In a 2012 "Theory and Research in Education" article, Spiegel argued that intellectual humility and open-mindedness can mutually reinforce each other to produce good thinking and knowing. In this commentary, we build on this insight and discuss the likely importance of multiple intellectual virtues in producing good thinking. We argue…

In a 2014 paper in "Theory and Research in Education," Howard Curzer and colleagues critique the Defining Issues Test of moral judgment development according to eight criteria that are described as difficulties any measure of educational outcomes must address. This article highlights how Curzer et al. do not consult existing empirical…

The current debate about student privacy issues raised by education technology focuses on how schools information with private vendors. It neglects a related but different trend, namely, the rise of online learning platforms offering learning experiences and credentials directly to users. These Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and Virtual…

Drawing on empirical data, this article makes a contribution to knowledge through bringing together the apparently disparate elements of contemporary education policy, religion, civic virtue and values teaching, in particular, the teaching of 'fundamental British values'. I illustrate, through a discussion of the linkages between these elements,…

This article articulates a framework suitable for use when making decisions about education policy. Decision makers should establish what the feasible options are and evaluate them in terms of their contribution to the development, and distribution, of educational goods in children, balanced against the negative effect of policies on important…

There is widespread disagreement about what equality of opportunity in education requires. For some it is that each child is legally permitted to go to school. For others it is that each child receives the same educational resources. Further interpretations abound. This fact presents a problem: when politicians or academics claim they are in…

Liberal-democratic states' commitments to equality and personal autonomy have always proven problematic with respect to state regulation of relations between parents and children. In the parental authority literature, positions have varied from invoking children's interests to argue for limitations on parental efforts to instil identities and…

Faith schools in England are often regarded as ill-suited to cultivating the abilities, attitudes, and dispositions required for living together harmoniously in an ethnically and religiously diverse society. These concerns might be formulated in terms of the thesis that faith schools in England are considerably sub-optimal for the cultivation of…

This article explores the ways that philosophy and evidence interact in the exploration of normative questions in philosophy of education. First, the authors provide a description of reflective equilibrium, a central method in normative philosophizing. They proceed to describe three tasks of normative philosophy, each of which requires engagement…

While commitment to a universal entitlement to education is highly desirable, some significant limitations have been identified in the right to education as currently expressed and implemented. This article assesses the contribution that the capabilities approach can make in this regard. While some proponents have suggested that capabilities…

Ben-Porath sees patriotism as involving attachment to fellow citizens as part of a shared fate community. Wingo places shared values at the center of patriotism. Miller argues that political ties to fellow nationals stemming from participation in imposing laws and policies on them will also generate obligations to non-nationals (especially the…

Do cultures differ with respect to judgments of rationality? If so, does it follow that rationality is culturally specific, or that cultures have their own "rationalities"? If so, does it further follow that the philosophical status or worthiness of multiculturalism as a social value or ideal varies from culture to culture? In this article I…

We propose that self-determination theory's conceptualization of internalization may help school reformers overcome the recurrent problem of "the predictable failure of educational reform" (Sarason, 1993). Accordingly, we present a detailed learning and implementation structure to promote teachers' internalization and application of ideas and…

In this reply to my critics, I begin by clearing away some misunderstandings: I do not reject autonomy and critical self-reflection as possible bases for political judgment and action; I do not dissent from the standard view that some civic education should be mandatory; and I claim neither that each citizen need possess civic virtue nor that…

This article explores some features of an international "third way" movement which, in theory and in practice, impacts on centuries-old traditions of communal life and the belief in autonomous agency--traditions which motivate individual participation in society and underpin liberal conceptions of education. The article uncovers some of…