In this review essay Stanton Wortham explores how philosophy of education should both turn inward, engaging with concepts and arguments developed in academic philosophy, and outward, encouraging educational publics to apply philosophical approaches to educational policy and practice. He develops his account with reference to two recent ambitious…

In this review essay, Mark Brenneman and Frank Margonis address three recent book-length contributions to the ongoing discussion around cosmopolitanism and educational thought: Mark Olssen's "Liberalism, Neoliberalism, Social Democracy: Thin Communitarian Perspectives on Political Philosophy and Education," Sharon Todd's "Toward an Imperfect…

In this review essay J.J. Chambliss assesses the current state of the field of philosophy of education through analysis of four recent edited compilations: Randall Curren's "A Companion to Philosophy of Education"; Nigel Blake, Paul Smeyers, Richard Smith, and Paul Standish's "The Blackwell Guide to Philosophy of Education"; Wilfred Carr's "The…

In this essay Stefan Neubert argues that John Dewey was a philosopher of reconstruction and that the best use we can make of him today is to reconstruct his work in and for our own contexts. Neubert distinguishes three necessary and equally important components of the overall project of reconstructing Deweyan pragmatism: first, to make strong and…

Alison Cook-Sather begins this review essay with a discussion of David Tyack and Larry Cuban's generative phrase "the grammar of schooling" to provide context for her examination of three texts that address the challenges of school reform: John Sylvester Lofty's "Quiet Wisdom: Teachers in the United States and England Talk About…

If teaching is a political act, how can teachers hope to make a difference through their work? In this review essay, Julian Edgoose explores this question of hope in relation to three recent books: David Halpin's "Hope and Education," Jonathan Kozol's "Letters to a Young Teacher," and Jonathan Lear's "Radical Hope." Halpin describes how hope comes…

In this essay, Robert Floden reviews three recent volumes in the Philosophy, Theory, and Educational Research series that address the philosophical implications of three "isms"-- postpositivism, pragmatism, and poststructuralism--for empirical educational research. These volumes, written by D.C. Phillips, Gert J.J. Biesta, and Michael A. Peters,…

In this review essay, Clarence Joldersma argues for a novel role for science in developing an affirmative answer to his title question, "How can science help us care for nature?" He does so in dialogue with Clare Palmer's edited volume, "Teaching Environmental Ethics," Dirk Postma's "Why Care for Nature?" and Michael Bonnett's "Retrieving Nature."…

Recently, Bakhtinian philologists have charged scholars of education with misapplying Bakhtin's scholarship in their field. In this critical essay, Eugene Matusov reviews two recent edited collections relevant to this issue: Arnetha F. Ball and Sarah Warshauer Freedman's Bakhtinian Perspectives on Language, Literacy, and Learning and Bonny Norton…

In this review essay, Jan Nespor uses three recent contributions to place-based education, Paul Theobald's "Teaching the Commons," C.A. Bowers's "Revitalizing the Commons," and David Gruenewald and Gregory Smith's edited volume "Place-Based Education in the Global Age," to examine some fundamental conceptual and practical issues in the area. One…

The educational philosophies of J. Dewey, I. Berkson, and H. Kallen are examined for influences each had on the others' ideas about cultural pluralism. (GW)

The author reviews a book that explores the liberal assumptions about progress, freedom, technology, and equality that underlay the policy of liberal, twentieth-century educational reformers. (GW)

Discussion based on R. S. Peters book Ethics and Education" which argues the justification of punishment in the enforcement of school rules. (MB)

Discusses two authors' views on critical thinking. McPeck denies the possibility of critical thinking, stating it is burdened by informal logic. Paul believes critical thinking includes logical, epistemological, psychological, and social dimensions springing from moral and political concerns. The paper examines the debate over general versus…

This article is a critical review of the 1992 "Handbook of Qualitative Research in Education." The article examines diverse approaches to qualitative field research, discusses ambiguous relationships between education and parent disciplines, notes how the collection represents current dialogue, and examines chapters on critical ethnology. (SM)