ERIC Number: EJ1104249
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016-May
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0309-8249
EISSN: N/A
Philosophy of Education: Becoming Less Western, More African?
Enslin, Penny; Horsthemke, Kai
Journal of Philosophy of Education, v50 n2 p177-190 May 2016
Posing the question "How diverse is philosophy of education in the West?" this paper responds to two recent defences of African philosophy of education which endorse its communitarianism and oppose individualism in Western philosophy of education. After outlining Thaddeus Metz's argument that Western philosophy of education should become more African by being more communitarian, and Yusef Waghid's defence of communitarianism in African philosophy of education, we develop a qualified defence of aspects of individualism in education. Our reservations about some aspects of communitarianism lead us to argue for a role for some forms of individualism in African as well as Western education. Finally, reflecting on what is at stake in this kind of comparative philosophy of education, we argue that an over-emphasis on cultural differences can distract philosophers of education from the attention they should pay to the common dangers posed across continents by the influence of global capitalism on education.
Descriptors: Educational Philosophy, African Studies, African Culture, Western Civilization, Individualism, Ideology, Comparative Education, Cultural Differences, Social Systems, Educational Practices, Educational Objectives
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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