Engaging social science students in the philosophy of science: 10 pieces of advice on how to teach a difficult subject

It can be challenging to introduce the philosophy of social science (PoS) to students in the social sciences. Noting the lack of literature providing guidance to the prospective PoS teacher, this paper outlines several pieces of advice on how to engage social science undergraduates in the subject. T...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of critical realism Vol. 21; no. 4; pp. 385 - 400
Main Author Buch-Hansen, Hubert
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Abingdon Routledge 08.08.2022
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
constructionism
critical realism
education
Philosophy of science
positivism
Social research
Social sciences
Teachers
Teaching
Textbooks
Undergraduate students
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Summary:It can be challenging to introduce the philosophy of social science (PoS) to students in the social sciences. Noting the lack of literature providing guidance to the prospective PoS teacher, this paper outlines several pieces of advice on how to engage social science undergraduates in the subject. This advice centres on showing the relevance of the PoS in academia and beyond, reducing complexity and presenting only a few contending PoS perspectives. It is also proposed to use textbooks with caution or avoiding them altogether, illustrating how PoS assumptions are embedded in contemporary social research and showing the connection between the PoS on one hand and research questions, methods, and theory on the other. Finally, the importance of showing students how they can make use of the PoS in their own work and teaching the subject in a 'hands on' manner is emphasized.
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ISSN:1476-7430
1572-5138
DOI:10.1080/14767430.2022.2057064