Fostering transformative experiences is a central goal of education. In this article, Marieke Schaper examines the relationship between doubt and transformation in education, specifically problematizing the idea that doubt can serve as a catalyst for transformative experiences in the classroom. Schaper's thesis is that doubt is not valuable by…

Today's school students are inheriting complex and harmful global challenges that are potentially irreversible and which they will need to address. The ability to think critically and creatively, to work in interdisciplinary teams and to understand the importance of a healthy planet for all life will be needed for success. Education has a major…

In the context of calls to decolonise education in European contexts, this paper draws on coloniality-based critiques of Eurocentric modernity to take up the links between democracy, slavery, and colonialism in education. Starting from the position that modernity requires epistemological support to sustain racism and white supremacy in European…

In this paper, we argue that the attempts to centre education in one of its three constitutive aspects that have long determined the discourse on the purpose and aims of education run the risk of one-sidedness. Theories of student-centred education have been in vogue for many centuries now, having been born out of a polemic against teacher-centred…

Philosophical work on self-respect has distinguished between various kinds of self-respect. In this paper, Shiying Li begins by introducing important kinds of self-respect and exploring the conceptual and empirical relations among them. She then discusses the value and political significance of social bases of self-respect for both individuals and…

This paper analyses a set of widely held beliefs concerning our understanding and teaching of critical thinking, a notion which is increasingly adopted by universities as their main educational goal. Existing scholarship on critical thinking throws up a vast heterogeneous collection of definitions of critical thinking. I propose a…

Initial teacher formation is a permanent focus of attention on the part of research, as the value of education for the progress of society is well known. However, given the naturalization of instrumental criteria as common sense acquired in today's society, on occasion, initial teacher formation reproduces a technocratic perspective of education,…

The indoctrination debates have been a key feature of the philosophy of education over the past 50 years. While it is generally acknowledged that the pejorative associations of indoctrination only emerged over the last 100 years, those normative associations are widely taken to be an essential part of the concept itself as are the positive…

In this article, we examine conceptions of giftedness through a Christian perspective and through a talent development paradigm (Subotnik et al., 2011). We intersect aims of Christian education with a developmental view of giftedness in order to inform pedagogical approaches in educating gifted/high-potential students. In applying the…

This book examines the role of teaching within public education. It critiques its function in today's educational policies and theories and establishes an alternative way of understanding teaching. It explores teaching from within a Sophist tradition of educational practice and thought. The first part of the book discusses the vital link between…

The work of teachers is regularly quizzed and questioned. The responses called for commonly implicate assessment, as this provides answers about learning, which many believe directly translate into answers about teaching. We question teaching differently, beginning with the basic what, how and who questions, while also posing the why question:…

In this article I make the case that in order to understand what is special and distinctive about education, we ought to approach education from the angle of the teacher. I show that this suggestion goes against a current trend in educational discourse, which is to put learners and their learning in the centre of attention. I argue why such a turn…

This essay explains that periodic examination of the goals of education is essential for educational institutions to ensure they are adequately preparing students to address the challenges of the present and build a better future. It argues that education is an ethical enterprise, and that clear and shared goals provide education institutions with…

The purpose of this article is to add to the debate on the normative status and legitimacy of indoctrination in education by drawing on the political philosophy of Benedict Spinoza (1632-1677). More specifically, I will argue that Spinoza's relational approach to knowledge formation and autonomy, in light of his understanding of the natural…

In this paper we take as our starting point Greta Thunberg's message to an audience of adults at a recent climate change summit: 'This is all wrong. I shouldn't be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you!' We take Thunberg at her word and endeavour to…