Eclectic Use of Theory in Doctoral Theses in Educational Research

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Abstract

There is no grand theory in educational research and quite a few educational researchers and combine different theories and borrow theories from other fields. We analyse 176 doctoral theses written within the educational sciences. The theses were submitted between 2010 and 2018 to the faculties of education at the two largest universities in Norway. Our purpose is to identify eclecticism, and analyse how the candidates discuss and justify their eclectic use. Findings show that out of 176 theses, 31 candidates state that they use theory in an eclectic way.

Authors

• Sigrun Wessel Svenkerud, University of Southeast Norway

• Cecilie Pedersen Dalland, OsloMet - Oslo Metropolitan University