Philosophical anthropology is philosophical inquiry into human nature that seeks to answer the fundamental question of what generally characterizes human beings and differentiates them from other creatures and things. Political theories considerably influence educational theories. We call attention to the fact that the three main political…

The author describes key issues and uncommon concerns about the Common Core State Standards that fit within two categories: philosophical and pedagogical. Philosophically, Common Core State K-12 Standards should not be expected to be mastered at a specific grade level but based on developmental readiness. Pedagogically, Common Core State Standards…

This article examines Axel Honneth's interpretation of Hegel's "ethical life" as a conception of a "drawn-out" process of education. Honneth's formulations of ethical life, namely "personal relationships", "market economy" and "the democratic will-formation", are an interesting…

This article looks at how time might be viewed differently in the classroom, drawing on the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze in order to frame the exploration. It asks how teachers might become more attuned to difference, uncertainty and possibility in their classrooms and questions the wisdom of viewing the learning process in linear ways. The…

This article raises a number of theological reservations about one contemporary Christian approach to teaching and learning. For many years David Smith and Trevor Cooling have played a leading role in demonstrating how Christian beliefs and theological themes might be integrated into classroom practice across the curriculum. But despite the good…

This article is inspired by Jane Sahi's commentary, "Dialogue as Education: Martin Buber," published under the feature "Classics with Commentary" in the Monsoon 2005 issue of "Contemporary Education Dialogue." I seek to further the discussion of the contributions of Martin Buber to the discourse of education through…

Assessment in education is a recent phenomenon. Although there were counterparts in former epochs, the term assessment only began to be spoken about in education after the Second World War; and, since that time, views, strategies and concerns over assessment have proliferated according to an uncomfortable dynamic. We fear that, increasingly,…

In light of recent attempts to defend the role of the arts in education against the effects of policies based on utilitarian principles, this paper examines the arts educational writings and practical projects of Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) at Santiniketan in West Bengal, showing how they were motivated by a Romantic and Upanishadic philosophy…

Are there qualities of sound and the experience of listening that educators can extrapolate to inform the philosophy and practice of music education? In this essay, I imagine a music education where sound--how it behaves and how we experience it--serves not only as the subject of study, but generates the framework of the pedagogy. A sonic music…

This article summarizes major points about the transformation of educational assessment that emerged from the work of Gordon Commission and it presents recommendations to different stakeholders as to needed changes in policy, practice, and research and development.

This paper revisits the question of the importance of a historical dimension in comparative inquiry and reflects on some problems in what is termed "comparatography", the writing of comparative education.

This article reflects on emergent (radical-progressive) languages of democracy to consider what common educational institutions might mean today. It explores distinct philosophical and political tensions that cut across these languages in relation to educational organization and pedagogy including--antagonism versus exodus, transcendence versus…

Agamben's philosophy of education can be arrived at by focusing on the nexus of philology, philosophy and poetry that is prominent in his work. By exploring the functional and semantic reciprocity between these fields, one can identify diverse pedagogies: of language and the poetic voice, of infancy and history, of history redeemed (in the…

Agamben's notion of the "paradigm" has far-reaching implications for educational thinking, curriculum design and pedagogical conduct. In his approach, examples--or paradigms--deeply engage our powers of analogy, enabling us to discern previously unseen affinities among singular objects by stepping outside established systems of…

Scholars of childhood and child-centered education draw attention to the multiple accounts of the child that have attended its brief history. In this article I read George Orwell's "Such, such were the joys" as a demonstration of the contradictions inherent in our notions of childhood, but also as a possible model for understanding…