"This very important book is original, sweeping, and wise about the relation between education and liberal democracy in the United States. The Pangles reconsider superior ideas from the founding period in a way that illuminates any serious thinking on American education, whether policy-oriented or historical". -- American Political Science Review. "An important and thoughtful book, stimulating for citizens as well as scholars". -- Journal of American History.
History of how the educational system has changed. From the beginning of this country till now. Arguments for liberal education and limited government.
This book takes the thinking of Quentin Skinner, Philip Pettit and J.G.A. Pocock on republican liberty and explores the way in which this idea of liberty can be used to illuminate educational practice. It argues that republican liberty is distinct from both positive and negative liberty, and its emphasis on liberty as non-dependency gives the concept of liberty a particularly critical role in contemporary society. Each chapter formulates and expounds the idea that an empire of liberty requires the existence of what are termed ‘liberty-bearing agents’, and shows how education – with a particular emphasis on knowledge – is needed to foster the human powers which allow people to become liberty-bearing. It is also emphasised, however, that republican liberty is non-perfectionist and non-eudaimonic: the core values enshrined in an empire of liberty centre on non-dependency rather than the promulgation of a certain way of life. Drawing on prominent seventeenth century contract theorists, the link between liberty and authority is explained, suggesting that appropriate authoritative structures need to underpin the provision of education, and especially schooling, if educational practice devoted to the pursuit of liberty is to flourish. Liberty and Education will be of value to both educational theorists unfamiliar with republican theory, as well as republican theorists interested in how their theory might play out in education. It will also be of interest to researchers and students from the fields of politics and the philosophy of education.
Fifty years ago, Milton Friedman had the ground-breaking idea to improve public education with school vouchers. By separating government financing of education from government administration of schools, Friedman argued, “parents at all income levels would have the freedom to choose the schools their children attend.” Liberty & Learning is a collection of essays from the nation’s top education experts evaluating the progress of Friedman’s innovative idea and reflecting on its merits in the 21st century. The book also contains a special prologue and epilogue by Milton Friedman himself. The contributors to this volume take a variety of approaches to Friedman’s voucher idea. All of them assess the merit of Friedman’s plan through an energetic, contemporary perspective, though some authors take a theoretical position, while others employ a very pragmatic approach.
Locke's Education for Liberty presents an analysis of the crucial but often underestimated place of education and the family within Lockean liberalism. Nathan Tarcov shows that Locke's neglected work Some Thoughts Concerning Education compares with Plato's Republic and Rousseau's Emile as a treatise on education embodying a comprehensive vision of moral and social life. Locke believed that the family can be the agency, not the enemy, of individual liberty and equality. Tarcov's superb reevaluation reveals to the modern reader a breadth and unity heretofore unrecognized in Locke's thought.
What sort of institution is education? In this iconoclastic study, James Donald restores the school to its proper place at the heart of post-Enlightenment culture and politics. He traces the emergence of education as an apparatus designed—forlornly—to shape the souls of citizens. He also draws illuminating analogies between education and broadcasting, showing how both conjure up publics and structure the everyday lives of individuals. To balance this focus on the institution of cultural norms, Donald emphasizes the dynamics of fantasy and desire in their negotiation. He therefore juxtaposes the normative practices of education and broadcasting against more transgressive forms of popular culture: pornography, racist thrillers like Fu Manchu, vampire films, and what he calls the vulgar sublime. Finally, drawing on postmodern debates about community and democracy, he sketches a context for reforms in broadcasting and presents a provocative alternative to orthodox progressive ideas about education from the primary school to the university.
This book, first published in 1989, relates a theory of liberty to the practice of education, and reveals the implications of beliefs about freedom for our schools and classrooms. The author makes a reasoned plea for society to have more respect for children and not treat them as an inferior sub-species. The central argument of this book is for greater education in democracy, and greater democracy in education. This title will be of interest to students of the philosophy of education.
