Theoretical research in education: peculiarities and trends

Abstract

The aim of this study is to provide a better basis for understanding theoretical research in education, based on its singularities and trends through the analysis of conceptual or theoretical doctoral research in Spain over the last two decades. During the last decade of the 20th century, there has been a spectacular increase in empirical studies in education to the detriment of theoretical studies. So far, no meta-theoretical or genealogical study of the theoretical corpus in education has been undertaken. This paper examines the nature of this type of research, the objectives pursued by this type of studies and the plurality of typologies they adopt in the Educational Sciences. To achieve the objective of this study, documentary analysis has been combined with an exploratory panoramic review of theoretical or conceptual doctoral theses carried out in Spain within the last twenty years (2003-2023). The main findings include the residual role of theoretical studies with respect to empirical research in Educational Sciences, the interdisciplinary nature of this type of studies, as opposed to the disciplinary nature of empirical research, and the scientistic tendency in educational research whose origin is due to extra-scientific factors.