I seek to answer the question of whether publicly funded higher education ought to aim intrinsically to promote certain kinds of "blue-sky" knowledge, knowledge that is unlikely to result in "tangible" or "concrete" social benefits such as health, wealth and liberty. I approach this question in light of an African moral theory, which contrasts…

Although since the 1960s human capital theory has played a major role in guiding educational policy, philosophical issues that stem from this development have rarely been discussed. In this article, I critically examine how the idea that human capital should serve as a guide to educational policy making stands in relation to the role assigned to…

E-learning is becoming increasingly prevalent in educational institutions throughout the world. There is a growing awareness of the need to assess the impact of this new type of learning on the educational system and on the students who participate in these programs. In May 2008, following 4 years of research, iClass held a conference to discuss…

This study investigated the perceptions of participants in the National Agriscience Teacher Ambassador Academy as to the next steps the agricultural education profession should take to move forward in the area of integrating academic subject matter into agricultural education courses. All members of the 2007 Academy participated in the study.…

This essay comments on articles comprising a "Journal of Moral Education" Special Issue (September, 2008, 37[3]). The issue was intended to honour the 50th anniversary of Lawrence Kohlberg's doctoral dissertation and his subsequent impact on the field of moral development and education. The articles were characterised by the Issue editor (Don…

Based on one and a half years of participant observation at Bakis School, this article aims to explore two different sets of educational practices, one which seemingly promotes sameness, obedience and conformity, and the other difference, entrepreneurialism and individualism. By way of discussing the shifting cultural values, beliefs and…

The classical conception of academic freedom associated with Wilhelm von Humboldt and the rise of the modern university has a quite specific cultural foundation that centres on the controversial mental faculty of "judgement". This article traces the roots of "judgement" back to the Protestant Reformation, through its heyday as the signature…

This paper examines how significant musical moments, occurring within singular contexts, may be performative to the development of community. While community is often viewed within music education as an unequivocal good, I argue that this result may not always be beneficent. In this paper, I look at one unique performative moment through the lens…

Liberal education has long been a fascination for scholars and educators. At one time largely the concern of colleges and universities, over the years it has become central to the discussion of general education in both schools and colleges. Yet it has not been without its critics even from within. In asking what it means to be an educated person…

Comparing the early, analytic attempt to define "sound" teaching with the current use of criteria-based rating schemes, Jeff Stickney turns to Wittgenstein's holistic, contextualist approach to judging teaching against its complex "background" within our "form of life." To exemplify this approach, Stickney presents cases of classroom practice…

From a feminist perspective, I am interested in "women's ways of knowing" (Belenky et al., 1997) and the relationship between knowledge, difference and power (Goldberger et al., 1996). Here I trace the relevance of Gramsci to my own feminist consciousness, and the part he played in my journey to praxis. I also address feminism's intellectual…

This paper considers the work of the Russian social philosopher and cultural theorist, Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakhtin as a source of understanding for those involved in action learning. Drawing upon data gathered over two years during the evaluation of 20 action learning sets in the north of England, we will seek to work with the ideas of Bakhtin to…

In the past few decades, a constructivist discourse has emerged as a very powerful model for explaining how knowledge is produced in the world, as well as how students learn. Constructivists believe that what is deemed knowledge is always informed by a particular perspective and shaped by various implicit value judgments. However, there is an…

This paper describes an experimental course in the preparation of art teachers. The goal of the course was to engage final-year art students in thinking about the fundamental questions in aesthetic education and in considering various views of their roles as teachers of art. The classes presented a dialogue between two teachers: a philosopher of…

The 2007 film "Freedom Writers" portrays the real-life experiences of Erin Gruwell, a teacher at an inner-city high school in Long Beach, California. This article discusses the educational theories underpinning Gruwell's pedagogical practice, as seen in "Freedom Writers", and identifies four themes--rewriting curriculum,…