Showing papers in "Theory and Research in Education in 2014"
TL;DR: The evidence for Bourdieu's social reproduction theory and its contributions to understanding educational inequality has been relatively mixed as discussed by the authors. And some critics discount the usefulness of core concepts such as...
Abstract: Evidence for Bourdieu’s social reproduction theory and its contributions to understanding educational inequality has been relatively mixed. Critics discount the usefulness of core concepts such as ...
175 citations
TL;DR: A major objection to the study of virtue asserts that the empirical psychological evidence implies traits have little meaningful impact on behavior, as slight changes in situational characteristics... as discussed by the authors argues that the evidence suggests traits have few meaningful impacts on behavior.
Abstract: A major objection to the study of virtue asserts that the empirical psychological evidence implies traits have little meaningful impact on behavior, as slight changes in situational characteristics...
66 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore some general considerations bearing on the question of whether virtue can be measured and what are measurement and evaluation, and what do they presuppose a moral virtue.
Abstract: This article explores some general considerations bearing on the question of whether virtue can be measured. What is moral virtue? What are measurement and evaluation, and what do they presuppose a...
39 citations
TL;DR: The authors argue that the skill analogy needs to be extended to account for the fact that in order to develop fully, phronesis requires direct teaching about the nature of the well-rounded life.
Abstract: Whereas most latter-day Aristotelian approaches to moral education highlight the early habituation phase of moral development, they rarely have much to say, beyond truisms from the Nicomachean ethics, about the ultimate Aristotelian goal of cultivating fully fledged phronesis. The aim of this article is to repair the dearth of attention given to phronesis in moral education circles and to bring considerations from other, but related, discourses (such as general Aristotelian scholarship and wisdom studies in psychology) to bear on it. I pay special attention to the so-called skill analogy, which considers virtue acquisition on par with the acquisition of ordinary practical skills, but argue that current articulations of it fail to account fully for the integrative, as distinct from the constitutive, function of phronesis. I argue that the skill analogy needs to be extended to account for the fact that in order to develop fully, phronesis requires direct teaching about the nature of the well-rounded life, p...
37 citations
TL;DR: The foundational questions "What are you doing?" and "How is it going?" as discussed by the authors elicit answers that illuminate aspects of well-doing, or felicitous action, by directing attention.
Abstract: ‘What are you doing?’ and ‘How is it going?’ are foundational questions we can ask of agents. They elicit answers that illuminate aspects of well-doing, or felicitous action, by directing attention...
35 citations
TL;DR: The neo-Kohlbergian model of moral reasoning as mentioned in this paper is a model that revises and extends Kohlberg's model to better reflect advances in research and theory, and it has been applied to moral reasoning.
Abstract: The neo-Kohlbergian model revises and extends Lawrence Kohlberg’s model of moral reasoning development to better reflect advances in research and theory. In moving from Kohlberg’s global stage mode...
33 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a brief overview of the construct of virtue includes six key elements that can structure virtue assessment design, including social desirability, positive illusions, experience sampling, and experimental procedures.
Abstract: Poor construct definition has characterized research on virtue, beginning with Hartshorne and May’s honesty studies and continuing to the present. Recently, scholars have begun to define virtues in ways that improve the prospects for measuring virtue constructs, but a coordinated, programmatic approach is necessary for success in virtue measurement. A brief overview of the construct of virtue includes six key elements that can structure virtue assessment design. Recent research on the trait/situation problem suggests that situational factors do not obviate traits. Veridicality issues such as social desirability and positive illusions are significant challenges for self-report virtue measurement. In summary self-report measures, these challenges can be met with a number of methods, including directly assessing social desirability and item construction to remove social desirability. These challenges can also be met using other-reports, experience sampling, or experimental procedures. A brief discussion of c...
28 citations
TL;DR: A significant body of literature on citizenship education and youth participation has progressively replaced political participation with other categories such as citizenship participation, communi... as discussed by the authors, which is progressively replacing political participation.
Abstract: A significant body of literature on citizenship education and youth participation has progressively replaced political participation with other categories such as citizenship participation, communi...
26 citations
TL;DR: The authors argue that the question of the proper place for philosophy of education is in the domain of philosophy or education cannot be resolved as long as we think of the connection between philosophy and education in terms of the idea of "philosophy of education".
Abstract: In this article, I suggest that the question whether the proper place for philosophy of education is in the domain of philosophy or the domain of education cannot be resolved as long as we think of the connection between philosophy and education in terms of the idea of ‘philosophy of education’. To substantiate this point, I look into the history of the idea of ‘philosophy of education’, both as a general idea and with regard to the way in which it became institutionalised in universities in the English-speaking world. I contrast this with the way in which the academic study of education developed in German-speaking countries in order to highlight that ‘philosophy of education’ is not the only way in which philosophy and education can be connected. Being aware that the connection between philosophy and education can be made differently not only provides a way out of the discussion about the proper identity and location of philosophy of education, but also hints at forms of philosophically informed scholarship that are more firmly based with the academic field of education rather than that they remain a halfway house in between philosophy and education.
19 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors consider whether more school choices necessarily translate into more robust parental involvement, by chronicling for 5 years both the opportunities for and barriers to engagement that parents encountered in the Clarksville School District as it underwent a significant period of reform.
Abstract: Implementing school choice programs and bolstering parental engagement are both frequently touted as critical steps in improving educational outcomes in US schools Many policy makers contend that by providing parents with more schooling options for their children, parents will become more involved in their children’s education, resulting in better and more equitable opportunities The authors consider whether more school choices necessarily translate into more robust parental involvement, by chronicling for 5 years both the opportunities for and barriers to engagement that parents encountered in the Clarksville School District as it underwent a significant period of reform The authors conclude that school choice does not always have a positive impact on parental engagement, and engagement in turn does not always translate into better or more equitable opportunities In some cases, increased choice may present additional challenges to parents as they struggle to find accurate information, weigh a variety
17 citations
TL;DR: In this article, an alternative assessment instrument called the Sphere-S... is described, which is based on the Defining Issues Test (DIT2) and is used for ethics assessment.
Abstract: The ethics assessment industry is currently dominated by the second version of the Defining Issues Test (DIT2). In this article, we describe an alternative assessment instrument called the Sphere-S...
TL;DR: For years now, public education, and especially public higher education, has been under attack. Funding has been drastically reduced, fees increased, and the seemingly irresistible political force of ever-tightening austerity budgets threatens to cut it even more.
Abstract: For years now, public education, and especially public higher education, has been under attack. Funding has been drastically reduced, fees increased, and the seemingly irresistible political force of ever-tightening austerity budgets threatens to cut it even more. But I am not going to take the standard line that government financial support for public higher education should be increased. I view that battle as already lost. What I am going to propose is that we stop arguing about the allocation or reallocation of ever more scarce public resources and think of another way to fund public higher education. It is time for a new approach, one that satisfies the left’s claim that higher education should be affordable for all, yet one that does not involve increasing the expenditure of public funds or committing the government to entitlement programs that it cannot now or at least cannot long afford. What we need is a new proposal that is acceptable to both sides if we are to bring public education into the twe...
TL;DR: The authors argue that a Wittgensteinian-inspired approach to philosophy of education is particularly valuable for teachers today and build upon the analogy and suggest that philosophers of education resist totalizing approaches to their field.
Abstract: Philosophers of education regularly undertake the challenging task of defining their field and what it is they do. John White and Harvey Siegel are no exception: Siegel categorizes philosophy of education as a branch of philosophy, and White responds that philosophers of education would do better to adopt a Deweyan perspective. White claims that philosophy of education is not a sui generis area of philosophy. It does not engage timeless philosophical questions, but draws heavily from ethics and epistemology (and other fields) to address contemporary developments in education. Contrary to White, I view philosophy of education and aesthetics as analogous and, building upon the analogy, suggest that philosophers of education resist totalizing approaches to their field. To this end, I argue that a Wittgensteinian-inspired approach to philosophy of education is particularly valuable for teachers today.
TL;DR: The authors argue for a closer engagement and collaboration of philosophy of education with other forms of educational research, maintaining the distinctiveness of philosophical questions rather than seeing the philosophical contribution melt into a generic body of theorizing.
Abstract: This essay takes up John White’s argument for an engagement and collaboration of philosophy of education with other disciplines, and in particular with other forms of educational research. It examines the benefits and risks of ‘situated’ or ‘embedded’ philosophy as well as Hannah Arendt’s claims about the separation of philosophy from the public world in which people speak and act. Taking the example of the Canadian context, the essay argues for philosophy of education that works with other disciplines to address pressing educational issues distinctive to Canada, notably the educational recognition and success of Canada’s Indigenous people. The essay closes with the caution that a closer engagement and collaboration of philosophers of education with other forms of educational research should maintain the distinctiveness of philosophical questions rather than seeing the philosophical contribution melt into a generic body of ‘theorizing’.
TL;DR: The quality of parenting is a crucial factor in children's school success, and yet the schools teach almost nothing about parenting as mentioned in this paper, yet the quality of parent-child relationships is a critical factor for children's success.
Abstract: The quality of parenting is a crucial factor in children’s school success, and yet the schools teach almost nothing about parenting. This essay suggests ways in which we can teach about parenting w...
TL;DR: In this paper, the necessity for teachers in science, having philosophical competence and using it to inform their professional life in their class has been discussed, focusing on the necessity of teachers in just one discipline area, namely, science.
Abstract: This article concentrates on the necessity for teachers in just one discipline area, namely, science, having philosophical competence and using it to inform their professional life – in their class...
TL;DR: The relationship between philosophy of education and education policy and research has been examined in this article, concluding that philosophers of education committed to realizing a Deweyian form of democratic education will most likely be stymied.
Abstract: This article largely agrees with John White’s characterizations of the relationships among philosophy of education, philosophy more generally, and the conventional world. It then extends what White identifies as the fundamental problem that should now be occupying philosophy of education – the irreconcilable opposition between education for Smithian efficiency and education for Deweyian democracy – to an analysis of the relationship between philosophy of education and education policy and research. It concludes that philosophers of education committed to realizing a Deweyian form of democratic education will most likely be stymied.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors reflect on different conceptions of educational philosophy, their strengths and weaknesses, and the received view, delineated by RS Peters, John White's recent radically practical conception is critically assessed.
Abstract: This article reflects on different conceptions of educational philosophy, their strengths and weaknesses. Against the backdrop of major alternatives, and the received view, delineated by RS Peters, John White’s recent radically practical conception is critically assessed. Notwithstanding a pluralist answer to the question ‘What is, can or ought philosophy of education to be?’, the article advocates the asymmetrical dependence of all other conceptions upon the analytic conception of educational philosophy as the primus inter pares the first among equals.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors consider both relevant values and empirical facts in education policy decisions and conclude that "values tell us what we have to be concerned with and what we should be concerned about".
Abstract: Education policy decisions are both normatively and empirically challenging. These decisions require the consideration of both relevant values and empirical facts. Values tell us what we have reaso...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors evaluate the characterization and urge the maintenance of a strong connection between philosophy of education and philosophy, and argue that it is important to maintain the connection between the two.
Abstract: John White offers a provocative characterization of philosophy of education. In this brief reaction, I evaluate the characterization and urge the maintenance of a strong connection between philosophy of education and philosophy.