Actor network theory and special needs education

faculteit gedrags- en pedagogische wetenschappen
maatschappijwetenschappen en onderwijskunde

Datum 07.06.2010 | 1

Actor-network theory (ant)
in education
presentation to a research meeting of RUG Orthopedagogiek
monday 7 june 2010
Ernst D. Thoutenhoofd


Datum 7.06.2010 |

contents
select historiography
biographic origins in science and technology studies (STS)
key assumptions of actor-network theory
actor-network theory in education
opening pandora‘s box: the cause(s) of orthopedagogiek
towards a postsocial and posthumanist theory of orthopedagogiek


Datum 7.06.2010 | 3

origins of ant
› Ludwik Fleck 1935
the genesis and development of a scientific fact
› Thomas S. Kuhn 1962
the structure of scientific revolutions
› Bruno Latour and Steve Woolgar 1979
laboratory life: the construction of scientific facts
› John Law, Michel Callon and Arie Rip 1986
mapping the dynamics of science and technology
› Wiebe Bijker 1997
of bicycles, bakelites and bulbs: toward a theory of sociotechnical
change


Datum 7.06.2010 | 4

sts | ant
Science is a durable process of heterogeneous engineering in which
―bits and pieces from the social, the technical, the conceptual, and
the textual are fitted together, and so converted (or translated) into
a set of equally heterogeneous scientific products‖,
including facts, knowledge, expertise, and progress.
John Law Notes on the theory of the actor-network 1992:381


Datum 7.06.2010 | 5

origins of ant

Ludwik Fleck (1896–1961)


Datum 7.06.2010 | 6

origins of ant

Thomas S. Kuhn
Steve Fuller Thomas Kuhn: A philosophical history for our times
(2001)


Datum 7.06.2010 | 7

science as true belief
Everything we know […] casts substantial doubt that anything like
an intention, idea, proposition, or message could have ever been
transmitted intact over any great expanse of time and space. The
only thing that prevents this point from having more impact […] is
that virtually all theories of progress and rationality presuppose the
contrary to be the case.
Steve Fuller 2000:28-9


Datum 7.06.2010 | 8

origins of ant

Bruno Latour
Centre de Sociologie de l‘innovation, École des Mines


Datum 7.06.2010 | 9

origins of ant

John Law
Paul Feyerabend, Wider den Methodenzwang (1975)


Datum 7.06.2010 | 10

origins of ant

Wiebe Bijker
Professor of technology and society, University of Maastricht


Datum 7.06.2010 | 11

ant key assumptions
› actants are both human and non-human— our world is a
postsocial or sociotechnical construct/assemblage
› analyses should be symmetrical
 explain human and non-human aspects of phenomena
 account for success and failure
› networks are inherently heterogeneous
› all action involves translation
› matters that are presupposed become black-boxed
› facts and concerns are inherently political achievements


Datum 7.06.2010 | 12

examples of ant
Steve Fox 2005 points to the ‗thoroughly political‘ technological
change in higher education.
Claims that learning is always already mediated by its own
practices, and that practice communities are distinguished by the
style in which they are imagined.
Education involves processes of translation, in which techniques
and technologies are shaped in accordance with education styles,
rather than deterministically diffused.


Datum 7.06.2010 | 13

examples of ant
Steven Ward 1996 examines the historical construction of the
concept of self-esteem and its rise to the status of truth.
Enough allies (including also pedagogy) are mobilised to forge a
network of truth so strong that the concept is accepted as fact.
Russel Viner 1999 makes a similar case for stress.
Nick Manning 2002 for dangerous and severe personality disorder
(DSPD).


Datum 7.06.2010 | 14

examples of ant
Trudy Dehue performs similar analyses in relation to depression
2008 and in relation to ADHD 2010.
According to Dehue, ADHD is a pervasive sociotechnical movement
in which researchers, companies, providers, teachers, patients and
diagnostic instruments all actively participate.


Datum 7.06.2010 | 15

examples of ant
Estrid Sørensen 2007 applies ant to primary education.
She proposes that education is ‗wholeheartedly humanist‘ and
thereby unable to account for learning materials, classroom layout,
technology, or itself.
Children are not isolated social beings but already entangled in a
socio-material web.
In an effort to develop a theory of virtual (online) learning,
Sørensen reconstructs educational spaces as spatial imaginaries
that involve representational knowledge and presence.
In similar vein Martin Lawn and Ian Grosvenor investigated the
materialities of school 2005 and education 2009 in the construction
of educational knowledge.


Datum 7.06.2010 | 16

ant in education
opening pandora’s box

Orthopedagogiek is under-theorised (Baartman et al. 2000).
‗It concerns situations in which upbringing becomes difficult and
problematic.‘
While under-theorised, lacking proper instruments and orienting
increasingly to the special needs orientation in the anglophone
world et cetera, ‗the relevance of an orthopedagogisch perspective
on problems in upbringing and development has never been
questioned.‘


Datum 7.06.2010 |

ant in education
opening pandora’s box

But if situations are constituted (and do not naturally arise) as
difficult or problematic; then how is a status quo achieved in which
orthopedagogiek—in particular given its lack of educational
methods and approaches—remains beyond challenge?


Datum 7.06.2010 | 18

ant in education
towards a (ant) theory of orthopedagogiek

ant-driven research questions might be formulated:
research methods and research approaches:
verificatory orthopedagogiek
Ian Hacking, making up people
psychometric/educational tests and statistical treatments:
inferential and instrumental orthopedagogiek
Ted Porter, trust in numbers
evidence-based education or EBE: good practice orthopedagogiek
Stefan Timmermans & Marc Berg, the gold standard
interdisciplinary orthopegagogiek; comparative orthopedagogiek…


Datum 07.06.2010 | 19

end
References on next slide


Datum 7.06.2010 | 20

References
Baartman, Herman, Aryan van der Leij and Joop Stolk Latour, Bruno (1988). The Pasteurization of France. Cambridge
(eds. 2000) Het perspectief van de orthopedagoog Mass., US: Harvard University Press. English translation of
(tweede druk 2001). Houten, Netherlands: Bohn Stafleu (1984) Pasteur, une science, un style, un siècle. Éditions
Van Loghum. Perrin, Paris.
Bijker, Wiebe (1997) Of bicycles, bakelites and bulbs: Latour, Bruno (2005) Reassembling the social: An introduction
Toward a theory of sociotechnical change. Cambridge to actor-network-theory. Oxford, England: Oxford University
Mass., US: MIT Press. Press.
Callon, Michel, John Law and Arie Rip (eds. 1986) Mapping Latour, Bruno and Steve Woolgar (1979) Laboratory Life: the
the dynamics of science and technology: Sociology of Social Construction of Scientific Facts. London, England: Sage.
science in the real world. New York, US: Sheridan House. Law, John (1992) Notes on the Theory of the Actor Network:
Dehue, Trudy (2008) De depressie-epidemie. Ordering, Strategy and Heterogeneity. Lancaster, UK: Centre
Amsterdam, Netherlands: Augustus. for Science Studies, Lancaster University.
Dehue, Trudy (2010) De ADHD-beweging, leven in het www.comp.lancs.ac.uk/sociology/papers/Law-Notes-on-
tijdperk van het brein. Amsterdam, Netherlands: ANT.pdf
Augustus. Law, John (2004) After method: Mess in social science research.
Feyerabend, Paul (1975) Against Method: Outline of an London, England: Routledge.
Anarchistic Theory of Knowledge. London, England: New Lawn, Martin (ed. 2009) Modelling the future exhibitions and the
Left Books. Translated into Dutch (2008) Tegen de materiality of education. Oxford, England: Symposium Books.
methode. Rotterdam, Netherlands: Lemniscaat. Lawn, Martin and Ian Grosvenor (eds. 2005) Materialities of
Fleck, Ludwik (1979) The Genesis and Development of a schooling: Design, technology, objects, routines.
Scientific Fact. Chicago, US: University of Chicago Press. Oxford, England: Symposium Books.
English translation of (1935) Entstehung und Entwicklung Manning, Nick (2002) Actor networks, policy networks and
einer wissenschaftlichen Tatsache. Einführung in die personality disorder. Sociology of Health & Illness
Lehre vom Denkstil und Denkkollektiv. Schwabe und 24(5):644–666.
Co., Verlagsbuchhandlung, Basel. Sørensen, Estrid (2009) The materiality of learning: Technology
Fox, Steve(2005) An actor-network critique of community and knowledge in educational practice. Cambridge, England:
in higher education: implications for networked learning. Cambridge University Press.
Studies in Higher Education, 30(1):95–110. Viner, Russel (1999) Putting the stress in life: Hans Selye and
Fuller, Steve (2000) Thomas Kuhn: A philosophical history the making of Stress theory. Social Studies of Science
for our times. Chicago, US: Chicago University Press. 29(3):391–410.
Kuhn, Thomas S. (1970) The structure of scientific Ward, Stephen (1996) Filling the world with self-esteem: A
revolutions. Chicago, US: Chicago University Press. social history of truth-making. Canadian Journal of Sociology
21:1–23.

Actor network theory and special needs education

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (6)

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (11)

Similar to Actor network theory and special needs education

Similar to Actor network theory and special needs education (20)

More from Ernst Thoutenhoofd

More from Ernst Thoutenhoofd (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Actor network theory and special needs education

Editor's Notes