Background/Context: Students' ready engagement in electronic games and the relative ease with which they sometimes learn complex rules have intrigued some educators and learning researchers. There has been growing interest in studying electronic gaming with the aim of trying to work out how learning principles that are evident in games can be…

Suggests reasons why education is difficult and contentious, arguing that educational thinking draws on only three fundamental ideas (socializing the young, shaping the minds by a disciplined academic curriculum, and facilitating the development of students' potential) and that the problems in education are due to these ideas, which are fatally…

This article considers whether a distinction should be made between educating for culture and educating for socialization. Views of progressive educators, traditionalists, and modern radical educators are examined. A careful distinction should be made between the two terms, so that neither socialization nor cultural education is sacrificed. (PP)

Jean Piaget's belief that children's developmental levels largely determine what they can learn is challenged. Research concerning the existence of cognitive structures in children is critiqued, and problems with administering Piagetian tasks are pointed out. Educators should not restrict children's exposure to learning because, according to…

Book review discusses Howard Gardner's belief that schools typically fail in their most important missions, and accurate diagnosis is necessary for more effective education. Gardner recommends educating disciplinary experts who can help students integrate prescholastic and scholastic ways of knowing. A response by Gardner is included. (SM)

Examines majaor constituent ideas of education (from Durkheim, Plato, Rousseau, Dewey), suggesting that they are mutually incompatible and consequently result in an incoherent concept of education. Proposes an educational scheme that would develop the kinds of understanding developed in cultural history, which would require focus on imaginative…