional approaches, and distracted by our desires for acad emic prestige. Within this embattled context, our best ethical visions and deepest social commitments have been lost. We recommend pragmatism as a res torative tonic for our field. Pragmatism, a practical philosophy and encomp assing methodology motivated by the need to solve pressing problems, can de liver us from the mire of paradigm debates and offer a hopeful vision for t he next millennium. We offer three dimensions for researchers to use in ree xamining with whom they do research and under what circumstances; to reflec t on how problems for inquiry are selected; and, to reconsider how research traditions and methodologies are defined and used in the conduct and consu mption of research.