Articulating the Singular and the General: A Science for Education

This article interrogates the kind of research that is useful for teachers. The teacher is a reflective practitioner who draws on research findings, but also uses personal reflection, to work with students, with a focus on evidence-based practice. The strengths, but also the controversies of this research paradigm are discussed. The role of context in all educational practice is highlighted, and research approaches that take this context into account are discussed. A reflection on the singular in education is conducted, with a focus on the term transduction, which concerns the passage from a singular to a singular by analogy. It is a type of logic, of reasoning, of mental approach that is not reduced to deduction and induction, and which allows the passage from one singular situation to another, from close to close, while leaving a good place to the imaginary. This article advocates an articulation between research aimed at the general and contextualized research, thereby allowing the teacher to grasp the singularity of a pedagogical situation.