The problem of "value neutrality" is no less than the touchstone of the disciplinary nature of educational sociology.
The "fact discipline theory" pursues fact judgment and abandons value judgment; The normative discipline theory emphasizes the direct application of sociological knowledge in educational practice and the value judgment of educational behavior.
The theory of "both facts and norms" mediates, compromises or swings between value judgment and fact judgment. It is the proposition of "value neutrality" that "affects the whole body".
Fundamentally speaking, it has led to a series of viewpoints and theoretical confrontations about the research object, subject nature and research methodology of educational sociology so far.
To explore the theory of "fact discipline", we have to involve other theories about the nature of educational sociology, to relate the research object theory and research methodology of various theories, and to lead to a series of problems such as the so-called "mainstream orientation" of educational sociology.
All these problems should be traced back to "value neutrality" and analyzed around "value neutrality", so there is no other way.
The representative work of China's theory of fact discipline in educational sociology is Educational Sociology (1998 edition) published by People's Education Publishing House, because it "marks the systematic construction of the discipline system of educational sociology in China and the initial establishment of its own characteristics".
It is also "the one with the most reasonable structure and perfect system in the introduction to educational sociology so far".
From then on, "the theory of fact discipline" and its corresponding "sociology level" research object theory seem to have become a kind of "common sense" and "common sense" of educational sociology, and even become the "doorplate" of educational sociology.