•  508
    The concepts of autonomy and of critical thinking play a central role in many contemporary accounts of the aims of education. This book analyses their relationship to each other and to education, exploring their roles in mortality and politics before examining the role of critical thinking in fulfilling the educational aim of preparing young people for autonomy. The author analyses different senses of the terms 'autonomy' and 'critical thinking' and the implications for education. Implications o…Read more
  •  203
    Christopher Winch launches a vigorous Wittgensteinian attack on both the "romantic" Rousseauian and the "scientific" cognitivist traditions in learning theory. These two schools, he argues, are more closely related than is commonly realized.
  •  155
    Ryle on knowing how and the possibility of vocational education
    Journal of Applied Philosophy 26 (1): 88-101. 2009.
    abstract Ryle's claim that knowing how is distinct from knowing that is defended from critics like Stanley and Williamson and Snowdon. However, the way in which Ryle himself deploys this distinction is problematic. By effectively dismissing the idea that systematic propositional knowledge has a significant bearing on knowledge how, Ryle implicitly supports a view of vocational education that favours narrow notions of skill and associated training over knowledge informed occupational practice of …Read more
  •  108
    Philosophy of Education: The Key Concepts
    with John Gingell
    Routledge. 1999.
    This new edition of _Philosophy of Education: The Key Concepts_ is an easy to use A-Z guide summarizing all the key terms, ideas and issues central to the study of educational theory today. Fully updated, the book is cross-referenced throughout and contains pointers to further reading, as well as new entries on such topics as: Citizenship and Civic Education Liberalism Capability Well-being Patriotism Globalisation Open-mindedness Creationism and Intelligent Design. Comprehensive and authoritati…Read more
  •  107
    Learning how to learn: A critique
    Journal of Philosophy of Education 42 (3-4): 649-665. 2008.
    The claim that 'learning how to learn' is the central ability required for young people to be effective 'lifelong learners' is examined for various plausible interpretations. It is vacuous if taken to mean that we need to acquire a capacity to learn, since we necessarily have this if we are to learn anything. The claim that it is a specific ability is then looked at. Once again, if we acquire an ability to learn we do not need the ability to learn how to learn. After noting the implausibility of…Read more
  •  106
    In a clear and lively manner, this new reference explains all of the essential concepts used in contemporary and modern philosophy of education. It also provides invaluable background on the classic educational philosophy texts of Rousseau, Plato and others--readers will find coverage of seminal views on teaching, learning and indoctrination as well as such contemporary concepts as postmodernism, markets and school effectiveness . Students, researchers and anyone interested in contemporary educa…Read more
  •  90
    The economic aims of education
    Journal of Philosophy of Education 36 (1). 2002.
    This article explains and defends the idea that economic aims of education are as legitimate as any other, particularly liberal, aims. A particular conception of education is developed, which involves a significant vocational aspect, with two aims: individual fulfilment through employment and social well-being through economic prosperity. This account is to be contrasted both with training, which may be an essential component of education but which is not to be identified with it, and also with …Read more
  •  74
    Vocational Education, Knowing How and Intelligence Concepts
    Journal of Philosophy of Education 44 (4): 551-567. 2010.
    Debates about the nature of practical knowledge and its relationship with declarative knowledge have, over the last ten years, been lively. Relatively little has, however, been written about the educational implications of these debates, particularly about the educational implications of the two broad families of positions known respectively as ‘Intellectualism’ and ‘Anti-intellectualism’. Neither has much appeared in the literature about what Ryle called ‘intelligence epithets’ or evaluative el…Read more
  •  72
    Quality and Education
    Wiley-Blackwell. 1996.
    This book addresses major debates about quality in education, the role of the state and the nature of accountability in the public services, in philosophical and political arenas. It engages with major philosophical discussions, drawing out the relevant policy issues
  •  58
    Apprenticeship and applied theoretical knowledge
    with Linda Clarke
    Educational Philosophy and Theory 36 (5). 2004.
  •  56
    This article discusses three related aspects of know-how: skill, transversal abilities and project management abilities, which are often not distinguished within either the educational or the philosophical literature. Skill or the ability to perform tasks is distinguished from possession of technique which is a necessary but not sufficient condition for possession of a skill. The exercise of skill, contrary to much opinion, usually involves character aspects of agency. Skills usually have a soci…Read more
  •  53
    Curriculum Design and Epistemic Ascent
    Journal of Philosophy of Education 47 (1): 128-146. 2013.
    Three kinds of knowledge usually recognised by epistemologists are identified and their relevance for curriculum design is discussed. These are: propositional knowledge, know-how and knowledge by acquaintance. The inferential nature of propositional knowledge is argued for and it is suggested that propositional knowledge in fact presupposes the ability to know how to make appropriate inferences within a body of knowledge, whether systematic or unsystematic. This thesis is developed along lines s…Read more
  •  48
    Vocational education? A liberal interpretation
    Studies in Philosophy and Education 14 (4): 401-415. 1995.
  •  47
    Work, the aims of life and the aims of education: A reply to Clarke and Mearman
    Journal of Philosophy of Education 38 (4). 2004.
    The main points made by Clarke and Mearman about Winch's article ‘The Economic Aims of Education’ are taken up and discussed. My argument is that work is not necessarily a disutility, although paid employment can be when it is undertaken in conditions that are not fulfilling. Life aims are not the same as educational aims, although educational aims (as opposed to specific curricular aims) are life aims, and can include vocational preparation, a position endorsed in the later writings of R. S. Pe…Read more
  •  42
    Representation and education: Reply to McKenzie
    Educational Philosophy and Theory 34 (3). 2002.
  •  42
    Introduction
    with John Gingell
    Educational Philosophy and Theory 36 (5). 2004.
  •  41
    Assessing Professional Know‐How
    Journal of Philosophy of Education 50 (4): 554-572. 2016.
    This article considers how professional knowledge should be assessed. It is maintained that the assessment of professional know-how raises distinctive issues from the assessment of know-how more generally. Intellectualist arguments which suggest that someone's giving an account of how to F should suffice for attributing to them knowledge of how to F are set out. The arguments fail to show that there is no necessary distinction between two kinds of know-how, namely the ability to F and knowing th…Read more
  •  41
    Occupational identity and vocational education
    Educational Philosophy and Theory 35 (1). 2003.
    No abstract
  •  40
    Innatism, Concept Formation, Concept Mastery and Formal Education
    Journal of Philosophy of Education 49 (4): 539-556. 2015.
    This article will consider the claim that the possession of concepts is innate rather than learned. Innatism about concept learning is explained through consideration of the work of Fodor and Chomsky. First, an account of concept formation is developed. Second the argument against the claim that concepts are learned through the construction of a learning paradox developed by Fodor is considered. It is argued that, despite initial plausibility, the learning paradox is not, in fact, a paradox at a…Read more
  •  40
    The representational theory of learning and its pedagogic relevance
    Educational Philosophy and Theory 29 (2). 1997.
    j.1469-5812.1997.tb00021.x
  •  39
    David Carr's account of the nature of professional work is described and examined. It is argued that Carr's criteria for distinguishing between professional and non–professional work are not adequate. The criteria are as follows: the professions’ essential role in promoting human flourishing; their contestability; their direct concern for the well–being of clients; their provision of a high degree of autonomy for practitioners. They do not mark out a qualitative difference between professions an…Read more
  •  37
    Various attempts to specify the nature of professions in general and of teaching in particular in relation to the knowledge that is needed for practice are considered. It is argued that there is no epistemic or moral criterion of professionalism that will sustain the claim of teaching to be a profession. The nature of teachers' knowledge is examined and the relationship between theory and application is seen to be both crucial to and problematic in our understanding of the nature of teachers' wo…Read more
  •  37
    Curriculum Design and Epistemic Ascent
    Journal of Philosophy of Education 46 (4): 128-146. 2012.
    Three kinds of knowledge usually recognised by epistemologists are identified and their relevance for curriculum design is discussed. These are: propositional knowledge, know-how and knowledge by acquaintance. The inferential nature of propositional knowledge is argued for and it is suggested that propositional knowledge in fact presupposes the ability to know how to make appropriate inferences within a body of knowledge, whether systematic or unsystematic. This thesis is developed along lines s…Read more
  •  36
    The role of critique in philosophy of education: Its subject matter and its ambiguities
    with Frieda Heyting
    Journal of Philosophy of Education 38 (3). 2004.
    The role of critique in the Anglophone analytical tradition of philosophy of education is outlined and some of its shortcomings are noted, particularly its apparent claim to methodological objectivity in arriving at what are clearly contestable positions about the normative basis of education. Many of these issues can be seen to have a long history within European, and especially German, philosophy of education. In the light of this the discussion moves on to a consideration of similarities and …Read more
  •  36
    Learning the virtues at work
    Ethics and Education 5 (2): 173-185. 2010.
    An influential view of education is that it prepares young people for adult life, usually in the areas of civic engagement, leisure and contemplation. Employment may be a locus for learning some worthwhile skills and knowledge, but it is not itself the possible locus or one of the possible loci of a worthwhile life. This article disputes that view by drawing attention to those aspects of employment that make it potentially an aspect of a worthwhile life. The exercise and development of one's abi…Read more
  •  33
    Vocational and Civic Education: Whither British Policy?
    Journal of Philosophy of Education 46 (4): 603-618. 2012.
    The current crisis in British VET (Vocational Education and Training) is explained in terms of the decline of opportunities beyond preparation for university for young people after school. The continuing large numbers of ‘NEETS’ (those not in employment, education or training) is but one aspect of this problem: much larger is the decline in good quality VET opportunities for those who do not intend to go to university. A very important element in the problem is a misunderstanding of the relation…Read more
  •  33
    Professional Knowledge, Expertise and Perceptual Ability
    Journal of Philosophy of Education 51 (3): 673-688. 2017.
  •  33
    Is Educational Research Any Use?
    with John Gingell
    Studies in Philosophy and Education 25 (1): 77-91. 2006.
    We begin by examining the widespread scepticism about the value of empirical educational research that is found within sections of the philosophy of education community. We argue that this scepticism, in its strongest form, is incoherent as it suggests that there are no educational facts susceptible of discovery. On the other hand, if there are such facts, then commonsense is not an adequate way of accessing them, due to its own contested and variable nature. We go on to examine the claim that t…Read more
  •  32
    Ability, intelligence and practical education
    Journal of Philosophy of Education 22 (1). 1988.
    Christopher Winch; Ability, Intelligence and Practical Education, Journal of Philosophy of Education, Volume 22, Issue 1, 30 May 2006, Pages 35–45, https://doi.