Education Autonomy And Critical Thinking

The concepts of autonomy and critical thinking are of key importance in many contemporary accounts of the aims of education. This book analyses their relationship to each other and to education.

Education's Epistemology extends and further defends Harvey Siegel's "reasons conception" of critical thinking. It analyzes and emphasizes both the epistemic quality, and the dispositions and character traits that constitute the "critical spirit," that are central to a proper account of critical thinking; argues that that epistemic quality must be understood ultimately in terms of epistemic rationality; defends a conception of rationality that involves both rules and judgment; and argues that critical thinking has normative value over and above its instrumental tie to truth. Siegel also argues, contrary to currently popular multiculturalist thought, for both transcultural and universal philosophical ideals, including those of multiculturalism and critical thinking themselves.

n this book, 24 leading philosophers of education since 1970 who remain influential today present the fascinating stories of their lives and important new contributions to the field.

This book presents the first systematic account of dependency care in a liberal theory of justice. Despite the fact that receiving dependency care is necessary for human survival, the practices with which we meet society’s care needs are seldom recognized for their functional role. Instead, norms about gender and race obscure and shape expectations about whose needs for care are legitimate as well as about whose caregiving labor more advantaged members of society will receive. These opaque arrangements must be made visible if we are to remedy skewed intuitions and judgements about care. Freedom to Care develops a modified form of social contract theory with which to evaluate society’s caregiving arrangements. Building on work by feminist liberals and care ethicists, it reframes debates about care to move beyond gender with an inequality-tracking framework that can be employed in any culture. Because care provision has been enmeshed in the subordination of women and people of color, eliminating the invisibility of these forms of labor yields a critical liberal theory of justice with feminist and anti-racist aims.

Critical Thinking Skills for your Education Degree provides you with a sound knowledge and understanding of: the nature of critical thinking, and its relevance and importance in HE how to adopt a critical approach to all aspects of your studies within education the importance of active, critical reading, and how it allows you an efficient, principled, effective assessment of the literature in your field the need to adopt a critical approach to writing, characterised by analytical and evaluative use of sources and the development of your own ‘voice’ If you are embarking on a university education or teaching degree, the books in this series will help you acquire and develop the knowledge, skills and strategies you need to achieve your goals. They provide support in all areas important for university study, including institutional and disciplinary policy and practice, self-management, and research and communication. Tasks and activities are designed to foster aspects of learning which are valued in higher education, including learner autonomy and critical thinking, and to guide you towards reflective practice in your study and work life.

Across the globe educators are being required to respond to a changing political environment. New nations emerge out of the collapse of old empires; new democracies struggle out of old structures of oppression. Driven on by the fierce competitiveness of the ‘tiger economies’ of the east, old social welfare[1]based democracies are transformed into new market led enterprise societies. The essays in this international collection are a response from twenty-two educators to these changes and to the reassessment that they provoke of some of the fundamental principles which shape educational thought and practice. They focus in particular on four key clusters of issues to do with the role of education in cultivating: • national identity Authors from political settings as culturally distant as Lithuania and Taiwan consider what role, if any, nationalistic education might play in the context of a democratic liberal education. • market principles Contributors offer different perspectives on the internationally pervasive application of the principles of the market economy to education and the consequent ‘commodification’ of learning. • personal autonomy Different dimensions of the contested notion of autonomy are examined along with the related discourses of ‘edification’ and ‘empowerment’. • democratic citizenship From post-Soviet Russia to the new South Africa, in schools and in the context of professional training, educators examine what education for democratic citizenship might mean in practice and tease out some of the conflicts of principle which are raised in its implementation. The contributors are distinguished scholars drawn from every continent. They write consciously for an international readership and there is constant cross reference to developments in different parts of the world. All are practitioners in education sharing an interest in the philosophical issues underlying social change. The philosophical discussion is clearly rooted in and referred back to the world of educational practice and its political context.

Human beings have the possibility to give meaning to their lives and to create coherence in experiences. Present-day humanism strongly focuses on personal development in relation to others. It is this tension between personal development and advancement of humanization, that is creating the opportunities for the personal development of every world citizen. Humanism is about personal autonomy, moral responsibility, and about solidarity with humanity. The tension between autonomy and social involvement is the core of humanism. Education can support persons in their moral and personal identity development. The authors brought together in this book all address issues of developing autonomy and humanity in educational practices. All the chapters try to link theory and practice. They either make theoretical ideas more practical or they use practical experiences and concerns to rethink theoretical notions. Together the chapters in the book give a broad overview of theoretical foundations, concrete research, and practices in education. The book shows a diversity that can inspire scholars and practitioners in further developing their perspectives. Creating meaning is an essential part of all education. Focusing on the linking of autonomy and humanity is the humanist perspective in it.

Tracing the deep connections between philosophy and education, Ryan McInerney argues that we must use philosophy to reflect on the significance of educational practice to all human endeavour. He uses a broad approach which takes in the relationships governing philosophy, education, and language, to reveal education's fundamental achievements and metaphysical significance. The realization of educational ideals and policies are read alongside growing skepticism regarding the theoretical and practical significance of philosophical thinking, and the emphasis on resource efficiency and measurable outcomes which characterise schooling today. It is from this context that McInerney defends the value inherent to the philosophy of education. Drawing upon contemporary continental and analytic thinkers including Nietzsche, Gadamer, and Wittgenstein, McInerney charts the role of education in shaping the child's metaphysical transformation through language acquisition. Connecting early years and primary school education, McInerney pinpoints rationality as the crucial factor which produces critical, thinking beings. He presents the pursuit of philosophically minded education as a rational pursuit which enables us to philosophise and educate others in turn, dispensing with the epistemological and conceptual foundationalisms of the past.