Ignorance in Educational Research Or, How Can You <i>Not</i> Know That?

Abstract

In this article I argue that ignorance is a better criterion than truth for determining the usefulness of knowledge generated through different forms of educational research. This argument has implications for how we conceptualize educational research, how we teach it, and how we frame and support relationships between researchers and their subjects. The argument draws on a distinction between "blind spots" and "blank spots," and it is supported by examples drawn from the literature of educational research. The argument and examples illustrate how greater attention to the ignorance of researchers and subjects can increase our understanding of different disciplinary and organizational models of educational research, including configurations of "practitioner research" and "cooperative research."