The myth of meeting needs revisited: the case of educational research
Lawy, Robert; Armstrong, Paul
Date: 9 January 2009
Publisher
Taylor and Francis
Publisher DOI
Abstract
Our primary objective in this paper is revisit a debate that was articulated 25 years ago in this
journal in which it was argued that the idea of meeting needs in adult and continuing education
is a myth. We extend the original analysis of need and apply it to the case of educational
research. We look at the policy context, which ...
Our primary objective in this paper is revisit a debate that was articulated 25 years ago in this
journal in which it was argued that the idea of meeting needs in adult and continuing education
is a myth. We extend the original analysis of need and apply it to the case of educational
research. We look at the policy context, which has, in the intervening period, increasingly
reflected the neo-liberal emphasis upon accountability and measurement. Taking into
account the discussion stimulated by Hargreaves and followed through by Tooley on the
supposed ‘poverty’ of educational research in the UK, we show how the discourse of need has
been sustained. Using the Transforming Learning Cultures (TLC) project in the Teaching
and Learning Research Programme (TLRP) as an exemplar, we show that, despite the
constraints that are imposed upon researchers by the funding and accountability frameworks
of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the researchers on that project have
nonetheless made significant and important contributions in the field that they have
researched. By way of outcomes, we argue for an approach to the commissioning of educational
research from bodies such as the ESRC that will allow researchers to frame their
projects in ways that do not meet current prescriptions. In conclusion, we suggest that what is
needed is a greater level of trust which will allow researchers to set the research agenda themselves,
rather than be driven by the needs identified and specified by policymakers.
Introduction
In this paper we revisit a debate that was first articulated 25 years ago in this journal,
where it was argued that the idea of meeting needs in adult and continuing education
was a myth (Armstrong 1982). Intending to challenge the liberal ideologies that
subscribed to, and supported the idea that needs have an objective reality of their
own, the claim of the original paper was that needs are manufactured political
constructions. Whilst there appeared to be some considerable support for the
critique at the time, it did not have the effect on the academy that initial indications
had suggested. Writing about recent 14–19 education policy in the UK, Lumby and
Wilson (2003) suggest:
Robert Lawy
School of Education
Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
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