ABSTRACT
Theory has never fared well in educational circles. Highly pragmatic and behavioristic in both its assumptions and practices, the field of education historically has always viewed theory as something of an unnecessary intrusion. So maligned is the term that teachers often confuse it with methods, while summarily dismissing its value by argu ing thaI they have never found it useful in their classes. Academics in colleges of education often debunk theory as the refuge of an elite who are hopelessly out of louch with reality. Even theorists in other disciplines appear to believe that theory has nothing to do with education. This is evident in the endless number of reviews in social theory journals that hold to a double standard. Theoretical discourse is encouraged for intellectuals writing in sociology, history; political science, and other areas in the humanities and liberal arts, but when it comes to judging the writing of educational theorists, it is often made quite clear that they have no right to write in complex theoretical terms.
