The Pasteurization of Education

Abstract

Stokes (1997) has argued that research projects can be described by their contributions to theoretical understanding and the solution of practical problems. Building on this model, scholars have suggested that the learning sciences should focus "use-inspired basic research." With this move has come a focus on projects with the potential to create systemic change rather than naturalistic studies of learning in context and design research to develop innovative interventions. We argue that this is based on a misreading history, and is counter-productive for learning science research. To make this case, we use Latour's (1983) study of Pasteur to suggest an alternative model for research-based transformation of education. By way of illustration, we use a brief example of a research project to ground a discussion of the broader implications of this alternative conceptualization of the process of learning sciences research.