Recent philosophy and theory of education have witnessed considerable attention to the notion of flourishing as a benchmark or guiding principle for educational practice. There can also be little doubt that -- while not all recent advocates of flourishing have drawn explicitly on Aristotle -- a focus on flourishing has emerged in the wake of…

While the idea of exemplification or role-modelling as a means to the education of moral character and virtue is of ancient pedigree--traceable at least to Aristotle's ethics--the influence of personal example is clearly not unproblematic since individuals may be admired or imitated for less than morally admirable qualities. However,…

If we reject sentimentalist accounts of the nature of moral motivation and education, then we may regard some form of reason as intrinsic to any genuine moral response. The large question for moral education is therefore that of the nature of such reason--perhaps more especially of its status as knowledge. In this regard, there is evidence of some…

Recent reflection on the professional knowledge of teachers has been marked by a shift away from more reductive competence and skill-focused models of teaching towards a view of teacher expertise as involving complex context-sensitive deliberation and judgement. Much of this shift has been inspired by an Aristotelian conception of practical wisdom…

In the contemporary literature of educational philosophy and theory, it is almost routinely assumed or claimed that "education" is a "contested" concept: that is, it is held that education is invested--as it were, "all the way down"--with socially constructed interests and values that are liable to diverge in different contexts to the point of…

The purposes of higher education in general and of university education in particular have long been subject to controversy. Whereas for some, the main role of universities is to provide professional and vocational education and training and their benefits are to be measured in terms of social or economic utility, their value for others is to be…

Perhaps the most pressing issue concerning teacher education and training since the end of the Second World War has been that of the role of theory--or principled reflection--in professional expertise. Here, although the main post-war architects of a new educational professionalism clearly envisaged a key role for theory--considering such…

In recent times, questions of religious education--about the place and significance of knowledge and understanding of religious belief and practice in the general educational development of children and young people--seem to have been largely overshadowed or overtaken by controversies concerning the relative merits and shortcomings of common and…

The moral potential of works of art, for good or ill, has been recognised from philosophical antiquity: on the assumption that the moral effects of art are invariably negative, Plato advised the exclusion of artists from any rationally ordered state. Arguably, however, the problem of the moral status of art has become yet more acute in contexts of…

Moral philosophy seems well placed to claim the key role in theorizing about moral education. Indeed, moral philosophers have from antiquity had much to say about psychological and other processes of moral formation. Given this history, it may seem ironic that much systematic latter-day theorizing about moral education has been social scientific,…

Despite the "progressive" influence of the English Plowden Report and Scottish Primary Memorandum on British primary curricula from the 1960s onwards, secondary education has generally continued to follow a more traditional subject-centred route and post-war educational theorists have not generally been favourably inclined to other than…

Focuses on the views of John Wilson related to fantasy, a key concept in his treatment of the psychology of pedagogy. Addresses his views on the overlapping of educational and therapeutic concerns. Warns against blurring education and therapy and argues that fantasy may militate against the recognition of legitimate value diversity. (CMK)

Argues that the competency-based guidelines for teacher training in Scotland fraudulently present teaching as an uncontroversial set of basic skills; obscure the point that educational knowledge and practice are rooted in forms of moral and evaluative discourse; and belie the inherent controversy of educational aims, objectives, and methods. (KS)

The difference between Homer Lane's and A. S. Neill's progressive approach and R. S. Peter's traditional approach to moral education is examined. For Lane and Neill the sources of morality are in positive feeling upon which a rational moral principle is superimposed; for Peters altruistic sentiment is directed by intellect and understanding. (RM)

Discusses the proper balance between theory and practice in the professional preparation of teachers. Contents that the argument between educational theory and school-based practice is based mistakenly on the premise that practical training is opposed to theory. Concludes that teacher education must be based on the moral and evaluative…