Describes how and why, after a supervisor's feedback prompted a Ph.D. thesis to be abandoned for over a year, writing resumed in a deliberately reflective style. Highlights parallels between the content of the thesis and the process of writing it. Describes how the experience of writing can be mapped against three models of ways of knowing. (EV)

Many philosophers of education emphasise the impossibility to really "solve" philosophical--and with that, educational--problems these days. Philosophers have been trying to give philosophy a new, constructive turn in the face of this insolvability. This paper focuses on irony-based approaches that try to exploit the very uncertainty of…

In this article, the author discusses philosophic thinking and how it is distinguished from any other mode of human thinking. As a human practice, philosophy has its own special purposes and goods to be achieved, its own method for achieving these goods, and its own standards of excellence. If philosophy can be seen as clear and simple thought,…

This article explores an opportunity for the cultivation of moral dispositions through the hermeneutical activity performed by learners engaged in the study of texts. It seeks to direct teachers' attention to potential moral dimensions of the hermeneutical activity itself, an activity that might otherwise be perceived merely as a means to…

The injustices of "allowing certain people to succeed, based not upon merit but upon the cultural experiences, the social ties and the economic resources they have access to, often remains unacknowledged in the broader society" (Wacquant, 1998, p. 216). Cognizant of this, the authors argue that education requires researchers' renewed examination…

To date, research on bullying has largely employed empirical methodologies, including quantitative and qualitative approaches. Through this research we have come to understand bullying as both a dyadic and peer group phenomenon, primarily situated in the heads (thinking) of those involved, or in a lack of skill or expertise, or in the delinquency…

World literature courses reflect both the academy's and the Christian community's interest in a global education, but what theoretical assumptions inform the teaching of world literature? The oft-cited rationale for cultural diversity may prove insufficient if it leads merely to the assertion of difference as a self-justifying good. This essay…

This article aims to clarify some of our pre-conceived assumptions when we address issues of learning in practice. It argues that we need to develop an understanding of practice based on its own premises. For this purpose the German philosopher Martin Heidegger's (1889-1976) understanding of practice and learning is introduced. Heidegger…

This study explores the feasibility of adapting Kleinman's concept of explanatory models of illness to the study of youth violence and is conducted within the hermeneutic tradition. Data were collected by interviewing 11 violent adolescents, their parents, and their caregivers. Four types of explanatory models representing the adolescent girls',…

When good people do violently bad things, one seeks answers, drawing from one's repertoire of theories and concepts that have served him/her well. Underlying one's attempts to understand violent behavior is the belief that one can impose sense on seemingly insensible actions. Sometimes, in the face of inexplicable events, one is left to try to…

This paper introduces conversations and stories that were central to my PhD research. Journal writing, poetry, story and transcribed conversations became texts and data I reproduced in response to the research questions, dreams, memory work and collective biography workshops with my participants. The paper rechoreographs the process that enabled…

Indeed, for more than a century, most Western nations have made school compulsory in order to teach all children, and it was widely believed that compulsory schooling would eradicate illiteracy and guarantee progress. However, this approach was questioned by a historical study of elementary schooling. Egil Johansson explained in his study how all…

The aim of this study was to understand the positional identity of three African American secondary science teachers. Positional identity was operationally defined in terms of race, ethnicity, economic status, gender, religion, and age. Positional identity was posited to inform why diverse teachers with differing knowledge and experiences in…

Exclusionary school discipline results in students being removed from classrooms as a consequence of their disruptive behavior and may lead to subsequent suspension and/or expulsion. Literature documents that nondominant students, particularly Black males, are disproportionately impacted by exclusionary discipline, to the point that researchers…

This paper traces the attempts by the philosopher Robin George Collingwood to answer the question: How does one change the course of modern thought? The description of Collingwood's work is structured around three of the philosopher's books that represent a unified attempt to solve the problem. The three books cover a span of over 10 years and,…