Formal education in Western society is firmly rooted in humanist ideals. "Becoming human" by cultivating certain cognitive, social, and moral abilities has even symbolised the idea of education as such in Enlightenment philosophical traditions. These ideas are increasingly coming under scrutiny by posthumanist theorists, who are addressing…

This article offers a critical policy analysis of the curriculum within English Catholic maintained schools. It highlights one of the policy challenges faced by the Catholic Church in England, that is to say, the reconstruction of a "Catholic" curriculum. Drawing on the author's research it outlines the historical context of policy…

The Honors College program prepares leaders for the 21st century to become forces for positive change through problem-solving, scholarship, service, teamwork, and leadership. Its structure involves nine sequenced courses familiarizing students with challenges facing communities. Courses are team-taught by professors in different disciplines to…

Despite the current policy prominence of physical education, there is still unease about the subject's educational contribution. In this respect, we are surprised by how seldom John Dewey's writings inform contemporary reviews of aims and values. We outline how his writings on connecting the child and the curriculum and schools with…

In recent years, Japanese universities have sought to have a greater number of faculty courses taught in English, where traditionally Japanese has been the medium of instruction. This article begins with an overview of the literature discussing Japan's responses to the spread of English, and philosophies and ideologies influencing the…

This article explores how infant school reform took hold in London's schools from the 1890s to the 1930s through examination of the work of two Froebelian head teachers, Elizabeth Mary Shaw and Frances Emily Roe. In contrast to teacher-led rote-learning methods and rigid discipline they implemented play-based activities drawing on children's…

For almost as long as there have been institutions dedicated to the preparation of new teachers, the endeavor has come in for criticism. Teacher education has long struggled both to professionalize and to fully integrate itself into mainstream academia. At the core of this struggle was a perception that there was no body of specialized knowledge…

As an educator, it is always interesting to learn and employ new and creative ways of thinking and methods in teaching. However, the application of these new ideas in our classrooms needs more examination for better ways of implementation. Since the postmodernist theory and approaches have been practiced in education in the past few decades, the…

This article argues that the Seven Solutions in the US, and the Research Excellence Framework in the UK, manifest the vice of epistemic insensibility. Section I provides an overview of Aristotle's analysis of moral vice in people. Section II applies Aristotle's analysis to epistemic vice, developing an account of epistemic insensibility. In so…

This study examined the perspectives of home school families regarding the rights, interests, and responsibilities of family and state over education. These families viewed the common good differently than critics of home schooling. They believed the diversity of curriculum and worldview in their home schools positively impacts the common good by…

Anyone involved in education gets a sense that, as teachers gain experience, they begin to lose the idealism they once had. The idealism found in preservice teachers (wanting to change the world and affect lives) is soon altered by the reality of the profession. The purpose of this study was to determine the philosophical beliefs that preservice…

This study explored how avid users of "Second Life" ("SL") experience and make meaning of informal learning activities in virtual art museums and similar cultural spaces through their avatars. While recent literature has laid the groundwork for studying student engagement and formal learning, the lacuna of research bound by the…

Particularly after the Danish political system changed to parliamentarism in 1901, a growing interest in, and expanded meaning of, culture as a pedagogical category developed in relation to state schooling, on the road to a comprehensive school system for "the whole population". This article elaborates on the role played by theological…

Education at its best is about opening doors, opening minds, and inviting students to become powerful choice-makers as they forge their own pathways into a wider world. While many teachers long for teaching to be something transcendent and powerful, they all too often find themselves teaching obedience and conformity. This dynamic book--by two…

For generations, schools have aimed to introduce students to a broad range of topics through curriculum that ensure that they will at least have some acquaintance with most areas of human knowledge by the time they graduate. Yet such broad knowledge can't help but be somewhat superficial--and, as Kieran Egan argues, it omits a crucial aspect of…