Making subjects speak: Towards a constructionist perspective on empirical inquiry

Abstract

The paper discusses the role played by the researcher in the field of contemporary pedagogy after the turning point where the ecological paradigm has established itself over the positivistic one. Within the new paradigm, the relationship between subject and object in the empirical research develops in two steps: the constructivism introduces new interpretive ways not credited previously; the
constructionism focuses on the dialogue between subjects. Both the methodological and the strategic ways chosen by the researcher look towards the intersubjectivity typical of constructionism, and at the same time do not exclude the central role of the single subject emphasized by constructivism.