Course Description In this course, we will explore the question of the actual and potential connections between democracy and education. Our focus of attention will be placed on a critical examination of democratic theory and its implications for the civic education roles and contributions of teachers, adult educators, community development practitioners, and community organizers. We will survey and deal critically with a range of competing conceptions of democracy, variously described as classical, republican, liberal, radical, marxist, neomarxist, pragmatist, feminist, populist, pluralist, postmodern, and/or participatory. Using narrative inquiry as a means for illuminating and interpreting contemporary practice, we will analyze the implications of different conceptions of democracy for the practical work of civic education.

Democracy and education.

Richard Rorty's Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature brings to light the deep sense of crisis within the profession of academic philosophy which is similar to the paralyzing pluralism in contemporary theology and the inveterate indeterminacy of literary criticism. Richard Rorty's provocative and profound meditations impel philosophers to examine the problematic status of their discipline— only to discover that modern European philosophy has come to an end. Rorty strikes a deathblow to modern European philosophy by telling a story about the emergence, development and decline of its primary props: the correspondence theory of truth, the notion of privileged representations and the idea of a self-reflective transcendental subject. Rorty's fascinating tale—his-story —is regulated by three fundamental shifts which he delineates in detail and promotes in principle: the move toward anti-realism or conventionalism in ontology, the move toward the demythologizing of the Myth of the Given or anti-foundationalism in epistemology, and the move toward detranscendentalizing the subject or dismissing the mind as a sphere of inquiry. The chief importance of Rorty's book is that it brings together in an original and intelligible narrative the major insights of the patriarchs of postmodern American philosophy—W. V. Quine, Wilfred Sellars, and Nelson Goodman— and persuasively presents the radical consequences of their views for contemporary philosophy. Rorty credits Wittgenstein, Heidegger and Dewey for having "brought us into a period of 'revolutionary' philosophy" by undermining the prevailing Cartesian and Kantian paradigms and advancing new conceptions of philosophy. And these monumental figures surely inspire Rorty. Yet, Rorty's philosophical debts—the actual sources of his particular anti-Cartesian and antiKantian arguments—are Quine's holism, Sellars' anti-foundationalism, and Goodman's pluralism. In short, despite his adamant attack on analytical philosophy—the last stage of modern European philosophy—Rorty feels most comfortable with the analytical form of philosophical argumentation (shunned by Wittgenstein and Heidegger). From the disparate figures of Wittgenstein, Heidegger, and Dewey, Rorty gets a historicist directive: to eschew the quest for certainty and the search for foundations.

Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature

The book Inequality by Christopher Jencks is in one sense an arid waste of somewhat confusing and misleading statistics between chapter one and chapter nine, and, in another sense, a destructive, unscientific critique of American education and families. Jencks' interpretation comes down hard on his basic feeling that "The crucial problem today is that relatively few people view income inequality as a serious problem; indeed the Nixon administration apparently convinced itself that income was too equally distributed in 1968 and that the rich needed additional incentives to get even richer . The Kennedy and Johnson administrations were only marginally better. Neither made any explicit effort to equalize incomes; the subject was hardly discussed. Instead reformers focused on equalizing opportunity." This view is probably correct but it is no excuse for an unscholarly, unscientific polemic against far from "peripheral institutions," which is Jencks' evaluation of the American schools. This book states

Inequality, A Reassessment of the Effect of Family and Schooling in America.

Moses and Monotheism

FORMS FOR THE THERAPIST. Allan G. Hedberg (Ed.) (2010). San Diego, CA: Academic Press. Reviewed by Christopher H. Rosik (Link Care Center, Fresno, CA; Fresno Pacific University). Allan Hedberg is a seasoned psychologist and former president of the California Psychological Association. His considerable experience as a clinician is evident in this impressive volume that makes a wealth of useful material readily available to therapists seeking to establish or enhance their practice. Moreover, Dr. Hedberg enlisted the contributions of sixteen other experienced professionals to provide helpful resources in seven areas: Information for the therapist, assessment tools, patient homework or assignment outside therapy, information for the patient, exercises to be performed in therapy, forms to be completed by the therapist or patient, and sample forms and templates. Multiple indexes and pictorial legends help to direct the clinician to the exact page where the needed form is presented. In addition, purchase of the book enables the user to access a website where all of the forms can be downloaded, so no bindingbreaking copying is necessary. It is impossible to review all of the valuable forms compiled in this text, but the list of chapter titles can provide some basic orientation to what this book offers. Chapters include Forms for setting up and defining your practice; Forms related to fees; HIPAA/Patient privacy forms; General information handouts for patients; Forms related to referral and consulting services; Fitness for duty and workers' compensation forms; Forms related to patient services; Forms related to therapist's professional activity; Managing an office staff; Termination of treatment/practice forms; Forms for session notes; Clinical errors, bad habits, ethical complaints, and law suits; Expanding your practice; Organizing your charts and evaluations; General assessments, intake, brief, comprehensive, and more; Assessments related to specific tests and scales; Assessments related to risk, competency, health, and neuropsychology; Anxiety and stress relief with relaxation assessment and exercises; Depression and self-esteem; Insomnia and sleep therapy; Addictive behavior; Suicidal behavior; Pain management and coping with medical disorders; Anger and violent behavior; Strategies and tools for personal growth and health awareness; Communication tips and exercises; eating and exercise logs; Cultural diversity appreciation exercises; Conflict resolution and problem solving; Thinking distortions: Information and patient exercises; eating and exercise logs; Cultural diversity appreciation exercises; Conflict resolution and problem solving; Thinking distortions: Information and patient exercises; Behavioral monitoring logs; Dealing with crisis; Serving children and their families; Dealing with geriatric patients; Couples therapy and relationship assessment and exercises. …

The Psychology of Religion: An Empirical Approach

Drift from the Churches: attitude toward Christianity during childhood and adolescence

At a time when the schools are a matter of political debate, Gerald Grace, Professorial Research Fellow at the Institute of Education, University of London, has written a valuable book on Roman Catholic schools in England and Wales. He begins with theory, moves to historical, cultural and research contexts and then gives details of  eldwork in three English cities. All this is tied together by a practical engagement with contemporary education. The opening chapters introduce two theoretical frameworks. The  rst is drawn from the work of the French intellectual Pierre Bourdieu from whom are taken the notions of ‘legitimation’ and ‘habitus’. Legitimation concerns the validity of Catholic schooling, its right to exist, and its consequent relationship with society and culture. It also concerns, in this case, the impact of parental choice upon the functioning of Catholic schools since, when the market was opened up as a force in educational practice, Roman Catholic parents, in some numbers, disagreed with the position taken by their bishops. Thus the legitimation of Catholic schools occurs in two ways: by the historic mission and theology of the Roman Catholic Church and by the consumer-driven choice of assertive parents. The habitus of Catholic education is its ‘cultural unconscious’ that represents the consolidated tradition of Catholic schooling worldwide over many years. The habitus is the rigid pattern of prayers and masses, of symbols and retreats, of typical attitudes and procedures for character formation. Indeed, Grace has an interesting historical account of the habitus of Catholic schools taken from literary descriptions in novels and autobiographies. The most famous of these is found in James Joyce whose Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man paints a sharp and ultimately hateful picture of the disciplines of Irish education and the theological terrors they held for his generation. Since Vatican 2 this habitus has been largely revised so as to be more receptive of secular culture and more pluralistic in its intentions. The new diocesan comprehen-

Catholic Schools: Mission, markets and morality

Summary The Junior version of the Eysenck scale of neuroticism and the Francis scale of attitude towards religion Form ASC4B were administered to 1088 15- and 16-year-old English school boys and girls in order to examine two conflicting psychological accounts of the relationship between religiosity and stability The positive significant correlation found between religiosity and neuroticism is shown to be an artifact caused by the fact that women are both more neurotic and more religious than men The data support neither the hypothesis that religiosity is an expression of instability nor the hypothesis that religiosity fosters stability

The Relationship between Neuroticism and Religiosity among English 15-and 16-Year-Olds

Are introverts more religious

1,088 fourth and fifth year English Secondary School pupils completed a scale of attitude towards religion, Form ASC4B, and the Junior Eysenck Personality Inventory. A positive relationship was found between Lie scale scores and religiosity scores. The results are discussed in relation to the various interpretations of the Lie scale.

William K. Kay

Papers

Drift from the Churches: attitude toward Christianity during childhood and adolescence

Catholic Schools: Mission, markets and morality

The Relationship between Neuroticism and Religiosity among English 15-and 16-Year-Olds

Are introverts more religious

Are Religious Children Bigger Liars