Distinct among contemporary philosophical studies focused on education, this book engages the history of phenomenological thought as it moves from philosophy proper (the European phenomenological-hermeneutic tradition) through curriculum studies. It thus presents the "best of both worlds" for the reader; there is a "play" or movement from philosophy proper to educational philosophy and then back again in order to locate and explicate what is intimated, suggested, and in some cases, left "unsaid" by educational philosophers. This amounts to a work on education-philosophy that elucidates, through various permutations within the unique foci of each essay, the general phenomenological theme of the fundamental ontology of the human being as primordial learner. Reflecting his experience as scholar, teacher, and perennial learner, the author suggests how research in phenomenology might prove beneficial to the enhancement of both the theoretical and practical aspects of education; readers are invited to envision education as far more than merely a means by which to organize an effective learning experience in which knowledge is assimilated and skill sets are efficiently imparted, but rather as a holistic and integrated process in which knowing, acting, and valuing are original ways of Being-in-the-world.
The Second Edition of Curriculum Theory: Conflicting Visions and Enduring Concerns by Michael Stephen Schiro presents a clear, unbiased, and rigorous description of the major curriculum philosophies that have influenced educators and schooling over the last century. The author analyzes four educational visions—Scholar Academic, Social Efficiency, Learner Centered, and Social Reconstruction—to enable readers to reflect on their own educational beliefs and more productively interact with educators who might hold different beliefs.
Teachers not only serve as caretakers for the students in their classroom but also serve as stewards for society’s next generation. In this way, teachers are charged with responsibility for the present and the future of their world. Shouldering this responsibility is no less than an existential dilemma that requires not only professional solutions but also personal responsibility rooted in subjective authenticity. In the edited volume, authors will explore how the philosophy of Existentialism can help teachers, teacher educators, educational researchers, and policymakers better understand the existential responsibility that teachers shoulder. The core concepts of Existential philosophy explored in this edited volume imply that a teacher’s lived experience cannot be defined solely by professional knowledge or dictates. Teachers have the capacity to create subjective meaning through their own agency, and there is no guarantee that those subjective meanings will accord with professional dictates. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that professional dictates are more valid than the existential realities of individual teachers. The philosophy of Existentialism encourages individuals to reflect on the existential realities of isolation, freedom, meaninglessness, and death in an effort to propel individuals towards more authentic ways of engaging in the world. The chapters of this edited volume advance the argument that being and becoming a teacher must be understood – at least in part – from the subjective perspective of the individual and that teachers are responsible for authoring the meaning of their lives and of their work. ENDORSEMENTS: "At a time when the purpose of education is increasingly conceived in terms of attaining skills necessary for the job market, and teaching and learning are assessed in terms of objective outcomes, this collection of fresh essays on the existential dimension of education as an institution offers an indispensable corrective. In wide-ranging reflections on the professional and inter-personal aspects of education, the authors show how existentialism’s emphasis on subjectivity, authenticity, and lived experience can enrich our thinking about teaching and learning and improve our practices in the classroom as it exists now. Any educator seriously interested in his or her profession will find timely insights in this thoughtfully conceived volume." — Steven Crowell, Rice University Historically, education and educational science have been torn between, on the one hand, ideas stressing technical rationality, efficiency, and evidence-based approaches and, on the other hand, ideas highlighting the need for deeper understandings and imaginative orientations. In the light of these trends, the book Problematizing the Profession of Teaching from an Existential Perspective is a fresh contribution that offers new insights to the field of teacher professionalism and teacher development. I recommend this book to everyone who is interested in gaining a deeper understanding of what it means to be and become a teacher. — Silvia Edling, University of Gävle
. Renewal of Life by Transmission. The most notable distinction between living and inanimate things is that the former maintain themselves by renewal. A stone when struck resists. If its resistance is greater than the force of the blow struck, it remains outwardly unchanged. Otherwise, it is shattered into smaller bits. Never does the stone attempt to react in such a way that it may maintain itself against the blow, much less so as to render the blow a contributing factor to its own continued action. While the living thing may easily be crushed by superior force, it none the less tries to turn the energies which act upon it into means of its own further existence. If it cannot do so, it does not just split into smaller pieces (at least in the higher forms of life), but loses its identity as a living thing. As long as it endures, it struggles to use surrounding energies in its own behalf. It uses light, air, moisture, and the material of soil. To say that it uses them is to say that it turns them into means of its own conservation. As long as it is growing, the energy it expends in thus turning the environment to account is more than compensated for by the return it gets: it grows. Understanding the word "control" in this sense, it may be said that a living being is one that subjugates and controls for its own continued activity the energies that would otherwise use it up. Life is a self-renewing process through action upon the environment.
Expanding Curriculum Theory, Second Edition carries through the major focus of the original volume—to reflect on the influence of Deleuze and Guattari’s concept of "lines of flight" and its application to curriculum theorizing. What is different is that the lines of flight have since shifted and produced expanded understandings of this concept for curriculum theory and for education in general. This edition reflects the impact of events that have contributed to this shift, in particular the (il)logic of school policy changes and reforms in the past decade, and the continued explosion of social media and its effect on the collective understanding of how both "knowledge" and "education" work as forms of repression. The introduction updates the text and puts it into current debates in the field and in the larger socio-economic milieu. New dis/positions are presented that explore central questions circulating within and outside curriculum studies. Exciting scholarship on a range of topics includes notions of desire and commodities, youth culture and violence, new directions in curriculum theory, Eco-Ethical consciousness, new Deleuzian views of normality, the diffusion of technology and lines of flight in transnational curriculum inquiry.
The scholarship of New Directions in Curriculum as Phenomenological Text manifests through close readings and interpretations of curriculum theorists and Continental philosophers, presented in the form of 'speculative philosophical essays,' an important form of curriculum thinking-writing all but lost to the general contemporary field of research.
Offering new and original readings of literature, poetry, and education as interpreted through the conceptual lens of Heidegger’s later philosophy of the "Turn", this book helps readers understand Heidegger’s later thought and presents new takes on how to engage the themes that emerged from his later writing. Suggesting novel ways to consider Heidegger’s ideas on literature, poetry, and education, Magrini and Schwieler provide a deep understanding of the "Turn," a topic not often explored in contemporary Heideggerian scholarship. Their inter- and extra-disciplinary postmodern approaches offer a nuanced examination, taking into account Heidegger’s controversial place in history, and filling a gap in educational research.
This book proposes a new way for scholars in, for example, Education, Literary Studies, and Philosophy to approach texts and other phenomena through the concept and practice of translation. Its interdisciplinary perspective makes the book of value for graduate students and scholars in the Humanities and Social Sciences. The unique take on translation as related to the notion of aporia is applied to a number of seminal and classical texts within literature, poetry, and philosophy, which gives the reader new understandings of the workings of language and what happens within and between languages, as well as within and between disciplines, when some form of interpretation or analysis is at work. Importantly, the book develops the notion of aporias of translation as a way to learn and develop our understanding of texts and phenomena, and thus functions as a pedagogical process, which helps us come to terms with the boundaries of language and academic disciplines.
The Cambridge Primary Review Research Surveys is the outcome of the Cambridge Primary Review – England’s biggest enquiry into primary education for over forty years. Fully independent of government, it was launched in 2006 to investigate the condition and future of primary education at a time of change and uncertainty and after two decades of almost uninterrupted reform. Ranging over ten broad themes and drawing on a vast array of evidence, the Review published thiry-one interim reports, including twenty-eight surveys of published research, provoking media headlines and public debate, before presenting its final report and recommendations. This book brings together the twenty-eight research surveys, specially commissioned from sixty-five leading academics in the areas under scrutiny and now revised and updated, to create what is probably the most comprehensive overview and evaluation of research in primary education yet published. A particular feature is the prominence given to international and comparative perspectives. With an introduction from Robin Alexander, the Review’s director, the book is divided into eight sections, covering: children’s lives and voices: school, home and community children’s development, learning, diversity and needs aims, values and contexts for primary education the structure and content of primary education outcomes, standards and assessment in primary education teaching in primary schools: structures and processes teaching in primary schools: training, development and workforce reform policy frameworks: governance, funding, reform and quality assurance. The Cambridge Primary Review Research Surveys is an essential reference tool for professionals, researchers, students and policy-makers working in the fields of early years, primary and secondary education.
