Learning critical thinking skills are the goal of educational systems so the term "critical thinking" (CT) is frequently found in educational policy documents. Despite this frequency, however, precise understandings among teachers of what CT really means do not exit. The present study is designed to answer the following question. We can…

The cultural invasion of Yuin Country in Australia not only colonized the Yuin people and Yuin Country itself, but also contributed to non-Aboriginal people's continual colonized journey of disconnecting self from Mother Earth. Cultural awareness is a process driven by Western theories informed by the colonial dualism that functions on separation…

In addition to being one of the authors of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), David Coleman has become the Standards' "most visible advocate" (Smith, Appleman, & Wilhelm, 2014, p. 10) and one of their "most prominent and articulate promoters" (Rabinowitz & Bancroft, 2014, p. 4). In a talk titled "Bringing the…

At the risk of speaking on his behalf I could almost swear I heard Bakhtin laughing gleefully over my shoulder as I read this fascinating dialogue between Eugene and Kiyo. His reason for this might be partly inspired by the glaring misunderstandings both men reveal through their associated interplay with key pedagogical concepts. While polemic in…

The article is dedicated to the results of scientific-pedagogical research, which presupposed the analysis of psychological and educational aspects of P. Freire's pedagogy and its implementation in the training of professionals in Latin America. The analysis of scientific-pedagogical works of such Latin American scientists as M. Arnold, A.…

This article returns to the debate that Carmody initiated in this journal in 2011 when he proposed that Bernard Lonergan's account of self-transcendence could provide the framework for a contemporary philosophy of Catholic education. Here the advantages and disadvantages of this proposal are scrutinised. Carmody's treatment brings into focus the…

Curriculum reform is an important aspect of progress in China's vocational education in the twenty-first century. The past decade's round of reforms were unprecedented in China in terms of both the scope and depth of their impact. They have and will continue to dramatically alter the nation's vocational education curriculum and teaching methods.…

The philosophical underpinnings of this article are the Peircian notion of the triadic nature of the sign as iconic, linguistic and indexical, and the use of the sign as a "Zeug" or thing as a means of pointing to or "deixis" in the context of creative activity in the classroom. This involves Lyotard's conception of desire…

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…

The thoughts of Mordecai Kaplan and Michael Rosenak present surprising commonalities as well as illuminating differences. Similarities include the perception that Judaism and Jewish education are in crisis, the belief that Jewish peoplehood must include commitment to meaningful content, the need for teachers to teach from a position of…

This article subjects contemporary informed discourse on the Credit Crunch/Great Recession/Long Recession to educational analysis and deconstruction. Such pro-capitalist but not uncritical discourse is well represented by the UK "Financial Times", whose columns between 2008 and 2012 comprise most of our data. We argue that the metaphors…

I consider educational relationships as found in Rousseau's "Émile" (and elsewhere in his writing) and the critique of his views in Wollstonecraft's "A Vindication of the Rights of Women." Wollstonecraft's critique is a significant one, precisely because of her partial agreement with Rousseau. Like Rousseau, her…

In this article I try to conceive a new approach towards laughter in the context of formal schooling. I focus on laughter in so far as it is a bodily response during which we are entirely delivered to uncontrollable, spasmodic reactions. To see the educational relevance of this particular kind of laughter, as well as to understand why laughter is…

This commentary on Wu Zongjie's article "Interpretation, autonomy and transformation: Chinese pedagogic discourse in a cross-cultural perspective" begins by suggesting the usefulness of Wu's polar opposite depiction of Confucian and modern pedagogy as ideal types for comparative exploration. It goes on to suggest that the term…

21st century students are living on the highway of rapid information technology, residing in homes equipped with modern gadgets that allow them to stay connected through virtual media. The fact that students' mind-sets are changing means that there is a need for corresponding changes in pedagogy. The Buddha is known as "Teacher of gods and…