A narrow concept of science limits the work that researchers do, says Pam Bettis, associate professor in the WSU College of Education. Bettis will argue for a change of course in her lecture “Research Gone Wild,” to be presented at noon Wednesday, Sept. 21.Bettis will speak in room 416 of Neill Hall. Her talk will be streamed to other WSU locations: EdAd 202 in Pullman, SAC 501 in Spokane, and VCLS 130 in Vancouver. People who would like to participate via phone bridge may call 509-335-4700 and use the identification number 4460.
Bettis’s own research explores the intersection of gender, youth cultures and schooling. In her lecture, she will challenge the concept of science fostered by the federal government and funding agencies and taken up by organizations such as the American Educational Research Association. “Why, for example, should we obsess over validity rather than the ethics of research?,” Bettis asks. “If poetry and fiction provoke changes in how people understand the world, then why not include these forms of inquiry in our research tool kits?”