Researching Pedagogy in a Contested Space

Whilst current reforms in relation to higher education appear to have been driven primarily by funding issues, these economic drivers have also led to changes in the internal and external workings of universities, raising fundamental questions about what a university is. In this sense, universities are currently operating in both philosophical and economically contested spaces. Current changes to social work education are taking place in this overarching context. Longer-standing tensions, such as the relationship between research and teaching, are brought into even sharper relief in this newly inhabited territory, alongside emerging questions about the relationship between pedagogic research and new corporatist agendas adopted in the academy. The case against undertaking pedagogic research in the current educational climate is presented. Three key areas of criticism are highlighted: the unequal relationship between research and teaching; socio-political concerns about perceived links between pedagogic research and consumerist/corporatist agendas and methodological/conceptual critiques in relation to pedagogic research as a field of study. Each of these criticisms is explored and the case for undertaking pedagogic research is proposed. Social work education is the primary site for this exploration, although the arguments raised have resonance across the higher-education sector.