Post a brief description of your topic of research interest. Next, state the philosophical orientation that reflects your worldview and explain the epistemological and ontological assumptions of this orientation. Then, explain how these assumptions lend themselves to one or more research approaches.
The topic that interest me is school-to-prison pipeline. The school-to-prison pipeline is the theory that youth from disadvantaged backgrounds end up in juvenile justice at a disproportionate rate because of educational inequalities (Heise & Nance, 2024). This interest me because when juveniles perform delinquent acts, it is not always taken into account the background that they come from and how that can contribute to the delinquency of the juvenile.
The philosophical orientation that reflects my worldview is social constructivism. The ontological assumption of this orientation is that reality is subjective and is created by interactions of individuals. This means that we all have a different outlook on the world and there is no “absolute truth” (Eads, 2023). This outlook can be determined by our experiences and interactions with others. In simple terms, no one has the same reality and we are all shaping each other reality. The epistemological assumption of social constructivism is “individual interactions create meaning and knowledge is socially constructed” this means that knowledge can change overtime based on the interactions that are happening at the time (Eads, 2023). This can be based on society or a group of people. Within different groups, there can be different concepts of reality based on cultural norms.
Social constructivism uses qualitative research to gather the opinions and outlook of individuals (Oldfather et al., 1999). This is because quantitative research ignores the experiences of the individuals and the social processes that impact reality. Qualitative research can include interviews and surveys and allows the researcher to hear the individuals’ own words and their reality based on their interactions with others (Oldfather et al., 1999). Being that these individuals may be from different backgrounds and cultures, it shows how cultural norms and power dynamics can shape their reality.
Eads, R. (2023). Navigating post‐trauma realities in family systems: Applying social constructivism and systems theory to youth and family trauma. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 44(2), 214–224. https://doi.org/10.1002/anzf.1531Links to an external site.
Heise, M., & Nance, J. P. (2024). Student race, school police, and the school-to-prison pipeline: Mixed evidence of indirect pathways. Journal of School Violence, 23(3), 387–404. https://doi.org/10.1080/15388220.2024.2309380
Oldfather, P., West, J., White, J., & Wilmarth, J. (1999). Goal 1: Understanding social constructivism as a basis for meaningful learning and intrinsic motivation. In Learning through children’s eyes: Social constructivism and the desire to learn. (pp. 7–23). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/10328-001