This review of Randall Everett Allsup's book, "Remixing the Classroom: Toward an Open Philosophy of Music Education" (Allsup 2016) deconstructs some of the characteristics of postmodernism found within the text, critiquing Allsup's use of anecdotes to set up the argument for an open philosophy of music education as an approach that…

Noddings's radical choice for a particular stance in life is both what makes "Happiness and Education" a thought-provoking book and what also leads me to have some reservations. First, I briefly outline some of these reservations and focus on what I think are two important difficulties "Happiness and Education" faces:…

In this article, the author reviews Christopher Branson's book entitled "Leading Educational Change Wisely". The book provides an alternative and engaging perspective on leading educational change. Branson utilises "wisdom" as its central conceptual device to present a thought-provoking and philosophical account on how leaders are able to build a…

Criticizes the evidence used by M. Gredler and C. Shields in their critique of Prawat's article about John Dewey and Lev Vygotsky and their educational philosophies. Notes specific problems with citations and interpretations. (SLD)

Bloom's book, "The Closing of the American Mind," is an argument for intellectual isolationism and, as such, is potentially dangerous. In addition, Bloom has misconstrued Plato's "Republic," a text central to his critique of modernity and its education. (IAH)

Seven articles comment on the proposed resolution of the "learning paradox" of how people make meaning and learn from prior learning. The reviewers find much of merit in the proposed reliance on the work of J. Dewey and C. Peirce, but they criticize many aspects of the paper, especially its brief treatment of the learning paradox itself.…

Identifies problems with the portrayals by R. Prawat of the reform effort in post-Revolutionary Russia, the career of Lev Vygotsky, the hypothesized exchange of ideas between Vygotsky and John Dewey, and the theoretical views of Vygotsky. (SLD)

Notes that Prawat claimed that Dewey was indebted to Peirce, that Dewey never gave Peirce the credit he deserved, and that Dewey's acceptance of Peirce's ideas in 1915 represented a discontinuity in Dewey's thinking. This paper concludes that a comparison of two versions of Dewey's "How We Think" (1910 and 1933) does not provide the…

Criticizes the essay by J. Smith on the "balkanization" of educational research, asserting that the assumption that there is no common ground among current views of educational research is not only false but will lead to the very divisions that Smith fears. (SLD)

Reviews three books that examine intersections of educational philosophy and research with the postpositivist landscape. The books present challenges for comparative education related to ethically examining the desire to know "the other," welcoming the new and diverse, employing dynamic concepts in analyses, and adopting a decentered…

Notes that Weber's book provides many elements of a model for what a reflective teacher might be. Asserts that some of the ideas do not seem fully formed; maintains that the editor of the book failed to organize Weber's articles in a way that reflected Weber's vision for education. (JS)

In "The Unschooled Mind," Howard Gardner opines that educators who misinterpret the near cannot adequately focus on the far. Instead of challenging and building on children's real understandings (often based on a five-year old's experience), many schools simply ignore them and fill their minds with new and distant information. The real…

Warns against tendencies in educational circles to make lists but not check them twice. Discusses Denny Taylor's "Learning Denied" and Bart Kosko's "Fuzzy Thinking: The New Science of Fuzzy Logic," as well as seven education articles. (SR)

Asked to identify one book that profoundly influenced their thinking, eight well-read superintendents recommended titles stressing learning and leadership themes. The list includes James Comer's "Waiting for a Miracle," Paulo Freire's "Pedagogy of the Oppressed," John Dewey's "Experience and Education," Antoine de…

This book review of "Creating Collaborative and Inclusive Schools" by Lorna Idol summarizes the factors the book sees as critical in the development of such schools but raises concerns about the author's distinction between inclusion and mainstreaming and the lack of attention to specific skills needed for effective communication and…