Educational Critique,Critical Thinking and the Critical Philosophical Traditions

Responding to Jan Masschelein's discussion of critical distance and the trivialisation of critique in his ‘How to Conceive of Critical Educational Theory Today?’, I draw attention to the antinomic character of immanence and transcendence—that is, to the way that it entails both non‐circumventible necessity and omnipresent risks. I argue that the discourse of critical thinking in education is exemplary of the tensions generated by such consolidated meanings. Through this prism, I aim to offer a nuanced account of ways in which the trivialisation of critique nurtures narcissistic and conformist tendencies that do not leave unaffected any critical philosophical line of thought. To illustrate my critique of contemporary critical education of all persuasions, I deal with an ethics of reading and writing. I suggest that, rather than encouraging cynicism and an abdication of responsibility, this antinomic character of critique should discourage any complacent and one‐sided reliance on one's own tradition.     

从人文主义到后人文主义:后人类时代的教育学之思

源于西方的现代教育理念及其实践深深扎根于人文主义的传统之中。以人为中心,重视人的潜能发展和增强,强调身心二分、心先于身是现代人文主义教育学的基本主张。现代教育实践的展开及其演进正是建立在这些人文主义的教育信条之上的。然而,随着各种新兴技术的高速发展及其正在引发的变革,现代社会正在进入一个新的时代——后人类时代。现代人文主义教育学的核心理念及其实践正在遭遇新的时代境遇的挑战,重审现代人文主义教育学势在必行。基于后人类时代视域,借鉴后人类哲学话语,展开对现代人文主义教育学的批判并尝试建构一种后人文主义的教育学思路,其基本主张为从人类中心到万物共生的教育视角转换从人的增强到人的完善的教育理念回归以及从身心二元到身心一体的教育原则重构。     

Advocating for a More Effective Critical Pedagogy by Examining Structural Obstacles to Critical Educational Reform

Since a major purpose of critical pedagogy is to change society by changing schools, critical pedagogy must gain an increased presence within K-12 schools. For this to happen, however, critical educators must begin to more fully recognize and appreciate the structural obstacles that schools present to critical educational change. This paper examines three of these obstacles: schools’ nature as public institutions, the fact that schools change reform efforts, and the relationship between ‘first-order’ and ‘second-order’ change and the types of changes for which criticalists often advocate. The paper ends by encouraging a smaller, more practical critical pedagogy that is focused on tangible and meaningful effect.     

教育生活与教育学

自19世纪初起，教育学无论在理论上还是在实践中都日益趋向科学，成为“教育科学”，而具有实质内容的“教育学”逐渐消失。但是教育科学所导致的教育生活与人的失落，以及教育科学自身的三种危机：知识论的危机、分而不合的危机、意识形态的危机，却使教育学的出现成为必要。同时，无论是失落，还是危机，根本上都是忽视了本真的教育生活，所以，本真的教育学是以“教育生活”为中心的教育学。     

A Sorry Tail: Ability, Pedagogy and Educational Reform

This paper argues that if 'reforms'of education designed to raise standards leave unquestioned the notion of fixed differential ability, then they are likely to be self-defeating. It considers alternative ways of formulating knowledge about individual differences reflected both in the literature and in classroom practice, and concludes by making a case for further research to be undertaken to establish frameworks for teaching consistent with an anti-determinist view of individual potential.     

Revolutionary Ecologies: Ecosocialism and Critical Pedagogy

In this article, we argue that critical and revolutionary educational praxis is increasingly shaped by and through ecological politics and imaginaries. Indeed, given the pervasiveness of environmental crisis in our everyday lives and vocabularies, we argue that critical educators can no longer ignore questions of ecojustice. In keeping with a growing interdisciplinary field of green Marxist scholarship, we argue that "greening" critical pedagogy ought not diminish its radical intent or its goal of transforming oppressive social and economic conditions. Drawing on the field of political ecology, we argue for critical revolutionary pedagogy to be informed by a dialectics of ecological and environmental justice that highlights the situatedness of environmental conflict and injustice toward nonhuman nature without obscuring its historical production under capitalist value forms. In particular, we explore schooling as one site of environmental injustice before embarking on a broader discussion of how justice toward nature more generally may be substantively linked to the objectives of critical revolutionary pedagogy.     

Critical Paths in Pedagogy, Research, and Development

These three books, while differing somewhat in focus, style, and substance, have in common a concern to uphold critical approaches to the theory and practice of education. Addressing issues of pedagogy, research, and professional development, the texts pose a challenge to technocratic, neoliberal, and conservative discourses in the educational sphere. This essay reinforces the importance of critical work in the academy and the teaching profession, but draws attention to the problem of theoretical and personal "infighting" among left scholars. The importance of strategic alliances in the face of a (more) united, and overwhelmingly dominant, right is stressed.     

批判教育学中的政治、理论与现实(下)

编者按:究竟如何理解英美的批判教育学思潮,尤其是近年来其阵营内部存在纷纷攘攘、似大有碎片化的趋势,本刊特约请当代批判教育学的代表人物之一,世界知名学者、教育思想家阿普尔教授,加州州立大学助理教授韦恩·欧,对批判教育学的历史、目前内部不同取向间的分歧以及在当代保守主义复兴语境中所面临的挑战和应对策略,予以全面的梳理和分析.批判教育学对于中国教育学界并不陌生,但是,对于它的历史缘起、理论全貌和时代境遇,我们少有系统和整体的关注.本文之于我们的价值不仅在于可略补此憾,更重要的是,它会启发我们反思,在中国时下教育改革的潮流中,我们的教育、政治、文化和经济内涵是什么?教育在社会的现实变革、社会的发展远景中,究竟应该扮演什么角色?因本文篇幅较长,故分上篇、下篇两次刊发,敬请读者谅解.     

Ethics, Critical Thinking, and Professional Communication Pedagogy

Critical thinking pedagogy offers a supportive environment for teaching ethics in the professional communication classroom. Four important aspects of critical thinking which particularly encourage ethical thought and behavior are identifying and questioning assumptions, seeking a multiplicity of voices and alternatives on a subject, making connections, and fostering active involvement. Focusing on these behaviors allows an ongoing incorporation of ethics into many different aspects of the classroom.     

批判教育学中的政治、理论与现实(上)

编者按:究竟如何理解英美的批判教育学思潮,尤其是近年来其阵营内部存在纷纷攘攘、似大有碎片化的趋势,本刊特约请当代批判教育学的代表人物之一,世界知名学者、教育思想家阿普尔教授,加州州立大学助理教授韦恩·欧,对批判教育学的历史、目前内部不同取向间的分歧,以及在当代保守主义复兴语境中所面临的挑战和应对策略,予以全面的梳理和分析.批判教育学对于中国教育学界并不陌生,但是,对于它的历史缘起、理论全貌和时代境遇,我们少有系统和整体的关注,本文对于我们的价值不仅在于可略补此憾,更重要的是,它会启发我们反思,在中国时下教育改革的潮流中,我们的教育政治、文化和经济内涵是什么?教育在社会的现实变革、社会的发展远景中究竟应该扮演什么角色?因本文篇幅较长,分上篇、下篇两次刊发,敬请读者谅解.     

Ethics,Critical Thinking,and Professional Communication Pedagogy

Critical thinking pedagogy offers a supportive environment for teaching ethics in the professional communication classroom. Four important aspects of critical thinking which particularly encourage ethical thought and behavior are identifying and questioning assumptions, seeking a multiplicity of voices and alternatives on a subject, making connections, and fostering active involvement. Focusing on these behaviors allows an ongoing incorporation of ethics into many different aspects of the classroom.     

Democratic Education and Critical Pedagogy

Critical pedagogy wraps itself in the mantle of democracy, but in six generally accepted attributes of democracy (equality, important knowledge, nature of authority, inclusiveness, participatory decisionmaking, and rights and a seventh, not normally considered but one that has been the essence of the democratic dream—an optimum environment for everyone), critical pedagogy offers no direction. In fact, critical pedagogy, despite its unrelenting assault on the oppressiveness of schooling, may be guilty of diversion, division, illusion, and confusion, which are the major thrusts of oppression in a democratic society. Unlike critical pedagogy, a general theory of education informed by the seven aforementioned attributes of democracy provides multiple avenues for initiation of significant and realistic educational reform in existing public school sites.     

教育增长与教育发展:历史、概念与政策

60年来,发展理论经历了从经济增长到经济发展再到经济、社会、人、自然全面协调可持续发展的变迁。我国教育正面临大改革和大发展。这一过程中,人们容易把教育增长即教育人数的增加、教育年限的延长和教育资源条件的改善当作教育发展,从而使教育发展面临GDP化、工业化、市场化和物质化的陷阱。而教育发展是指教育系统自身机能的改善和对社会教育需求的灵活满足,它包括教育的物质基础、结构、功能、教育机会数量、教育机会分配、受教育者素质变化、社会人力资源状况以及对社会的影响八个范畴。为了促进教育的发展,当前应在科学教育发展观的指导下,检视既有的教育发展道路,调整教育政策的价值标准、知识基础、政策领域和政策手段。     

哲学化、科学化与经验：教育学的多元范式发展

教育学既需要哲学化的思维,也需要科学化的内容和一定经验式的话语。哲学化强调教育精神,科学化强调对教育规律的探索,重视经验以贴近教育实践,三者融合的多元范式发展路径将是教育学发展的必由之路。有理想的教育学与有内容的教育学的并存,才是真正意义上的教育学。