How to Tell the Story?

In this paper I investigate the problems of data collection, data analysis and the final communication of the results of our research, when doing social science that we, ourselves, are part of. Central to this are the concepts life world, language games and stories and narratives. How do we collect stories and narratives in the field, how do we construct scientific narratives that are both reliable and valid? And finally, how do we, as researchers present our newly constructed narrative to a – hopefully – interested audience? That is, how do you, as a consumer of scientific narratives, read what I have been writing? Finally, I will discuss the problem of handing over research results to the people that we are doing research with. This is all done within a framework of a pragmatic constructivist paradigm.

The Language Game of Goodness

In a performance culture, the individual who manages to be the best, is glorified. The rest become marginalised or even excluded from the community. The right to define what is the best is often in the hands of few, and most often these criteria have roots in a form of emotivism. The criteria are thereby weakly defined, and bendable in favour of those who seem to have taken control. In response to the aim of being the best, Lennart Nørreklit develops a conceptual framework for being good, the language game of goodness. A society based on goodness, and the ethics of being good are inclusive because being good is simultaneously possible for a community of people. The paper contributes with a highly critical discussion of the performance society, and it provides an alternative for organising societies.

Language in the technology subject at the Danish Higher Technical Examination Programme

Working with problem-based learning (PBL) in the technology subject differentiates The Higher Technical Examination Programme (HTX) from other secondary school programs in Denmark. Challenges include interpretation of different elements which vary from teacher to teacher as the teachers have very different professional backgrounds. This has consequences for students and indicates that a solid disciplinary tradition has yet to be developed. It could possibly be argued that teachers’ communications on the subject, are only abstractions and not concepts. To solve these problems, it seems pertinent to apply the conceptualising method (Nørreklit 1973), to create useful and precise concepts free from possible ambiguities as a contribution to a coordinated language. In conclusion, it has been possible to use Pragmatic Constructivism (PC) to unfold the language games of the technology subject and enable the teachers to discuss their subject with each other thereby creating change in the subject and organisation.

Editorial

This editorial introduces the journal and the content of the issue