Ontology is the study of the philosophy of reality. It is a conceptual
schema made up of terms that describe the concepts and the relations
among the concepts. Social scientists tend to adopt one of the four
major ontological approaches. ‘Realism’ is the belief that facts are out
there waiting to be discovered; ‘Empiricism’ is the belief that one can
observe the world and evaluate those observations in relation to facts;
‘Positivism’ focuses on the observations themselves and attends mainly
to claims about the facts than to the actual facts. Finally,
‘Post-modernism’ is the belief that facts are fluid and elusive, thus one
As learning itself is a personal experience and knowledge is ever
changing, the data we can obtain from this study is bound to be fluid
and elusive. For this reason, our analysis and discussion can only be
focused on those observational and obtainable ‘facts’. Similar to
many other social studies, a post-modern approach is adopted in this
study focusing on describing the facts and the relationships between
various concepts in relation to learning in the family between
Generation X parents and their Generation Y children.
At this stage, this study neither aims to build a perfect theory, nor
to give a comprehensive or perfect definition for ‘family learning’,
‘learning family’ or ‘intergenerational learning’. Instead, I hope to
identify the characteristics and build a ‘learning family’ model with a
meta-learning framework and at the same time address the research
questions in chapter one (refer to page 14). Data analysis and
discussion presented are intended to resemble reality as much as
possible, to offer insight, enhance understanding and provide
In the context of learning, neuropsychologists study our brain and
try to correlate the physiological process of the body with behavioural
changes; computer science models treat learning as an information
processing system; anthropologists and sociologists study the roles of
myths, metaphors, ritual roles, language, and symbols in the
transmission of knowledge; whereas philosophers try to understand the
nature of being and how we construct meaning from it. I think all the
different disciplines do contribute to defining what learning is. To me,
learning not only involves the acquisition of knowledge and skills, it is
also a means and an end. Learning helps us to understand our inner as
well as the outer worlds, and allows us to become aware of our own
existence. Despite different approaches in defining what learning is,
most researchers agree that the outcome of learning always results in a
relatively permanent change in our behaviour (Atkinson, et al., 1993). I
think what we have learned in our childhood from the family forms a
repertoire of behaviour preparing us for further learning in the ‘real
world’. Learning is also considered as a subjective phenomenon and
happens within the context of social practices. Knowledge does not
family does not end when we enter school for formal education.
Learning is actually a lifelong process. The differences could be in the
focus and the ways knowledge is transferred or exchanged. Family
upbringing and our early learning experience do influence our attitudes
and learning practices later in life.
EPISTEMOLOGY
Epistemology is a branch of western philosophy that studies the
nature and scope of knowledge and belief. It means the theory of
knowledge to the philosophers and they try to answer the question of
how one knows certain things to be true and others false (Churchman,
2005). It addresses the questions such as what knowledge is, how
knowledge is produced and acquired, and what people know. In the
realist view of epistemology, knowledge is considered as an ‘object’
that can be transferred from one person to another. Knowledge can be
organized into hierarchical structures in a rational way determined by
the structure of the subject matter. Knowledge is thought as a ‘matter’
objective reality corresponding to an idea that a teacher can teach.
Therefore, the task of the teacher is to provide the right kind of
knowledge and information for the learners. However, with the changes
we experience and ICT advancement, the role of the teachers and the
relationship between the ’teachers’ and the ‘learners’ may have to be
re-defined. Knowledge does not necessarily require person to person
transfer any more, unless it is tacit knowledge. Intergenerational family
learning actually involves the transfer of tacit knowledge from one
family member to another across generations.
The Cognitive Information Processing Theory turns its attention
from external environmental factors to internal cognitive structures of
the human brain (i.e., the mental process of selecting, encoding, and
retrieving information). The cognitivists regard knowledge as
something objective and common to all if the process is the same.
The Constructivist theory of learning is highly represented by
cognitive psychologists such as Jean Piaget on child development and
learning, James Bruner in his discovery learning theory, and Lev.
associated with the cognitive process. According to the constructivist
theory, knowledge is subjective, provisional, and evolutionary.
We construct our own understanding of the world we live in. In
other words, knowledge is constructed according to each individual’s
rules and ‘mental models’. Belief is also a part of the knowledge which
predicts whether it will prove to be useful or successful in the same
sense. Knowledge is therefore a distinct category of belief.
Knowledge is also created or transferred through the relationship
between the ’teacher’ and the ‘learner’. The world as we understand it
depends on the interpretation of our own experience. Learning is
searching for meaning, and is both a personal construction (cognitive
oriented constructivist theories) and a social construction of meaning
through our interactions with the environment (socially oriented
constructivist theories). The social relationships between parents and
their children and the interaction between them within the family thus