The focus of this paper is on a variety of practices associated with the transfer of educational policy and practice from one national education system to another--practices sometimes referred to as "policy borrowing". Its concern is with the ethical and political issues raised by these practices. In particular, it discusses concerns…

In this article, we distinguish between three approaches to ethics in school, each giving an interpretation of the expression "ethics in school": the "descriptive facts about ethics approach," roughly consisting of teaching empirical facts about moral matters to students; the "moral fostering approach," consisting of…

This article explores aspects of eros in education in relation to ideas of indirectness associated with the French concept of "pudeur," sometimes translated as "modesty". It explores lines of thought extending through Emerson and Nietzsche but reaching back to Plato's "Symposium." This is a means of exposing the…

This paper considers the place of freedom in discussions of the aims of education. Bearing in mind remarks of R.S. Peters to the affect that the singling out of aims can "fall into the hands of rationalistically minded curriculum planners", it begins by considering the views of Roland Reichenbach regarding Bildung and his account of this…

Lately, in educational research and debate, there have been discussions on a trend sometimes named as a "therapeutic turn" in education. Mindfulness-oriented activities represent one therapeutic approach in education, aiming for virtues such as patience and trust. A large part of the critical viewpoints on therapeutic education among…

The term Critical Social Theory is employed in this article following the tradition of the Frankfurt School, and particularly the work of Herbert Marcuse and his interpretation of the political and social philosophy of Hegel and Marx. Discussing the contribution of G.W.F. Hegel to social theory Marcuse argued that: "Hegel's system brings to a…

In most cases, discussions on the right to education focus on the way access to education can be warranted for all and which aims should be pursued in rather abstract terms. This article approaches the topic starting from the case of Roma people. The particularity of their living circumstances raises the question what it is that we are aiming at…

This article is the second of a two-part investigation, the first part of which was published in "Ethics and Education," vol. 5, issue 2, 2010, under the title "Preface to an ethics of education as a practice in its own right". Although it builds on the arguments of that "preface", this second part of the investigation can be read as a stand-alone…

The research literature on parenting support typically focuses on English-speaking countries, such as England, the United States and Australia. This article draws on a review, commissioned by the English government, which examined policies and services to support parenting in five European countries: Denmark, France, Germany, Italy and the…

Among the latest trends in moral educational theory, several authors have suggested that a sociocultural approach to moral education is an improvement over the dominant cognitive-developmental and character educational paradigms. This approach draws its inspiration from the work of the Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky. In the 1920s, Vygotsky…

My article aims to develop a relational, pluralistic political theory that moves beyond standard theories of liberal democracy, and to consider how such a theory translates into our public school settings. I use a narrative style argument to share stories that focus on homogeneity and diversity from my visit to a Japanese elementary school, as I…

The paper considers T.S. Eliot's "dissociation of sensibility" thesis, considering its philosophical value and attempting to defend it against published objections. While accepting some of the criticisms, it is argued that Eliot's argument is sound to a significant extent. Eliot's account retains explanatory power with regard to an enduring…