In his February 1977 article in "Kappan," Alfie Kohn criticizes nearly everyone involved in character education, asserting that the values taught in American classrooms are based on the "ideological legs of behaviorism, conservatism, and religion." Kohn should partake of humility, a commonly taught virtue. Fair treatment for…

The major themes of three books based on behaviorist psychology are examined critically, noting that behavior modification has significant limitations. Four of these limitations are identified and briefly discussed. Teachers must realize that discipline approaches must increase the transfer value of behavior learned in school and foster…

Responding to Paul Chance's November 1992 "Kappan" article on motivational value of rewards, this article argues that manipulating student behavior with either punishments or rewards is unnecessary and counterproductive. Extrinsic rewards can never buy more than short-term compliance because they are inherently controlling and…

An interview with Robert Epstein on the beliefs and writings of B. F. Skinner focuses on the school of psychological thought concerned with the observable, tangible, objective facets of behavior rather than on subjective phenomena. (JD)

The author replies to responses to her article, "The Newtonian Mechanistic Paradigm, Special Education, and Contours of Alternatives" (EC 220 916). Topics covered include the degree of objectivity versus the idea of objectivity, theory-data separation versus theory-laden data, Piagetian theory and the question of theory versus paradigm,…

The benefits of holistic thinking (as opposed to behaviorist/reductionist views) must be recognized at the curriculum policy and planning levels, not just at the innovative instructional practice level. Efforts in both the commercial and private sectors to create curricular wholeness from the "normal" fragmented, rigid curriculum are…

Replies to Trevor Maddock's philosophical critique of the authors' work. Explains authors' attempts to develop a new science of administration that incorporates values and human subjectivity and a new view of knowledge termed "naturalistic coherentism." Science is still being equated with a positivist version of empiricism. Maddock…

Briefly describes current research on learning and teaching and discusses its implications for the field of educational administration. In the United States, an important transition is now occurring as instructional psychologists increasingly turn away from behaviorist models that dominated educational thinking for three decades to develop new…

Explores implications for understanding educational decision making from a cognitive science perspective. Examines three models of mind providing the methodological framework for decision-making studies. The "absent mind" embodies the behaviorist research tradition. The "functionalist mind" underwrites traditional cognitivism…

Evaluates efforts to incorporate ethical instruction into schooling through emphasis on citizenship and moral competence. Labels such efforts "moral vocationalism." Suggests that the movement has a weak knowledge base, relies upon behaviorist principles, and is exclusively instrumentalist. Recommends fortifying the approach with…

A brief biographical sketch of Burrhus Frederick Skinner is offered, followed by a review of his impact on education and psychology. His research in radical behaviorism, his theoretical contributions, development of programed instruction techniques, token economies, and numerous inventions by himself and his proteges are summarized. (PB)

The cognitive-science perspective has radically transformed theory and research in psychology, anthropology, and other fields and has dislodged firmly entrenched behaviorist theories and practices. Cognitive psychology's contribution to educational measurement lies not in new-found assessment methods, but in a richer conception of knowledge and…

Social and moral development, like intellectual development, is a process by which learners actively construct meaning. Conventional character education, based on behaviorism, conservatism, and religious dogma, assumes that values can be asserted into passive receptacles. To help children develop the capacity for moral deliberation when called…

Focuses on constructivism and lists some of the procedures that teachers use to illustrate the constructivist learning model. Describes characteristics of a classroom that is using the constructivist model. First published in 1991. (YDS)

The article responds to three papers (by S. Forness, K. Reid, and W. Kimball and T. Heron) which reacted to two papers by M. Poplin (1988) concerning the reductionist fallacy in learning disabilities and holistic/constructivist principles of the teaching-learning process, with implications for the field of learning disabilities. (DB)