Teaching Democracy In An Age Of Uncertainty

The strength of democracy lies in its ability to self-correct, to solve problems and adapt to new challenges. However, increased volatility, resulting from multiple crises on multiple fronts – humanitarian, financial, and environmental – is testing this ability. By offering a new framework for democratic education, Teaching Democracy in an Age of Uncertainty begins a dialogue with education professionals towards the reconstruction of education and by extension our social, cultural and political institutions. This book is the first monograph on philosophy with children to focus on democratic education. The book examines the ways in which education can either perpetuate or disrupt harmful social and political practices and narratives at the classroom level. It is a rethinking of civics and citizenship education as place-responsive learning aimed at understanding and improving human-environment relations to not only face an uncertain world, but also to face the inevitable challenges of democratic disagreement beyond merely promoting pluralism, tolerance and agreement. When viewed as a way of life democracy becomes both a goal and a teaching method for developing civic literacy to enable students to articulate and apprehend more than just the predominant political narrative, but to reshape it. This book will be of interest to scholars of philosophy, political science, education, democratic theory, civics and citizenship studies, and peace education research.

The central conflicts of the world today are closely related to cultural, traditional, and religious differences between nations. As we move to a globalized world, these differences often become magnified, entrenched, and the cause of bloody conflict. Growing out of a conference of distinguished scholars from the MiddleEast, Europe, and the United States, this volume is a singular contribution to mutual understanding and cooperative efforts on behalf of peace. The term paideia, drawn from Greek philosophy, has to do with responsible education for citizenship as a necessary precondition for effective democracy. The problems discussed here are crucial, but not simple. How can we find shared ethical principles on which to build international consensus? How can religious tolerance make inroads in societies accustomed to restrictive fundamentalism? What might bring about de-dogmatization of education in the Middle East as a necessary condition for free and rational inquiry and the broader vistas required by democracy? All of these issues highlight the underlying question, "What is education really for?" Finally, the volume confronts the promises and perils of economic globalization. Noting that one third of the world's population lives in abject poverty, business has become a battlefield where ethics and trust are clearly at stake.

The ‘post-truth’ world in which we live has been beset by fake news, lies and a cavalier disregard for truth. If truth is neglected then an alternative is an appeal to the emotions in order to validate a particular position, which can quickly turn to the use of power to impose a particular view. The loss of truth results in the loss of freedom. This book contends that if we want to preserve our freedom then we have a serious obligation to pursue truth. One way to do this is through an adequate moral education. Education in an Age of Lies and Fake News: Regaining a Love of Truth makes an argument for the importance of truth. It explores how we can retrieve the concept of truth and how moral education can be deployed in order to re-establish a commitment to truth. It introduces Eastern perspectives on the question of truth and how we view reality, and presents a realist position on the nature of truth as a counter to scepticism, drawing on Augustine and Thomas Aquinas, amongst others. Further, the chapters are mindful of the significance of developing a pedagogy which not only enables students to be critical thinkers, but to foster a genuine concern for truth and for its pursuit. This book will be essential reading for students, educators, philosophers and researchers pursuing the question of truth in the modern age.

Teaching for Democracy in an Age of Economic Disparity addresses the intersections between democratic education and economic inequality in American society. Drawing upon well-established theoretical constructs in the literature on democratic citizenship as well as recent events, this volume outlines the ways in which students can not only be educated about democracy, but become actively engaged in the social issues of their time. The collection begins with an examination of how the confluence of capitalism and education have problematized the current model of democratic education, before transitioning into discussions of how teachers can confront economic disparity both economically and civically in the classroom. The authors then introduce a variety of ways in which teachers can engage and empower students’ civic action at all grade levels. As a final component, the volume explores new avenues for civic action, including the use of social media for democratic engagement in schools and opportunities for critical reflection and cross-cultural dialogue. This book is a valuable resource for both scholars interested in the research on democratic education and practicing teachers wishing to turn their students into critical, active citizens.

Through expert analysis, this text proves that John Dewey’s views on efficiency in education are as relevant as ever. By exploring Deweyan theories of teaching and learning, the volume illustrates how they can aid educators in navigating the theoretical and practical implications of accountability, standardization, and assessment. The Contemporary Relevance of John Dewey’s Theories on Teaching and Learning deconstructs issues regarding accountability mechanisms, uniform assessment systems, and standardization processes through a Deweyan lens. Connecting the zeitgeist of the era from which Dewey’s ideas emerged and current global political, social, and economic contexts, the book emphasizes the importance of resilient systems in reconciliating the tension between standardized assessments and individual student development. Contributors provide insights from a range of settings across Pre-K, primary, secondary, and higher education and address topics including teacher agency, voice, leadership, and democracy. The volume will be of interest to scholars, researchers, and academics with an interest in philosophy of education, education policy and the impact of neoliberal agendas, as well as teaching and learning more broadly.

This book explores the contribution to education contained in the theoretical work and teaching practice of Matthew Lipman (1923-2010) and Ann Margaret Sharp (1942-2010). Their long-lasting cooperation gave rise to the well-known “Philosophy for Children” (P4C) curriculum, which is nowadays globally widespread. P4C basically relies on the following innovations: firstly, the unprecedented connection between philosophy and childhood; secondly, the reframing of philosophy in practical, viz., not reductively theoretical terms; thirdly, the employment of philosophy to foster democracy and moral capabilities through the development of children’s thoughtfulness and autonomous thinking, which would eventually result in empowering children’s social abilities and increasing their self-defence against consumerism, propaganda, and manipulation; finally, the stand against a strictly cognitivist approach to education. More than just contextualizing these innovations in the coeval historical and social context, the author shows that P4C’s revolutionary stance on education relies on the fruitfulness of Lipman and Sharp’s intellectual cooperation and on their manifold abilities as researchers, teachers, trainers, communicators, motivators, and community-builders. The book analyzes their philosophical-educational vision and the scholastic curriculum they developed jointly; additionally, it provides a critical appraisal of P4C’s achievements as well as of its future perspectives.

Rethinking the Politics of Education provides an entirely original rethinking of the modern and contemporary mythology of education. Problematizing the ideas concerning education as fulfilment and redemption, the book critically reviews the association of education with projects of social justice, democracy and improvement. This book argues for a fundamental rethinking of what education is, exploring how things stand with education and educational apparatuses in the contemporary world. It examines relations between educational discourses and their implied ontological stances and offers new ways of thinking that draw on ontological positions from psychoanalytical, philosophical and social discourses. The book contends that education is an essential form of politics and must be understood through a careful examination of its history modes of operation and its basic structures, rather than an idealized version of what it might be. Presenting an original and alternative account of a theoretically informed political ontology of education, the book will be of great interest to academics, researchers and postgraduate students interested in the philosophy of education, the politics of education, educational theory and the sociology of education.

This volume investigates the role of the arts in character education. Bringing together insights from esteemed philosophers and educationalists, it looks to the arts for insight into human character and explores the arts’ relationship to human flourishing and the development of the virtues. Focusing on the moral value of art and considering questions of whether there can be educational value in imaginative and non-narrative art, the nine chapters herein critically examine whether poetry, music, literature, films, television series, videogames, and even gardening may improve our understanding of human character, sharpen our moral judgement, inculcate or refine certain skills required for virtue, or perhaps cultivate certain virtues (or vices) themselves. Bringing together research on aesthetics, ethics, moral and character education, this book will appeal to students, researchers and academics of philosophy, arts, and education as well as philosophers of education, morality, aesthetics, and teachers of the arts.