This paper is concerned with the practical importance of different forms of paternalism for educational theory and practice. Contrary to the traditional treatment of paternalism as a sometimes necessary and rather messy aspect of educational practices, I demonstrate that paternalism is to be regarded as an "indigenous concept" (Herbart)…

This essay examines several ethical and epistemological issues that arise when philosophers conduct empirical research focused on, or in collaboration with, community groups seeking to bring about systemic change. This type of research can yield important policy lessons about effective community-driven reform and how to incorporate the voices of…

In this essay, I describe some of the methodological dimensions of my ongoing research into how parents choose schools. I particularly focus on how philosophical frameworks and analytical strategies have shaped the empirical portion of my research. My goal, in this essay, is to trace and explore the ways in which philosophy of education--as a…

Proponents of environmentalist views often urge the teaching of such views and the inculcation of "green" values within the educational curriculum of schools as a key component of achieving their ends. It might seem that modern versions of political morality that refuse to take a stance on controversial questions--religious, ethical,…

The paper develops a conceptual framework for understanding the work of ethical remembrance in the classroom. Using David Hansen's recent example of using Sebald's novels in his classroom to do the work or remembrance, the paper argues that the effect of Sebald's novels is best understood using Walter Benjamin's figure of the…

The introduction of the "National Strategies" for primary education in 1998, positioned "strategy" as a powerful instrument for mobilising the school "workforce" in England in the cause of continuous improvement. Government approaches to strategy formulation and enactment appear to reflect an instrumentalist…

Amid the growing coalescence between the religion and ecology movements, the voice of Muslims who care for the earth and its people is rising. While the Islamic position on the environment is not well-represented in the ecotheology discourse, it advances an environmental imaginary which shows how faith can be harnessed as a vehicle for social…

This article seeks to examine the special quality of Eros operative in educational practice, through the frame narrative of Plato's "The Allegory of the Cave." The subject is examined from two aspects illuminating the paradoxical nature of educational practice. The first, epistemological, considers the practicability of learning,…

The field of Philosophy and Education seems to be experiencing a renewed interest in the work of Aristotle. As recently reviewed by Curren ("Oxf Rev Educ" 36(5):543-559, 2010), most of this attention aligns with the virtue ethics movement where themes like moral development in education, and the inquiry on human flourishing as the aim of…

In this paper I explore the connection between narrative ethics and the increasing emphasis on historical consciousness as a way to cultivate moral responsibility in history education. I use Timothy Findley's World War I novel, "The Wars," as an example of how teachers might help students to see history neither simply as a…

This paper explores the contribution of Zen storytelling to moral education. First, an understanding of Zen practice, what it is and how it is achieved, is established. Second, the connection between Zen practice and ethics is shown in terms of the former's ability to cultivate moral emotions and actions. It is shown that Zen practice works…

Nowadays there is a renewed interest in philosophy as art-of-living. Several prominent authors have pointed out the return of the notion of the good life in philosophy, particularly understood as a form of normative ethics. Questions such as: how should I live have been taken up as a resistance against the dominances of a neo-liberal discourse in…

In this paper, I argue that Dewey's pragmatist aesthetics, and in particular, his concept of "consummatory experience", should be engaged anew to rethink the merits of the Philosophy for Children (PFC) programme, which arose in the 1970s in the US as an innovative educational programme that aims to use philosophy to help school children (aged…

Axiomatic and problematic approaches to ontology are discussed, at first in relation to the work of Badiou and Deleuze in mathematics. This discussion is then broadened focussing on problematics in Deleuze and Guattari's critiques of capitalism and psychoanalysis which results in an analysis of the implications of this discussion for education.…

"The importance of being experienced" plays a central part in the ethical philosophy of Aristotle. An experienced person is a person who has acquired a coping skill, an appropriate attitude and a sense of situation. According to Aristotle the soul and the body are interdependent, which indicates a close connection between human activity, human…