Educational science is criticized for its ineffectiveness in treating actual problemsthat occur in schools or other educational settings. This situation shouldprompt researchers to conduct intensive investigations from a so-called “clinical” perspective. This article discusses the issue of how educational sociologistscan contribute to this project. Because educational sociology has recently cometo be seen as constituting a major part of educational sciences in Japan, it shouldbear some responsibilities for this discussion.
First, this paper discusses the definition of the concept of “clinical” in thefield of educational sociology. Some educational sociologists have offereddefinitions different from those of clinical psychologists, who hold hegemonicpositions in the “clinical” sciences of education. It is contended here that theword “clinical” should be used in order to deal with more problematic matters, and a proposal is made that the main task of clinical educational sociology is torelativize our commonsense understanding of problems from a constructionistperspective, in order to find novel solutions.
Secondly, the paper examines the stance that the field of educationalsociology should take toward the “clinical” mode in educational sciences. Inparticular, the field must consider how to interpret and treat the phenomenonwhere many people are interested in their “inner selves.” It is suggested thatalthough sociologists criticize this trend, it should be accepted principally as oneof the characteristic aspects of the postmodern era.
Third, an examination is made of the methodological issues of clinicaleducational sociology. If “clinical” is defined from a constructionist framework, educational sociologists are involved in reconstructing the discourse of peoplewho suffer from serious problems. If researchers want to contribute to theresearch field directly, it is possible to adopt the method of action research.When applying this method, there is a need to examine carefully the researcher'srelationship to the field.
