-
207The Gender Wars, Academic Freedom and EducationJournal of Philosophy of Education 55 (1): 55-82. 2021.Philosophical arguments regarding academic freedom can sometimes appear removed from the real conflicts playing out in contemporary universities. This paper focusses on a set of issues at the front line of these conflicts, namely, questions regarding sex, gender and gender identity. We document the ways in which the work of academics has been affected by political activism around these questions and, drawing on our respective disciplinary expertise as a sociologist and a philosopher, elucidate t…Read more
-
220How can universities promote academic freedom? Insights from the front line of the gender warsImpact 2022 (27): 2-61. 2022.The UK Government's Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill is currently progressing through Parliament. The bill is designed to strengthen free speech and academic freedom in higher education, in response to what former Education Secretary Gavin Williamson describes as ‘the rise of intolerance and cancel culture upon our campuses’. But is there really a crisis of academic freedom in British universities?To see that there is, say Judith Suissa and Alice Sullivan, we need only look at the conte…Read more
-
10Philosophical Reflections on Child Poverty and EducationStudies in Philosophy and Education 42 (1): 49-63. 2023.The harmful effects of Covid 19 on children living in poverty have refocused attention on the complex nature of child poverty and the vexed question of its relationship to education. The paper examines a tension at the heart of much discussion of child poverty and education. On the one hand, education is often regarded as essential for children’s flourishing and a means by which children can “escape” poverty; yet on the other hand, education systems, institutions, and practices, often reflect an…Read more
-
6Education, philosophy and well-being: new perspectives on the work of John White (edited book)Routledge. 2015.John White is one of the leading philosophers of education currently working in the Anglophone world. Since first joining the London Institute of Education in 1965, he has made significant contributions to the landscape of the discipline through his teaching, research and numerous publications. His academic work encompasses a broad range of rich philosophical issues, ranging from questions surrounding the child's mind, through the moral and pedagogical obligations of teachers and schools, to loc…Read more
-
Integral education and Pring's liberal vocationalismIn Michael Hand & Richard Davies (eds.), Education, Ethics and Experience: Essays in Honour of Richard Pring, Routledge. 2015.
-
1Writing Philosophically About the Parent-Child RelationshipIn Amanda Fulford & Naomi Hodgson (eds.), Philosophy and Theory in Educational Research: Writing in the Margin, Routledge. 2016.
-
11Creating and sustaining democratic spaces in educationJournal of Philosophy of Education 56 (6): 939-942. 2022.This article explores the context for the accompanying suite of papers on creating and sustaining democratic spaces in education. Prompted by the centenary of Summerhill, the internationally famous democratic school founded in Suffolk, England, in 1921, by A.S. Neill, this collection of papers explores and broadens out the central questions at the heart of experiments in democratic education. We suggest that, at a time of distrust in and questioning of the central institutions of democratic gove…Read more
-
6Multiculturalism and DiversityIn Ann Chinnery, Nuraan Davids, Naomi Hodgson, Kai Horsthemke, Viktor Johansson, Dirk Willem Postma, Claudia W. Ruitenberg, Paul Smeyers, Christiane Thompson, Joris Vlieghe, Hanan Alexander, Joop Berding, Charles Bingham, Michael Bonnett, David Bridges, Malte Brinkmann, Brian A. Brown, Carsten Bünger, Nicholas C. Burbules, Rita Casale, M. Victoria Costa, Brian Coyne, Renato Huarte Cuéllar, Stefaan E. Cuypers, Johan Dahlbeck, Suzanne de Castell, Doret de Ruyter, Samantha Deane, Sarah J. DesRoches, Eduardo Duarte, Denise Egéa, Penny Enslin, Oren Ergas, Lynn Fendler, Sheron Fraser-Burgess, Norm Friesen, Amanda Fulford, Heather Greenhalgh-Spencer, Stefan Herbrechter, Chris Higgins, Pádraig Hogan, Katariina Holma, Liz Jackson, Ronald B. Jacobson, Jennifer Jenson, Kerstin Jergus, Clarence W. Joldersma, Mark E. Jonas, Zdenko Kodelja, Wendy Kohli, Anna Kouppanou, Heikki A. Kovalainen, Lesley Le Grange, David Lewin, Tyson E. Lewis, Gerard Lum, Niclas Månsson, Christopher Martin & Jan Masschelein (eds.), International Handbook of Philosophy of Education, Springer Verlag. pp. 833-849. 2018.This chapter explores how different orientations within philosophy of education are reflected in the ways in which philosophers of education have engaged with multiculturalism. I discuss some central themes – including recognition, integration and the ideal of the common school – that have been addressed by philosophers of education writing on issues of multiculturalism and diversity. Focusing mainly on the analytic/Anglophone tradition, I consider the ways in which a rigorous philosophical enga…Read more
-
12'From the margins’: Exploring the marginalisation, exclusion and oppression of overlooked groups in philosophy of educationInternational Journal of Educational Research 99. 2020.
-
26Education and Non-domination: Reflections from the Radical TraditionStudies in Philosophy and Education 38 (4): 359-375. 2019.This paper explores the implications of a radical republican conception of freedom as non-domination, rooted in the anarchist tradition. In discussing both the non-statist theoretical frameworks and the practical educational experiments associated with this tradition, I suggest that it can add a valuable dimension to recent critical work in philosophy of education that draws on the republican idea of freedom as non-domination.
-
26Minimal utopianism in the classroomEducational Philosophy and Theory 51 (3): 286-297. 2018.In this paper, we build on recent work on the role of the ‘utopian pedagogue’ to explore how utopian thinking can be developed within contemporary higher education institutions. In defending a utopian orientation on the part of HE lecturers, we develop the notion of ‘minimal utopianism’; a notion which, we suggest, expresses the difficult position of critical educators concerned to offer their students the tools with which to imagine and explore alternatives to current social and political reali…Read more
-
12EditorialEthics and Education 13 (1): 1-3. 2018.In this paper, I argue that the notion of ‘reasonableness’ that is, for many, at the heart of the Philosophy for Children approach particularly and education for democratic citizenship more broadly, is constituted within the epistemology of ‘white ignorance’ and operates in such a way that it is unlikely to transgress the boundaries of white ignorance so as to view it from without. Drawing on scholarship in critical legal studies and social epistemology, I highlight how notions of reasonableness…Read more
-
5Lessons from a New Science? On Teaching Happiness in SchoolsJournal of Philosophy of Education 42 (3-4): 575-590. 2008.Recent media reports about new programmes for ‘happiness lessons’ in schools signal a welcome concern with children’s well-being. However, as I shall argue, the presuppositions of the discourse in which many of these proposals are framed, and their orientation towards particular strands of positive psychology, involve ideas about human life that are, in an important sense, anti-educational.
-
3Shovelling Smoke? The Experience of Being a Philosopher on an Educational Research Training ProgrammeJournal of Philosophy of Education 40 (4): 547-562. 2006.This paper is a reflective account of the experience of designing and teaching a philosophy module as part of a research training programme for students studying for research degrees in education. In the course of the discussion, I address various problems and questions to do with the relationship between philosophy and educational research, the nature of philosophy of education and the role of the foundational disciplines in educational research.
-
25Dissenting voices: A reply to MaskellJournal of Philosophy of Education 34 (2). 2000.Duke Maskell ( Journal of Philosophy of Education, 32.2) argues that ‘our idea of education is puerile’ and that we need to rethink it. Drawing on the work of Jane Austen, he essentially reasserts the classic nineteenth-century ideal of Liberal Education. Yet in so doing, Maskell fails to acknowledge the social and political implications of this ideal. I argue that if we wish to engage in a rigorous philosophical debate on education, we cannot afford to ignore the social and political context im…Read more
-
43The question of 'parenting'Ethics and Education 6 (2): 101-108. 2011.Ethics and Education, Volume 6, Issue 2, Page 101-108, July 2011
-
11Reflections on the “Counter” in Educational CounterpublicsEducational Theory 66 (6): 769-786. 2016.In this essay, Judith Suissa draws on the tradition of radical and alternative education, and on some philosophical literature on democratic politics and the role of the political imagination, in order to suggest some ways of thinking about what constitutes an educational counterpublic that are different from those suggested in recent work by philosophers of education. Building on arguments by Nancy Fraser and others about the vital role of counterpublics in the political life of democracies, Su…Read more
-
18Borrelli, mill, Emily and meJournal of Philosophy of Education 38 (3). 2004.In this paper, I explore the insights suggested by Michele Borrelli's ‘The Utopianisation of Critique’ in the context of a real-life educational encounter that involves an attempt at being ‘critical’. Borrelli's observation that all positive utopian critique implies an inevitable degree of dogmatism takes on a new—and less depressing—significance when examined in the light of such an encounter. Acknowledging the tensions suggested by Borelli's analysis is, I argue, what makes a particular educat…Read more
-
30Private Schools, Choice And The Ethical EnvironmentBritish Journal of Educational Studies 61 (3): 345-362. 2013.ABSTRACT In this paper, we consider the relationship between the existence of private schools and public attitudes towards questions about educational provision. Data from the 2010 British Social Attitudes survey suggest that parents who choose to send children to private schools may become more entrenched in their support for more extensive forms of parental partiality, with potential ramifications for the future supporting of progressive education policy. We suggest that addressing questions a…Read more
-
106Teaching and Doing Philosophy of Education: The Question of StyleStudies in Philosophy and Education 27 (2): 185-195. 2008.This paper explores the practice of teaching philosophy, and particularly philosophy of education, in a higher education context. Starting from a critical discussion of some of the literature on teaching and learning in higher education, I introduce the notions of philosophical style and temperament and suggest that exploring these notions, the problems they raise, and their implications for issues to do with our own identity as philosophers and as teachers, can enrich our understanding of the p…Read more
-
4Dissenting Voices: a Reply to Maskcll1Journal of Philosophy of Education 34 (2): 369-375. 2000.Duke Maskell ( Journal of Philosophy of Education, 32.2) argues that ‘our idea of education is puerile’ and that we need to rethink it. Drawing on the work of Jane Austen, he essentially reasserts the classic nineteenth-century ideal of Liberal Education. Yet in so doing, Maskell fails to acknowledge the social and political implications of this ideal. I argue that if we wish to engage in a rigorous philosophical debate on education, we cannot afford to ignore the social and political context im…Read more
-
56What All Parents Need to Know? Exploring the Hidden Normativity of the Language of Developmental Psychology in ParentingJournal of Philosophy of Education 46 (3): 352-369. 2012.In this article we focus on how the language of developmental psychology shapes our conceptualisations and understandings of childrearing and of the parent-child relationship. By analysing some examples of contemporary research, policy and popular literature on parenting and parenting support in the UK and Flanders, we explore some of the ways in which normative assumptions about parenthood and upbringing are imported into these areas through the language of developmental psychology. We go on to…Read more
-
15Seducing Souls: Education and the Experience of Human Well‐BeingEducational Theory 65 (1): 73-78. 2015.
-
Borrelli, Mill, Emily and MeJournal of Philosophy of Education 38 (3): 455-465. 2004.In this paper, I explore the insights suggested by Michele Borrelli’s ‘The Utopianisation of Critique’ in the context of a real-life educational encounter that involves an attempt at being ‘critical’. Borrelli’s observation that all positive utopian critique implies an inevitable degree of dogmatism takes on a new—and less depressing—significance when examined in the light of such an encounter. Acknowledging the tensions suggested by Borelli’s analysis is, I argue, what makes a particular educat…Read more
-
65Untangling the mother knot: some thoughts on parents, children and philosophers of educationEthics and Education 1 (1): 65-77. 2006.Although children and parents often feature in philosophical literature on education, the nature of the parent–child relationship remains occluded by the language of rights, duties and entitlements. Likewise, talk of ‘parenting’ in popular literature and culture implies that being a parent is primarily about performing tasks. Drawing on popular literature, moral philosophy and philosophy of education, I make some suggestions towards articulating a richer philosophical conception of this relation…Read more
-
16Testimony, Holocaust Education and Making the Unthinkable ThinkableJournal of Philosophy of Education 50 (2): 285-299. 2016.A great deal of philosophical work has explored the complex conceptual intersection between ethics and epistemology in the context of issues of testimony and belief, and much of this work has significant educational implications. In this paper, I discuss a troubling example of a case of testimony that seems to pose a problem for some established ways of thinking about these issues and that, in turn, suggests some equally troubling educational conclusions.
-
95Lessons from a new science? On teaching happiness in schoolsJournal of Philosophy of Education 42 (3-4): 575-590. 2008.Recent media reports about new programmes for 'happiness lessons' in schools signal a welcome concern with children's well-being. However, as I shall argue, the presuppositions of the discourse in which many of these proposals are framed, and their orientation towards particular strands of positive psychology, involve ideas about human life that are, in an important sense, anti-educational.