Karl Popper as educator

Although most commonly known for his work in the philosophy of science and political theory, the late Sir Karl Popper gained his formal qualifications in Education and Psychology. Using interviews with Popper, this paper examines his early training as a school teacher, the early influences upon his intellectual development, his participation in the socialist School Reform Movement, and the views he held on education up to his death in 1994. Whilst Popper's views on education defy simple categorization, a number of his statements can be more closely aligned with progressive and child-centred theorists than with the Conservative policy-makers, over whom he was said to hold some influence.