Assignment on the Purpose of Educational Research

ROCKVIEW UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION AND RESEARCH
EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH ASSIGNMENTS
ASSIGNMENT ONE
QUESTION: What is the purpose of educational research? According to
Ikekhua and Yesufu (1995), the four-fold purposes of educational research are:
 To provide objective evidence to improve school learning;
 To controvert myths surrounding certain practices and principles in
education;
 To change beliefs characterizing practitioners and products of education
and the consumers of the products of education, and;
 To help place the work of the school and its agents on a firmer ground
with consumers of education.
Give life to the purpose of educational research as highlighted by Ikekhua and
Yesufu.

Ever since the end of Second World War, many educational institutions and notable writers
worldwide, have been showing strong concern over the purpose of educational research in
terms of improving the quality and variety of education. According to Ikekhua and Yesufu
(1995), the four-fold purposes of educational research include firstly to provide objective
evidence to improve school learning; secondly to controvert myths surrounding certain
practices and principles in education; thirdly to change beliefs characterizing practitioners
and products of education and the consumers of the products of education, and; fourthly to
help place the work of the school and its agents on a firmer ground with consumers of
education. It is from this point of view that this assignment discusses or gives life to the
purpose of educational research as highlighted by Ikekhua and Yesufu. A concrete conclusion
shall be given based on the entire discussion.
To start with, educational research is defined differently by different scholars. Educational
research is implied when research activities are geared towards unravelling educational
problems or bringing about improvement in teaching and learning. According to Ary et. al.
(1972:21) educational research is “the way in which one acquires dependable and useful
information about the educative process”. While Travers (1964:5), says that educational
research is “an activity directed towards the development of an organised body of scientific
knowledge about the events with which educators are concerned” This means that research in
education is a systematic attempt to define and investigate pertinent problems involved in
teaching and learning. This can take place within or outside the school setting or it can take
place at various levels of education, such as early childhood, primary, secondary or tertiary
levels.
One of the four-fold purposes of educational research as stated by Ikekhua and Yesufu (1995)
is to provide objective evidence to improve school learning. This can be explained as
educational research enables educational institutions to systematically apply scientific
methods to solve educational problems so as to improve the quality of education to be
delivered to the learners. This also implies that educational research is key or necessary in
bringing about a well-coordinated and improved education in any educational institution (Ali,
1996). Since research education professionals are always learning, finding out new things,
analysing information, adapting their behaviour according to information received, looking to
improve and adapting to modern demands, research enables them to be objective in terms of
the way they present their findings or results.
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Further, educational research enables practitioners within the educational sector to comply
with policies or standards in terms of goods and services. Objectivity is upheld in the delivery
of educational services so as to avoid biases that might cost one to lose a job or be fined for
not following the stipulated for example, teaching guidelines and standards or regulations.
Therefore, educational research provides a suitable environment for education practitioners
including teachers to systematically collect, organise and interpret information to the learners
to ensure quality delivery of services and avoid biases attributed to lack of necessary skills
and failure to follow rules and regulations. Additionally, educational research enables
teachers to adapt it to fit the individual needs of their own pupils or learners as a way of
promoting good teaching (Ali, 1996).
Further, when the purpose of educational research is said to provide objective evidence to
improve school learning, it also implies that educational research promotes the development
or formation of highly qualified or skilled professionals in the educational sector and other
sectors to deliver quality goods and services. Teachers project their own personality upon
learning experiences. Sometimes this is intuitive and these decisions can either be successful
or fail. Research methodologies therefore give teachers the tools to analyse and make
informed decisions about their practices (Pramodini and Anu, 2012). This is also in line with
the introduction of staff performance appraisals to motivate and enhance the performance of
employees as a way of improving delivery of services of good quality. It should however be
understood that, as teachers and other education practitioners are accountable, the public must
have faith in the profession and attitudes towards education vary across many social groups,
therefore, the performance of teachers can be demonstrated through the publication of
research findings. In this manner, educational research serves the purpose of providing
objective evidence to improve school learning (Ikekhua and Yesufu, 1995).
On the other hand, educational research is said to serve the purpose of controverting myths
surrounding certain practices and principles in education as argued by Ikekhua and Yesufu,
(1995). Since educational research is meant to be an activity that is directed towards the
development of an organised body of scientific knowledge about the events with which
educators are concerned, it makes it possible to refute falsehood or any such practices that are
not based on truth or not systematically investigated. It attempts to define and investigate
pertinent problems involved in teaching and learning. This can take place within or outside
the school setting or it can take place at various levels of education, such as early childhood,
primary, secondary or tertiary levels (Travers, 1964:5).
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