Humility is a word that has
been thrown around a lot during our time together. What does it mean to you in
the context of educational research and, more specifically how might it relate
to your field of study/discipline.
I think humility is especially relevant to educational psychology. We've talked a lot about quadrants and what it means to be "scientific" this semester, and I think because ed psych tends more toward what's traditionally considered scientific research than other educational research disciplines do, there's the potential for ed psych people to think our work is better. Which is dangerous and why humility is particularly important.
Quant research isn't a priori better than qual research; rather, each is better at answering certain questions. Ed Psychologists aren't better researchers because we run statistical analyses that, in reality, our stats software runs for us. Obviously, I like and agree with a lot of what ed psych does methodologically and theoretically, but I try to keep in mind that me liking it doesn't make it better. Or, probably more importantly, doing this type of work doesn't make me better than anyone else.
While I don't consider myself a postpositivist, I'm very drawn to the postpositivist emphasis on looking for evidence that your hypothesis is wrong rather than right. Articles on experiments that didn't work, or that don't show statistical significance, aren't sexy and have trouble finding their way to publication... but without publication, how many times will such studies be conducted over and over again? (A few disciplines do have journals which solely publish "negative results" or articles "in support of the null hypothesis," but these are relatively rare.)
The need for promotion/tenure/getting a job requires publication, which generally requires findings of statistical and (ideally) practical significance. I get this. But researchers' claims would be so much stronger if alternative explanations were more aggressively pursued.
As someone on the research & eval track--and working in a discipline where rigorous, empirical research is unfortunately not as common as one would hope--looking for alternative explanations rather than assuming my hypothesis is correct is an important part of professional humility.
Along similar lines, I hope to avoid the hubris of making incorrect generalizations and assumptions about my research participants, especially when those assumptions were generated out of methods I chose and/or instruments I designed. This fear is one reason I'm attracted to research perspectives like ethics/democracy/methodology, where the participants' voices are valued and the researchers' analyses shared back with those participants to mitigate against incorrect interpretations. One such example is a recently published opinion piece in one of my discipline's non-refereed journals (http://crln.acrl.org/index.php/crlnews/article/view/9495/10777), where the author rails against the stupidity of (librarian) survey takers for not being able to answer simple questions correctly... when it's fairly evident that the problem was how she worded her questions and defined the concepts she was interested in. Spare me that unrighteous indignation, please.
In my current position, I have several different roles. I write and provide training, facilitate teams toward systems change and provide consultation and coaching to teachers. In all of these roles, humility is crucial. When providing support to others, it is important to relate as a practitioner while conveying expertise. Without humility, the necessary trust would not be possible. I have encountered many consulting behavior analysts who have expertise but lack humility. In this situation they convey strategies to teachers in the role of “expert” but neglect to listen to the teachers or consider how the strategies will be applied in the context. Whether we are working with practitioners or writing research, we must be humble and consider the end goal of our research, which whether in direct or round about ways, is student learning.
My work is very similar to the work Paige describes. I work with students at 6+ schools with each student comes a unique team of teachers, support personnel, and administration. I try to see my role as a guest in their classroom, but a guest who stays, takes time, and cares enough to form relationships and to listen. For me this is the spirit of humility, to listen to others, not push my own agenda or needs.
As humility pertains to educational research I feel pretty much the same as I do in my daily practice. I anticipate being open minded, a good listener (verbal and non-verbal communication), and asking the type of research questions that are useful to other people, not just of interest to me. I feel humility is an attribute that cannot be taught, but is learned from listening. Educational researchers who are humble, I hope, would be able to easily change their direction of research based on new information or the needs of the group. Not that the humble researcher doesn't have a plan, but that humility in educational research means being able to be wrong, change course, listen, redirect, listen again and always remembering that as educational researchers our ultimate goal is to help people, not to publish articles, write books, become known.
My discipline is Occupational Therapy, a related service in public special education. I already have many research ideas, but I have yet to do a "needs assessment", which might point me in a different direction altogether. Also, since I'm a process oriented person I would not be demonstrating humility if I were to bypass the interactive process that includes other people and their ideas and opinions.
You have to be humble in order to receive critique. People can provide you with criticism left and right, but without humility you will be unable to hear it. Hearing others disagree with your work or challenge your thinking is one of the best parts of being an academic. When you shut yourself off from what others tell you, your work (i.e. your ability to contribute to the field) suffers. I watched a scholar defend their work tooth and nail at a conference. They kept repeating the same thing over and over again in defense of a problematic idea. Multiple scholars in the room attempted to reach him, explaining why it was problematic, but he showed no indication of having internalized their comments. Everyone certainly has different ways of dealing with criticism and his might have been to be initially defensive and then reflect on those comments later. I have certainly let stress or frustration delay my ability to receive criticism in the moment; however, humility means being open to other perspectives and being able to admit that your work is always unfinished - we just pretend it’s done sometimes so we can share our ideas with the world!
History scholars are increasingly aware of the how difficult it is to reconstruct past experiences with any certainty. Humility is key to any successful study of the past, because, as Thornton (2017) puts it, “ [we] are dealing with interpretations of interpretations which, in any case, may or may not have been read or heeded by the practitioners, officials, or publics to whom they are addressed” (p.12).
Humility is needed in social science research. We are working with humans and humans can be unpredictable and may not always conform to the rule. As researchers, we must realize that there are always exceptions to the rule. Just because we have hard evidence through research, that does not mean that our results will apply to everyone across all settings. As researchers, we must humble ourselves to know that our research is not the end to all means. In the words of Dr. McMillian, it’s only one brick in the wall of research.
Previous posters have touched on the importance of humility in educational research. I agree that we must maintain a humble attitude to continue to grow professionally. If we are unable to take criticism we run the risk of stifling our growth. Listening to another person’s perspective shouldn’t be viewed as a subservient act. However, I think that those with large egos believe that to be the case. If a researcher wants their inquiry to be thorough and beneficial, they cannot assume they are able to cover all of the bases alone. I would much rather listen to another perspective (very different from my own) than realize at the end of a research project that I have overlooked or that ego set me up to let something fall through the cracks. --Amy
I won't restate what my peers have already expressed regarding the importance of humility in educational research, but I do feel that humility is something I have always considered while thinking about my own research. Even though I have no study in mind, I am engaging in work alongside teachers because I recognize their perceptions of researchers. I know my work will involve teachers’ experiences and I still remember my skepticism about anything consultants with research would present to us at the school level. Wayne Au told me that if you want to be perceived as a certain type of scholar, show up and do the work that will get you credibility in the community. Although his version was much more eloquent, the basic premise has stuck with me because I remember my distrust of theory and research based practices being mandated in schools. Researchers, even those with the best intentions, are often associated with the irrelevant initiatives forced upon teachers and I cannot blame them for their suspicions. I am doing what I can now to stay engaged with teachers and the community recognizing, with humility, that I have to work a bit harder to gain trust and build relationships.
Stephanie - The previous posts have expressed the need for humility in educational research very well. I agree that humility is needed in order to receive feedback well and learn from the advice that is shared. I also agree that humility plays a role when presenting research to teachers. From my experience in this realm, there is a significant difference in teachers’ feelings towards a researcher who has all the answers to “fix” every problem that exists in a classroom and a researcher who wants to partner with the teacher to investigate ways to improve some aspect of classroom difficulties. If you work in education long enough, you are likely to experience multiple pendulum swings – with most of the programs (often complete opposites of each other) claiming to have all of the answers. Although I recognize that teachers can’t always be given a choice about implementing a new initiative, I find that most teachers are very receptive to implementing research when given reasons for the implementation as well as potential drawbacks. This is directly related to the humility of the researcher.
Tom--This is a great discussion! I see humility as essential in everything. I can't imagine a future in ed research without it. I wouldn't want to collaborate with someone who doesn't want to hear my thoughts and observations on a project. I would expect others to feel the same way about me. Open, honest, and vigorous discussion requires a level of humility on the part of the participants in order for dialog to be meaningful. And I don't expect educators to be interested in hearing about my research if my communication with them is unidirectional. Humility offers the space that invites others to bring something meaningful to the dialog. Humility calls more out of everyone around you.
Kendra- I've really enjoyed reading theses posts. I think the idea of humility has been woven into our conversation all summer, even though it was not our explicit focus. Stephanie makes a great point with regard to teacher-researcher partnerships. I see the need for this with adult learners and training and development as well. Walking into an organization as a third party without context or buy-in and trying to "fix" them is a recipe for disaster. Humility would seem a fitting quality for any practitioner or researcher to possess, particularly if goals of growth and development are part of the agenda. I imagine that was part of Kurt's intention in our peer review process with this final paper. To participate and engage any practice in a way that is meaningful requires a humbleness, that leaves individuals open to feedback and further opportunities for growth.
Humility, in my opinion, is a subtle way of downplaying one's importance or significant contribution to his or her field. This could be seen as both positive and negative in relation to research. Positive in that one does not think of himself more highly than he ought. Negative in that one does not put his or her work out there as one should. In terms of this class and writing, I think that we should humble ourselves and allow others to examine and critique our work in an effort to make it better. To think about scholarship in the context that everyone has writers block from time to time or everyone has to start somewhere and learn the craft has been extremely helpful. Understanding that we are no different helps to normalize some of the anxiety that we feel. We should be open to being able to dialogue about criticism of our work and be okay if something needs revising or editing. It is these types of discussions that leads to new thoughts, new explorations, and new exciting and innovative research topics. Marsha
I believe that in my field humility means the ability to be open to other viewpoints. If we get into the notion where we believe our viewpoints are "superior" or without its flaws, it can cloud our judgement about the other lenses that we can see things through. In education, nothing is for certain, and no person is exactly the same as the other. Therefore, humility allows us to see that each and every one of us can work together with our strengths and weaknesses. This also applies to the field of research as well as there are so many ways that we can see things in education. This also opens us up to be able to work with together as equals with other researchers as well.
Humility is acknowledging your humanness, understanding their fallible nature, and open to critique. In academia it is about checking one's expertise and privilege. Privilege comes through degrees, scholarly work, and working in academia but the privilege should not equate to dominance but to responsibility; remembering that the privilege a scholar has is just that a privilege, not a right. This mindset creates a more egalitarian relationship that helps to destroy top-down power dynamics, which are often prevalent at all levels of schooling. Ultimately, humility moves relations in the opposite direction of oppression. This perspective shift could be useful in softening the individualism and competitiveness in society and academia.
The idea of humility is necessary and needed at this level of scholarship. In order to prepare yourself for critiques and peer review, as a researcher you have to have some form of humility. Being able to accept criticism and work collaboratively with other peers and researchers, removes the dynamics between novice and professional researchers and scholars. Taking a step back to evaluate ones discipline, requires some level of back and forth between researcher and the already established body of work (foundation). - Evandra
I think humility is especially relevant to educational psychology. We've talked a lot about quadrants and what it means to be "scientific" this semester, and I think because ed psych tends more toward what's traditionally considered scientific research than other educational research disciplines do, there's the potential for ed psych people to think our work is better. Which is dangerous and why humility is particularly important.
ReplyDeleteQuant research isn't a priori better than qual research; rather, each is better at answering certain questions. Ed Psychologists aren't better researchers because we run statistical analyses that, in reality, our stats software runs for us. Obviously, I like and agree with a lot of what ed psych does methodologically and theoretically, but I try to keep in mind that me liking it doesn't make it better. Or, probably more importantly, doing this type of work doesn't make me better than anyone else.
While I don't consider myself a postpositivist, I'm very drawn to the postpositivist emphasis on looking for evidence that your hypothesis is wrong rather than right. Articles on experiments that didn't work, or that don't show statistical significance, aren't sexy and have trouble finding their way to publication... but without publication, how many times will such studies be conducted over and over again? (A few disciplines do have journals which solely publish "negative results" or articles "in support of the null hypothesis," but these are relatively rare.)
ReplyDeleteThe need for promotion/tenure/getting a job requires publication, which generally requires findings of statistical and (ideally) practical significance. I get this. But researchers' claims would be so much stronger if alternative explanations were more aggressively pursued.
As someone on the research & eval track--and working in a discipline where rigorous, empirical research is unfortunately not as common as one would hope--looking for alternative explanations rather than assuming my hypothesis is correct is an important part of professional humility.
Along similar lines, I hope to avoid the hubris of making incorrect generalizations and assumptions about my research participants, especially when those assumptions were generated out of methods I chose and/or instruments I designed. This fear is one reason I'm attracted to research perspectives like ethics/democracy/methodology, where the participants' voices are valued and the researchers' analyses shared back with those participants to mitigate against incorrect interpretations. One such example is a recently published opinion piece in one of my discipline's non-refereed journals (http://crln.acrl.org/index.php/crlnews/article/view/9495/10777), where the author rails against the stupidity of (librarian) survey takers for not being able to answer simple questions correctly... when it's fairly evident that the problem was how she worded her questions and defined the concepts she was interested in. Spare me that unrighteous indignation, please.
In my current position, I have several different roles. I write and provide training, facilitate teams toward systems change and provide consultation and coaching to teachers. In all of these roles, humility is crucial. When providing support to others, it is important to relate as a practitioner while conveying expertise. Without humility, the necessary trust would not be possible.
ReplyDeleteI have encountered many consulting behavior analysts who have expertise but lack humility. In this situation they convey strategies to teachers in the role of “expert” but neglect to listen to the teachers or consider how the strategies will be applied in the context. Whether we are working with practitioners or writing research, we must be humble and consider the end goal of our research, which whether in direct or round about ways, is student learning.
My work is very similar to the work Paige describes. I work with students at 6+ schools with each student comes a unique team of teachers, support personnel, and administration. I try to see my role as a guest in their classroom, but a guest who stays, takes time, and cares enough to form relationships and to listen. For me this is the spirit of humility, to listen to others, not push my own agenda or needs.
ReplyDeleteAs humility pertains to educational research I feel pretty much the same as I do in my daily practice. I anticipate being open minded, a good listener (verbal and non-verbal communication), and asking the type of research questions that are useful to other people, not just of interest to me. I feel humility is an attribute that cannot be taught, but is learned from listening. Educational researchers who are humble, I hope, would be able to easily change their direction of research based on new information or the needs of the group. Not that the humble researcher doesn't have a plan, but that humility in educational research means being able to be wrong, change course, listen, redirect, listen again and always remembering that as educational researchers our ultimate goal is to help people, not to publish articles, write books, become known.
My discipline is Occupational Therapy, a related service in public special education. I already have many research ideas, but I have yet to do a "needs assessment", which might point me in a different direction altogether. Also, since I'm a process oriented person I would not be demonstrating humility if I were to bypass the interactive process that includes other people and their ideas and opinions.
-Michelle
You have to be humble in order to receive critique. People can provide you with criticism left and right, but without humility you will be unable to hear it. Hearing others disagree with your work or challenge your thinking is one of the best parts of being an academic. When you shut yourself off from what others tell you, your work (i.e. your ability to contribute to the field) suffers. I watched a scholar defend their work tooth and nail at a conference. They kept repeating the same thing over and over again in defense of a problematic idea. Multiple scholars in the room attempted to reach him, explaining why it was problematic, but he showed no indication of having internalized their comments. Everyone certainly has different ways of dealing with criticism and his might have been to be initially defensive and then reflect on those comments later. I have certainly let stress or frustration delay my ability to receive criticism in the moment; however, humility means being open to other perspectives and being able to admit that your work is always unfinished - we just pretend it’s done sometimes so we can share our ideas with the world!
ReplyDeleteHistory scholars are increasingly aware of the how difficult it is to reconstruct past experiences with any certainty. Humility is key to any successful study of the past, because, as Thornton (2017) puts it, “ [we] are dealing with interpretations of interpretations which, in any case, may or may not have been read or heeded by the practitioners, officials, or publics to whom they are addressed” (p.12).
Humility is needed in social science research. We are working with humans and humans can be unpredictable and may not always conform to the rule. As researchers, we must realize that there are always exceptions to the rule. Just because we have hard evidence through research, that does not mean that our results will apply to everyone across all settings. As researchers, we must humble ourselves to know that our research is not the end to all means. In the words of Dr. McMillian, it’s only one brick in the wall of research.
ReplyDeletePrevious posters have touched on the importance of humility in educational research. I agree that we must maintain a humble attitude to continue to grow professionally. If we are unable to take criticism we run the risk of stifling our growth. Listening to another person’s perspective shouldn’t be viewed as a subservient act. However, I think that those with large egos believe that to be the case. If a researcher wants their inquiry to be thorough and beneficial, they cannot assume they are able to cover all of the bases alone. I would much rather listen to another perspective (very different from my own) than realize at the end of a research project that I have overlooked or that ego set me up to let something fall through the cracks. --Amy
ReplyDeleteI won't restate what my peers have already expressed regarding the importance of humility in educational research, but I do feel that humility is something I have always considered while thinking about my own research. Even though I have no study in mind, I am engaging in work alongside teachers because I recognize their perceptions of researchers. I know my work will involve teachers’ experiences and I still remember my skepticism about anything consultants with research would present to us at the school level. Wayne Au told me that if you want to be perceived as a certain type of scholar, show up and do the work that will get you credibility in the community. Although his version was much more eloquent, the basic premise has stuck with me because I remember my distrust of theory and research based practices being mandated in schools. Researchers, even those with the best intentions, are often associated with the irrelevant initiatives forced upon teachers and I cannot blame them for their suspicions. I am doing what I can now to stay engaged with teachers and the community recognizing, with humility, that I have to work a bit harder to gain trust and build relationships.
ReplyDeleteStephanie - The previous posts have expressed the need for humility in educational research very well. I agree that humility is needed in order to receive feedback well and learn from the advice that is shared. I also agree that humility plays a role when presenting research to teachers. From my experience in this realm, there is a significant difference in teachers’ feelings towards a researcher who has all the answers to “fix” every problem that exists in a classroom and a researcher who wants to partner with the teacher to investigate ways to improve some aspect of classroom difficulties. If you work in education long enough, you are likely to experience multiple pendulum swings – with most of the programs (often complete opposites of each other) claiming to have all of the answers. Although I recognize that teachers can’t always be given a choice about implementing a new initiative, I find that most teachers are very receptive to implementing research when given reasons for the implementation as well as potential drawbacks. This is directly related to the humility of the researcher.
ReplyDeleteTom--This is a great discussion! I see humility as essential in everything. I can't imagine a future in ed research without it. I wouldn't want to collaborate with someone who doesn't want to hear my thoughts and observations on a project. I would expect others to feel the same way about me. Open, honest, and vigorous discussion requires a level of humility on the part of the participants in order for dialog to be meaningful. And I don't expect educators to be interested in hearing about my research if my communication with them is unidirectional. Humility offers the space that invites others to bring something meaningful to the dialog. Humility calls more out of everyone around you.
ReplyDeleteKendra- I've really enjoyed reading theses posts. I think the idea of humility has been woven into our conversation all summer, even though it was not our explicit focus. Stephanie makes a great point with regard to teacher-researcher partnerships. I see the need for this with adult learners and training and development as well. Walking into an organization as a third party without context or buy-in and trying to "fix" them is a recipe for disaster. Humility would seem a fitting quality for any practitioner or researcher to possess, particularly if goals of growth and development are part of the agenda. I imagine that was part of Kurt's intention in our peer review process with this final paper. To participate and engage any practice in a way that is meaningful requires a humbleness, that leaves individuals open to feedback and further opportunities for growth.
ReplyDeleteHumility, in my opinion, is a subtle way of downplaying one's importance or significant contribution to his or her field. This could be seen as both positive and negative in relation to research. Positive in that one does not think of himself more highly than he ought. Negative in that one does not put his or her work out there as one should. In terms of this class and writing, I think that we should humble ourselves and allow others to examine and critique our work in an effort to make it better. To think about scholarship in the context that everyone has writers block from time to time or everyone has to start somewhere and learn the craft has been extremely helpful. Understanding that we are no different helps to normalize some of the anxiety that we feel. We should be open to being able to dialogue about criticism of our work and be okay if something needs revising or editing. It is these types of discussions that leads to new thoughts, new explorations, and new exciting and innovative research topics.
ReplyDeleteMarsha
I believe that in my field humility means the ability to be open to other viewpoints. If we get into the notion where we believe our viewpoints are "superior" or without its flaws, it can cloud our judgement about the other lenses that we can see things through. In education, nothing is for certain, and no person is exactly the same as the other. Therefore, humility allows us to see that each and every one of us can work together with our strengths and weaknesses. This also applies to the field of research as well as there are so many ways that we can see things in education. This also opens us up to be able to work with together as equals with other researchers as well.
ReplyDeleteHumility is acknowledging your humanness, understanding their fallible nature, and open to critique. In academia it is about checking one's expertise and privilege. Privilege comes through degrees, scholarly work, and working in academia but the privilege should not equate to dominance but to responsibility; remembering that the privilege a scholar has is just that a privilege, not a right. This mindset creates a more egalitarian relationship that helps to destroy top-down power dynamics, which are often prevalent at all levels of schooling. Ultimately, humility moves relations in the opposite direction of oppression. This perspective shift could be useful in softening the individualism and competitiveness in society and academia.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of humility is necessary and needed at this level of scholarship. In order to prepare yourself for critiques and peer review, as a researcher you have to have some form of humility. Being able to accept criticism and work collaboratively with other peers and researchers, removes the dynamics between novice and professional researchers and scholars. Taking a step back to evaluate ones discipline, requires some level of back and forth between researcher and the already established body of work (foundation). - Evandra
ReplyDelete