From ethnography to theory: A programme and paradigm in the sociology of education

There is a shortage of well-developed and systematically tested theory in sociology, and in the sociology of education in particular. The studies of the effects of streaming and banding carried out by Hargreaves, Lacey and Ball provide one of the few examples of a powerful theory which has survived systematic testing. This sequence of studies provides the basis for a research programme extending beyond the field of education. At the same time, and more importantly, this body of research offers a paradigm for case study research designed to develop and test theory. In this way it helps to close the deplorable, and much lamented, gap between theory and empirical research

Working Backwards: Instrumental analysis as a policy discovery procedure

Following up on suggestions of Adolph Lowe, the paper draws on the work of Peirce, Polya and Michael Polanyi to elaborate the notion of Lowe's instrumental analysis as a policy discovery procedure. It is argued that such an interpretation of Lowe's instrumentalism may contribute to the formulation of effective practical policies. It is also argued in the paper that this interpretation throws light on some issues concerning markets and planning that relate to the debate on socialist calculation that has been revived in the name of the 'knowledge problem' by contemporary Austrian economists. In particular, it is argued that Lowe's Instrumentalism brings to the fore the role of discovery and creativity-which are central to Austrian conceptions of entrepreneurial activity in the market-in policy formulation. In this sense Lowe's work may be seen as an antecedent to more recent work in planning that critiques-and promotes nonessentialist alternatives to-optimal or rational planning.