Disenchantment of Thought: A Review of Empirical Research in Education

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-601-7_9How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Empirical research in education; Disenchantment; Chinese pedagogy; Autonomous knowledge system

Abstract

Empirical research in education is a significant force for promoting educational knowledge production, serving educational practice, and fostering disciplinary independence. However, the current reverence for empirical research in academia tends toward mystification and ambiguity, causing it to increasingly deviate from the ontological value of pedagogy. To clarify its unique positioning, this article first discusses four basic characteristics of empirical research in education: its empirical nature, situationality, integration, and fuzziness. On this basis, the article “disenchants” the current “quantification” craze, revealing its limitations in methodology and axiology. Furthermore, the article proposes a path for the “re-enchantment” of empirical research in education, advocating for transcending the unilateral worship of technology and method. It suggests organically combining rational thinking, integrative thinking, and reflective thinking to allow empirical research in education to reshape its positioning through self-reflection and carry the requirements of the times for the development of the education discipline.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Download article (PDF)

TY  - CONF
AU  - Wenxin Xing
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/06
TI  - Disenchantment of Thought: A Review of Empirical Research in Education
BT  - Proceedings of the 2026 2nd International Conference on Education Reform, Ideology and Politics (ERIP 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 64
EP  - 71
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-601-7_9
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-601-7_9
ID  - Xing2026
ER  -