( Support research based on a sound worldview - donate.)

All researchers and research institutions operate from a worldview or set of presuppositions. They might call it a theoretical framework or a conceptual framework.[1] The perspective guides the research questions scholars ask, the methods they use, and the interpretation of data they collect.

The researcher's perspective or worldview controls how he or she presents findings to the media, other scholars, policymakers, and the public. Following are a few frameworks that motivate and guide researchers in the field of education today, and your tax dollars support their findings and presentations:[2]

• Critical theory is a social theory oriented toward critiquing and changing society as a whole. In philosophy, it describes the neo-Marxist philosophy of the Frankfurt School, which was developed in Germany in the 1930s, drawing on the methods of Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud.[3]

• Queer theory is an approach to literary and cultural study that rejects traditional categories of gender and sexuality and in which it is a common move to bracket, at least temporarily, issues of truth and falsity. This theory emphasizes the contesting of the categorization of gender and sexuality and holds that such identities are not fixed and that to categorize by one characteristic is wrong.[4]

• Statism holds that economic and social controls and planning should be concentrated in the hands of a highly centralized government often extending to government ownership of industry.[5]

If you like one of the above, you can be glad your tax dollars go to state universities and the professors and graduate students who work from these frameworks. On the other hand, the National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI) operates from the following two interrelated perspectives:

• "Scripturalism is that system of belief in which the Word of God is foundational in the entirety of one's philosophical and theological dealings."[6] Scripturalism teaches that the Bible has a systematic monopoly on truth.

• Constitutionalism like that under the U.S. Constitution holds that a g overnment should have the power in it distributed and limited by a body of fundamental law that must be obeyed by all persons, both those who work in the government and those who do not, and that the limited authority of government is granted by the Creator.[7]

If you want to see research conducted, interpreted, and presented to the media and the public based on scripturalism and constitutionalism, I urge you to donate now to NHERI.

If you want to see and hear less of statism, queer theory, and critical theory and more of research based on a sound worldview, you can give here. Help NHERI talk with the media and conduct and present more research.

"For over twenty years NHERI has been a vital resource for the homeschool movement, often setting the record straight in the face of much misinformation. NHERI is in urgent need of revenue to continue its battle against attacks on homeschooling by antagonistic academics. -- Bob Jacobsen, President, MassHOPE, Massachusetts    You can help, now.

--Brian D. Ray, Ph.D.

National Home Education Research Institute

P.S. We realize not everyone can support NHERI but if just half of those reading this gave just $10 or $15, NHERI would be able to end the year on a much stronger financial note.

Two ways to help:
1. Send a check to: NHERI, PO Box 13939, Salem OR 97309 (using a check puts the largest percent of your gift to work at NHERI)
2. Donate online.

NHERI, PO Box 13939, Salem OR 97309, USA

Endnotes:

[1] Definitions of conceptual framework and theoretical framework may differ substantially but a full-length discussion is not fitting here.

[2] At Oregon State University, for example, about 84% of the research was funded by citizens' tax dollars in fiscal year 2013; retrieved December 11, 2013 from http://oregonstate.edu/research/dashboard.

[3] See, e.g., http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/critical-theory/, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_theory, and http://sociology.about.com/od/C_Index/g/Critical-Theory.htm, all retrieved December 11, 2013 online.

[4] See, e.g., http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/homosexuality/#QueTheSocConSex, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/queer%20theory, and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queer_theory , all retrieved December 11, 2013 online.

[5] See, e.g., http://www.thefreedictionary.com/statism, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/statism, and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statism, all retrieved December 11, 2013 online.

[6] Crampton, W. Gary. (2011). Scripturalism: A Christian worldview. Retrieved December 11, 2013 from http://www.trinityfoundation.org/journal.php?id=276 .

[7] See, e.g., http://www.thefreedictionary.com/constitutionalism, http://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/dictionary/american/constitutionalism , and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutionalism.

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