Student-centered pedagogy has been embraced by many feminist practitioners and educational theorists as an antidote to more "traditional" or "masculinist" forms of classroom relations, epistemological constructs, and theories of self. I will show that the margin-center schema, student-centered pedagogy's foundational metaphor, undermines feminist…

Immanuel Kant is often viewed by educational theorists as an individualist, who put education on "an individual track," paving the way for political liberal conceptions of education such as that of John Rawls. One can easily find evidence for such a view, in "Answer to the Question: "What is Enlightenment?"," as well as in his more metaphysical,…

Paulo Freire and Lorenzo Milani are considered as key figures in a number of Southern European countries for providing signposts for a critical approach to education. In this paper I will view their ideas and biographical trajectories comparatively to glean some important insights for a critical pedagogy. The common theme throughout this…

In this article, I examine anew the moral philosophy of Immanuel Kant and its contributions to educational theory. I make four claims. First, that Kant should be read as having the Categorical Imperative develop out of subjective maxims. Second, that moral self-perfection is the aim of moral education. Third, that moral self-perfection develops by…

Not only do the writings of Nietzsche--early and late--fail to support the pedagogy of self-reformulation, this doctrine embodies what for him is worst in man and would destroy that which is higher. The pedagogy of self-reformulation is also incoherent. In contrast, Nietzsche offers a fruitful and comprehensive theory of education that, while…

This article contends that Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914) may enhance our understanding of educational beliefs and that Peirce's logic may be a tool to distinguish between a dogmatic and a pragmatic justification of such beliefs. The first part of the article elaborates on Peirce's comprehension of beliefs as mediated, socially situated and…

Drawing on Charles Peirce's descriptions of his correspondence course on the "Art of Reasoning," I argue that Peirce believed that the study of logic stands at the center of a liberal arts education. However, Peirce's notion of logic included much more than the traditional accounts of deduction and syllogistic reasoning. He believed that the art…

I write this short essay in response to Peirce, as a feminist, pragmatist, and cultural studies scholar, in the hope that it will help to bring feminism and pragmatism together. I suggest that Peirce offers marginalized and colonized people a way to argue for the importance of their input, with his theory of fallibilism, even if he still claims a…

Considers what the concepts "relevance" and "irrelevance" come to mean when applied to education. (Author)

The specific focus of the author's argument centers on the issue of the nature and role of the curriculum in Open Education schools, and the dilemma Open Educators must face with respect to the issue of socialization. (Author/PG)

The growing concern for moral education has led to a revival of interest in empathy in education. (Author)

Uses jazz improvisation as a metaphor to focus on three interrelated aspects of ethical responsibility according to Emmanuel Lavinas's theories: (1) passivity; (2) heteronomy; and (3) inescapability. Discusses some ways in which reframing responsibility and subjectivity along this line might offer new possibilities for conceiving subjectivity and…

Argues for the importance of Emmanuel Levinas's work for re-opening educational questions. Addresses the problem of remembrance as a question of and for history, as a force of inhabitation, as an inheritance we are obligated to live within, that intertwines with our sense of limits and possibilities, hopes and fears, identities and distinctions.…

Discusses the application of democratic and anti-racist educational principles in a college setting. Outlines an application of John Dewey's educational theory to college instruction. Applies Dewey's model to the teaching of anti-racism and readapts Deweyan principles to the task of reconstructing our classrooms as models of anti-racist…