"Fail Fast"

The Discourse of Quality Research Perpetuated by Leadership at The Institute of Education Sciences

Authors

  • Jacob Bennett Vanderbilt University
  • Vonna Hemmler Amherst College

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14288/ce.v16i4.187112

Keywords:

Epistemologies, Discourse, Governmentality, Research Funding

Abstract

Epistemologies are understood as ways of knowing that stem from an individual’s ontological orientation. Such orientations are intimately tied to personal experiences that educational scholar Gloria Ladson-Billings (2001) argued create “systems of knowing” based on majority-normative epistemological stances. In this manuscript, we were interested in analyzing how institutional knowledge is transformed into a system of knowing based on a norming of beliefs through educational research funding. Specifically, we analyse the ways leadership within the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) conceptualizes ideas of "quality" research based on public blog posts by the institute's former director. Our results show a tilted appreciation for replicable studies based on an epistemology that understands educational research to be similar to scientific research in all fields – one centered on “rigorous reasoning” aimed at generating testable theories to expand outcomes at scale. As such, we argue such a discourse of quality research is contributing to the perpetuation, rather than amelioration, of inequities within educational settings. To end, we provide possible new directions for centering context-based epistemological understandings of quality within educational research. Such epistemologies are better suited to inform researchers who seek to close opportunity gaps in educational settings as well as increase the impact of educational research across multiple contexts.

Author Biographies

Jacob Bennett, Vanderbilt University

Jacob Bennett's current research focuses on how the power of critical connections between teachers and colleagues can support sustainable change toward equity within K12 schools. He interrogates ways teachers’ knowledge of contextual nuance, feelings of personal and collective efficacy, and proximity to power influence both understanding and ameliorating barriers to learning and belonging within community schools.

Vonna Hemmler, Amherst College

Vonna Hemmler is a STEM Education Postdoctoral Researcher at Amherst College. Her research interests pertain broadly to the equitable education of students from diverse backgrounds. She has taught courses on educating multilingual and culturally diverse learners, and her work has been featured in the American Education Research Journal, Theory & Research in Social Education, Educational Policy, the Journal of Research in Rural Education, and Qualitative Research, among others.

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Published

2025-11-18

Issue

Vol. 16 No. 4 (2025)

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Jacob Bennett, Vonna Hemmler

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