In this paper I analyze the role of hindsight in narrative configuration. Configuration means the grasping together of disparate elements into a coherent whole. I argue that hindsight, importantly, brings the temporal constraints on what we can know to the fore, but is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, hindsight is an indispensable tool both…

In recent decades, the concept of social capital has had an enormous impact on the social scientific debate. Despite its vagueness, the concept expresses a distinction that is of significance for the maintenance and depth of democracy. At the same time, the overarching thesis put forward concerning the fundamental role of associations and social…

This article aims to clarify some of our pre-conceived assumptions when we address issues of learning in practice. It argues that we need to develop an understanding of practice based on its own premises. For this purpose the German philosopher Martin Heidegger's (1889-1976) understanding of practice and learning is introduced. Heidegger…

In this article, education policy is analyzed from a welfare state perspective. The aim is to Analise the significance attributed to social-inclusive aspects of education in contemporary education policies of the Nordic countries, and the extent to which education is regarded as an element in welfare policies. Four aspects are addressed: (1)…

The purpose of this article is to critically examine some stated discrepancies between qualitative and quantitative research by taking actual studies as a starting point. It is argued that in ordinary empirical research within psychology and education, both approaches should be considered based on critical realism, and that the ordinary validity…

Explores the knowledge teachers will need to have in the future and considers the implications of new requirements for teaching and teacher education. Advances several propositions for changes in the perception of pedagogical knowledge, school curricula, and school structure and proposes a strategy of "core" and "periphery" aspects of…

The ethics of the influential psychologist and ethicist Lawrence Kohlberg are analyzed from a communitarian perspective. Kohlberg's conception of morality is described as not as formal and universal as claimed, and it is suggested that it is, in fact, a monological ethic. (SLD)

Self-realization requires both protection and challenge from the environment. The developmental conditions of home and school are not meeting the needs of different children with their highly diverse and unique potentialities, especially in the provision of a proper balance between protection and challenge. (Author/SJL)

This article discusses the function and purpose of educational evaluation. The main standpoint is that different evaluation approaches are presented as scientific improvements but mirror mainly the objective functions of education in the society and the need within the state apparatus for a scientific legitimation of various political decisions.…

A Swedish conception of didactics is proposed; its crucial elements are the what and how of teaching and the common base of values and knowledge that determines the what, the how, and their relation. This base is the rationale of the content and form of teaching, and is the object of didactics as a field within educational research. (SLD)

Mill's liberty principle and the children's rights movement ("die Antipadagogen") are discussed in terms of Mill's attitude of paternalism in children's education. Mill contends that the individual liberty of children must be limited for their own good. Proponents of educational liberalism are not justified in claiming Mill as a spokesperson. (TJH)

Critically assesses a 1979 book by Rutter et al. entitled "Fifteen Thousand Hours: Secondary Schools and Their Effects on Children." Argues that the Rutter study fails to provide scientific evidence which is relevant and capable of corroborating its major hypothesis: that there are significant differences between schools. (AN)

Newell and Simon's new theory of thinking is summarized and some educational implications developed. The enaction theory implies that thinking is a skill and should be taught like other skills, by teaching methods of how to perform it. The traditional theory of thinking and its influence are briefly discussed. (Author/MH)

A systematic presentation is given of the theories of justification normally applied to paternalistic acts: (1) pseudo-paternalism, (2) consequentialism, and (3) consent-based theories. The validity of four common arguments for educational paternalism is discussed: education is necessary, children are ignorant, children are unable to choose, and…

Presents a case for the approach to thinking which takes logicality for granted and studies understanding. Argues that description of the qualitatively different ways in which people experience and understand various aspects of reality make up an autonomous field of inquiry, called phenomenography. (NEC)