Getting real: heuristics in sociological knowledge

Theory and Society - This article examines the connections among heuristics, the epistemological and ontological presuppositions that underlie theorizing, and substantive explanations in sociology....     

Beyond ‘developmentalism’: A relational and embodied approach to young children's development

This article begins by discussing ‘developmentalism’, one of the key debates that has characterised the current theoretical impasse in the development of childhood studies. I use Norbert Elias's concept of the relation between love and learning as a foundation to develop the way in which young children's development is a non-linear, temporal and embodied process. I argue that we need to develop a relational approach that moves beyond some of the binary divisions between ‘nature’ and ‘biology’, drawing on concepts from particular theoretical traditions that have been under-utilised, particularly the relational school of psychoanalysis and the work of Maurice Merleau-Ponty.     

Was Cicourel’s critique in Methods and Measurement in Sociology too radical?

This article is a contribution to a mini symposium on the 50th anniversary of the publication of A V Cicourel’s Method and Measurement in Sociology (1964). The central theme of the book is reviewed – the problem of the relationship between everyday language and cultural meanings, and the language of measurement in social research – and the lack of an adequate ontology of social actors is identified as being the cause of the problem. The solution offered by Alfred Schütz – that social scientific language should be derived from everyday language – is discussed and it is argued that this was probably too radical at the time the book was published, and is still generally neglected in the social sciences.     

Career‐Ready Students: A Goal of Comprehensive School Counseling Programs

This article opens with a rationale for and a definition of student career readiness. Next is a presentation of the qualities and attributes of career‐ready students. Then discussion follows about what students need to become career ready. Following this is a presentation of how comprehensive school counseling programs help students become career ready, including discussion of the delivery system for school counseling programs that provide the activities and services that contribute to student career readiness. The article closes with the critical point that helping all students become career ready requires a whole school–community approach.