THE CONCEPT OF PHILOSOPHICAL EDUCATION

Strangely, the concept of philosophical education is not much in use, at least not as a philosophical concept. In this essay, Steinar Bøyum attempts to outline such a philosophical concept of philosophical education. Bøyum uses Plato's Allegory of the Cave, René Descartes's life of doubt, and Immanuel Kant's criticism of metaphysics as paradigms or defining examples of this concept. Bøyum's aim in this essay is not exegetical; rather, he hopes to describe these examples in a way that will let their character as conceptions of philosophical education show forth. His underlying aims are to show which forms such conceptions may take and why philosophical education is or should be an important topic for both philosophy and education.     

Closing Sex Education's Knowledge/Practice Gap: The reconceptualisation of young people's sexual knowledge

In rethinking what is theoretically conceived as a 'gap' between what young people learn in sexuality education and what they do in practice, this article argues for the need to comprehend young people's sexual knowledge from their own conceptualisation of this. Drawing on empirical findings from research with New Zealanders aged 17-19, young people's own understandings of their sexual knowledge are explored. These findings indicate how young people in the study conceptualised sexual knowledge in two ways: as information derived from secondary sources such as sexuality education, and knowledge gleaned from personal sexual experience. Hierarchies were evident within and between such types of sexual knowledge, in terms of the status young people afforded, and the interest they displayed in them. The type of sexual knowledge young people were most interested in, and which they identified as lacking in sexuality education, centred on a 'discourse of erotics'. It is argued that the inclusion of this discourse within sexuality education programmes might offer one way of closing the knowledge/practice gap, by raising the status of sexuality education's messages for young people and drawing this information closer to their lived sexual experiences.     

Toward a definition of a Latino family research paradigm

This paper analyzes some of the methodological requisites for a Latino qualitative family research paradigm. The paper explores the philosophical underpinnings, purposes, parameters, and influences of the role of the researcher. Elements of critical race theory, feminist standpoint theory, and Puerto Rican culture and experience are incorporated in the development of the paradigm. Thus, the framework reveals an epistemology that is sensitive to Latino cultural knowledge production and holds an explicit social objective to challenge existing structures, that is, to produce knowledge that presents Latinos as active agents facing constraints or exhibiting resistence behaviors within a social structure. The framework's parameters outline the boundaries all Latino groups share in the United States, such as bicultural identity, Spanish language, and cultural citizenship. The researcher's influence is examined from a Latina (Puerto Rican female) perspective to find some of the continuities and discontinuities that may influence the inherent power dynamic within the researcher informant relationship.     

Virtue Epistemology and the Philosophy of Education

This article initially provides a brief overview of virtue epistemology; it thereafter considers some possible ramifications of this branch of the theory of knowledge for the philosophy of education. The main features of three different manifestations of virtue epistemology are first explained. Importantly, it is then maintained that developments in virtue epistemology may offer the resources to critique aspects of the debate between Hirst and Carr about how the philosophy of education ought to be carried out and by whom. Wilfred Carr's position—that educational practitioners have privileged access to philosophical knowledge about teaching practice—will in particular be questioned. It will be argued that Carr's view rests on a form of epistemology, internalism, which places unreasonably narrow restrictions upon the range of actors and ways, in which philosophical knowledge of and/or for education might be achieved. In declaring that practical wisdom regarding teaching is ‘entirely dependent’ on practitioner reflection, Carr not only radically deviates from Aristotle's notion of practical wisdom, he also, in effect, renders redundant all philosophical research about education that is not initiated by teachers in this manner. It is concluded that Aristotle's general approach to acquiring information and knowledge about the world might yet still offer a foundation for a more comprehensive philosophy of education; one that makes clear that the professional testimony and reflection of teachers, observation of teaching practice, and already existing educational philosophy, theory and policy can all be perceived as potentially valuable sources of philosophical knowledge of and for education.     

Conceptualising food research in higher education as a matter of social justice: philosophical,methodological and ethical considerations

Globally, food concerns in higher education have emerged as an issue of critical importance. Food acquisition struggles and high rates of food insecurity among students have been documented, yet food within higher education continues to be an under-researched area of study. This paper calls for advancing research that critically engages with food concerns in higher education. The argument is made that food concerns should be viewed as a social justice matter, and a case is made for conducting research on food concerns by adopting an alternative approach to research in this area – a transformative paradigm. The paper advances new insights for the philosophical, methodological and ethical dimensions to researching food in higher education as a matter of social justice. The argument is made that a transformative approach to research is conducive for examining the experiences of those who are marginalised within the context of higher education and confront food challenges.     

Dewey in Transition: Towards a Pragmatist Ethics of Recognition in Schools

This article aims to study one of the potential contemporary updates of pragmatist philosophy. Specifically, it explores pedagogic possibilities that open up by adding Axel Honneth's studies to the discussion on the ethics of recognition, with the community dimension of education found in John Dewey's philosophy of education. In the spirit of Richard S. Bernstein's understanding of Dewey's radical democracy and from a more clearly educational philosophical perspective, the article explores the pedagogical possibilities that arise from broadening the communitarian dimension of education found in Dewey's philosophy of education with the studies by Honneth on the ethics of recognition. In the line of Colin Koopman's definition of transitionalism as a ‘philosophical temperament’, Honneth's ethics of recognition ‘transitions’ the Deweyian tradition towards a more contemporary disposition to think through the ethical dimension of education. The article intends to make use of a fruitful dialogue between classic pragmatism and critical theory to address some challenges of contemporary school life.     

On the Educative Reading of Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit

This paper tries to make sense of Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit in terms of a dialectical concept of education. The Phenomenology may be read not only as a philosophical work but also as a literary work which brings the German idealist idea of Bildung, or formation, to its apotheosis. The interpretation is limited to the Preface of the book. By way of literary theory I try to make good the claim that the Phenomenology naturally gives itself to an educative interpretation. After having pointed to some of Hegel's possible literary inspirations, I go on to suggest that contradictory experiences of Bildung are resolved within a background of communicative knowledge. The roles of the different dramatis personae in the Phenomenology are determined in the setting of philosophy as the way of presentation.     

On the Historical and Ideal Nature of Human Rights: reading Human Rights and Human Diversity by A.J.M.Milne

Taking as its exegetic point of departure Peirce's outline of a semiotic theory of cognition from the mid 1890s, this paper explores the relevance of this outline to a theory of learning and also to a broader, normative vision of education. Firstly, besides providing for fallibilism in philosophical inquiry Peirce's outline accords with critical strategies of his fellow pragmatists, such as William James's detection of the ‘psychologist's fallacy’ and John Dewey's rejection of the ‘philosophical fallacy’. It is pointed out that this merit of Peirce's outline is due to his abstract and often neglected notion of a prespecialised scientific intelligence. Secondly, the paper shows that Peirce's semiotic approach to prescientific learning processes conditioning all kinds of theoretical activity may indeed complement James's and Dewey's contributions: giving careful attention to the work of linguistic and paralinguistic signs in such learning processes Peirce's analysis captures indexical and iconic aspects, as well as symbolic aspects of linguistic interaction and experientially constrained dialogue. Following Peirce's analysis the paper considers how the iconicity of linguistic structure, ostensive acts and the practical situatedness of language use are pre‐conditions of experiential learning in every day life as well as in scientific learning. It is also shown how this semiotic analysis is connected with Peirce's important notion of abduction. Finally, it is pointed out that a broader vision of education may issue from Peirce's semiotic analysis and that such a vision would emphasise that the life experience of individuals entering educational institutions should be made to bear on the objectives as well as the teaching practices of educational institutions.     

The Paramount Importance of Experience and Situations in Dewey's Democracy and Education

In this essay, David Hildebrand connects Democracy and Education to Dewey's wider corpus. Hildebrand argues that Democracy and Education's central objective is to offer a practical and philosophical answer to the question, What is needed to live a meaningful life, and how can education contribute? He argues, further, that this work is still plausible as “summing up” Dewey's overall philosophy due to its focus upon “experience” and “situation,” crucial concepts connecting Dewey's philosophical ideas to one another, to education, and to democracy. He opens the essay with a brief synoptic analysis of Democracy and Education's major philosophical ideas, moves on to sections devoted to experience and situation, and then offers a brief conclusion. Some mention is made throughout about the surprisingly significant role art and aesthetics can play in education.     

Exploring the Role of Ideology in Interdisciplinary Science Education Policy

Despite its popularity in education studies literature, interdisciplinary science education is mostly considered outside the multitude of social forces that drive education reform. This has contributed to a mythologizing of interdisciplinary science education and lead to assumptions about the necessity of its intervention into science education practice. This research constructs a critical analysis of interdisciplinary science education by exploring a philosophical understanding of the relations between scientific disciplines, investigating discourse about interdisciplinarity in science education policy literature, and provides socioeconomic context for this reform movement. In particular, Louis Althusser's theory of ideology as material force, his conception of the spontaneous philosophy of scientists, and his theses on the ideological nature of interdisciplinary science are foundational to this critique. Althusser's contributions allow for critical reflection on interdisciplinarity and the effects of promoting it throughout scientific enterprise. Viewing interdisciplinary science education through this critical lens allows for demarcating the ideological narratives of reformist discourse from the intended outcomes of reform. This investigation elucidates the intervention of interdisciplinarity as an ideological force governing the reproduction of scientific labor, with intended downstream socioeconomic effects, such as shifting science labor from the public sector to private industry to accommodate for austerity. The conclusions of this analysis advocate for historical materialist methodologies in science education research and critical education studies, while emphasizing the role of ideology in socioeconomic reproduction.     

Chaos in Environmental Education

Random behaviour, perfectly controlled by deterministic laws, is the seemingly paradoxical definition of ‘chaos’. Hence, chaos theory reconciles order and disorder, and portrays an evolutionary universe based upon a delicate interplay of chance and necessity. These findings have raised fundamental questions regarding the nature of reality and humankind's dialogue with reality. In response, many theorists, both within and beyond the natural sciences, are heralding an emerging paradigm. In the context of education, the assumptions of the emerging paradigm posit learners in a creative process in which the evolution of knowledge and the participant's impact upon each other in a manner that remains ambiguous until the chance has been taken. Explorations of this vision of learning, and the philosophical assumptions, from which it is derived, have the capacity to promote and enrich the current contestation in environmental education. This article presents an example of such an exploration. Specifically, this exploration outlines the essence of chaos theory and the evolutionary capacity of chaotic systems, the philosophical implications of chaos theory both in general and for education, and compares the relations between Doll's (1986, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1993) curriculum vision based on chaos theory and critical education for the environment as outlined by Tien (1993).     

Reflections on a Decade of Global Rankings: what we've learned and outstanding issues

Ten years after the first global rankings appeared, it is clear that they have had an extraordinary impact on higher education. While there are fundamental questions about whether rankings measure either quality or what's meaningful, they have succeeded in exposing higher education to international comparison. More so, because of the important role higher education plays as a driver of economic development, rankings have exposed both an information deficit and national competitiveness. Accordingly, both nations and institutions have sought to maximise their position vis-á-vis global rankings with positive and perverse effects. Their legacy is evident in the way rankings have become an implicit — and often explicit – reference point for policymaking and higher education decision-making, and have reinforced an evaluative state's over-reliance on quantitative indicators to measure quality. They are embedded in popular discourse, and have informed the behaviour of many stakeholders, within and outside the academy. This paper reflects on three inter-related issues; i) considers the way rankings have heightened policy and investment interest in higher education, ii) discusses whether the modifications to rankings have resolved some of the questions about what they measure, and iii) looks at how rankings have influenced stakeholder behaviour. Finally, the paper reflects on what we have learned and some outstanding issues.     

Being in Authority,Being an Authority: Disrupting students'/teachers' practices in literacy education

This is the second case study situated within my teaching of two undergraduate courses in the college of education of a large American university. It interrogates social forms that construct pedagogic and literate authority relations between preservice English education students and their teachers. It illustrates how teachers and students can negotiate engagement in critical literacy practice by constructing instructional circumstances that allow preservice teachers to question the kinds of practices that thwart the various aims of critical literacy and pedagogy. This study narrates a "critical incident" as a form of "practice-as-inquiry research", using field-notes, tape recordings, and interviews to describe four moments within the span of an activity that takes its historical antecedent in the work of I.A. Richards. The interpretation and analysis is informed by Pierre Bourdieu's reflexive sociology. The paper argues that teachers' disciplinary and pedagogical knowledge should not be undervalued or denied because with this knowledge comes an ethical responsibility to shape educative experiences for students that open them up to reflection and critique.     

Climbing the Staircase: science education for the knowledge economy

Science and technology are widely regarded as the dominant drivers of transformation to a ‘knowledge’ economy and society — a transition in which higher education has a critical role. This paper reviews the influence of successive NZ governments intention to ‘proactively steer’ the tertiary education system towards the achievement of this critical role, and describes an initiative at the Auckland University of Technology (AUT) specifically designed to meet New Zealand's needs for a well trained, articulate and flexible workforce of scientists, engineers, technicians and support staff. The ‘staircasing’ model is the culmination of an effort to adapt, modify and extend traditional models of professional science and technology education to provide a mechanism for ‘life‐long learning’ through a flexible and responsive network of purpose‐built courses.     

Engaging Chinese ideas through Australian education research: using chéngyŭ to connect intellectual projects across ‘peripheral’ nations

The increasing number of higher degree research students from China in the universities of multicultural Australia as elsewhere has added to the mounting interest in pedagogies of postgraduate supervision. This paper explores the proposition that efforts to articulate Chinese ideas through research in, for and about Australia have to negotiate positions that would allow or disallow their embedding in the Australian education research community. To do so, the literature on higher degree research supervision in multicultural contexts is reviewed. Then the co-operative approach used to document a higher degree research student's experiences of integrating knowledge from her Chinese intellectual heritage into her research is explained. The third section illustrates a research intervention whereby Chinese knowledge was articulated through research in, for and about teacher education in Australia. The fourth section presents evidence of three different responses to this move to embed Chinese ideas in the Australian education research community. Specifically, the responses of Australian academics to her use of chéngy? to theorise her evidence is explored.     

Betwixt and Between: Working Through the Aesthetic in Philosophy of Education: George F. Kneller Lecture,Conference of the American Educational Studies Association Savannah,Georgia, October 30, 2008

At a time when both philosophy of education and the arts are under threat within education, this article inquires into interdisciplinarity as one way of approaching the disciplines of philosophy of education and aesthetics. The article offers a retrospective autobiographical intellectual history and phenomenology of the author's own learning and scholarship within Higher Education in three main areas—philosophy of literature education, women's studies, and philosophy of music education, areas paralleling the three periods of her academic career. One sub-theme of this narrative about the balancing act of working in literature and music through philosophy of education is the author's ongoing resistance to professionalization or disciplinary academic control—of literature, philosophy, and music—while being a critical student of educational theory and practice in these areas—philosophy, literature and music within philosophy of education—of thus being “betwixt and between.” Two other themes comprising the article's subtext are “praxis” and “embodiment.” The double entendre of the phrase “working through” entails, first, using the arts of literature and music to practise philosophy of education; and secondly, embracing the psychological, ethical, and spiritual introspection that comes with critical engagement of the arts and its discourses. In short, the article aims to reprise some burning philosophical educational questions that have preoccupied its author over the years, questions deemed especially pertinent to the current increasingly diverse membership in the discipline of educational studies.     

Banking on Knowledge: The new knowledge projects of the World Bank

The World Bank was the first cooperation agency seriously to explore the implications for itself and its clients of the heightened role of knowledge in economic and institutional development that had become increasingly evident in OECD countries. Beginning with its president's decision in 1996 to become 'the Knowledge Bank', different elements within the Bank went on to elaborate a knowledge discourse, most notably within the World Development Report on Knowledge for Development (1998), as well as a whole series of 'knowledge projects' and 'knowledge-based initiatives'. The article examines some of the tensions and debates that are at the very heart of the Bank's desire to become a knowledge agency. Amongst these, some of the more salient are the implications of the new knowledge discourse for the Bank's changing priorities towards education; the trade-off between knowledge sharing for the improved efficiency of Bank operations versus knowledge development by the Bank's clients; and the use of information and communications technology to create a global knowledge hypermarket, called the Development Gateway.     

Meeting educational needs in Costa Rica: The role of the distance teaching Universidad Estatal a Distancia

In 1977 the government of Costa Rica established a new university, the Universidad Estatal a Distancia (UNED), and charged it with using distance teaching methods to meet the needs of new target groups as well as to alleviate some of the pressure of student demand on the existing three state-funded campus-based universities. This paper examines UNED's impact in relation to three categories of need: (1) student demand for university places; (2) demand from persons who had been previously disadvantaged in one way or another and hence unable to enter a university; and (3) demands generated by the needs of society for trained manpower. The paper evaluates UNED's success or failure in meeting these needs, in so far as it can be measured, and considers evidence based on the views of UNED's students regarding the success of the University in meeting their individual requirements. Throughout, the paper relates UNED's role within the higher education system in Costa Rica to those of the campus-based universities. In spite of the problems of teaching part-time students in a society in which leisure time is at a premium, the authors believe that UNED is to a large degree achieving its objectives by meeting previously unfulfilled needs at the higher education level in Costa Rica.     

Feminist Knowledge and the Ivory Tower: A case study

This article is a historical look at the struggle to integrate feminist knowledge into the mainstream higher education curriculum in the UK. The research presented is based on interviews with academics and students of an 'old' university during the late 1960s to the mid-1980s. It forms part of a larger research project on the history of women's studies in higher education in the UK, and is a case study of one institution which resisted the integration of feminist knowledge into the mainstream curriculum. Through an examination of the social relations of the University and the structure of the curriculum, it is argued that feminist knowledge was 'silenced' to a certain extent. The factors which contributed to the resistance of feminist interventions serve to illuminate various aspects of the culture of higher education in the UK, which has historically viewed feminist knowledge, and women's studies, with a degree of ambivalence.