© Kamla-Raj 2012 Anthropologist, 14(2): 141-148 (2012) Disputed yet Invaluable: Philosophical Inquiry as Theory in Educational Research Amasa Philip Ndofirepi and Almon Shumba * Wits School of Education, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa E-mails: amasa.ndofirepi@wits.ca.za & ndofiamasa@yahoo.com * School of Teacher Education, Faculty of Humanities, Central University of Technology, Free State, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa E-mails: ashumba@cut.ac.za & almonshumba@yahoo.com KEYWORDS Philosophical Inquiry.Dispute.Critical Analysis.Theory ABSTRACT Research shows that one of the aims of theory is to understand and the process of theorising is a distinctly human and humanising social process through which we understand ourselves and our environment. Philosophical inquiry can be said to be theory that explains practice and is in turn grounded in practice that can help to explore and clarify the underlying assumptions of competing value frameworks by critically reflecting on conventional views and assessing their worth in educational research. As theory, philosophical inquiry can provide tools for examining the things that researchers in education so often take for granted in their daily practices. But the question that we ask in this paper is: What makes researchers in education look down upon philosophical inquiry? Are they aware of the complementary role philosophical inquiry plays in scientific matters that concern education? It is on the basis of the foregoing that this paper seeks to argue a case for philosophical inquiry as theory in educational research. We argue that all successful educational research involves philosophical inquiry as implicit theory that informs the practice. Address for correspondences: Professor Almon Shumba School of Teacher Education, Faculty of Humanities Central University of Technology, Free State, Bloemfontein 9300. Private Bag X20539, South Africa E-mail: ashumba@cut.ac.za, almonshumba@yahoo.com INTRODUCTION Educational researchers are constantly confronted by the need to make sense of how educational theory, policy and practice are to be investigated and understood (Bridges 1997; Carr 1995; Sheffield 2004; Whitehurst 2003). Philo- sophical inquiry into educational problems has been in place in western tradition as far back as the olden days of Socrates and Plato with the position that reflection on the methods of education was inseparable from reflection on ethical, epistemological and political issues. What sort of inquiry enlightens practical decisions? What is the nature of assumptions and inferences that can be drawn from the available evidence? In the final analysis: Does philosophy matter anyway? There is a micro-political issue regar- ding the relationship between philosophers of education and educational researchers with educational researchers sidelining philosophers of education. To this end, both sides tend to miss fruitful exchanges and development of ideas on both sides. We argue that educational researchers have often tended to suffer major disasters by failing to first analyse their concepts while rushing to build a lifetime of research on a weak conceptual foundation. In addition, it is our contention that the place of philosophical inquiry is being rendered invisible in discourses of educational research. It is our case, we are in agreement with Sheffield (2004) that; Endless numbers of professional philo- sophers have attempted to explain what it is that philosophers do and exactly what it is that philosophers study and to what end…(As) more and more disciplines have graduated out of philosophy,(psychology for example) to operate in their own realms leaving philosophers, in the opinion of some, with little or nothing to do”(Sheffield 2004: 6). The above goes to demonstrate even how scholars do not entrust philosophy with a pivotal and central role in educational research. Our aim is to foreground the contributions of philosophical inquiry in educational research especially by placing emphasis on the question ‘why?’ that underlies the practice of research. In order to position our exploration of the