Open-mindedness, Commitment and Peter Gardner

Against Peter Gardner, this article re-asserts a conception of open-mindedness as not requiring either the indecision or neutrality of persons concerning their beliefs, but rather a willingness on their part to form or revise beliefs in the light of evidence and argument. This conception, it will be argued, yields an educational ideal which is both important and coherent. It not only avoids the difficulties which Gardner sees as inherent in the promotion of open-mindedness in children, but also avoids some of the dangers implicit in his own view.     

Introducing Research to Graduate Students in the Helping Professions

This article presents an alternative to the typical approaches used in introductory research courses through emphasis on the logic and creativity of the research process and on the problems of equating research with statistics early in one's training.