John Dewey’s conception of education: Finding common ground with R. S. Peters and Paulo Freire

John Dewey adopted a child-centered point of view to illuminate aspects of education he believed teacher-centered educators were neglecting, but he did so self-consciously and self-critically, because he also believed that ‘a new order of conceptions leading to new modes of practice’ was needed. Dewey introduced his new conceptions in The Child and the Curriculum and later and more fully in Democracy and Education. Teachers at his Laboratory School in Chicago developed the new modes of practice (1896–1903). In this article, I explore Dewey’s new conception of education and compare it with the apparently opposed views of R. S. Peters and Paulo Freire. In doing so, I show that, despite their criticisms of Dewey, whether explicit (Peters) or implicit (Freire), these influential philosophers, representing quite different traditions in philosophy of education were in substantial agreement with him. I also show that, despite our own differences, as important as they are, seeing teachers and learners at work in a rapidly changing society, now on a global scale, in classrooms which are also changing, driven largely by new technologies, the conception of education Dewey, Peters, and Freire developed can provide us with the foundation we need to understand the changing teacher–learner relationship and the purposes their shared activities serve.     

Implications of R.S. Peters’ notion of ‘cognitive perspective’ for science education

This paper discusses R.S. Peters’ notion of ‘cognitive perspective’, which, through careful reading, can be interpreted as a wider perspective resulting from an awareness of the relationships of one’s knowledge and understanding to one’s own life. This interpretation makes cognitive perspective a holistic notion akin to that of worldview, and also points to the possibility for students to experience a change of outlook on the world, as a result of learning science. Given the ongoing debate regarding the notion scientific literacy and the problems associated with it, the development of cognitive perspective can be considered the primary goal of school science education, as it provides an alternative way to think about what it means for a student to be educated in science. Such a goal, in turn, points to the importance of teaching for the (practical and emotional) significance of scientific facts and ideas, as awareness of such significance does not necessarily follow the acquisition of content knowledge and the application of the latter in everyday contexts. The paper also attempts to clarify the notion of utility of scientific knowledge, as an understanding of such notion is crucilal for understanding the implications of the development of cogintive perspective for school science education.     

How Relevant Is R.S. Peters’ Conception of Education to Science Education?

This paper discusses R.S. Peters’ concept of education, particularly his notion of cognitive perspective and its relevance to school science education. In light of the problems inherent in any attempt to define the notion of scientific literacy, it is argued that the development of cognitive perspective can be considered an important, if not the ultimate, goal of school science education. Such a goal not only provides an alternative way to view the development of scientific literacy, but it also points to a conception of scientific literacy that is neither too narrow nor too broad. In view of recent reform efforts that promote a utilitarian and instrumentalist conception of school science education, Peters’ notion of cognitive perspective can provide food for thought for all those interested in a science education that educates students in science by helping them understand the personal and the wider significance of scientific knowledge. Such a conception of school science education is in line with the view that education and learning should make students change their outlook on the world. In addition, such a conception can enrich the ongoing dialogue on scientific literacy as the primary goal of school science education.     

2. Jürgen Oelkers (Hrsg.): Zukunftsfragen der Bildung. 43. Beiheft der Zeitschrift für Pädagogik

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Time and Consciousness in T.S Eliot’s The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock

The relationship between time and consciousness is what T.S.Eliot concerns much in his early modernist poem The love song of J.Alfred Prufrock.This paper is an analysis of the way Eliot employs the stream of consciousness technique to create a typical Western modern man who suffers greatly from meaningless life and spiritual crisis.     

Biological explanation,political ideology,and “blurred genres”;: A Bakhtinian reading of the science essays of J. B. S. Haldane

J. B. S. Haldane, in attempting to show connections between Marxist political theory and Darwinian evolutionary theory, blurs the generic characteristics of political and scientific discourse. Read from the perspective of Bakhtin, this blurring of genres is also a blurring of ideologies. Haldane's essays thus contribute to our understanding of the cultural dimensions of scientific activities and accordingly help re‐define concepts of genre in scientific writing.     

A Review of “Children and Childhood in American Religions. Edited by Don S. Browning and Bonnie J. Miller-McLemore”

Bearing the losses and inconveniences of our time as best we may, it is the part of men to labor persistently and patiently for the clarification and development of the positive creed of life implicit in democracy and in science, and to work for the transformation of all practical instrumentalities of education till they are in harmony with these ideas. Till these ends are further along than we can honestly claim them to be at present, it is better that our schools should do nothing than that they should do the wrong things. It is better for them to confine themselves to their obviously urgent tasks than that they should, under the name of spiritual culture, form habits of mind which are at war with the habits of mind congruous with democracy and with science. It is not laziness nor cynicism which calls for the laissez‐faire policy; it is honesty, courage, sobriety, and faith. (Dewey 1977,168)     

The ‘Physically Educated’ Person: Physical education in the philosophy of Reid,Peters and Aristotle

Abstract

This article will derive a definition and account of the physically educated person, through an examination of the philosophy of Andrew Reid, Richard Peters and Aristotle. Initially, Reid’s interpretation of Peters’ views about the educational significance of practical knowledge (and physical education) will be considered. While it will be acknowledged that Peters was rather disparaging about the educational merit of some practical activities in Ethics and Education, it will be argued that he elsewhere suggests that such practical activities could be educationally worthwhile in and of themselves. In Education and the educated man he specified that practical activities should be regarded as educationally important if they are either transformed by theoretical understanding and/or pursued to the point of excellence. In suggesting that education involves the cultivation of both theoretical and practical human excellences it is argued that Peters’ philosophy of education begins to take on a more Aristotelian bent. After exploring Aristotle’s notion of virtue (human excellence) and his discussion of physical training in The politics, it is claimed that physical education activities might be most worthwhile when they extend the moral habits and/or modes of thought of pupils, towards excellence. It is concluded that physically educated persons should be defined as those who have learned to arrange their lives in such a way that the physical activities they freely engage in make a distinctive contribution to their long-term flourishing.     

Role of Computers in Educating Young Children: U.S. and Japanese Teachers’ Perspectives

This study was conducted with kindergarten teachers in the United States and Japan with respect to their beliefs about the role of computers in educating young children. Overall findings indicated significant differences in responses of teachers in the two countries. Generally, U.S. teachers had a more positive attitude toward computers in educating young children, while the Japanese teachers had more concerns. The teachers’ own sense of competence with computers was not related to their beliefs about computers and young children in either country. Respondents from both countries identified a lack of resources and clear guidelines for integrating computers in the classroom as challenges. These findings highlighted the need for training of early childhood teachers in integrating and using computers in the classroom.     

ZEIHER,Helga, BÜCHNER,Peter und ZINNECKER,Jürgen (Hrsg.). 1996. Kinder als Außenseiter? Umbrüche in der gesellschaftlichen Wahrnehmung von Kindern und Kindheit

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