P

Pacific Papatuanuku in a Maori Philosophy

of Education
▶ Pasifika
Carl Mika
University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand

Pacific Islands Introduction

▶ Pasifika Maori abstract thought must grapple with the

everyday, concrete realities of life (Marsden
1985), and this dual work is initiated and contin-
ued by the grounded yet mysterious nature of a
primordial entity, Papatuanuku (Earth Mother).
Pacific Peoples Papatuanuku has been attributed with a number
of sublime characteristics; one of these is its basis
▶ Pasifika for philosophy itself (Mika 2016). This entry ana-
lyses that concept and applies it to a specific,
Maori notion of education that turns on the
wellbeing of the self. Of particular relevance
here is Thrupp and Mika’s (2012) interpretation
Paideia of the verb “ako” (teach/learn), which corre-
sponds with the foundational wellbeing that is
▶ Nietzsche and Bildung/Paideia provided by things in the world; moreover,
“ako” is critical in its stance, because as
Thrupp and Mika argue, it resists foreclosing
against the full possibility of things in the
world – a full potential that has already been
Panshophy offered by Papatuanuku. Maori philosophical
thinking hence involves a strong metaphilosophy
▶ Comenius, John Amos (1592–1670) as it seeks to reflect on the speculative exercise

# Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2017

M.A. Peters (ed.), Encyclopedia of Educational Philosophy and Theory,
DOI 10.1007/978-981-287-588-4
1764 Papatuanuku in a Maori Philosophy of Education

that engages with that thinking, including on those with that sort of depiction, in the form of a dia-
limitations that are scribed by Papatuanuku. logue with the representation. Thus, a Maori reac-
tion to Plato and Aristotle, along with their
respective philosophies, is not an incidental one,
The Influence of Papatuanuku on Maori because it is the fact of a dichotomous represen-
Philosophical Thought and Education tation that is especially appealing, not so much
a debate on whether Plato and Aristotle deserve
A Point of Reference: The School of Athens to be represented in such a way or not. What
Maori philosophy retains its own distinctive fla- may be most significant for the Maori thinker in
vor, but it may also make contact with Western this instance is, again, the fact that a less-than-
thought. Occasionally, key individuals from the subtle delineation between sky and earth has
latter are represented in art, and what is suggested been made.
in that genre and its subsequent interpretation can
be equally as fascinating for a Maori discussion as The Importance of Papatuanuku in Maori
the alleged congruence of the illustration with the Philosophical Self-Development
individual’s theories. We can refer briefly here to Vital to a Maori incursion into thinking here is the
two key philosophers – Plato and Aristotle – and manifestation of a problem: in the present case of
their depiction in the well-known fresco The the fresco, an illustration potentially jars with a
School of Athens. What might be most striking Maori metaphysics that would normally prefer to
to the Maori onlooker is that Plato is pointing at assign objects to an interrelationship rather than a
the heavens; Aristotle, in what is generally taken distinction. The speculation that proceeds from
to be a stark contrast, gestures at the earth. that point is consistently influenced by that initial
A common interpretation of the fresco is that it and delicate “shock,” because Maori thought
signifies the essential difference in their philoso- attempts to reintegrate feeling with rational
phies. Aristotle, who played no minor part in the thought (Smith 2000). Feeling, somewhat unusu-
current focus on taxonomies and essences, deals ally for any worldview that prefers rationalism,
with the realm of the present. Plato, on the must be acknowledged as equally important in
other hand, apparently wants an escape from the Maori philosophy because it has a stated geneal-
realm of appearances and urges thinking in ogy with apparently rarefied thought, along with
terms of abstract ideas. The division between other states of being. The upshot for Maori phi-
the two – which, it must be noted, may be losophy is that thought and feeling are inextrica-
exaggerated – has set the path for dominant West- ble; moreover, the thinker must reflect on that
ern propositions about knowledge itself. interconnection as much as the topic at hand. Its
Whether the fresco properly aligns with the full emotional impetus means that the philosopher is
extent of Plato’s and Aristotle’s philosophies is an likely to continue to acknowledge that instinctive
intriguing subject, but it is the “either/or” binary in reaction throughout the work. At the very least,
the interpretation that could be particularly reveal- the philosopher may theorize to themselves that
ing for the Maori philosopher and may signal they were brought to their work by a feeling or an
something prominent for him or her. Importantly, exasperation. This initial prompt is not forgotten
Maori philosophy would not necessarily take the in subsequent arguments, with the Maori philos-
dualistic representation at face value, due to its opher often fluctuating between considering an
own suspicion that binaries are not reflected so issue on its own rational terms and suddenly refer-
simplistically in the natural face of the world. ring to that very first, sometimes irrational,
A Maori worldview would note with interest, impetus.
though, the possibility that there are vastly differ- The expectation that Maori learning in its
ent ways of interacting with things in the world, broadest sense is most fundamentally linked to a
and the Maori philosopher may wish to engage vulnerable relationship with emotion is
Papatuanuku in a Maori Philosophy of Education 1765

highlighted by Thrupp and Mika (2012). Through Papatuanuku may also be conceived of as
that emotional response, the self learns. “world” in an active sense, and the relationship
Thrupp and Mika note that the current discourse of objects with the perceiving self and
around the term “ako” reduces the term to its more Papatuanuku is highlighted in the following sum-
visible facets of “teaching and learning.” In fact, mation by Raerino (2000):
the term carries with it a sense that far exceeds that
Kai roto i ngā kupu me ngā momo kōrero, waiata,
didactic approach. Alongside its classroom fit, it haka me ngā karakia a te Māori ngā oro o te taiao.
also dictates that one is susceptible to what an Ko ngā oro nei hai tūhono i te ao tangata, ki te ao o
object withholds from view and that one’s role is te wao. Ko ngā momo oro hai tūhono i te ao
to speculate on the interconnection between kikokiko ki te ao wairua, te ira tangata ki te ira
atua. (p. 1)
things, rather than to simply provide a self- Within words and the diversity of talk, songs,
originating definition for them. The self is encour- performance and prayers of the Māori, resides the
aged to explore creative approaches to a thing; in sounds of the world around us. These sounds link
general, teaching and learning with “ako” recog- man to the world of the environment. These sorts of
sounds connect the bodily realm to the spiritual
nizes the highly active links between the specula- realm, the intrinsic humanness to the intrinsic god-
tive self and what appears to be the object of liness. (author’s translation)
thought.
This responsive mode of thinking illustrates Sounds here are not just audible waves, but in a
that there is something involved that transcends Maori sense can be thought of as requests or
pure, rational thought. Let us turn here to the intimations made between the seemingly external
fresco’s more substantive suggestion that thinking world and the self (and vice versa). With this
either takes place by ignoring or embracing the consistent metaphysical relationship, thought is
world of appearances in some measure. Maori more complex than the fresco would suggest.
constantly reference two central metaphysically Philosophical thought lends itself traditionally to
vital phenomena in their oratory – Papatuanuku grasping the Platonic forms, to a glance upwards.
(Earth Mother) and Ranginui (Sky Father). Their Most tellingly, it is sometimes termed “blue sky
English glosses, it should be noted, suffice for thinking.” It is hence a kind of inquiry that feels
concise translation but do not do justice to the inherently different to its other, more empirical,
depth of their sense. Both phenomena were orig- approach. But instead of looking up into the
inally joined but were thrust apart, and thus they heavens, as if the earth is to be avoided, the P
appear to be separate. However, both are still Maori philosopher’s gaze is more multifaceted
joined in some ways even if not physically, with and thought is directed and continued by both
their initial symbiosis persisting in each other in Ranginui and Papatuanuku. It is at once both
much the same way as an original, emotional concrete and obscure. Thinking is not as rarefied
impetus for thought does for the Maori philoso- as Plato would have it, nor should it be as utterly
pher. Papatuanuku in particular has received a “in the visible world” as Aristotle wants it. From a
great deal of coverage in Maori literature, perhaps Maori perspective, the pointing upwards that is
because her equivalence with “earth” renders her meant to signify an escape from what could fool
more tangible. She has also been equated with the self is only permissible because of the fact of
“the infinite” (Marsden 2003, p. 22) and is the those entities to begin with. The knowing subject
mysterious backdrop or nurturing force for land that is “above” entities is never fully free of the
(“whenua,” which simultaneously means “after- world, even though he or she appears to be;
birth”). All human activity takes place within the instead, those entities continue to reside with the
horizon of Ranginui and Papatuanuku, which are Maori philosopher as he or she moves to where
responsible for the manifestation of all things. The Plato dictates in order to philosophize. The Maori
self is one element among many that are initiated philosopher stays firmly within the earth while
and sustained by Ranginui and Papatuanuku. ascending elsewhere.
1766 Papatuanuku in a Maori Philosophy of Education

Conceptual Notions of “Earth” Within “Ako” proposes that the environment “moves
Education towards us” (Thrupp and Mika, p. 210), with the
self responding. Thought, when assessed against
This position makes perfect sense when we do the active process that “ako” dictates, is not out-
consider that Papatuanuku’s conceptual impetus is side of the influence of those more earthbound
locatable in its notion as “ground.” One distinctive things, as they have been initiated by the ongoing
discipline of thought that has emerged since the and active influence of Papatuanuku. The
early 1990s, in written form at least, is kaupapa inescapability of the earth for the Maori thinker
Maori. The term “kaupapa” contains to it an abbre- is also reflected in yet another term that has cer-
viation of “Papatuanuku” – “papa” – and is hence tainly suffered in translation. The sort of
constituted by Papatuanuku, with Charles Royal “groundedness” that is suggested in the term
(2008) stating that: “whakapapa” and its association with “papa” is
not commensurate with its English linguistic and
Nā, mō te kupu ‘papa’, he kupu nui tēnei i te reo
Māori . . .. He tikanga nui hoki i roto, ā, e takea
conceptual equivalent, “genealogy.” “Genealogy”
katoatia ana i a Papatuanuku. Arā, ahakoa puta ai as a translation is perhaps more reminiscent of a
tēnei kupu ki whea, kei te takea mai i a sequential display of different “grounds” rather
Papatuanuku, ka tū rānei a Papatuanuku hei tauira than an active and persistent “grounding” that
mō te whakaputanga o te kupu ‘papa’ nei. (p. 68)
And so, the word ‘papa’ is an important one in
“papa” depicts. It is true that whakapapa does
the Maori language. It contains to it some vital denote a relationship between all things in the
philosophical aspects; these are fully undergirded world, but what is more intriguing about the
with Papatuanuku. That is, regardless of where this term is the role of the earth as a conceptual ground
word emerges, it has its basis in Papatuanuku, or
Papatuanuku stands within the sign of ‘papa’.
in thought. “Whakapapa,” read as an active con-
(author’s translation) cept, depicts the “becoming” (“whaka”) of a
ground (“papa”) throughout all things in the
Kaupapa Maori is a theoretical body of work, world (Mika 2011). This ground for a Maori phi-
or a research method, that seeks to address colo- losopher may be one that involves a given capac-
nization and reclaim Maori autonomy. In the vast ity to reflect on other things in the world: it
majority of cases, it is positioned as a Maori “becomes” in the sense that it provides a fluidly
ground for social, human-centered activity, but speculative approach to the nature of all things.
its metaphysical congruence with a ground “Ako” in this case, as a possibility for a learning
beyond the human self deserves to be reiterated process, is associated with this ground to the
here. “Papa” may be thought of here as the con- extent that this ground draws one’s attention to
ceptual soil for a relationship with an idea. The one thing as it relates to all other things. The self
“papa” element of that practice is responsible for then reflects on both the thing in itself and that
thinking, because it is the ground that endures in relationship. The “becoming” that is alluded to
all cases. It shows itself in Thrupp and Mika’s here is a subtle irruption into the self’s perception,
“ako” to the extent that it draws the Maori learner such that thinking takes place. Again, we can
on to question, inquire, represent, and articulate detect that one is exposed, in the susceptibility
but never fully leaves the thinking process inherent to ako, to the outer world, and that think-
although thought seems to have soared away ing is dependent on the lure of Papatuanuku and
from it. This ground also encourages continual her originary relationship with all things that exist.
thought on the nature of colonization – itself an Maori access to thinking in the learning pro-
educational exercise. It highlights the need to cess is therefore incredibly important, because it
reflect on a potentially unpleasant aspect of exis- needs to take place on its own terms and within the
tence so that the self is formed by a critique: “ako” influence of that intangible interplay between
in its focus on vulnerability is thus congruent with the earth, the earth’s continuous becoming
a speculative glance towards what is antithetic as (“whakapapa”), and its intellectual manifestation
much as pleasant (Thrupp and Mika 2012). through a critique of the base of colonization
Parenting 1767

(“kaupapa”). Maori are not able to freely reflect on References

(and within) that primordial ground described
above, partly because philosophical research in Marsden, M. (1985). God, man and universe: A Maori
view. In M. King (Ed.), Te Ao Hurihuri: The world
general appears to be marginalized and also due
moves on: Aspects of Maoritanga (pp. 143–164).
to the nature of philosophy in schools and univer- Auckland: Longman Paul Ltd.
sities. It is only marginally visible in schools and, Marsden, M. (2003). The woven universe: Selected writ-
although it occupies a privileged position as a ings of Rev. Māori Marsden. Otaki, New Zealand:
Estate of Rev. Māori Marsden.
discerner of first assumptions in university study,
Mika, C. (2011). Unorthodox assistance: Novalis, Māori,
it does not often attract funding to the extent that scientism, and an uncertain approach to ‘whakapapa’.
its empirical counterpart can. It is also character- In N. Franke & C. Mika (Eds.), In die
ized by speculation rather than certain knowledge Natur – Naturphilosophie und Naturpoetik in
Interkultureller Perspektive (pp. 89–108). Wellington:
and is therefore associated with the continual pro-
Goethe Institut.
cess of inquiry rather than a neatly packaged “out- Mika, C. (2016). Papatuanuku/Papa: Some thoughts on the
come.” For Maori, the withdrawal of oppositional grounds of the doctoral experience.
philosophical thought in the academy and in Knowledge Cultures, 4(1), 43–55.
Raerino, H. (2000). Te ku o te kupu (Unpublished Master of
schools represents the recession of Papatuanuku
Arts thesis). University of Waikato, Hamilton. P1.
in the active nature of thought and poses some Royal, T. A. (2008). Te ngākau. Te Whanganui-a-Tara:
serious repercussions for one’s self-formation, Mauriora Ki Te Ao Living Universe Ltd.
which can be equated with “ako” and its emo- Smith, T. (2000). Nga tini ahuatanga o whakapapa korero.
Educational Philosophy and Theory, 32(1), 53–60.
tional and spiritual relationship with things in the
doi:10.1111/j.1469-5812.2000.tb00432.x.
world. Philosophy in a Maori setting is intimately Thrupp, M., & Mika, C. (2012). The politics of teacher
related to the balance of the self with the external development for an indigenous people: Colonising
world, and indeed that world is not so external as it assumptions within Māori education in Aotearoa,
New Zealand. In C. Day (Ed.), The Routledge interna-
constitutes all its individual elements. Maori phi-
tional handbook of teacher and school development
losophy therefore acknowledges that speculation (pp. 204–213). London: Routledge.
about that external world is simultaneously to
inquire into its proper representation and, cru-
cially, the connection of that process of theorizing
with the community’s health. To that extent, a
Maori papa of thought is consonant with the bal- P
ance of the self and the world. Paradigms

▶ Methodological Issues in Science Education

Research
Summary

Maori oratory recognizes and acknowledges the

role of the earth in thought and existence gener-
ally. Learning is not exempt from its influence, Parenthood
because one is immediately underscored by the
earth even as one is moved to represent aspects ▶ Mothers and Mothering in Education
that originate from it. The term Papatuanuku, as
we have seen, shares ontologically in the learning
that is proposed through ako. Both indicate that
the thinking and learning self is at the mercy of a
vast constellation of elements that, in turn, ask that Parenting
speculative self to represent the world with that
complexity in mind. ▶ Mothers and Mothering in Education
1768 Parenting as a Site of Governance in Early Childhood Education

Who Are Pasifika People?

Parenting as a Site of Governance in
Early Childhood Education This entry is focused on Aotearoa/New Zealand’s
perspective of the term “Pasifika.” The umbrella
▶ Incredible Years as a Tool of Governmentality: term “Pasifika” has been used by the New Zealand
A Foucauldian Analysis of an Early Years Parent- government to describe the ethnic makeup of peo-
ing Program ple migrating from the Pacific Islands to Aotearoa/
New Zealand. The origination of the word
Pasifika is from the Niue language. In this entry,
the term “Pasifika” is used interchangeably with
“Pacific,” and Bedford and Didham (2001) state
Parents that the term “Pacific” has been commonly and
widely utilized at all levels of society including
▶ Mothers and Mothering in Education
educators, policy makers, community workers,
the media, and institutions. In fact, the use of the
term has often led to broad generalizations about a
group of people who in fact are extremely diverse.
Participation Many Pasifika people do not solely identify as
saying they are “Pasifika.” Rather, people self-
▶ Dewey and Philosophy of Disability identify with their specific Pasifika ethnic group
▶ Social Imaginaries and Children’s Rights (e.g., Niuean or Tongan or Tuvaluan). With the
different terminologies of Pasifika, (Pacific,
Pasefika, Pasifiki, pan-Pacific, to name but a
few), there has not been one term that has been
consistently used in New Zealand. Pasifika and
Pasifika non-Pasifika people select the term they find most
appropriate and relevant to them to use.
Cherie Chu
Aotearoa/New Zealand is a country that has
Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington,
attracted people from the Pacific Islands over a
New Zealand
long period of time. Macpherson et al. (2001)
identified that at the end of World War II, there
were 2,200 Pasifika people based in Aotearoa/
Synonyms
New Zealand. With the subsequent flow of migra-
tion, Pasifika people were coming to Aotearoa/
Pacific; Pacific Islands; Pacific peoples; Pasifiki
New Zealand for various reasons, such as employ-
ment and education. In the 1950s, the New
Zealand government encouraged a more diverse
Introduction population to become involved in the workforce.
In particular the labor market attracted the flow of
This section covers a description of the term Pasifika people, and it was at this point in time that
“Pasifika” people in New Zealand. Furthermore, the Pasifika population began to change in size
an explanation of the use of the term Pasifika is and sociodemographic character (Macpherson
covered, as it pertains to people’s identities et al. 2001).
through the evolving nature of diasporic move- Similarly, the New Zealand government used
ments. Examples of diaspora include youth and the term “Pacific Islanders” in the early 1980s to
education are also explored. Finally, the section group and to classify New Zealand migrants
ends with coverage on the Rethinking Pacific belonging to various Pasifika ethnic groups under
Education Initiative. one name. In the early 1990s up to the present, this
Pasifika 1769

term has evolved into various names such as island nations in the South Pacific have diverse
“Pacific Islands,” “Pacific nations,” “Pacific peo- cultures, different languages, and various ethnici-
ples,” and “Pasifika” or “Pasefika.” The term ties, which constitute the three most salient fea-
“Pacific” has been commonly and widely utilized tures of its people. In 1820, French explorer
at all levels of society including educators, policy Dumont d’Urville coined the terms “Polynesian,”
makers, community workers, the media, and insti- “Melanesian,” and “Micronesian” to describe and
tutions (Bedford and Didham 2001). to distinguish the Pacific and its inhabitants from
The “Pasifika Education Research Guidelines” the rest of the world. Each “nesian” grouping has
(Anae et al. 2002), developed for the Ministry of distinct characteristics. In breaking down the word
Education in Aotearoa/New Zealand, provides Melanesian, “Melas” refers to black and “nesos”
one definition of Pasifika peoples. At the time of refers to island, encompassing New Guinea, Bis-
development, it made reference to the six Pacific marck Archipelago, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu,
nations, namely, Samoa, Tonga, Niue, Cook New Caledonia, and Fiji. Melanesians make up
Islands, Tokelau, and Fiji. In this context, “Pacific more than three-fourths of the indigenous Pasifika
people” is exclusive of Māori and in the broadest population. Micronesia consists of Palau, Guam,
sense covers peoples from the island nations in the Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of
South Pacific and, in its narrowest sense, Pasifika Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Nauru, and Kiribati.
peoples in Aotearoa/New Zealand. The research Micronesia is one-twentieth of the Pasifika region
guidelines go on to clarify the issue of Pasifika population and to the East of Polynesia is French
people as being a heterogeneous group with dif- Polynesia (Tahiti Islands) and Rapanui or known
ferent inter and intra-ethnic variations in the cul- in the English name of Easter Island.
tures. Variations include New Zealand-born/New Often the question is raised, so who is a Pacific
Zealand-raised, island-born/island-raised Pasifika Islander? Hau’ofa (1994) believed that the ques-
people being recognized as diverse groups. tion does not need to be asked if Oceania is used.
At the time of writing, Pasifika peoples are This was a term coined by the late Professor Epeli
defined as New Zealand residents belonging to Hau’ofa (1994) who pointed to the sea of islands,
the seven Pacific nations, namely, Samoa, Cook being Oceania. The expanded Oceania is exten-
Islands, Tonga, Niue, Fiji, Tokelau, and Tuvalu. sive across the world from Australia and New
There are 265,974 people identified in this ethnic Zealand through to the north to the USA and
grouping, which represents 6.9% of the country’s Canada. Oceania is about a world of people P
total population. As a significant population in connected to one another by the sea.
New Zealand, Pasifika people are a multiethnic Pasifika languages are diverse, with several
group. Diversities exist at specific levels. One of hundred spoken lingua franca across the
these levels is called cultural diversities which Pacific. There is some familiarity with either
refer to differences in language and culture English or French as one or other languages
between all of the Pasifika ethnic groups. Another have been used in virtually all the Pacific Islands.
level is the intra-cultural diversities where differ- In Vanuatu, as well as the lingua franca of
ences are associated with youthful groupings. Bislama, English and French languages are both
Some groups include diversities that are tradi- used due to British and French colonization.
tional in nature and differences between village The people of the Cook Islands, Niue, and
or island heritages. As an example, priority is Tokelau have a free association relationship with
placed on a particular island (e.g., Pukapuka) New Zealand which permits the people of these
over the affiliation to a national birth place (e.g., islands to have New Zealand citizenship, while
Cook Islands). their own country makes their own laws and con-
In a geographical definition, Pasifika people ducts its own affairs. This is one reason why there
are commonly defined by Westerners as people are more Cook Island Maoris, Niueans, and
living in Oceania particularly in the sub-regions of Tokelauans living in New Zealand, than in their
Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia. These home island nations.
1770 Pasifika

Pasifika Diaspora approach which is more and more different from

their elders. New ethnic identities are being
Since the 1950s, Pasifika people have migrated formed especially with the influence of Western
from the Pacific to countries such as New cultures and the high use of the English language.
Zealand, Australia, and the USA. Pasifika people Issues have been associated in describing
live all over the world and are known to be a Pasifika youth identities. There is complexity in
flowing diasporic population. Generations of positioning the Pacific Samoan self in ethnicity
Pasifika people are born outside of their Pacific (Rimoni 2012). The experiences of growing up in
nations, and as a result, many Pasifika youth do a country that does not reinforce the value systems
not know what it is like to grow up on an island. of Pasifika cultures pose challenges for cultural
The onset of diaspora presents certain challenges identity and what it means to be Pasifika. The
such as language maintenance. Pasifika youth are notion of “Pasifika edgewalking” has been used
more likely than their grandparents to grow up by Tupuola (2004) to explain how Pasifika youth
speaking a language that is not their mother “edgewalk” between identities and roles that are
tongue. There are many reasons for Pasifika dias- Pasifika and Western because they are influenced
pora. It is known through Pasifika communities by both cultures. Local and global cultures influ-
that the journey of migrations for Pasifika people ence generations of Pasifika youth which allow
in New Zealand was about obtaining opportunity them to move between cultures or live between
in a land of “milk and honey.” This meant that a two (or more) worlds. In this notion, Pasifika
vision of a better lifestyle and employment for identities are fluid and constantly changing.
their children was highly important. Many Music, fashion, and media come together to influ-
Pasifika parents and families place a high empha- ence the way Pasifika youth represent their iden-
sis on education as a way to obtain qualifications tities which are somewhat different from their
and then go onto well-paid careers. There are elders. The ASB Polyfest, the largest Secondary
other motivational factors for Pasifika migration. School Performing Arts Festival which is run in
Remittances are one of the biggest forms of econ- Auckland, New Zealand each year since 1976,
omy in the Pacific region with families and indi- provides an avenue for Pasifika youth to compete
viduals living away from their islands and as Samoan, Tongan, Niuean, Fijian, Cook Island
working in countries as a means to send money Maori, Tuvaluan, and Tokelauan performers for
back to their families. Educational opportunity their schools. The festival is seen as a competitive
abroad increases the likelihood of earning wages but culture-embracing event that allows for
or salary that is higher than what can be earned in Pasifika youth to learn the cultural practices of
the Pacific. their Pasifika ethnic groups. The 2-day event is
judged by Pasifika elders who are experienced in
the culture and language. The schools and youth
Pasifika Youth spend countless hours preparing and practicing
for the major competition. Pasifika secondary
Generations of youth who have Pasifika heritage school performances extend beyond the city of
are being born in countries that are not their orig- Auckland, which has the highest population of
inal ancestral home country. Pasifika youth make Pasifika youth in New Zealand. Smaller cities in
up over 50% of the Pasifika population which New Zealand are also taking up the Pasifika youth
makes them predominately New Zealand-born performances as an approach to motivating and
Pasifika or Pacific. Because of this reason, it is affirming identities of Pasifika. “Malaga”
often described by commentators in education (or journey) was the name given to a group of
that Pasifika youth are struggling with identity Pasifika students’ cultural show based in Porirua,
formation and conceptualization. Their world- Wellington (Mackley-Crump 2011). Over 900 stu-
views and lifestyles reflect an individualist dents were involved in the show.
Pasifika 1771

Education and Pasifika People Pasifika people, educational services, and the gov-
ernment working together.
For Pasifika people, education is located in formal New Zealand tertiary education includes all
(early childhood education, schools, and tertiary involvement in post-school formal education.
institutions), as well as informal contexts such as This encompasses foundational education (such
the family. Informal learning and education has as adult literacy), certificates and diplomas, bach-
occurred in Pasifika homes and communities for elor degrees, industry training, adult and commu-
many generations and has been perceived as part nity education, and postgraduate qualifications.
of lifelong learning. Lifelong learning has its roots Tertiary education institutes (TEIs) include uni-
in traditional education with Pasifika elders which versities, polytechnics, colleges of education,
enable opportunities for young people and adults Wananga (Maori higher education institution),
to learn specific cultural skills and knowledge. and specialist colleges. In terms of educational
Telling stories is integral to the practices in the performance in higher education, 30.4% repre-
Pacific Islands. This is how Pasifika people have sents Pasifika school leavers with a university
taught one another. This is how specific learning entrance standard and 25.6% corresponds to the
takes place, on certain principles and values. tertiary participation rate of Pasifika students aged
Another institution of learning has been the 18–24 years old. Of the Pasifika students enrolled
church. The church has provided a place for the in tertiary education, 75.6% enrolled in their sec-
mother tongue language with services being spo- ond year, but only 39.9% of Pasifika students were
ken in Tongan, Samoan, Cook Island Maori, able to complete their qualification within 5 years.
Tuvaluan, Tokelauan, or Fijian, as examples. In Of 213,120 Pasifika students, 1500 (0.7%)
New Zealand, early childhood language centers or enrolled in postgraduate-level study. These fig-
nests have been traditionally founded by some of ures show that the educational progress and aca-
the churches and have been designed to support demic achievement of Pasifika students has
Pasifika language maintenance and growth. Typ- slightly and steadily improved compared to pre-
ically, the mothers of the communities have been vious years.
the pioneers of such centers and the educators of
the young children.
The situation of New Zealand Pasifika educa- The Birth of Rethinking Pacific Education
tion has been evident in the inadequate academic Initiative (RPEI) P
achievement rates. The issues are long standing.
For example, 28% of Pacific students left compul- The discourse of educational challenges for
sory education with no formal qualifications in Pasifika people does not only exist in Aotearoa/
1999. As a result of educational challenges, the New Zealand but also out to the Pacific region.
New Zealand government developed the Pasifika But the year 2000 marked a significant change in
Education Plan (PEP) in 2001. The plan was education for the Pacific region. Three key leaders
developed to provide strategic direction for edu- in the Pacific came together literally under an
cators and communities to improve the outcomes umbrella in the pouring rain. Associate Professor
for Pacific students in early childhood education, Kabini Sanga, Professor Konai Helu Thaman, and
the compulsory (primary and secondary) sector, Dr. ‘Ana Taufe’ulungaki were waiting for the rain
and tertiary education. Since 2001, the PEP has to stop, and, as they huddled under the shelter of
been revised and relaunched by the Ministry of the umbrella, they came to a point where they
Education. It was a document reflecting the decided that it was time for some dynamic
changing priorities of Pasifika students and fami- changes in Pasifika education. As a result of the
lies. Further, it was a plan to integrate community umbrella of discussion, the three leaders brought
input and consultation, by recognizing the roles of together other key leaders and educators, Pasifika
the family and community. The plan was about and Maori, in a colloquium to begin the rethinking
1772 Pasifiki

of Pasifika education. From the colloquium, par- education. Suva: Institute of Education, University of
ticipants began to identify the issues, challenges, the South Pacific.
Rimoni, F. (2012). Identity and its relationship to place. In
needs, and areas of attention for their Pacific K. Sanga & J. Kidman (Eds.), Harvesting ideas: Niu
countries. Papers were produced and edited into generation perspectives (pp. 216–224). Suva: Univer-
a book, the “Tree of Opportunity” (Pene sity of the South Pacific Press.
et al. 2002). The rethinking pacific education ini- Tupuola, A. (2004). Pasifika edgewalkers: Complicating
the achieved identity status in youth research. Journal
tiative (RPEI) was a significant and positive turn- of Intercultural Studies, 25(1), 87–100.
ing point for Pasifika education in the Pacific
region. The word “Pacific” was used as an
embracing descriptor of Polynesia, Melanesia,
and Micronesia. The official government aid
development agency of New Zealand (NZAID) Pasifiki
became the principal funding organization for the
initiative. RPEI initially began mobilizing and ▶ Pasifika
engaging with an initiative in Vanuatu. However
while RPEI started within a collaborative initia-
tive, it became a philosophy and a movement. The
rethinking pacific education initiative snowballed Passion
and outlasted the funding. Leadership develop-
ment and mentoring is a constant strategy in build- ▶ Emotions
ing up island countries’ educational development.
Pasifika people are assuming responsibility for
their own communities by focusing on what skills
and knowledge they have, rather than focusing on Patterns in Teaching Philosophy
what is not available.
Attila Pató
Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
References

Anae, M., Coxon, E., Mara, D., Wendt-Samu, T., & Finau,
Synonyms
C. (2002). Pasifika education research guidelines:
Report to the Ministry of Education. Auckland, New Philosophy; Teaching
Zealand: Auckland Uniservices.
Bedford, R., & Didham, R. (2001). Who are the ‘Pacific
peoples’? Ethnic identification and the New Zealand
census. In C. Macpherson, P. Spoonley, & M. Anae Introduction: Philosophy and the
(Eds.), Tangata o te moana nui: The evolving identities Philosophers on Stage
of Pacific peoples in Aotearoa/New Zealand
(pp. 21–43). Palmerston North, New Zealand:
Philosophy and education have since their begin-
Dunmore Press.
Hau’ofa, E. (1994). Our sea of islands. Contemporary nings, in the context of Western traditions rooted
Pacific, 6, 148–161. in European, Ancient Greek, and Roman culture,
Mackley-Crump, J. (2011). Malaga–The journey: The showed strong affiliation toward each other.
performing arts as motivational tool for Pasifika stu-
dents in Aotearoa New Zealand. Asia Pacific Journal of
Although philosophy has traditionally been
Anthropology, 12(3), 255–273. regarded as a fundamentally lonely activity, it is
Macpherson, C., Spoonley, P., & Anae, M. (Eds.). (2001). yet only one side of a complex and indeed
Tangata o te moana nui: The evolving identities of dynamic picture. The philosopher depicted as the
Pacific peoples in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Palmerston
North, New Zealand: Dunmore Press.
lonely thinker is appropriate in one sense, since
Pene, F., Taufe’ulungaki, A. M., & Benson, C. (Eds.). thinking – as any cognitive processes in
(2002). The tree of opportunity: Re-thinking Pacific general always takes place as a critical process
Patterns in Teaching Philosophy 1773

(intra muros), i.e., inside the mind. Philosophical virtual gathering of the greatest philosophers and
thinking has a critical character, in the sense that scientists in the Antiquity, in the very center of
its main purpose is seeking answers, or as first, picture with the two greatest philosophers, being
seeking appropriate forms of questioning, often regarded as such by their contemporaries. By this
fuelled by a deep crisis of various possible sources moment, their symbolic presence and mutual
and features. acknowledgment provide legitimacy to each
The processes in the cognitive sphere coined as other, thus having rendered to be respected as
philosophy are yet not as individual as it is gen- such by later generations. The moment grasped
erally viewed. Not because the processes within by Rafael is by no means ephemeral to the time of
the mind would lose their individual character, its creation, the first decade of the 1500s. This is
but – unless they are not confined in a solipsistic not only the representation of gathering of ancient
world – they must be acknowledged as such in a philosophers but the moment of the glorious
public discourse. This external characteristic as a victory of philosophical reason and rationality
condition of philosophy, i.e., the need of philo- against the exclusivist omnipotence of Christian
sophical thinking to be identified as philosophy, theology and the scholastic education of philoso-
indicates the other side of the philosopher. Thus phy of the time. The free spirits of the
we may remember the philosopher as depicted in ancients have been liberated from the tutelage of
various social environments, e.g., in the circle of doctrines embedded in another important tradi-
his disciples or being engaged in discussion with tion, fiercely defended by the authority of the
peers, etc. The philosopher must be ready to share Mother Ecclesiae, commonly known as the
his ideas, with different possible goals: seeking Roman Catholic Church. At the same moment,
confirmation, provoking the public, or teaching all the various spirits of modernity, as regards
the young (Arendt 1978). Whatever ambitions philosophy and the sphere of sciences, were set
he may have, overt or covert motifs behind his free to develop into innumerable varieties – to
public activities in the field of philosophy, these fight against and by rewriting, preserving most
activities are not external to his existence as a of the traditions of the main historical paradigms.
philosopher. The Master of philosophy is not sim- As mentioned above, we may discern the phi-
ply a wise person bringing forward original losopher engaged in his utmost individual activ-
thoughts on universally relevant issues, but he ity, mentally active in various fields of the
must be acknowledged as such by his fellow phi- cognitive sphere, on the other hand pursuing phil- P
losophers and as a rule, by the following genera- osophical discourse in the context of a specific
tions of his peers – regardless, in historical public sphere – specific in the sense that it would
perspective, of his public reputation. provide him with the legitimate label, acknowl-
Apart from its public reputation, philosophy edging him as a philosopher. Needless to say,
seems to have always been in the need of legiti- philosophy and philosophers have a unique posi-
mizing source, i.e., the sphere of philosophers, tion, so much differentiating him from the men of
characterized as a dynamic discursive process any other science: findings of philosophical inqui-
which provides the models, strategies, and poli- ries are not only questionable, or defiable, but,
cies of teaching philosophy with general frame- much worse, often found hardly verifiable. In
works at any time. Philosophy, though sometimes fact, again unique to philosophers, their findings
regarded as a holy entity, has always been defined are often refuted by their own disciples (if not,
by philosophers, who in their due turn would their discpiles are probably not philosophers
deliver the legitimizing label to their peers themselves). It still does not necessarily mean
according to specific rules, either written or not. that they are not philosophers. But in more serious
Raphael’s well-known fresco, The School of Ath- cases, it may also happen that philosophers are
ens (Stanza della Segnatura, Vatican), could be denounced, which is possible on the same
telling in our perspective, in a twofold sense: first, grounds – as so often seen in abusive forms of
as grasping the complexity of a symbolical though show trials.
1774 Patterns in Teaching Philosophy

At this moment, we ought to remember the Jaeger in his interpretation of Plato’s philosophy
unique character of the relation between the phi- in the frame of the fundamental concept of educa-
losopher and his relation to the public, in general. tional activity (Jaeger 1963). Here we may recall
The philosopher’s reputation tends to be curiously some key points from the development of the
contrastive, especially in critical periods, when Greek philosophy (Heidegger 1959). Humans, as
philosophers are put on stage, to the extremes: strange beings as they are in Nature, and against
either highly prestigious or deeply suspicious any other naturally occurring existent, are aware
(Aristophanes 2003). The archetypical conflict of their own mortality. However, they have some
refers to a most critical period in the history of other special faculties that are not clearly concep-
Athens, highlighted by the trial of Socrates. tualized but help them to find themselves closer to
Among the major affects it is well-known Plato’s the so-called divine sphere. In a long and complex
decision to leave the public sphere, with all its process of evolution, Heraclitus, Pythagoras, Par-
consequences to the crisis between the political menides, just to mention only a few names, had
and philosophical spheres – as regards to the proceeded in developing a conceptual framework
interpretation of the public sphere in Plato’s that would allow a movement in the cognitive
philosophy (Arendt 1978). sphere to understand the world of invisibles, i.e.,
ideas, otherwise not revealed to human percep-
tion. Cognitive skills in the field of mental facul-
Three Perspectives ties enable a strange mobility – that is moving
“upwards” – toward a monolithic center of
Thus, philosophy in the context of education may truth that reveals itself to a divine capacity, i.e.,
perhaps be characterized in three essentially dif- thinking. This is the point when we first encounter
ferent perspectives to describe the most character- the term philosopher, characteristic to Heraclitus,
istic paradigms in the context of education, or in a who had decided to leave the annoying
strict sense, teaching philosophy. Far from any world of the political sphere. As it is known,
intention toward an essentialist typology, these immortality was accessible to the Greeks by an
three types are as it follows: (1) the Socratic tra- extraordinary action that is visible to all and worth
dition, (2) the Academic paradigm, and (3) the of memory of all (Kirk, Raven Schofield 1983). It
modern paradigm, with its abundant variety of was revolutionary – and very antipolitical that
models, yet usually with more or less overt ideo- inside the cognitive sphere, by ascending to the
logical motivations. The first two great sphere of logos, men may leave the world of mortals
paradigms – resisting to be confined in periods and join the world of immortals (the interpretation of
of times provide models developed under the “soul” is not a matter of interpretation in here).
influence of the Socratic and Platonic ways of
interpreting the role of the philosopher in close
relation to the meaning of philosophy. In any case, The Socratic Pattern
Socrates and Plato provided two sides of the same
line of a philosophical school, probably the most It was the work of the Sophists and Socrates
influential one of the Greek classics. In Athens, which made possible that philosophical inquiry
the political, cultural, and economic center of the took the form of critically engaged discourse and
Mediterranean in the fifth century, Socrates and as such introduced into the polis, metaphorically
his disciples paved the ground for a strand of speaking, to public spaces of the agora. However,
pursuing philosophy on very similar in contrast to the Sophists’ pragmatism, Socrates
grounds – with two entirely different outcomes. relied on the pursuit of paideia not for any educa-
These models made possible the development of tive purpose, such as adopting certain techniques
two great models in dealing with philosophy. The to outsmart any given counterpart, nor in order to
common ground may perhaps be best grasped by conveying a set of knowledge, eventually practic-
the concept of paideia worked out by Werner ing the acquired skills. The Socratic model of
Patterns in Teaching Philosophy 1775

paideia (as far as its interpretations are based on philosophy. Thus, as mentioned above, the Pla-
an authentic interpretation of solely indirect tonic model of paideia bears the hallmarks of the
sources) implies that we are responsible for the consequences of Plato’s experiencing his Master’s
world of mortals, i.e., we ought to encourage all trial, as Socrates’ most famous disciple decided to
our fellow humans, especially our fellow citizens withdraw from the public sphere and turn his
to critically revise the concepts they rely on during (mental) eyes toward the real objects – far from
their everyday pursuits. Humans share certain perishing in the sphere of opinions. This is the
commonness in their faculties, e.g., sensus moment when the philosopher will take the role of
communis that would allow everyone to make a leader of the young soul – hence the term ped-
distinctions and draw conclusions by using com- agogy as compounding paidea + gogos – leading
monly accepted rules of logic (Arendt 1982). In him out of a sphere of shadows and uncertainties.
this way, teaching does not directly enriches the Against the Socratic practice of paideia, Plato had
person with the idea of good – as a set of knowl- introduced two remarkable changes, apparently
edge that must be learnt so as to gain better life both having technical character, yet profoundly
and attain a good community, described as just influencing the understanding the role of philoso-
and fair – therefore content in itself. Thus, Socra- phy and that of the philosopher (Jaeger 1963).
tes was engaged in the everyday life of the polis,
and was interested in everyone’s lives 1. The activities of philosophizing and teaching
(he participated in battles fought by the city but will be drawn into the safe and autonomous
also enjoying rather frivolous symposia), assum- sphere of Academy – literally isolating it from
ing a universal responsibility in a community that the unsafe world of politics. Thus Academy
was given to him by birth. was conceived of as analogous to the model
Among later forms of the Socratic tradition, the of the cognitive sphere – as the justly leading
concept of cultura animi can be mentioned part of the soul – against the inferior parts of
(Arendt 1982), although it meant, in the Roman the soul, closer to its eternal counterpart, the
period of time, a combination with various forms body. Further, Academy had been isolated
of Academism. Similarly, skepticism might also from the body’s equally perishable worldly
be reckoned as heir of the Socratic tradition. In the formulation, i.e., the polis.
past century both early phenomenology and 2. The specialization of the fields of universal
Wittgenstein – with the first attempts of the first knowledge, for the time being resulting only in P
Vienna Circle (Wiener Kreis) – found interest in methodologically separated disciplines, to be
the critical understanding of the language of further divided by the Aristotelian model of
philosophy or even the everydayness. Together philosophy and its particular forms of educa-
with their successors, such as pragmatism and tion. Thus, the once universally present logos
critical thinking they are sometimes regarded will be transformed into techniques of logics,
as being influenced by the Socratic tradition. also as means to be applied in different forms of
However, most of these intentions have hardly -logies, to be sure, always having the ambition
gained any impact on the patterns of to provide universal coverage to all known
education – except their immense popularity as physical, political, or spiritual existents.
topics of teaching and studying philosophy (Pfister
2010; Liessman & Zenaty 2004).
The Modern Pattern(s)

The Platonic Pattern: Academism Although modern forms of theories and philoso-
phies of education, comprising the role of philos-
The second model of teaching philosophy, proba- ophy in education, here labeled as a third
bly the most influential paradigm of education in paradigm, have been interested in pedagogy,
general, is embedded in the tradition of academic they are approaching the “original” understanding
1776 Patterns in Teaching Philosophy

of paideia in departing from or showing contra- ideological education, paradoxically though,

dictory ways to it. As they are regarded here as draws closer to the Socratic tradition by its holistic
ideologically motivated paradigms, teaching phi- approach, bearing a specific political intention:
losophy may be seen as modern development, each human being is responsible for the world.
with their roots in a revolt against scholastic edu- That is why, surely not in ironical sense, philoso-
cation. So much different in their characteristics phy was also coined as the worldview in the edu-
that indeed impossible to coin all of them under cational programs of Communist countries.
one term, the loose term still refers to various
models whereby ideology plays – either overt or Toward Paideia in Teaching Philosophy
covert – yet decisive role. Generally speaking, and The Socratic-Platonic tradition still today lurks
in an allegedly oversimplifying way, educational over the Western tradition in contemporary edu-
models, explicitly in teaching philosophy, have cation, in both forms of the classical paradigms.
evolved under the tutelage of political ideologies, Platonic Academism is present in the sense of
especially that of liberalism, nationalism, and systematic, specialized yet reflective ways of
socialism, or as usually, a specific combination teaching philosophy – present in either basic
of these dominant ideologies. It is also relevant forms of teaching philosophy: be it history of
that ideologies, in the context of understanding philosophy or problem-based teaching. However,
the legitimate role of philosophy and the philoso- providing universal forms of didactics in philoso-
pher, are closely related to the ways ideologies phy, the efficiency depends on a thoroughly pro-
define some of the basic values of the human cessed syllabus and detailed scheme of each
existence. To be sure, ideology is not meant that lesson. These techniques are often associated
they are learnt, say indoctrinated as ideologies, with a certain authoritative teacher’s attitude; per-
but certain values are not only treated as topics sonally varying communicative skills may prove
of discursive (critical) learning, but they provide a very efficient if selection of texts and topics are
normative framework of education. The princi- appropriate to the target group’s cognitive skills.
ples upon which different models of teaching The Socratic tradition, in the strict sense, is also
philosophy are being built have acquired ideolog- present although more often through the teacher’s
ical characteristics all over modernity. In the con- personal – often charismatic – attitudes, with all
text of modernity, we may mention some of the its advantages and hazards: students motivated in
cardinal values: human dignity, freedom, justice, autonomous thinking may feel engaged in further
individuality, and the stability of the State (Hobbes reading, thus resulting excellent results, with
2011; Locke 2001; Rousseau 1979). Although they potentially long-lasting interest in philosophy.
are manifold in character, they are primarily asso- On the other hand, the hazards are also well-
ciated with ideas that are defining humans as such, known: many students may feel neglected, or
without relying on any transcendent foundation disinterested if the teacher is focusing his efforts
and serve as an overall ground for the stability of a to a relatively close group of students. These
political community. methods are preferably applicable, more effi-
Totalitarian regimes, as extreme cases, may ciently practiced in groups where the course was
represent specific forms in ideological the students’ own choice, such as in optional
formulations – however, in general outlines, seminars, classes, reading clubs, etc.
often imitating some of the Western formulae As a summary, the Socratic model of critical
(social justice in appropriate political order, the discourse has often been noticed as a most influ-
concept of “end of history,” social Darwinism, ential form of motivating students to engage
etc.). In its extreme forms ideological education themselves in further philosophical readings.
is ready to penetrate the autonomy of the sphere However, as a model of teaching philosophy, the
Academy, severely corrupting the autonomy of Socratic model is acknowledged in a very
philosophy and that of the education, in general. restricted sense – usually without its basic pursuit
The other moment in totalitarian forms of of paideia, since it is not regarded as compatible
Pedagogy of the Oppressed 1777

with the fundamental aims of the schooling sys- Rousseau, J.-J. (1979). Émile, or treatise on education.
tem. By definition and following the very original New York: Basic Books.
Werner, J. (1963). Paideia: The ideals of Greek culture.
experience of Socrates, it is regarded as a way of Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
philosophy that means too high risk to the stability
of the social and political order. Still, in critical
thinking, for example, certain techniques are
adopted, yet hardly assuming the universal Pedagogic
responsibility and existential risk, so much char-
acteristic to the philosopher who had never writ- ▶ Phenomenology in Education
ten down a word in his life.
Another, relatively new development seems to
apply a certain Socratic way of philosophy, yet
questioned by many professionals. The world-
wide movement known as Philosophy with chil- Pedagogisation
dren has often been regarded as philosophically
not legitimate, it still seems to have been spread- ▶ Educationalization of Social Problems and the
ing and preparing pupils to be open for philosoph- Educationalization of the Modern World
ical thinking: reflecting on the everyday life
phenomena, finding conceptual tools and logical
forms to a critical understanding of their world.
Whatever means applied, philosophy with chil-
dren may also prove to be a path toward the old Pedagogization
tradition of paideia.
▶ Educationalization of Social Problems and the
Educationalization of the Modern World
References

Arendt, H. (1978). The life of the mind. volume 1 Thinking.

volume 2 Willing. New York: Harcourt Inc.
Arendt, H. (1982). Lectures on Kant’s political philosophy.
Pedagogy P
Chicago, IL: Chicago University Press.
Aristophanes. (2003). The clouds. In Lysistrata and other
plays. London: Penguin. ▶ Dewey on Educational Research and the Sci-
Heidegger, M. (1959). An introduction to metaphysics
(trans: Manheim, R.). New Haven, CT: Yale.
ence of Education
Hobbes, T. (2011). Leviathan. Seattle, WA: Pacific Pub- ▶ Edusemiotics To Date, An Introduction of
lishing Studio. ▶ Langeveld, Martinus J. (1905–1989)
Jaeger, W. (1963). Paideia: The Ideals of Greek Culture. ▶ Nietzsche and Schooling
Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Kirk, G. S., Raven, J. E., & Schofield, M. (1983). The
▶ Open Educational Resources
presocratic philosophers. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge ▶ Phenomenology of Higher Education
Universtiy Press. ▶ Unmaking the Work of Pedagogy Through
Liessmann, K., & Zenaty, G. (2004). Vom Denken. Einführung Deleuze and Guattari
in die Philosophie. Wien, Austria: Braumüller.
Locke, J. (1693). Some thoughts concerning education.
London: J. & A. Churchill.
Locke, J. (2001). Some Thoughts Concerning Education.
Vol. XXXVII, Part 1. The Harvard Classics.
Pfister, J. (2010). Fachdidaktik Philosophie. Bern, Pedagogy of the Oppressed
Switzerland: Haupt.
Platon. (1997). Phaidon, the state, apology. In The Com-
plete Works of Plato. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Pub- ▶ Rancière on Radical Equality and Adult
lishing Company. Education
1778 Peirce

Facility with these pre- (or proto-) reasoning capa-

Peirce bilities can then lead into insightful but untested
hypotheses. Hypothesis construction (by means
▶ Argument Mapping Software: Semiotic Foun- of retroduction) is the very essence of critical
dations thinking, requiring an interplay of Peirce’s three
▶ Edusemiotics, Subjectivity, and New Material- sorts of inference types: abduction, deduction, and
ism induction.
▶ Edusemiotics To Date, An Introduction of Peirce’s unique phenomenological construct
▶ Ontology and Semiotics: Educating in Values suggests these proto-reasoning capabilities,
which he identifies as necessary for achieving
the insights necessary for proto-abductive infer-
ences, must also be necessary for the eventual
Peirce and Embedded Philosophy development of effective critical thinking skills.
of Education In Peirce’s sense then, a good phenomenologist is
someone who possesses the pre-/proto-reasoning
Phyllis Chiasson skills necessary for engaging thoughtfully and
Davis-Nelson Company, Port Townsend, deliberately with not only plans and processes
WA, USA but with possibilities as well.
Phenomena are comprised of things and their
qualities. Qualities are the properties of things
Introduction (including ideas and events), which describe them
and/or distinguish one thing from another. Peirce
Peirce’s contribution to educational philosophy is contends that a phenomenologist becomes expert by
embedded within his phenomenological con- learning to observe carefully among the qualitative
struct. This educational philosophy is general similarities and differences of things without placing
enough to provide for nearly all learning needs judgment upon them (Peirce 1935, Vol. 5, para. 43).
and interests, yet specific enough to provide for Mastery of critical thinking skills, the psycho-
widespread testing and verification (Hechinger logical equivalent of Peirce’s normative sciences,
1960). Peirce’s phenomenology provides a sturdy requires that one first master the proto-reasoning
foundation for the development of educational skills of a competent phenomenologist. Proto-
practices that can elicit essential and overarching reasoning skills include the ability to notice, ana-
learning capabilities in young children through lyze, and then interpret/reinterpret phenomena.
adults (Chiasson 2008a, b). From a Peircean point of view, mastery of these
phenomenological skills is essential prior to even
attempting to develop the semiotic skills of logic
Discussion and reasoning (Peirce 1932, Vol.1, para. 186). By
mastering proto-reasoning skills, even very young
Phenomenology is descriptive; it is the study of children learn to become observers and chroni-
appearances, which requires facility with proto- clers of phenomena, preparing them for the even-
reasoning skills, the skills of a good phenomenol- tual mastery of critical thinking skills.
ogist (Peirce 1935, Vol. 5, para. 41). These are As with all learning, proto-reasoning skills can
skills required for eventual facility with critical only be mastered experientially. For, as Peirce
thought. writes “[We] can know nothing except what we
Thus, a good critical thinker in a Peircean sense directly experience. . . .All the creations of our
is first of all a good phenomenologist; that is, mind are but patchworks from experience”
someone who can observe without judging, relate (Peirce 1935, Vol. 6, para. 492). While the acqui-
in multiple ways, and interpret without deciding. sition of facts and examples are a sort of
Peirce and Embedded Philosophy of Education 1779

experience, they cannot substitute for direct and Seattle is a large city, then that person is using
deliberate experience with phenomena. the rational quality of size to sort it into the
Proto-reasoning skills enhance direct and category of large cities as opposed to medium-
deliberate experiences because they enable the sized or small cities.
suspension of judgment while deliberately engag- Qualities allow people to identify a thing as a
ing with phenomena by: kind of (or sort of) something. Peirce maintained
that properties are true of every real thing, whether
1. Qualifying (noticing/identifying the qualities anyone ever comes to know that something is real.
of things) In this sense, the property (or quality) of motion
2. Relating (comparing and contrasting qualities having to do with the earth orbiting the
of things) sun – instead of the other way around as people
3. Representing (expressing/interpreting things) used to believe – would still be real (or true) had
(Peirce 1935, Vol. 5, para. 436) no one ever determined this to be true.

Thus, the basis for Peirce’s embedded phi-

losophy of education (which is a sort of design Types of Qualities
for thinking) is the same basis as for his phi-
Affective Qualities
losophy overall: that is, his particular version
of phenomenology, which he also termed the When children learn to express feelings, they are
learning to express qualities of affect. However,
Doctrine of Categories. By developing verbal
qualities of affect are much more than just learn-
and nonverbal facility with these overarching
Categories, individuals can gain the ability to ing to express play yard feelings such as anger
or joy.
engage more effectively with specific learning
Peirce contended that all of scientific discovery
requirements in both the cognitive and practi-
depends upon the ability to sense a kind of
cal worlds.
feeling – a “hunch” and that beliefs arise from a
sense of “satisfaction” with whatever truths a per-
son feels he or she has found (Poggiani 2014, pp.
Qualifying
538–39). (Both hunches and satisfactions are
Qualification is the first platform of Peirce’s
affective states.) Peirce also held that motives for P
doing things fall into higher or lower ethical clas-
embedded philosophy of education. Quality,
ses (Peirce 1935, Vol. 5, para. 585) depending
the category that Peirce named “Firstness,” pro-
upon one’s ability to shape the qualities of the
vides the basis for the development of proto-
affective mode of being. Below are just a few
reasoning skills. Qualities fall into three broad
examples of affective states and a few words that
types, which Peirce called “modes of being”
describe them:
(Peirce 1932, Vol. 1, para. 23). Those types are
(1) affective (feeling based); (2) sensory (sense- Joy Happy Gratified Anger Angry Indignant
based perceptions); and (3) rational (reason Pleasant Delighted Mad Wrathful
based). Learning the language of qualities is Glad Thankful Furious Revengeful
essential for learning the language of relation-
ships (or signs), which in turn are necessary for Education in the qualities and language of
learning to think critically. affect is a necessary first step in bringing learners
Qualities are the properties, or characteristics, into the world of aesthetic and ethical inquiry that
of things. There can be no thing (nothing) with- proceeds learning to think “rightly” (critically) in
out qualities to define it. Thus, qualities are what- a Peircean sense. Perhaps, “first step” is not the
ever a thing has that enables an observer to right term to use here, since affective education is
identify it in some way. If someone says that a long-term process and does not end, even as
1780 Peirce and Embedded Philosophy of Education

introduction into the other sorts of qualities another. Size, time, space (or location), matter and
begins. energy, shape, quantity, and change are just some
Affective education involves understanding of the rational qualities. Others include generality,
and experiencing the range between good and opposition, elasticity, complexity, simplicity,
bad feelings; between beautiful and ugly sur- etc. The table below lists a few examples.
roundings; between good and evil; between
boredom and intense focus. This is the founda- Size Little, tiny, Long, Time Duration, Hour,
miniature, short, moment, day,
tion of Peirce’s optimistic philosophy. “Love,” big, large, high, interval, year,
he wrote, “recognizing germs of loveliness in the huge, tall, instant, now,
hateful, gradually warms it into life and makes it mammoth, slim, second, past,
lovely” (Peirce 1935, Vol. 6. para 289). wide, minute, present,
narrow future,
Every point along the continuum of each of then,
these states is part of the affective state of the
human condition and must reside at the founda- Thinking in terms of qualities provides a valu-
tion of learning in a Peircean-based educational able philosophical perspective for everyone.
program. Instead of asking: “What is this?” or “What is
this for?” learners can begin to wonder, “What
does this smell like?” or “Look like” or “How
Sensory Qualities does this make me feel?” “How might it seem to
Peirce contended that aesthetics must inform someone (or something) else?”
ethics and ethics must inform reason for right
reasoning to occur. The qualities of sensation pro-
vide the empirical qualities necessary for Relating
informing aesthetic sensibilities. In turn, these
are mediated by sentiment (affect) for determining The second platform of a Peircean-based philos-
personal value. Qualities of sense may be much ophy of education is relating things based upon
easier to for learners to absorb than qualities of qualities (Peirce 1932, Vol. 1, para. 575). Delib-
affect. For example, red – a quality of vision – is erately relating phenomena based upon their
indisputable (to anyone who is not colorblind), qualities can be done by diagrammatic
while compassion takes a lifetime of experience (or relational) thinking. The tools of diagram-
to experience and understand. Qualities of sense matic thinking require facility with qualification
fall into the categories of the normal five senses, skills, since sorting factors are the qualities, or
plus two others relating to skin sense properties of things. The tools of diagrammatic
(or touch) – balance and muscle sense. Below thinking range from simple sorting practices to
are a few examples of qualities that fall within much more complex analysis forms. Peirce put
some of these categories: great stock into what is now termed “diagram-
matic thinking.” Today, many careers require
Vision Color Brightness Skin Touch Temperature diagrammatic thinking. For example, all com-
Red Light sense Tickle Hot
Blue Dim Itch Cold puter programmers have mastered diagrammatic
etc. Dull Tingle Cozy thinking, as have engineers, architects, many
writers, and individuals in myriad other careers.
Engaging young learners in these relational
Rational Qualities tools provides them with a way to respond delib-
Rational qualities have to do with making objec- erately in situations that most adults may incor-
tive, measurable observations. Something is rectly think are well beyond the scope of young
larger than another is. One event occurs before people.
Peirce and Embedded Philosophy of Education 1781

Types of Diagrammatic Thinking Things normally considered parts may be

thought of in other situations as wholes. A hand,
Classification Analysis for example, may be called a whole instead of a
A Venn diagram is one form for classification part if one is concerned with its parts. In structure
analysis. It is a more complex form of classifica- analysis, the largest including thing with which one
tion than a “simple sort” or a “matching sort” that is concerned is called a whole. Its included units are
would ordinarily be used with preschool and early called parts. Just as for classification analysis,
elementary children or a “tree diagram,” which is structure analysis is best introduced to learners as
another ordinary tool of simple classification. physical experiences: following directions to put a
Which of these things is like the others? Which is toy together; figuring out how to build a birdhouse;
not? Those questions are verbal forms of classifica- making potholders; learning to sew; making a fort
tion. However, the nonverbal forms are just as vital or a go-cart. The more experiences that learners
to learning. Learners sort a variety of physical things have figuring out how to do things in the physical
into two or more groups and on down, and then world, the better their chances at developing skills
identify their reasons for sorting – such as “Things with structure analysis.
that I like versus things I don’t like.” “Things that
are soft and things that are not soft.” “Things that are Systems Analysis
familiar; things that are unfamiliar,” etc. The operation of a system reflects a structure
The more familiar learners are with qualitative moving and/or changing in time and space. Just
terms, the more thorough and creative their clas- as structures are wholes that have parts as parts,
sification sorts can be, as qualities are the sorting operations are wholes that have stages and phases
factors for analytic thinking. Preschool children as parts. When someone performs a systems anal-
can learn how to make simple sorts by putting ysis, she has a purpose in mind that guides her
away toys, or the silverware, or helping to orga- selection of what she is going to identify as stages
nize a toolbox. Naturally, not all children will of that operation.
participate willingly or spontaneously in sorting The words “stage,” “phase,” and “operation”
activities, but that does not mean that sorting and indicate time-based relationships. Thus, learning
classifying skills should be ignored. to deal with systems is a vital aspect of learning to
deal with time – and time is not just a matter of
Structure Analysis consequence in its ordinary sense of learning to “tell P
The second type of diagrammatic thinking time.” Time, in a philosophical sense, is the arena in
involves part/whole thinking. Some people are which everything occurs. Peirce even used time as a
naturally adept at this kind of analysis and can metaphor for his multidimensional doctrine of con-
easily imagine what something will look like tinuity. Without continuity, there can be no thought,
when assembled. Others have a deficit in this no reality, no relationships, and no thingness of any
area. However, everyone can learn how to do sort. Additionally, understanding systems and
structure analysis. systems-within-systems provides good preparation
A whole is a structure; a part is a unit of a understanding the consequential thinking of prag-
structure. A person is a whole made up of parts matism and for later introduction into vital world
such as arms and legs. The earth is a whole made problems in such systems sciences as ecology, eco-
up of parts such as sea, atmosphere, crust, and nomics, political science, sociology, famine-and
core. Everything that exists can be thought of as war prevention, world population studies – and
a part of the whole that we call the universe. even the personal skill of time management.
In the case of classification analysis, the rela- The stages and phases chosen when analyzing
tionships are “types of” or “sorts of” something. an operation should be those most appropriate to
In structure analysis the relations are spatial. the purpose. Thus, when they are old enough,
1782 Peirce and Embedded Philosophy of Education

learners should be helped to name ordering factors sniff” sample in a magazine is a replica of the
for stages and phases – just as they choose sorting scent of the perfume. A likeness, on the other
factors for classifications and identify factors for hand, is a nonliteral representation of something;
structure analyses – with direct reference to their say a caricature of someone or a cartoon drawing
purposes. of a mouse.

Indices (Indications)
Interpreting Signs Indications (which Peirce called “indices” in the
plural and “index” in the singular) point to some-
The purpose of having a basic understanding of thing that is elsewhere in time and/or space. Symp-
different kinds of qualities and different forms of toms, such as rashes, fevers, etc., that physicians
analysis is to arrive at a point where learners can observe to diagnose illness are indices, so is a tooth-
begin to think matters out for themselves in pro- pick inserted into the center of a cake that comes out
ductive ways. By the word “relationships” Peirce dry indicating that the cake is done (or if coated, not
meant signs, something that represents, points to, done). Clouds are an indication of rain. A frown on
or stands in place of something else. In general, someone’s face is an indication she is upset or angry,
this is what Peirce means when he says, “all or perhaps has a headache, etc. Indices often provide
thought whatsoever is a sign and is mostly of the the empirical basis for making inferences that lead
nature of language.” to scientific discoveries, medical diagnoses, auto-
Peirce does not mean the term “sign” in just the mobile repairs, search and rescue efforts, and count-
ordinary sense of that word – as say, a billboard or a less other vital and practical activities.
stop sign. Also, notice that he says that “thought is
mostly of the nature of language.” He did not say Symbols
that all thought is language based. Peirce included Symbols stand in place of the thing or concept that
mathematical thinking as thought – and mathemat- they represent. Moreover, unlike representations
ics as language. In the same sense, he would have (which look like what they are), symbols require
included music as a language, as well as any other agreement among minds for people to know
system or pattern of thought for which there is form what they mean. Religious forms, such as
and syntax. The particular expression (words, crosses, six-pointed stars, and crescents are
images, diagrams, movement, touch, etc.) by symbolic. Perhaps most significantly, words and
which thinking occurs depends upon the predispo- numbers are symbols. Words are the most ambig-
sition of the individual doing the thinking. Thus, a uous of all signs, meaning that they are the most
pattern of thought is a language, which occurs as easily misinterpreted and misunderstood. Peirce
signs in any affective, sensory, or rational developed his sign theory to reduce the inherent
modality – whether verbal or not. ambiguity of language – to make language a tool
Peirce identifies three types of signs: represen- for clear thinking and for effective reasoning.
tations (icons), indications (indices), and symbols. Once learners master the language of qualities,
the tools of analysis, and how to use signs effec-
Icons (Direct Representations) tively, they will be ready for developing skills for
Icons are the least ambiguous of signs. They can exploring the invisible realms of content, context,
be either replicas or likenesses. A replica looks and meta-context (including value and purpose)
like, sounds like, smells like, tastes like, and/or for deciphering meaning.
feels like what it is. For example, a video or DVD
is a replica of the performance that made the
movie, so is a CD a replica of the session that Conclusion
produced the music. A photograph is a replica of
the person whose picture was taken, so is a real- That Charles Sanders Peirce was a polymath is not
istic oil portrait of that person. A “scratch and open to question. That his semiotic will continue
Peter Winch 1783

to influence researchers and developers in many Davis, D. S. & Chiasson, P. S. (1981). Relational thinking
fields (including computer science, linguistics, styles: Learning to see the forest and the trees. Journal
of Learning Disabilities, 14(8), 449–450.
mathematics, and philosophy) well into the Hechinger, F. M. (1960). Student’s I.Q.’s rise in California
twenty-first century and perhaps beyond is gener- tests. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.
ally accepted. nytimes.com
However, few have yet recognized the value of Peirce, C. S. (1932). In Hartshorne & Weiss (Eds.), Col-
lected papers of Charles Sanders Peirce (Vols. I–II
extracting from Peirce’s philosophical construct [electronic edition]). Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press
(in particular from his phenomenology) this viable of Harvard University Press.
system for improving learning capabilities in Peirce, C. S. (1935). Hartshorne & Weiss (Eds.), Collected
learners of all ages (including those with many papers of Charles Sanders Peirce (Vols. V–VI [elec-
tronic edition]). Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of
sorts of cognitive disabilities) (Hechinger 1960; Harvard University Press.
Upton 1973; Davis and Chiasson 1981; Chiasson Poggiani, F. (2014). Truth and satisfaction: The gist of
and Tristan 2012). This is understandable, for pragmatism. In T. Thellefsen & B. Sorensen (Eds.),
Peirce’s writings are difficult to read and under- Charles Sanders Peirce in his own words (pp. 537–
543). Walter de Gruyter.
stand. However, a Peircean-based learning model Upton, A. (1960). Design for thinking. Palo Alto, CA:
is overarching – that is, its roots are preaesthetic, Pacific Books.
prevalue, and prereason. Its applications are
universal.
Fortunately, throughout the twentieth and into
this twenty-first century much has already been
done to express other applications of Peirce’s Performance
philosophical construct. Perhaps, his concepts
can now be articulated well enough to bring ▶ Gendered Violences and Queer of Color Cri-
them into the field of educational philosophy and tiques in Educational Spaces: Remembering
from there into direct classroom practice. Sakia, Carl, and Jaheem
Where Peirce’s philosophy was once impene-
trable, it is now simple and practical enough
for use even at the prereading level (Chiasson
2008a, b). Now, even young children can
master age-appropriate expressions of these Persuasive Language P
proto-reasoning skills. These Peircean-based
proto-reasoning skills embedded within his phe- ▶ Quest of Educational Slogans, The
nomenological construct are the true basic skills,
for they are the skills underlying all meaningful
learning.

Peru
References
▶ Use of Quipus in Peru and the Process of
Chiasson, P. (2008a). Reasoning readiness – The very first Alphabetization and Schooling, The
R. Signs-International Journal of Semiotics, 114–145.
Retrieved from http://vip.iva.dk/signs/Articles.htm
Chiasson, P. (2008b). Peirce’s design for thinking, a phil-
osophical gift for children. In M. A. Taylor, H. Schreier,
& P. Ghiraldelli Jr (Eds.), Pragmatism and children:
International philosophical perspectives (pp. 1–27). Peter Winch
Amsterdam: Editions Rodopi.
Chiasson, P. & Tristan, J. (2012). Phenomenology, chap-
ter 9. In Relational thinking styles and natural intelli- ▶ Wittgensteinian Perspectives and Science Edu-
gence. Hershey, PA: IGI Global. cation Research
1784 Phenomenological Methodology

reduction, and variation have been adopted criti-

Phenomenological Methodology cally and developed further. Phenomenological
pedagogy thus can present an epistemological
▶ Phenomenology in Education and methodological program of its own, one
which differs from other approaches within the
field of the human sciences, including
hermeneutics.
Phenomenological Pedagogy Phenomenological pedagogy has a tradition
reaching back more than hundred years. From its
▶ Phenomenological Theory of Bildung and very beginnings, it has developed its own
Education approaches to a theory of Bildung and education
as experiences. Traditional theories of Bildung
(or formation: how we form ourselves and are
formed by others) and education, as they have
Phenomenological Research in been formulated by Humboldt, Schleiermacher,
Education Herbart, Hegel, and Nietzsche, are redefined by
a phenomenological approach in ways that are
▶ Phenomenological Theory of Bildung and both empirical and systematic.
Education
Phenomenological Description (Fischer)
In his paper Deskriptive Pädagogik, Aloys
Fischer (1880–1937) formulates programmatic
Phenomenological Theory of Bildung thoughts on the relation between pedagogy and
and Education phenomenology as early as 1914. Fischer is a
representative of the Münchner Schule (Munich
Malte Brinkmann School) surrounding Theodor Lipps. The Munich
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany School critically rejects the egological conception
of consciousness proposed by Husserl by
claiming a primordial experience of what they
Synonyms referred to as “reality.” Through this assumption,
the Munich phenomenologists break away from
Bildung; Co-existentials and existentials of peda- Husserl’s subject-centered perspective and antici-
gogical relation; Description; Foreignness; Learn- pate thoughts which are later introduced by
ing as experience; Phenomenological pedagogy; Merleau-Ponty under the rubric of “world” or
Phenomenological research in education; Reduc- “lifeworld.” This is what is meant by “reality” or
tion; Responsivity Real-Ontologie. The methodic tool to capture the
experience of reality is the description. Fischer
states:
Introduction
The basic question of all description is what the
This article provides a historical overview of the Given in the experience is. Every pedagogy and
every theoretical school in pedagogy talks about
most important approaches in German phenome- education . . . every school believes it knows about
nological pedagogy to the present. Phenomeno- the matter which is signified as ‘education’ in every
logical pedagogy both as a theory and empirical detail and is quick to state what and how education
research aims at redefining traditional theories of should be. [. . .] It seems to me that everyone forgets
the description of the matter while they try to define
Bildung and education in empirical and system- and label it. [. . .] Not the meaning of the words,
atic ways. Within this process of re-definition, which is the linguistic clarification of the meaning,
the phenomenological methods of description, but the description of matter either: “in question” or
Phenomenological Theory of Bildung and Education 1785

“at hand” is the task which is the foundation of all concepts and notions of mankind (Anthropos)
scientific research; it is the task that makes research and operates in a historical, philosophical, and
possible. (Fischer 1914/1961, p. 144)
linguistic perspective. These reflections became
Fischer combines the question of methodology important for pedagogy, and pedagogical anthro-
with the question of the subject matter of pedagogy pology was widely spread, even in phenomenol-
as a science, in this case a human science ogy. One of the main representatives is Otto
(or Geisteswissenschaft). Pedagogy is not a norma- F. Bollnow (1903–1991) who combines
tive science of practice. It is a descriptive science Heidegger’s phenomenology with linguistic-
which tries to grasp the subject matter at hand, philosophical, anthropological, and existential
before it is defined theoretically. Fischer locates questions (Dilthey and Jaspers) along with a crit-
the epistemological problem in the fact that educa- ical reception of existential philosophy and phi-
tional science, in contrast to sciences with clearly losophy of life (Lebensphilosophie). Bollnow
defined objects of research (e.g., Geology), is noto- highlights phenomena that are part of what he
riously insecure about its own subject matter. This calls an “education of discontinuity” (Bollnow
is an insight which many pedagogues have 1959), for example, crisis, awakening, admoni-
expressed, from Herbart to the present. This could tion, guidance, venture, failure, and encounter.
be accomplished by employing phenomenological He carries out only a few studies which can rightly
description. Fischer points out that describing a be called phenomenological–descriptive. They
student’s practice in school needs a highly devel- explore the phenomena of practicing (Übung),
oped psychological and pedagogical awareness: human space, and atmosphere in pedagogy. In
“(It) comes very seldom as a natural gift and can contrast to Fischer, the ontological dimension is
only be attained as the result of sound practicing” not considered by Bollnow as a fact of education
(ibid., p. 140). to be described empirically but as an expression of
The method of description is used as a way to life itself in the sense of Lebensphilosophie. This
reach intersubjective validation of experiences. expression becomes manifest in cultural objectifi-
Fischer goes on to prove the fruitfulness of this cations (Dilthey) and can be interpreted herme-
method in his works on psychology and school neutically as a text. Following Bollnow, the
pedagogy. Fischer supposes that description can understanding of cultural objectivations is
be “theory-free” (Ibid., p. 142). He maintains that reduced to a singular sense. The multiplicity and
description can lead to pure facts (Tatsachen) ambiguity of sense is thus equalized and foreign- P
which are free from presuppositions and preju- ness is excluded. Looking at Bollnow, we can see
dices, an argument which seems hardly convinc- how “the pedagogical” is reduced to the pedagog-
ing today. Fischer’s approach has a strong ical relation as it was articulated in Geisteswis-
tendency to the moral and the normative, without senschaftliche Pädagogik.
being able to clarify the conditions of this morality In the 1960s and 1970s, German scholars
and normativity. Fischer thus affirms a model of suggested concepts which develop the phenome-
traditional, normative pedagogy of role models nological approach further and stand in critical
and culture within the relation of the generations. differentiation from Bollnow’s anthropological
Still Fischer’s thoughts and research became key and hermeneutical pedagogy. Günther Buck,
issues in phenomenological-pedagogical thinking Heinrich Rombach, Werner Loch, Eugen Fink,
and reflection. and Egon Schütz refer to Husserl, Heidegger,
and Gadamer and are able to develop genuinely
Anthropological Turn (Bollnow) phenomenological approaches for a theory of
After the Second World War and the years of Nazi learning, Bildung, and education.
terror, the phenomenological movement was
weakened, and a shift from phenomenological to Learning as an Experience (Buck)
anthropological concepts occurred. Anthropology Günther Buck’s (1925–1983) study Learning and
in this context means the science (logos) of experience, first published in 1967, has become a
1786 Phenomenological Theory of Bildung and Education

classic in German pedagogy (Buck 1989). Buck understanding, we can explicate the latent struc-
examines the experience of the process of learning tures of the sense of experience in learning.
from a historical perspective (Aristoteles, Bacon, Buck presents a hermeneutic-phenomeno-
Hegel, and Husserl) as well as developing his own logical notion of learning and thus contributes
theory. It is framed by a hermeneutic of practice significantly to an understanding of learning as a
(Handlungshermeneutik). Buck’s theory of under- pedagogical concept. His theory of learning has
standing and learning as well as his theory of become an important reference point for contem-
experience in Bildung is strongly influenced by porary German qualitative research and theories
Gadamer. From a hermeneutic perspective, under- of Bildung.
standing and learning are situated within a tempo-
ral horizon. Referring to Husserl, Buck integrates Learning and the Course of Life (Lebenslauf)
the notion of intentionality into his theory. (Loch)
Husserl’s analysis of intentionality shows that Werner Loch (1928–2010) developed a biograph-
the structure of experience as a horizon is ically based theory of education. Following the
connected to the circle of anticipation and fulfill- ideas of Helmuth Plessner, it is grounded in a
ment (or disappointment; Enttäuschung) of antic- non-essentialist anthropology and sees the
ipations. On the one hand, the structure of human being as an open question. Proceeding
experience as bound by a horizon is based on from this assumption, the phenomenon of educa-
previous experience (Wirkungsgeschichte). On tion is defined in its structures – both biographi-
the other hand, this “horizon structure” enables cally and intergenerationally. It is conceptualized
change and the openness to that which is new. The as related to the concept of learning (Loch 2001).
horizon can change. In interpersonal understand- In his biographical research, Loch points out var-
ing, two horizons come together, and they melt or ious stages of the “curriculum vitae” and differen-
merge together (Horizontverschmelzung) and tiates them in relation to learning and educating.
consequently can change (Horizontwandel). Similar to Buck, Loch succeeds in establishing an
Following Gadamer and Hegel, Buck defines original, pedagogically significant conception of
the concept of negation as the “determinate nega- learning which goes beyond Bollnow’s theory.
tion” of a specific anticipation in the sense of Learning is related to knowing how and compe-
Hegel – as a dialectical negation that produces tence and is thus determinable in a way that is both
something positive. The negation crosses out an nonempirical and noncognitivist. The lived body
intention and brings a moment of discontinuity then becomes important both as a category of
into the continuity of experience. By going reflection and as a phenomenon. Learning is
through a “negative” experience – that is, a disap- connected to sedimented habits and the habitus
pointment of anticipations in a certain situation – in general. Activity and practice function in the
we not only experience something, but we also “mode of knowing how” rather than of “knowing
experience ourselves. As one’s own horizon is that.” To obtain knowing how, supportive and
changed in an experience, future anticipations helping educational practices are important, as
change, as well as past experiences. well as inhibiting and limiting educational prac-
Learning from experience can then be seen as tices. Loch differentiates negative from positive
learning as experience. “Negative” experiences inhibitions in learning. While negative inhibitions
enable us to change previous knowledge and in learning work against what is to be learned and
experience, at the same time they open us to new can be pedagogically suspended, positive inhibi-
experiences. Given this fact, learning is related to tions are to be supported. Loch does not work out
the past as well as to the future. By undergoing this difference systematically, but he works
“negative” experiences, we are able to become toward a determination of the negative aspects
aware of latent attitudes and habits. Learning itself within educational processes, which Buck calls
is a reflective moment within the process of expe- “negativity” and which have attracted attention
rience. By using hermeneutic methods of in current approaches (see below).
Phenomenological Theory of Bildung and Education 1787

In terms of methodology, Loch can point out or precept for life and whether it is capable of
important differences between diverse approaches producing guiding principles and ideas. As we
in the human sciences. He succeeds in fleshing out do not have an authoritative, final, and universal
the “poetic” and “creative” function of the phe- interpretation of the meaning of the world and
nomenological method and contrasts it to methods society at our disposal, it is the task of pedagogy
of hermeneutics and psychoanalysis. in particular to produce these interpretations col-
lectively, but only in a provisional way. In his
Structures, Operative Concepts, social phenomenology, Fink differentiates in six
and Co-existential and Existential Elemental fundamental co-existential elemental phenomena:
Phenomena (Rombach, Fink, Schütz) play, power, work, love, death, and education.
By the end of the 1960s, Heinrich Rombach They are connected to social, co-existential, and
(1923–2004) and Eugen Fink (1905–1975) pro- embodied practices in the time and space of soci-
vided new phenomenological perspectives on ety and as an expression of care about Dasein after
Bildung and education as experiences by focusing the “end of the grand narratives” (Lyotard).
on structures and elemental phenomena Within education, concern and care, learning,
(Grundphänomene) and by using a type of reflec- wonder and astonishment, questioning, and
tion they christened “categorical.” counseling become basic practices. Fink’s funda-
Heinrich Rombach developed a structural phe- mental thesis sees “man as a fragment,” as some-
nomenology (Strukturphänomenologie). He one who does not exist as a complete being or as
advocated a shift from anthropology to structural an object. He can only experience himself in rela-
anthropology and from phenomenological peda- tion to self and world in a fragmentary way. The
gogy to structural pedagogy. According to totality of man and world, or of man and nature as
Rombach, describing mankind as (a) structure suggested by the Geisteswissenschaften as well as
and existing within structures means that one the continuity in the generational succession
must give up the subject-centered and geisteswis- derived from it, have broken apart.
senschaftliche perspective as well as the sociolog- Fink develops a theory of Bildung on the basis
ical one (Rombach 1979). Rombach combines the of this social-anthropological description. Bildung
reflection on elemental phenomena with a reflec- can no longer be Allgemeinbildung or general
tion on experience as pedagogical experience. Bildung in a holistic sense anymore; it has become
This enables him to distinguish between various fragmentary Bildung. In this conception of P
kinds of experience (as opposed to political, eco- Bildung, negativity is not an operation of con-
nomic, aesthetic, or other experience) and to con- sciousness but an existential trait of experience.
trast them with the specific dimension of Bildung can then be described as coping with this
pedagogical experience. existential plight. In this definition, Bildung
This differentiation, which is important for becomes a practical-existential experiment of
educational reflection, was introduced earlier by sense under preconditions of a provisional, inse-
Rombach’s mentor in Freiburg, Eugen Fink. Fink cure nature, or, in other words, an existential and
earned his doctorate under Husserl and Heidegger co-existential practice as production and provi-
and remained Husserl’s loyal assistant, even when sional creation of meaning. It is also a reflective
Husserl was persecuted by the Nazis. Fink sees practice, as the operation of phenomenological var-
educational science as a cultural practice to be iation can mark different modes of experiencing in
sustained after the collapse of general guiding politics, arts, love, time, and labor as differences,
principles and narratives in the modern and late and compare these modes. At the same time, the
modern era and the emergence of nihilism phenomenological reduction enables us to free our-
(Nietzsche). Education is both: science and prac- selves from what is taken as facts and opens a
tical life lessons (Lebenslehre). Fink poses the perspective on what is possible.
question whether educational science could be The concept of education is similarly
brought back to lifeworld experience as a lesson redefined: Fink calls the educational practice
1788 Phenomenological Theory of Bildung and Education

“community of questioning.” This community is self-transparency. Man remains subject to his

determined by power, by society, and by culture finiteness and corporality even within the pro-
and has its reference point in the collective plight cesses of self-formation (Sich-Bilden) and self-
of not knowing and not knowing how (Fink imagination (Einbilden). Taking the anthropolog-
1970). According to Fink, the relation between ical circle into account, Schütz describes Bildung
the generations is marked by foreignness. Under as an existentially risky act of limited freedom
preconditions of foreignness and insecurity, the which takes place under the conditions of finite-
community of questioning aims at future situations ness, corporality, and co-existentiality. Schütz
and considers options or possibilities to overcome sees education as a co-existential experiment, in
particular difficulties in their own situation. Educa- which man engages in practices of dealing with
tion is thus characterized by difference and contro- himself and with the other as incomplete or imper-
versy concerning different interpretations of fect beings. He applies the phenomenological
particular situations. These controversies are those methods of reduction and variation: One’s
of subjects situated in a sociopolitical space, which own view as well as different scientific theories
means that education becomes a democratic pro- and models are critically evaluated in terms
cess. Education also becomes a question of pro- of their anthropological presuppositions. These
ductivity, of generating provisional ideas. Fink’s pre-meanings and prejudices are then bracketed
theory of Bildung and education differs from his in a phenomenological epoché. Following this
contemporaries who were oriented toward herme- step, perspectives can be varied, and, stepping
neutics or Geisteswissenschaften. The differences back from one’s own approach and others’ theo-
can be seen in his considerations of the fragmentary retical conceptions, enables a variation of differ-
nature of the self. Dealing with and relating to these ent views on the thing itself (Sache selbst).
differences are described as practices of Bildung. Seen from the perspective of methodology,
Apart from the differences in the relation to the self, we can state that Rombach, Fink, Schütz, and
Fink also considers differences as foreignness Loch make the phenomenological method of
between the generations and differences of social- reduction and variation fruitful for a theory and
ity, democracy, and power. His theory of Bildung practice of Bildung and education. They succeed
and education offers connections to Foucault or in differentiating phenomenological research in
Derrida and other poststructuralists who were education from pedagogical hermeneutics
influenced by phenomenology. (hermeneutische Pädagogik). Sense, under-
Fink’s student Egon Schütz (1932–2015) has standing, and interpreting are terms both of her-
developed this approach into an “existential- meneutics and of phenomenology. However,
critical pedagogy” and deepened it in the context phenomenological description refers to inten-
of many studies on anthropology, ethics, and aes- tional acts, an important way in which it differs
thetics (for the following see Eugen-Schütz- from empirical observation and hermeneutic
Archiv). interpretation. Phenomenological description
Schütz adds five existentials as modes of the aims at “working out, how a creature like man,
human “relationship to being” (Seinsverhältnisse) who is equipped with a lived body, soul, con-
to the six co-existentials suggested by Fink: free- sciousness and conception of self and thus
dom, reason, historicity, language, and the lived becomes a self, can express sense-giving inten-
body. Schütz radicalizes Fink’s thesis of tions at all” (Loch 2001, p. 1198).
fragmentarity by referring to Heidegger’s criti- Hermeneutics, on the other hand, practices a
cism of humanism and subjectivity. The “anthro- reconstructive interpretation (Auslegung) of
pological circle” as fundamental mode of human something that is given as a text. Phenomenology
self-understanding constitutes the center of strives to put sense into what is perceived, thus
Schütz’ theory. Theoretical, practical, scientific, performing a productive and prospective task:
and everyday definitions and conceptions (Vor- Putting sense into the human expressions [. . .] thus
stellungen) of mankind can never lead to complete becomes the constitutive task of phenomenological
Phenomenological Theory of Bildung and Education 1789

description, which consequently obtains the char- to Levinas, he sketches out a relation to self and to
acter of an attribution (Zuschreibung). (Ibid.) the child and the intergenerational relation (which
all carry opportunities for processes of Bildung) as
According to Fink, this productive and creative ethical relation set in a horizon of alterity and
dimension is guaranteed by reflectively foreignness (Lippitz 2003). Käte Meyer-Drawe
employing the “operative concepts” of phenome- also refers to Merleau-Ponty and his phenomenol-
nology (description, reduction, variation). ogy of intercorporeality, in order to think inter-
Thus, phenomenological description not only subjectivity within re-learning or learning anew.
refers to a description of what is present, visible, Besides adapting Merleau-Ponty, she employs
and noticeable but also to an analysis of “opera- theories of Husserl, Buck, and Waldenfels, but
tive concepts”. Intention and attribution, reduc- also those of Plato and Aristotle and develops an
tion, and variation are central operative concepts influential theory of learning as experience and
within phenomenology. Only by employing these learning as a process of re-learning or learning
concepts, one can move from a reconstruction of anew. Meyer-Drawe critically examines psycho-
what is given to a constitution of sense, in the field logical and neuroscientific concepts in a genea-
of education as in any other. logical analysis. Thus, she is able to describe these
approaches in their claims for omnipotence,
Contemporary Approaches their reductionism, their discursive power, and
During the 1980s and 1990s, new and genuinely their definitional authority. She also succeeds
phenomenological approaches were developed in in differentiating them from a pedagogical-
German educational discourse. Besides Husserl phenomenological theory of learning (Meyer-
and Heidegger, the new reference points become Drawe 2001/1984). Malte Brinkmann makes the
Merleau-Ponty, Waldenfels, Levinas, Derrida, phenomenological orientation fruitful for a theory
and Foucault. Phenomena of sociality, corporality, and research of pedagogical experience, by con-
responsivity, alterity, genealogy, and power have sidering epistemological and methodological
been made fruitful for phenomenological reflec- questions. Based on a phenomenological theory
tion on processes of Bildung and education. of practicing (Übung), he examines temporal and
Within this discourse, special attention has been corporal experiences of power within learning and
paid to Waldenfels’ philosophy of responsivity. In education by using video research (Brinkmann
reference to Merleau-Ponty and to French post- 2012). P
structuralism, Waldenfels widens Husserl’s con-
cept of intentionality through a phenomenology of
corporality, foreignness, and “attentionality” Conclusion
(Waldenfels 2007).
By referring to Husserl’s concept of Lebens- The epistemological question of the subject matter
welt, Wilfried Lippitz follows geisteswis- and the core of pedagogy as a discipline and
senschaftliche, hermeneutic, phenomenological, profession on the one hand and the methodologi-
and socio-theoretical perspectives and critically cal question of an adequate research method in
evaluates them. Following Merleau-Ponty, this connection with the operative terms of phenome-
endeavor brings Lippitz to a phenomenological nology on the other can already be found in Aloys
definition of learning. To carry out his research, Fischer’s Descriptive Pedagogy (1914). Both
Lippitz redefines the method of description in a questions, the substantive and methodological,
hermeneutic-phenomenological perspective have become central to phenomenological educa-
under the term of “exemplary description” and, tional science. Bollnow answers them in a way
in doing so, refers to Fischer, Langeveld, and that is strongly anthropological and ontological in
Buck. In later works, Lippitz focuses on questions nature. The conservatism and traditionalism of
of pedagogical ethics, which he connects to topics Geisteswissenschaftliche Pädagogik that Bollnow
of foreignness and alterity. By referring critically generally affirmed was subsequently overcome by
1790 Phenomenology

Buck’s theory of learning as experience, Loch’s

curricular theory of education, and Schütz’ Phenomenology
existential-critical approach. All three redefine
learning, education, and existence differently. At ▶ Heidegger as Teacher
the same time, the methodological difference sep- ▶ Heidegger on Teaching
arating the phenomenological approach from her- ▶ Langeveld, Martinus J. (1905–1989)
meneutic and social-theoretical methods becomes ▶ Phenomenology of Digital Media
evident. The work of Lippitz, Meyer-Drawe, and ▶ Phenomenology of Inclusion, Belonging, and
Brinkmann define the pedagogical relation, edu- Language
cating, learning, and practicing (Übung) as expe-
riences that are defined within the horizons of
corporality, responsivity, foreignness, and power
and thus differentiated from other approaches Phenomenology in Education
within the human sciences and in qualitative
research more broadly. Tone Saevi
NLA University College, Bergen, Norway

References
Synonyms
Bollnow, O. F. (1959). Existenzphilosophie und
Pädagogik. Versuch über unstetige Formen der Education; Everyday existence; Experience; First
Erziehung. Stuttgart, Germany: Kohlhammer.
Brinkmann, M. (2012). Pädagogische Übung. Praxis und
person; Pedagogic; Phenomenological methodol-
Theorie einer elementaren Lernform. Paderborn, Ger- ogy; Presence; Relation; Responsibility; School;
many: Schöningh. Vulnerability
Buck, G. (1989). Lernen und Erfahrung – Epagogik. Zum
Begriff der didaktischen Induktion. Darmstadt, Ger-
many: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft.
Fink, E. (1970). Erziehungswissenschaft und Lebenslehre. Introduction
Freiburg i.Br., Germany: Verlag Rombach.
Fischer, A. (1961 (1914)): Deskriptive Pädagogik. In T. In Scandinavia and Europe, educational institu-
Rutt (Ed.). Aloys Fischer. Ausgewählte pädagogische
tions are being transformed due to particular polit-
Schriften (pp. 137–154). Paderborn, Germany:
Schöningh. ical, economical, and educational agreements
Lippitz, W. (2003). Differenz und Fremdheit. Phänomeno- such as The Bologna Process, to the policies of
logische Studien in der Erziehungswissenschaft The Organization for European Economic
(pp. 165–176). Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Lang.
Co-operation (OECD), and to changes in avail-
Loch, W. (2001). Pädagogik, phänomenologische. In
D. Lenzen (Ed.), Pädagogische Grundbegriffe 2 ability of global knowledge and information
(pp. 1196–1219). Reinbek, Germany: Rowohlt. mobility through internet and social media. More-
Meyer-Drawe, K. (2001/1984). Leiblichkeit und Sozialität. over, families, kindergartens, schools, universi-
Phänomenologische Beiträge zu einer pädagogischen
ties, social welfare programs, and cultures in
Theorie der Inter-Subjektivität. München, Germany:
Fink. general are affected deeply by increasing political
Rombach, H. (1979). Phänomenologische Erziehungswis- migration, economic centralization, unemploy-
senschaft und Strukturpädagogik. In K. Schaller (Ed.), ment, and profound organizational changes in
Erziehungswissenschaft der Gegenwart. Prinzipien
u. Perspektiven moderner Pädagogik (pp. 136–154).
society and work. The structural changes of
Bochum: Kamp. human and cultural life in Europe contest the
Schütz, E. Egon-Schütz-Archiv an der Humboldt- common meaning of humanity and democracy
Universität zu Berlin. Retrieved from http://www. and revive critical questions of how to possibly
erziehungswissenschaften.hu-berlin.de/de/allgemeine/
judge and incite alternative thinking and acting in
egon-schuetz-archiv.
Waldenfels, B. (2007). Antwortregister. Frankfurt am the present situation in education. However, due
Main: Suhrkamp. to the influence of the Bologna Process and the
Phenomenology in Education 1791

OECD, education is increasingly a means for disciplines based on philosophy’s own language
political and economic interests. The sole focus and meanings. Philosophy of education might be
on knowledge and (lifelong) learning is making an example of how philosophy as a discipline
education the strategic center of rotation of society lends its bearing to the object of education by
with issues of humanity in the purpose and aims of subjugating education to philosophy in a hege-
education coming under severe pressure. This monic relationship. An encounter between phe-
critical situation calls for a radical rethinking of nomenology as a philosophy and education in this
educational means and aims, and actualizes a context would mean that education accepts the
renewed interest in how to encounter the young philosophical (phenomenological) characteristics
generation in the complexity of their lived present, to take control over educational intentions, pur-
rather than in their potential to increase the poses, and vocabulary. Education would become
outcomes of education. The state of affairs has “phenomenologicalized” and lose its own disci-
stirred up major contrasting educational views plinary qualities. While phenomenology as a phi-
represented in the Western traditions of education. losophy claims its own independence from other
The cultural history of education in respectively disciplines, phenomenology as a methodology
Anglo–American (the English-speaking world) lets itself be applied to other disciplines, allowing
and Continental traditions (Europe and Scandina- the disciplines to be in their own right and asking
via) is key here (Biesta 2011). Although the basis their own professional questions. Phenomenology
of the present problem is neither of the two sys- as a methodology is not merely a method to be
tems per se, the very idea that more knowledge applied, it is implicitly also a way of seeing and
represents the main answer to educational ques- living life, or as Mollenhauer (2014, p. 20) indi-
tions and prospects has its source in the cates “a way of life,” but it positions itself
Anglo–American ideal of capitalism, competi- according to the disciplinary character of the
tion, and the belief in an always more profitable other discipline. Phenomenology as a methodol-
future. While in the English-speaking world edu- ogy is a kind of human science theory that
cation is an object of study dependent of interdis- explores the discipline and questions its founda-
ciplinary views and conceptions from “real” tions, not in order to subjugate it, but in order to
disciplines like psychology, sociology, history, sustain its legitimation. Hence, phenomenology
economy, and philosophy, the historical European as a methodology supports the discipline’s own
understanding of education as “pädagogik,” indi- questions and intentions without taking over its P
cates an independent discipline in its own right vocabulary and disciplinary characteristics. Phe-
with its own conceptions, characteristics, and his- nomenology as methodological approach (and
torical justification (Langeveld 1969; Oelkers way of life) and education as “pädagogik” have
2001; Biesta 2011). Education as an interdisci- coexisted in Europe over decades as a method of
plinary objective study – the study of the object existential inquiry into professional practices of
of knowledge – and education as “pädagogik” – a children and young peoples’ lifeworlds (for more
discipline of its own oriented toward the moral details see van Manen 2014), reinforced by a
relation between the new and the older range of philosophers like Merleau-Ponty, Hei-
generation – deploys a distinct difference of how degger, Levinas, Løgstrup, and Gadamer. Phe-
educationalists understand their relation to educa- nomenology as methodology (or human science
tion and how education relates to other disciplines theory) and a particular way of life focuses on the
like philosophy and phenomenology. individual’s lived experience of existential phe-
Dependent of whether we consider phenome- nomena “the reality slowed down”, as
nology to be a philosophy or a methodology, its Mollenhauer puts it (2014, p. 19). In this way
relation to other disciplines is impacted. Phenom- phenomenology offers “pädagogik” ethical resis-
enology as a philosophy in its own right with its tance by asking questions of reason, basis, and
own conceptions, definitions, and disciplinary alternatives. By constantly reflecting and trans-
regulations encounters the sphere of other forming “pädagogik’s” own questions, paradoxes,
1792 Phenomenology in Education

and complexities while sustaining education as phenomenon of pedagogic itself [...] without
“pädagogik” phenomenology puts education as recourse to pat definitions and easy theoretical
well as itself to the test of revealing the experien- conceptualizations” (Levering and Saevi 2014,
tial reality of the young to reflection in research pp. 5–6), as the word “pedagogic” is the angli-
and practice. cized form of the German term “pädagogik,” the
adults’ formal, nonformal, and informal being and
acting in relation to the younger generation. The
Phenomenology as Methodology term “pedagogic” indicates a differentiation to the
in Education English term “pedagogy” that according to
Wivestad (2014, p. 7), “lacks the ‘ic’ and hence
Nonphilosophers commonly carry out a method- the ‘techne’; it lacks the signals of an academic
ological phenomenology and the professional discipline. Wivestad (2014, p. 8) refers to Hügli
practice of research indicates that phenomenology (1989, p. 4), who claims that pädagogik “is and
is seen from the perspective of the actual profes- continues to be. . . a collective singular [noun]
sional practice rather than from the perspective of encompassing the whole spectrum of practice
philosophy. This means that phenomenology in and theoretical concerns with upbringing
this context is not a philosophy of education, but a [Erziehung].” Pädagogik as a discipline of its
way of doing educational (pedagogical) research own is here pointed out in English by the term
and practice. Phenomenology is a way of contem- “pedagogic.” There is a range of European
plating educational questions within the context countries that share the German educational
of educational theory and practice. We might call tradition and thus the term “pädagogik” in singu-
this “practice” a “phenomenology of practice” lar, indicating the unity and autonomy of
which according to van Manen (2014) is a meth- the discipline (e.g., Norway – pedagogikk,
odological approach relevant to any professional Sweden – pädagogik, Denmark – pedagogik,
practice. Phenomenology in education is a “phe- The Netherlands – pedagogiek, Spain, Portugal,
nomenological ‘pedagogic’”. The term ‘peda- Italy, Poland – pedagogia, Latvia- pedagoģija,
gogic’ was first used in Phenomenology & Lituania – pedagogika, Estonia – pedagoogika,
Practice 2/2014 as the common basic anglicized France –pédagogie). Within the European and
term indicating the fact that there is no Scandinavian cultures, pedagogic is understood
Anglo–American pedagogical tradition, and as the educational practice of helping the young
therefore no word for the practice of this tradition. generation to grow up in a culture, as well as the
It is therefore not easy for the Continental theoretical and conceptual reflective and reflexive
pedagogue to tell the English reader what peda- responsibility for questioning and reformulating
gogic is. Theoretical pedagogic, in German this particular culture’s insights, traditions, and
“Allgemeine Pädagogik,” cannot be equated to habituations. While we might think of education
philosophy of education for reasons explicated as a formal preparation or qualification to jobs in
in the introduction to this article. One main dis- society, and as children’s socialization to same
tinction is that education refers to what is happen- age mates and to the cultural norms and standards
ing in schools and educational institutions, while of the status quo, pedagogic also presupposes
pedagogic refers to everything that is happening an element of subjectification of and by the child
to the child from early childhood to adulthood; or young person (as well as of the adult or
the broader upbringing and educating the young teacher). This quality of subjectification, which
generation. The special issue of P&P was a in German is called “Bildung,” indicates a sub-
tribute to the translation into English of jective independent counter voice or self-action
Klaus Mollenhauer’s classic book Vergessene (Mollenhauer 2014) sometimes from the utterly
Zusammenhänge. Über Kultur und Erziehung other; a resistance to the actual, which according
(Mollenhauer 1983), 30 years after its publication. to this tradition is the crucial identifier of
It is a virtually giving or giving back “the pedagogic.
Phenomenology in Education 1793

Explore Education Anew Phenomenological pedagogic resists preset aims

and the adult’s psychological effort and ability to
Jan Masschelein (2011) in his paper entitled define the inner landscape of the child in order to
“Experimentum scholae,” provides an interesting make the correct preplanned learning incitement,
exploration of education via the related word as is commonly a teacher’s task today. Rather, the
“school.” He alludes an allegory to Hannah existential orientation of a phenomenological ped-
Arendt’s introduction to her book Between Past agogic evokes a concern for the child’s life as
and Future, where she claims that educational experienced by the child, and in his or her atten-
terms like authority, freedom, culture, and the tion to issues of the world. The attentiveness to
word “education” itself are being emptied of con- what is experienced – to what shows itself in the
tent; the meaning of these words has “evapo- presence of present – demands that the adult or
rated,” leaving behind “empty shells.” The teacher inserts him or herself in time, space, and
challenge they present to education is “to distil relationship with the experience and is exposed to
from them [the empty shells] anew their original what actually happens (rather than to what should
spirit” (Arendt 1968b, p. 15 in Masschelein 2011, have happened according to plans, norms, and
p. 530). Masschelein continues: assumptions). The adult is concerned with the
present – he or she is “present in the present”
Distilling the original spirit is neither to perform a
historical reconstruction or genealogy, nor to (Masschelein 2012, p. 356), caring for the present,
engage in essentialist analysis in order to define a and in touch with and touched by what is actually
(suprahistorical) essence. It rather consists of happening.
attempts to relate these words to the experiences
and materialities connected to the inventions or
events that they name and to our actual experiences.
Let Existence Address
The term “distill” etymologically stems from
Latin “distillare” “trickle down in minute drops,” Mollenhauer (2014, p. 26) asserts that at the heart
from dis- “apart” + stillare “to drip, drop” (www. of Continental pedagogic lingers the quest of a
etymonline.com), and in chemistry is used to moral responsibility for my own being and acting
purify and identify a compound. To distil anew and thus for how I encounter the other as an-other.
the original educational experience then could be A moral responsibility for how I am and act
to filter out replicas and counterfeits and to admit (rather than a professional accountability for who P
that experiential insights of education cannot sim- I am, e.g., teacher, social worker, psychologist)
ply be approved by tradition and institutional cus- comes from the existential basis of phenomeno-
toms. On the contrary, what is called education logical pedagogic, indicating that my being and
has to be explored as fresh and uncontaminated as acting has other ways of being and acting as its
possible. This is Masschelein’s point of departure alternative. What would it mean to education if
in his exploration of education. Also phenomeno- educational practice spoke to the existence of
logical method has to be invented anew every time children and young people, and put reality to the
an original research project is initiated (van test of human responsibility? What if the adult or
Manen 2014), and no method (or any style or teacher realized that all life situations (including
attitude) can be freed from prejudice and assump- the life with young persons) were an exposure to
tions. Phenomenology in education or a phenom- existential choices? The relation between the
enological pedagogic is concerned with actual adult and the child – if it is a pedagogical
experiences of everyday life as they are experien- relation – must be a relation of potentiality, open-
tially lived, sensed, and acted (rather than as they ness, emptiness – a relation that is not preplanned
should have been or ought to be according to the extent that it is in the full power of the adult.
to norms and traditions), and in particular the On the contrary, the responsible relation hesitates
existential experience of situations as experienced in the presence of the other and requestions its
by the singular child or young person. purpose and aim. Here, intention and aim are not
1794 Phenomenology in Education

theoretical concepts helping the adult or teacher to relational coexistence and the complexity of
master educational practice, so to speak, from the human and existential life.
outside by applying general rules and regulations
to present situations in order to pursue objectives
and fixed processes and results. Rather, the con- Why Phenomenology Matters
cern of the pedagogue is to be present in the to Education
present along with the young and being attentive
to the existing pedagogical and ethical bases. The What does phenomenology mean to education, or
moral and pedagogical concern for the child and said in another way, can phenomenology address
young person’s experience in and of concrete edu- questions or incite understandings to education
cational relations and situations is a risky project that would not be possible without phenomenol-
that might lead to educational failure and defeat. ogy? Education as pedagogic and phenomenol-
One aspect of risk is the fact that the authority of ogy coincide in their shared focus on the
the adult is different from the authority of the child concrete, situated, singular, and irreplaceable
or young person – although neither of them is human experience taking place in the complexity
unaffected by the power and powerlessness of and paradoxes of the moral-relational lifeworld
the other. Authority unlike authoritarianism is a (Sævi 2015, p. 344). Nevertheless, while peda-
gift from the other and it is relational. Authority gogic tends to recollect concrete episodes in a
like morality, however, is never preset, but could more formal scholarly way, like useful didactic
always have been given to me differently or not material for a particular educational purpose
given to me. The willingness of a phenomenolog- (Mollenhauer 2014, p. 74), phenomenological
ical pedagogic to be addressed by the complexity pedagogic puts lived experience concretely forth
of existence and care for the other is an ethos that as existential examples, depicting present
cannot be utilized for a purpose outside the situa- moments in the (em)pathically and bodily sensed
tion (even though the purpose might have good experience. Examples of concrete presence in
intentions), but has to be put “to the test of its own existence can be seen in the films made by the
thinking” (Masschelein 2012, p. 355). To put edu- Belgian directors Jean–Pierre and Luc Dardenne,
cation to the test of its own thinking might mean to where young people and adults in open, exposed
explore its validity for children’s lives and for the life situations put questions of pedagogic and
critical questions of present time, which more existence to test (Mai 2010; Masschelein 2012).
often are complex existential dilemmas (e.g., flee- The films explore existential educational questions
ing from war, terror and poverty, young peoples’ where responsible actions take place (or the lack
experience of dismissal, discrimination, devalua- thereof) to let pedagogic happen, or as one of the
tion, unemployment, marginalization) than con- directors say, to allow the “future [to] take place”
trollable issues of knowledge or learning. (L. Dardenne 2008 in Mai 2010, p. 84). The
Existential educational traditions in Europe put Dardennes ask once again the old questions of
the person (as first person) to the test of ethical what a teacher, a father, a mother, a child, or the
existence and coexistence (Masschelein 2012; other as other actually is, when existence has little
Mollenhauer 2014; van Manen 2014). They test or no support in traditional norms and regulations.
out a kind of truth telling that concretely and They show how humanity and relationality in con-
riskily demonstrates (often through cultural temporary life conditions are exposed and vulner-
works of art like fiction, paintings, and film) able to human responsibility. They put education
what being a teacher or young person might be to the test of its own thinking and acting and the
and, implicit in the demonstration, offers a judg- risk of losing is real. The films help us see that the
ment or ethos of what is good and right. Moral experience of what is in pedagogical situations is
questions are always questions that unlike state- different from what ought to be or should have
ments or rules are constantly put to the test of been. The attention to what is experienced implies
Phenomenology of Digital Media 1795

nearness and attentiveness to the moral and peda- Saevi, T. (2015). Learning and pedagogic relations. In
gogical potential of the situation and indicates a D. Scott & E. Hargreaves (Eds.), The Sage handbook
of learning (pp. 342–352). London: Sage.
basic difference between existential phenomeno- Van Manen, M. (2014). Phenomenology of practice. Lon-
logical pedagogic and a psychological prescriptive don: Left Coast Press.
foundation of education (Saevi 2014, p. 43). Being Wivestad, S. M. (2014). Klaus Mollenhauer’s “forgotten
experientially present, relating the meaning of the connections”: A sketch of a general pedagogic.
Phenomenology & Practice, 8(2), 7–12.
episode to my own experience, my own practice or
what might have been my own practice, allows the
experience to address me as a pedagogical possi-
bility. The responsibility for that which is urges us
as adults and teachers to keep educational situa- Phenomenology of Digital Media
tions open to experiential understanding – rather
than to point to a problem or suggest a solution. If Joris Vlieghe
the future should have a chance to take place in Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool, UK
present education as Luc Dardenne says (2008),
being with children must carry existential human
and moral weight as experiential moments for the Synonyms
adult and teacher.
Digital media; Heidegger; Human embodiment;
Learning and teaching practices; Phenomenology;
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demic study of education: A comparative analysis of Introduction
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field. Pedagogy, Culture and Society, 19(2), 175–192.
Hügli, A. (1989). Pädagogik. In J. Ritter, K. Gründer, & Although digital media are fairly recent phenom-
R. Eisler (Eds.), Historisches Wörterbuch der ena, it could be said that the phenomenological
Philosophie (Vol. 7, pp. 1–35). Basel, Switzerland: movement, from its earliest stages on, has offered
Schwabe (Reprinted in Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche
a most fruitful starting point for understanding the
Buchgesellschaft).
Langeveld, M. (1969). Einführung in die teoretische meaning and the impact of these media for our P
Pädagogik. Stuttgart, Germany: Klett Verlag. lives, in general, and for education, in particular.
Levering, B. and Saevi, T. (2014). Editorial. Phenomenol- Central to the work of both Husserl and Heidegger
ogy & Practice, Vol. 8, 2/2014, 1–6
is a concern with the growing presence, if not the
Mai, J. (2010). Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne. Urbana/
Chicago/Springfield, IL: University of Illinois Press. ubiquity and inevitability, of technology in our
Masschelein, J. (2011). Experimentum scholae: The world daily lives. Their reflections sometimes have a
once more, but not (yet) finished. Studies in Philosophy prophetic quality. It is no coincidence that their
and Education, 30, 529–535.
ideas inform many contemporary thinkers who
Masschelein, J. (2012). Inciting an attentive experimental
ethos and creating a laboratory setting. Zeitschrift für aim at coming to terms with our present world,
Pädagogik, 58(3), 354–370. which is increasingly a digitized one. The sphere
Mollenhauer, K. (1983). Vergessene Zusammenhänge. Über of education is no exception to that: even more
Kultur und Erziehung. München, Germany: Juventa.
educators and children/students relate to one
Mollenhauer, K. (2014). Forgotten connections. On cul-
ture and upbringing. London: Routledge (Original in another through screens, instead of meeting one
German 1983). another in real-life presence. And, whereas the
Oelkers, J. (2001). Einführung in die Theorie der initiation into the world used to be one predomi-
Erziehung. Weinheim, Germany: Beltz.
nantly based on reading and studying (school)
Saevi, T. (2014). Mollenhauer and the pedagogical rela-
tion: A general pedagogic from the margins. Phenom- books, it is imaginable that digital and social
enology & Practice, 2(2014), 39–44. media will become the dominant technologies
1796 Phenomenology of Digital Media

which structure the way in which the new gener- computer screens are marked out as mere informa-
ation encounters the world. tion that can circulate – things that can be quantified
First, a particular, “traditional” phenomenologi- and exchanged. And, this applies to almost literally
cal understanding of technology, as present in the everything: the texts we read and write; the people
work of Heidegger, is discussed, as well as how this we encounter and befriend; the world we live in,
view informs contemporary debates on the growing explore, and enjoy; etc.
impact of digital technologies on education. As As such, we no longer appreciate things for
often as not, this impact is deemed unfavorable. their intrinsic qualities. Rather, we have come to
Subsequently, this chapter also zooms in on recent take mere quantity as a sign of quality. This might
work on education and digitization which criticizes well explain a rise in instrumental thinking, which
this traditional perspective and which tries and has intensely affected the sphere of (higher) edu-
comes to an experiential account which is more cation. For instance, subject matters are no longer
open to the possibilities that go together with the seen as worthwhile to explore in and out of them-
use of digital media – an account that also gives due selves, but as a potential source of economic ben-
to the complex history of technology and stresses efit, and students solely appear as a possible
bodily dimensions. In view of the format of this source of investment (Ibid.). It is important to
text, only a limited number of authors and a limited note that this way of looking isn’t a harmless
scope of issues can be discussed. However the and easily rectifiable distortion of sight but that it
authors and examples presented are representative reflects what subject matters, students, and uni-
for the way in which phenomenology can contrib- versities are: a technological worldview goes
ute to a better understanding of how digital media together with an ontological reduction. As Hei-
affect the world of education. degger claims in regard with the contemporary
world: “Only what is calculable in advance counts
as being” (quoted in Ibid., p. 149). In that sense,
Digital Technologies and the Framing the use of technologies, and particularly of digital
of the World technologies, defines what we are, and they delin-
eate the ways in which we relate to reality as such.
A basic insight to be drawn from Heidegger’s sem- On a more ontic (i.e., concrete) level, similar
inal text The Question Concerning Technology analyses have been made in relation to the intro-
(1978) is that we completely misunderstand tech- duction of digital technologies in the classroom.
nology if we only regard it as a set of tools at our For instance, Richard Dreyfus (2001) argues that
disposal. Instead, technology pertains to a way of the physical copresence of students, teachers, and
understanding itself. The world appears to us the things we study is a necessary condition for
“enframed” in a way never encountered before we education to take place and therefore that the tele-
started to rely on technology when leading our presence we increasingly encounter on-screen and
lives. More precisely, Heidegger claims that under online is a dangerous evolution. Drawing from
the conditions of a technological worldview, liter- Merleau-Ponty, he claims that we can only learn
ally everything is seen as a resource, i.e., something to master a subject matter when it is sensed as
which is out there only to be used and optimized. having a reality of its own, i.e., when we
This analysis stills holds true today (if not with (as bodies) are confronted with something external
greater urgency than in Heidegger’s own time), as that poses a challenge to us and that doesn’t auto-
Iain Thomson has shown in an important study on matically yield to our will and intention. Therefore,
Heidegger and higher education (Thomson 2005). Dreyfus argues, computer and Internet learning is
Thomson argues that Heidegger’s analysis, most problematic: the hyper-mediated relation to
although written long before the introduction of reality within virtual spaces, as well as the ready-
computer technology in our daily lives, actually made and algorithmic character of e-learning-
gives a most accurate description of how digital programs, prevents this confrontation with a recal-
media operate: the things which appear on our citrant reality. These programs seem to be
Phenomenology of Digital Media 1797

developed to immunize pupils/students against this Nonetheless, it is also possible to take a more
kind of unsettling experience. neutral and productive approach, open to the pos-
To give another illustration, it could be argued sibilities which come with digitization. This is
that the use of ready-made (PowerPoint) presen- evidenced by recent work on digitization and edu-
tations prevents students from experiencing the cation that starts from a (post)phenomenological
way in which a teacher actually composes (letter perspective. This other approach is closer to the
for letter) the words she draws attention to: they principal aim of phenomenology, viz., try and
just appear with a click of the mouse. This pre- give a precise, rich, and detailed but also maxi-
cludes a most valuable educational experience mally unprejudiced and unbiased account of the
students might have in the traditional classroom way in which reality appears to us. Not unsurpris-
context. As Cathy Adams (2016) shows, the use ingly, phenomenology has also been effectively
of blackboard and chalk grants students the pos- applied in order to come to detailed descriptions
sibility of witnessing how words come into being. of what it means to relate to others and the world
Chalkboarding thus provokes a different and more under pre-digital and digital conditions. Rather
caring sort of attention when compared to the than seeking for a justification against (or for
consumerist-style attention that goes together that matter in favor of) new technologies, the
with seeing appearing slide after slide. Under first and most important task of such a purely
traditional conditions, it is as if students have a descriptive approach is to draw out what it
more direct feel of why the words which are means to educate and to educate digitally, which
produced are important and of how much the (new) possibilities come with (new) technologies,
teacher cares about these words. This unique and to draw out differences with what education
way of disclosing the world has up till now no looks like in more traditional (i.e., classroom)
equivalent in the digitally supported classroom settings.
(Ibid.). A substantial effort to give such a descriptive
rather than a judgmental account can be found in
the work of Gloria Dall’Alba and Robyn Barna-
Beyond a Normative Approach cle (2005), Max van Manen and Cathy Adams
(2009), and Norm Friesen (2011). Rather than
These analyses underline that technologies, and playing out traditional media against digital
especially digital ones, are never just means at ones, van Manen and Adams argue that “on- P
our disposal, i.e., instruments which we might line computer technologies intensify the phe-
choose to use (or not) and which are easily inter- nomenology of writing” (van Manen and
changeable for other instruments without this Adams 2009, pp. 20–21). Digital, and especially
having much consequences. They show, on online, technologies open up writing to an
the contrary, that (digital) technologies define unprecedented experience of what it means to
to a rather large extent how we experience be a writer. Drawing from Blanchot, they show
ourselves, others, and the world. More impor- that writing online and offline is about entering a
tantly, they actively give shape to the realm of not easily graspable space (and as such writing
education – in a more harmful than a fruitful way, offline and online are markedly different from
so it may seem. As such, phenomenology oral discourse which is always a matter of direct
appears to be a good ally for those who believe expression and which therefore never implies
that with the advent and proliferation of new this kind of journey into the unknown). In order
technologies, we are destroying something of to come to terms with the differences between
great value and that the use of digital media online and offline text production, van Manen
obstructs the path of true education. Such a and Adams carefully craft an experiential
view is not only normative, but also technologi- account of the different ways in which writing
cal determinist, as the consequences which are comes into being under these two conditions.
laid out appear to be unavoidable. And so, they convincingly show that in
1798 Phenomenology of Digital Media

“cyberwriting” there is a different sense of what Bernard Stiegler’s (1998) reinterpretation of

it means to make one’s ideas and feelings public, Husserl’s analysis of the constitution of time con-
another contact to the insight and truth one seeks sciousness and the role of memory. Whereas Hus-
through writing, a different feel of one’s own and serl only discriminates between primary retention
one’s readers presence, proximity/distance and (actually sensed experience) and secondary reten-
corporeality, etc. tion (past experiences that are not directly acces-
Likewise, in his study The Place of the Class- sible, but which co-constitute the meaning of our
room and the Space of the Screen (2011), Friesen actual experiences), Stiegler shows that Husserl
gives a detailed and rich analysis of “the differ- omits to take into account the most important
ences separating screen and classroom as spaces constitutive dimension of memory: the technolog-
for pedagogy” (p. 15). At stake here is not a plea ical tools we rely on – which he calls tertiary
against or for online learning but the development retentions (e.g., carving a date on the wall of a
of “an experientially attuned vocabulary,” in order monument or writing a diary entry). The idea here
to offer an accurate picture of the lived experi- is that it is only thanks to the existence of external
ences of teaching and learning online and offline. memories that human beings have something they
Defying much of the mainstream research regard- can properly call memory in the first place. Tech-
ing digitization, which is almost exclusively nological memory is not an exteriorization of the
concerned with how the use of traditional and conscious faculty of memory; it is exactly the
digital media affects study performance and learn- other way around.
ing outcomes, Friesen’s goal is to flesh out what it Therefore, our reliance on digital technologies
means to be a student, to be a teacher, and to be is not a recent or exceptional phenomenon.
together (to share experiences and meanings) in Rather, our very constitution as human beings
both conditions. As such he is describing things (and the very possibility of conscious phenomena)
which we can all recognize ourselves, but in a is dependent upon the use technological prosthe-
more structured way than we usually do. More ses. In that sense digital media are less a “new”
exactly he analyzes teaching and learning phenomenon than often taken for granted. They
according to the four basic dimensions are merely the latest version of the technologies
(or existentials) that structure lived reality: “lived without which a human life is inconceivable.
time, lived space, lived body, lived relation[ality]” Moreover, this view entails that the word technol-
(p. 25). ogy refers to much more than to mechanic, elec-
tronic, or digital devices alone. Instead, it
concerns all tools and supports we rely on to
The Constitutive Role of Digital lead a human life. An electric drill is as much a
Technologies for Humanity technology as a prehistoric stone axe is, and the
same goes for chalkboarding and PowerPoint.
Next to challenging a normative take on the digital Also, technology has not merely to do with the
in education, recent (post)phenomenological instruments we use but also with the use itself in a
work has also addressed other assumptions practical, material, and bodily sense, i.e., with the
which are implicit to the account sketched in the gestures and disciplines required to work with
first section, viz., that technology is only a phe- particular technologies (Stiegler 1998). It is here
nomenon of a recent date and that digitization is that education plays a crucial role, as it is the place
the paramount exemplification of the recent ten- where we get acquainted with the basic grammar
dency of relying too much on technology. Over of the operations necessary to master the cultur-
and against this, it could be argued, from a (post) ally dominant technology – be it reading and
phenomenological point of view, that technology writing in a traditional or in a digital way
has a much longer history and that our very (cf. Vlieghe 2015). As Norm Friesen (2011) has
humanity has actually always been dependent argued, even though there exist marked differ-
upon the uses of technologies. This follows from ences (e.g., the inevitability of the play of
Phenomenology of Digital Media 1799

concealing and disclosing that goes together with two-dimensional form and much less inflexible
the body that cannot not talk in the classroom), form of thought which is related to image-based
there are also important similarities between class- scripts such as ideographic writing systems. Most
room and educational on-screen activities. Both prophetically, but without making normative
demand the development of habits, an inflexible commitments à la Heidegger, he argues that we
bodily discipline, and a “regimentation of time, are gradually shifting toward a new era, in which
space and the body” (p. 81). Over and against the our experience of the world is mediated by com-
prejudice that we leave our bodies behind when puter images rather than alphabet-based texts.
sitting in front of a screen, engaging with digital This will introduce a new, zero-dimensional
media should be considered as being as much a style of thought (a form of thought which is akin
physical engagement as using traditional media to the computational force of computers) (Ibid.).
is. And so, in order to understand what it means
to teach and learn off- and online, we first and
foremost need to concentrate on how we come to The Digital and the Human Body
embody particular technologies (cf. Dall’Alba
and Barnacle 2005). As noted, a major consequence of the work
On this point a fruitful dialogue has been discussed above is that the often heard claim
opened between (post)phenomenologists and that digitization implies disembodiment is mis-
media theoretical approaches. According to these guided. A full phenomenological account of dig-
last approaches (developed in the wake of McLu- ital education requires attention for the body,
han and the Toronto School of Communication even if the body is engaged in different ways in
and more recently in Germany as media ecology), digital teaching and learning than it is in the
communicating our feelings and ideas is not only classroom. Taking the human subject as external
dependent upon technological infrastructure but to the technologies she counts on is not an accu-
profoundly influenced by it (i.e., the medium is rate starting point for understanding the digital
the message). Media theorists have been espe- (or for that matter for coming to grips with the
cially interested in differences between role of any educational technology, as the exam-
pre-digital and digital writing and reading tech- ple of the gesture of writing illustrates). Rather,
nologies. In this regard the recently translated as Don Ihde (2002) – one of today’s most
work of Vilem Flusser deserves to be mentioned renowned phenomenologists of technology, P
(e.g., Flusser 2011). Drawing from both phenom- proposes, we should ground phenomenological
enological description of experience and the anal- analysis on human-technology relations
ysis of features of the material infrastructure we (meaning that this relation is as important as the
rely on, Flusser argues that there are marked dif- intentional subject-world relation in Husserlian
ferences between alphabetic and nonalphabetic phenomenology). Over and against the techno-
writing systems, as well as between picture- logical determinist reading of Heidegger
based, text-based, and computer-based forms of sketched above, Ihde (Ibid.) claims that this pos-
communication: each media technology goes itive reading of what (digital) technologies allow
together with a substantially different experiential for is already (implicitly) present in Heidegger’s
realm. Flusser goes so far as to claim that our prioritizing the practical relation which we enter-
capacity for logical thought and our sense of his- tain with our world when analyzing the proper
torical progress are predicated upon the character- characteristics of human existence.
istics of (alphabetic) writing. This particular form Drawing from Ihde and Levinas, Gallit Wellner
of writing presupposes a particular repertoire of (2014) argues that we should understand the
bodily gestures which support a one-dimensional, human-digital technology relationship in terms
linear form of thought (alphabetic writing goes in of the screen. Digital media don’t accidentally
one predefined direction without any possibility have screens. Rather, they are defined by having
of returning), which is opposed to the a screen. Moreover, digital media appear as
1800 Phenomenology of Ethics and Aesthetics

closely intertwined with our own bodies, in the present challenge to any future phenomenological
sense that they address us as a face (or, more investigation into the meaning of digital media for
exactly, as a quasi-face as Wellner wants it). For education.
instance, “[t]he screen of the cell phone, like a
facade of a home, represents an exteriority which
hides an interiority. The screen acts like a face that References
requires a response . . .” (Ibid., p. 311). Therefore,
in order to understand our rapports to the digital, Adams, C. (2016). Programming the gesture of writing: On
the algorithmic paratexts of the digital. Educational
we need to take into consideration bodily and
Theory [forthcoming].
emotional qualities that relate to the screen Dall’Alba, G., & Barnacle, R. (2005). Embodied knowing
which always appears as something other in online environments. Educational Philosophy and
(alterity) in the strong meaning of that word. Theory, 37(5), 719–744.
Dreyfus, R. (2001). On the Internet. London: Routledge.
This sense of alterity inherent to screens might
Flusser, V. (2011). Does writing have a future? (trans: Roth,
be disputed by turning once more to Friesen’s N. A.). Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
(2011) analysis of experiential differences Friesen, N. (2011). The place of the classroom and the
between classroom and online education. To space of the screen: Relational pedagogy and internet
technology. New York: Peter Lang.
give only one example, Friesen draws attention
Heidegger, M. (1978). Basic writings (trans: Farrell Krell,
to how the experience of silence (e.g., occurring D.). New York: Harper Collins.
between two students collaborating on a project) Ihde, D. (2002). Bodies in technology. Minneapolis, MN:
is totally opposed on- and offline. Whereas the University of Minnesota Press.
Stiegler, B. (1998). Technics and time: The fault of
meaning of silence in the classroom is always
Epimetheus (trans: Beardsworth, R., & Collins, G.).
constituted by the bodily presence of others and Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
the surroundings one happens to find oneself in, Thomson, I. (2005). Heidegger on ontotheology: Technol-
silence experienced online is always linked to the ogy and the politics of education. Cambridge, UK:
Cambridge University Press.
physical distance between those who fall silent. In
van Manen, M., & Adams, C. (2009). The phenomenology
the first case, the meaning of this silence might be of space in writing online. Educational Philosophy and
drawn from the other’s body language or her Theory, 41(1), 9–21.
gazing at a salient thing in the surrounding Vlieghe, J. (2015). Traditional and digital literacy. The
literacy hypothesis, technologies of reading and writ-
(which might be expressive of heightened atten-
ing, and the ‘grammatized’ body. Ethics and Educa-
tion or boredom). In the second case, however, the tion, 10(2), 209–226.
other’s silence might mean that the other is no Wellner, G. (2014). The quasi-face of the cell-phone:
longer communicating (as she is presumably Rethinking alterity and screens. Human Studies, 37,
299–316.
checking up her Facebook account).
This last example illustrates how difficult it
is to get away from the normative and technolog-
ical determinist assumptions discussed above.
Although the last analysis gives a rich and detailed Phenomenology of Ethics
account of the phenomenon of silence under both and Aesthetics
conditions, and although it takes into account the
embodiment of both online and offline learners, it Erika Goble
also tends to reinforce the idea that the technology Research, NorQuest College, Edmonton, AB,
in question fully settles what is and what is not Canada
possible under digital conditions (techno-
determinism), and it tends to frame the digital in
a judgmental way, opposing the flat space of the Synonyms
screen to the living place of the classroom – which
seems by and large preferable (normative stance). Aesthetics; Ethical relation; Ethics; Intersubjec-
This will probably remain a pitfall and an ever tivity; Sense perception; Sensuous, The
Phenomenology of Ethics and Aesthetics 1801

Introduction rules that we follow, but rather as something that

arises within and becomes manifest through
In education, ethics and aesthetics are more com- everyday human life. The phenomenology of
monly regarded as subject matter to be taught than ethics, then, is a close study of how we live well
as essential features of the field. Ethics in educa- with others in our world. Specifically, phenome-
tion may be conceived as students’ moral educa- nologists seek to identify those experiences and
tion, whether defined secularly or religiously, their meaning that underpin eudaimonia or the
values to be taught to students and embodied by good life.
educators. Aesthetics, in turn, is largely under- From a phenomenological perspective, ethics
stood as part of the arts’ curriculum; although, in is understood as being rooted in our interpersonal
rarer cases, it may be associated with the pleasing relations and intersubjectivity. The most basic
(or perhaps not-so-pleasing) physical building in relation that we enter into is with another person.
which teaching takes place. This original ethical experience – encountering
When we consider how education is experi- another – serves as the foundation for all other
enced, however – the curriculum as lived, as dimensions of ethics, including the development
opposed to the curriculum as plan (Aoki of ethical principles and systems. The first phe-
2005) – we discover that education itself has impor- nomenological philosopher to articulate this posi-
tant ethical and aesthetic dimensions. Whether one tion was Emmanuel Levinas. Indeed, one might
is an educator or a student, one’s everyday experi- say that the phenomenology of ethics is first and
ence of education contains fundamental ethical and foremost a Levinasian phenomenology. This is
aesthetic components that are often overlooked, not to claim that other phenomenologists have
unseen, or taken for granted in our classrooms and not offered other phenomenologies of ethics,
our everyday educator–student interactions. These only that the majority of subsequent ethical inves-
integral dimensions, however, can be revealed tigations are deeply indebted to Levinas’ ideas.
when education is considered from a phenomeno- Responding to and seeking an alternative to
logical perspective. Heidegger’s ontology, Levinas demonstrates that
This entry begins by reviewing the major there is a profoundly ethical basis to human exis-
phenomenological understandings of ethics and tence that arises from our first and most simple
aesthetics. We see how, despite common under- encounter with another human being: the instant
standings, neither are principles or ideals we of seeing the other’s face. For Levinas, this P
employ. Rather, both ethics and aesthetics are moment is our most fundamental ethical experi-
relational experiences, arising through simple yet ence. It is ethics, as well as the origin of subjec-
deeply meaningful encounters we have with our tivity and intersubjectivity. It is also where all
world. This entry then considers how the phenom- philosophy must begin.
enology of ethics and aesthetics manifests According to Levinas (1968, 1985), when we
uniquely within the educational sphere, providing see the face of the other, we respond to it imme-
shape and depth of meaning to our encounters. diately because it demands and commands us
to. We respond to it – and its injunction not to
harm the other, but to defend and protect him or
The Phenomenology of Ethics her – before we can think or stop ourselves. And
in this immediate, spontaneous response, we
Ethics is the study of how one should live: what experience responsibility for the other. It is a
makes life worth living, what principles or beliefs response driven by the naked vulnerability of the
should guide one’s life, how these ideas are other’s face and the power it holds over us. In
established and enacted, and upon what basis looking upon the other’s visage, we do not see
they are developed. For phenomenological phi- the face’s physical features but the being embod-
losophers, however, to understand ethics is not ied there. And in that face, we do not see another
to examine it as a set of abstract principles or like ourselves, but an other, someone who is
1802 Phenomenology of Ethics and Aesthetics

wholly different to us. The other’s face challenges specific foundation. Although phenomenological
us because of its difference, and, in that differ- philosophers since Husserl have used art to gain
ence, it signifies, it “speaks.” This signification is, insight into phenomena – such as Merleau-
for Levinas, the origin of discourse, communica- Ponty’s study of Cezanne’s paintings or
tion, and community. Moreover, in placing us in Heidegger’s exploration of van Gogh’s painting
relation to and responsibility for the other, it also of shoes – few have undertaken a rigorous and
calls forth an awareness of ourselves, our subjec- systematic phenomenology of aesthetics. It seems
tivity, our humanity, and our being in relation to that the experience that historically was associated
others in the world. Importantly, however, our with the arts and, in particular, with the beautiful
response to and the responsibility we experience proves a challenge to the phenomenological pro-
for the other are unidirectional. Our response and ject. And yet, when attempted, such a phenome-
responsibility are not dependent on a similar nology provides unique insights into the affective
response and responsibility being returned to domain of life.
us. Although directly emergent from our experi- To fully understand the phenomenology of
ence of interrelation, our response – and by exten- aesthetics, we must understand how the term has
sion, our experience of ethics – is initially changed over time. Traditionally, aesthetics was
singularly ours. conceived as the experience of the beautiful in the
Many phenomenologists have expanded upon arts. In the modern period, however, the concept
Levinas’ phenomenology of the face, including expanded to include the experience of anything
Edward Casey, Alphonso Lingis, Ian Thomson, beautiful (such as people, places, or things). In
and Max van Manen. From Levinas’ ethics, it can recent years, aesthetics has undergone yet another,
be established how certain actions – such as more radical transformation to include negative
glances, touches, or inaction – have an ethical affective dimensions of existence, coming to
character. We can also articulate how what we see reflect more accurately the term’s etymological
when we look upon another – the original ethical root as being “sense perception.”
act – draws forth an awareness of ourselves as Early phenomenologies of aesthetics, not
ethical beings and of our world as having ethical unexpectedly, approached it solely as arising
(or unethical) features. It further opens up an under- through beautiful artworks. These studies initially
standing of how our initial perception and what we struggled with the challenge of understanding the
perceive has the capacity to change who and how experience of art as being more than mere repre-
we are in the world. Quite simply, Levinas’ phe- sentation. The first to do so was Roman Ingarden
nomenology of the face allows for the articulation (1961, 1973a, b), who posited that the artwork (for
of the ethics of looking, seeing, being seen, being him, the literary work) is a being in itself, which is
unseen, and responsibility. It also makes possible composed of strata that are experienced by its
explorations of the complexity of ethics within audience. Combined, the strata create the entity
particular environments, such as education or of the work, but each layer carries its own value
health care. Ethics, Levinas shows us, is intimately and unique aesthetic qualities. Meaning arises in
intertwined with human relationality. It emerges in the encounter between the audience and the strata
our relations with other people, with others in a within the art object. While human consciousness
community, with those like us and those unlike us, is required for the experience of the strata,
and even with animals, things, the natural environ- Ingarden insists that consciousness itself is not
ment, and our world as a whole. the creative force in the encounter; such force
resides in the object. What is “cocreated,” how-
ever, is the object as a work of art; that is, as an
The Phenomenology of Aesthetics aesthetic object.
Building upon Ingarden’s understanding,
Like the phenomenology of ethics, the phenome- Mikel Dufrennes (1973) provides the first com-
nology of aesthetics has a relatively clear and prehensive phenomenological analysis of the arts.
Phenomenology of Ethics and Aesthetics 1803

According to Dufrennes, to understand the art various considerations of things like nests,
object, one needs to account for it within a lived drawers, burning candles, embers, and childhood
world. Like his predecessor, Dufrennes differen- dreams – studies undertaken using the terms
tiates between the art object, which may be “poetics” and reveries – demonstrate how the
encountered in various ways, and the aesthetic aesthetic dimension of these small, simple expe-
object, which is “the work of art perceived for its riences are deeply bound to the larger meaning of
own sake” (1973, p. 16). Unlike Ingarden, how- human life. Likewise, Roland Barthes’ phenome-
ever, Dufrennes’ phenomenology is not limited to nology of photography (1981) shows how the
viewer and viewed, reader and text. It also recog- meaning of photography is not found in its objec-
nizes the history and location of the work, as well tive, identifiable qualities – whether the common
as the influence of the artist. Indeed, Dufrennes studium or the more rare punctum – but in what
claims that, in our experience of an aesthetic truth of its subject a particular image reveals aes-
object, the creator becomes manifest in the work thetically to the viewer.
as a “quasi-subject.” At play in any encounter, In recent years, phenomenologists have grap-
then, is the creator, the created object, and the pled to articulate a new language to account for
audience member or viewer within the lived this expanded understanding of aesthetics. Michel
world. Henry (2008) posits the affectivity of life (i.e., the
According to Dufrennes, in the relation feeling of being alive, every instant of every day)
between the audience and the art object, the aes- to be the proper ground of all experience and any
thetic object emerges. The viewer/audience philosophical study. He calls this affectivity
“responds to the subjectivity of the work through pathos. Adopting a more limited scope, Arnold
his own subjectivity” (1973, p. 198). In much the Berleant (2010) introduces the notion of negative
same way that ethics arises in the relation between aesthetics to complement the traditional positive
beings, aesthetics emerges in the deep and sensu- aesthetics. Like Henry, however, Berleant argues
ous bond that forms between the audience and the there is an aesthetic dimension to more than just
artwork (specifically the artwork that contains artworks and landscape. It is found in much of
both its object-specific qualities and that manifests life, including urban spaces, social and political
its creator). However, where the ethical relation is action, and even terrorism. In our experiences of
understood as fully manifesting instantaneously various nontraditional aesthetics, Berleant argues
before we can stop it, the aesthetic relation begins there is evidence of a direct connection between P
from the first encounter but may build and con- aesthetics and ethics: the former often immedi-
tinue to expand over time. For Dufrennes, aes- ately and bodily identifies the latter.
thetic experience fully manifests as expression:
affective qualities that form the identity of the
aesthetic object over time and that increase and The Phenomenology of Ethics
grow with extended reflection. It is expression that and Aesthetics in Education
gives the object subjecthood as an aesthetic object
revealing a fundamental truth. Although highly abstract when considered philo-
Although having limited their analysis to art, sophically, the phenomenologies of aesthetics and
Dufrenne’s and Ingarden’s phenomenologies ethics in education are poignantly revealed in
form the foundation necessary for conceiving of simple, everyday interactions between teachers
aesthetics more broadly as the affective, sensuous and students: in the glances and nods, the small
qualities of phenomena. Indeed, many phenome- words of praise or censure, or things like notes
nological philosophers, both past and present, written on assignments. In fact, we can find the
have demonstrated how the aesthetic dimension richest demonstrations of the ethical and aesthetic
of phenomena can reveal truths of our world and components of education in those moments that
serve to supplement more traditional phenome- often go unrecognized by one or both parties or
nologies. For instance, Gaston Bachelard’s are immediately forgotten.
1804 Phenomenology of Ethics and Aesthetics

In education, we generally accept that how a pedagogical moments, but it is also evident in
teacher does something is as important as what the larger project, as is ethics. The German peda-
they do; the how of education can have profound gogue Klaus Mollenhauer (2014) describes how
impact. A single glance can recognize someone in presentation, what “ways of life” adults present to
his or her singularity or leave the student feeling children (i.e., what we portray to children as we
overlooked and alone. As Max van Manen’s live with them), and representation, what cultural
ongoing phenomenological studies of education materials are given to a child (i.e., the formal
reveal, small things like the teacher’s tone, tact, or visual and textual educational materials), are
even the ability to remember a student’s name equally important in modern pedagogy. The
carry great meaning. Speaking kindly when a worlds to which children and youth are exposed
student needs it, not calling upon a student at a help shape them and will have both immediate
particular moment, or correctly pronouncing a and latent effects. That which appeals and inheres
student’s name are all ethical acts. Ethics arises in children, the “pedagogical call,” is likewise
in those momentary interactions; it emerges both ethical and aesthetic. Manifestations of ped-
within the pedagogical relation. The actions may agogical relationality, ethics, and aesthetics are
be immediately recognized as ethical or, more intimately intertwined.
likely, go unnoticed, but they each originate
from an authentic encounter with the other, the
Levinasian response to the face. In encountering Conclusion
his or her student, the teacher has already
responded and taken responsibility for that stu- Phenomenology provides us with an opportunity
dent, even before the teacher chooses to act in a to understand that ethics and aesthetics are not
particular way. abstract values from a bygone era that have
Van Manen draws upon the tradition of the resulted in arbitrary social rules we follow but
Utrecht school and continental pedagogical phi- fundamental components of being human and
losophy, which have long recognized pedagogy as being human in a world with others. As relational
being inherently ethical. These pedagogical phenomena, they both manifest in the encounter
moments, however, contain equally important, between one being and another. The phenomenol-
but less acknowledged, aesthetic components. ogies of ethics and aesthetics show us that, in
Students bodily and sensuously experience a addition to being relational beings, humans are
teacher’s tact or tone or thoughtlessness. These intertwined with our world and one another.
therefore have innate aesthetic components. The Moreover, we see upon close inspection how the
aesthetics of the act give shape, form, and feeling two – lived ethics and lived aesthetics – are inti-
to the encounter. We need only think of those mately connected. They shape and inform one
moments where someone apparently says a kind another. When considered in the context of edu-
word, but it is insincere. We do not believe them cation, the phenomenologies of ethics and aes-
for what we feel belies their words. And yet, we thetics play important roles in revealing the
only know the insincerity through what is felt. depth of meaning found in everyday educational
Similarly, a well-placed nod from an adult can encounters. Through their light, we may begin
carry volumes of meaning to a youth, much to perceive the rich nature of contemporary
more than could be said or explained, and such pedagogy.
an act may be remembered by the individual years
later. As Berleant and others note, we often imme-
diately identify that which is ethical or unethical Cross-References
in our world by how it makes us feel.
The aesthetic dimension of education can be ▶ Epistemology and Educational Administration
found in the affective qualities of these single ▶ Heidegger and Wonder
Phenomenology of Higher Education 1805

▶ Phenomenological Theory of Bildung and

Education Phenomenology of Higher Education
▶ Phenomenology in Education
▶ Phenomenology of Higher Education Gloria Dall’Alba
▶ Phenomenology of Movement and Place The University of Queensland, Brisbane,
▶ Phenomenology of the Adult-Child Relation Australia
▶ Phenomenology, Education, and the More-
Than-Human World
▶ Phenomenology, Language, and the Unspoken: Synonyms
The Preverbal Dimension of Children’s
Experience Aletheia; College; Gestell; Graduate; Heidegger;
Higher education; Knowledge; Learning;
Levinas; Merleau-Ponty; Ontology; Pedagogy;
Postgraduate; Teaching; Technology; Truth;
References Undergraduate; University

Aoki, T. (2005). Legitimating lived curriculum: Toward a

curricular landscape of multiplicity (1986). In
W. F. Pinar & R. L. Irwan (Eds.), Curriculum in a Introduction
new key: The collected works of Ted Aoki
(pp. 199–215). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Earlbaum In the field of higher education, until quite
Associates.
recently, there has been relatively little explicit
Barthes, R. (1981). Camera lucida: Reflections on photog-
raphy (trans: Howard, R.). New York: Hill and Wang. attention to insights that can be gained through
(Original published in 1980). phenomenology. Even the recent interest can be
Berleant, A. (2010). Sensibility and sense: The aesthetic seen as modest, when compared with the potential
transformation of the human world. Exeter, UK:
for phenomenological perspectives on higher edu-
Imprint Academic.
Dufrennes, M. (1973). The phenomenology of aesthetic cation to inform practice, policy, and research. An
experience (trans: Casey, E. S..). Evanston, IL: North- increasing interest suggests phenomenology may
western University Press. resonate at a time when higher education is
Henry, M. (2008). Material phenomenology (trans:
increasingly falling under the influence of a per-
Davidson, S.). New York: Fordham University
Press. vasive neoliberal agenda, with its emphasis on P
Ingarden, R. (1973a). The cognition of the literary work of accountability and performativity. This instru-
art (trans: Crowley, R. A. & Olson, K. R.). Evanston, mental agenda is evident in an overemphasis on
IL: Northwestern University Press. (Original published
reducing complex phenomena related to teaching
in 1968).
Ingarden, R. (1973b). The literary work of art: An investi- and learning to readily measureable quantities, as
gation on the borderlines of ontology, logic, and theory well as in widespread, empty rhetoric about
of literature (trans: Grabowicz, G. G.). Evanston, IL: “excellence,” and “world class standards.” An
Northwestern University press. (Original published in
agenda such as this risks promoting superficial
1931).
Ingarden, R. (1961). Aesthetic experience and the aesthetic compliance – or falling in – with how one is
object. Philosophy and Phenomenological research, expected to “play the game,” whether as teacher
21(3), 289–313. or learner. It creates a distance from who is learn-
Levinas, I. (1968). Totality and infinity: An essay on exte-
ing, what is actually being learned, and the mutual
riority (trans: Lingis, A.). Pittsburgh, PA: Duquesne
University Press. (Original published in 1961). responsibilities of students and higher education
Levinas, I. (1985). Ethics and infinity: Conversations with institutions for enhancing this learning.
Philippe Nemo (trans: Cohen, R. A.). Pittsburgh, PA: Such an agenda contrasts starkly with insights
Duquesne University Press.
from phenomenology into educating students in
Mollenhauer, K. (2014). Forgotten connections: On cul-
ture and upbringing (trans: Friesen, N.). London: higher education, which point to alternative ways
Routledge. (Original published in 1983). forward. In recent years, significant insights have
1806 Phenomenology of Higher Education

been gained through phenomenology for educating German populace, Heidegger later attempted to
students during undergraduate and (post)graduate downplay his links to Nazi ideology and failure to
programs offered by higher education institutions, speak out against the Holocaust, although this did
such as universities, colleges, and institutes of tech- not avert a ban that prevented him from teaching
nology, or equivalent. In particular, the work of in Germany between 1945 and 1949.
existential phenomenologists – especially Martin In line with Heidegger’s broader interest in
Heidegger, but also Maurice Merleau-Ponty inquiring into the meaning of being, he sought to
and Emmanuel Levinas – has contributed to re-think education on ontological grounds. In
re-thinking common conceptualizations of what it other words, he gave careful thought to what
means to educate in higher education. In so doing, education would entail if it were to enhance our
they provide inspiration for addressing challenges capacity to become and to be more fully human.
facing contemporary higher education, while Indeed, this is a recurring theme in several of his
reminding us that the current reality is not the works. More particularly, many of Heidegger’s
only one possible. lectures and other texts are pedagogical in both
The focus in what follows is a sketch of some approach and intent. Through his way of inquir-
of the insights and influences from phenomenol- ing, Heidegger sought to redirect attention to what
ogy that are informing current issues related to addresses or concerns us in our living among
educating students in higher education. Issues in others and things. He saw potential in education
educating students have featured prominently for recovering attentiveness to what matters for
among those explored with inspiration from phe- us, as human beings in our becoming.
nomenology. Following a brief introduction to Heidegger’s ontological interest places him at
some key ideas from Heidegger’s work on higher odds with much of the extant higher education
education, several ways in which phenomenology literature, with its concern with structures in the
challenges us to re-think higher education and its “mind” that are to correctly represent a world
common practices are outlined below. “outside.” He considered that truth was not to be
found in such representationalism, so this was not
a fitting goal for higher education. Instead, he
Re-thinking Higher Education described truth as aletheia or phenomenological
on Ontological Grounds unhiddenness. Differently expressed, he saw truth
as world disclosure, with education offering a
Arguably, to date, the potential for insights means to this form of truth. Truth as world disclo-
through phenomenology to inform higher educa- sure is conditional upon continual striving for
tion has been made most apparent by Martin Hei- attentiveness and responsiveness to others and
degger, with several others taking inspiration from things in our dynamic and changing world. This
his work. Among the broad range of topics he means efforts toward achieving truth would inev-
tackled, Heidegger lectured and wrote about itably always be incomplete.
teaching and learning in higher education, as The way in which Heidegger conceptualized
well as about the role higher education can play learning is itself imbued with this attentiveness
in society. An account of phenomenological per- and responsiveness. For Heidegger, “to learn
spectives on higher education would be incom- means to make everything we do answer to what-
plete without acknowledging his substantial ever essentials address themselves to us at a given
contributions and continuing influence. Regard- time” (1968, p. 14). This notion of learning cannot
ing himself primarily as a teacher, Heidegger con- be reduced to receiving or acquiring correct
sidered he had devoted his life to higher knowledge or to engaging in activity with an
education. It is perhaps through his idealized expectation of procuring something. Instead, it
vision of reforming the university as a means of includes both attuning and responding to what is
nation building that Heidegger fell prey to central in what addresses us. If learning is to
Germany’s National Socialism. Like much of the attune and enable us to respond to what matters
Phenomenology of Higher Education 1807

to us in our living, then education has a key part to especially in wealthy countries. Educational offer-
play in transforming our ways of being in a man- ings in online environments involving these tech-
ner that is directed to others and things in our nologies are a trend likely to continue. These
world. Iain Thomson argues that the transforma- newer digital technologies – regularly superseded
tion or “turning around” advocated by Heidegger by more novel newcomers – have become a per-
occurs “by turning us away from the world in sistent presence in many higher education institu-
which we are most immediately immersed, then tions. These technologies can offer benefits that
by turning us back to this world in a more reflex- include increased flexibility in accessing course
ive way” (2001, p. 254). and support materials, allowing communication
Consistent with this notion of learning that among people who are geographically dispersed
transforms, Heidegger regarded teaching neither and improved access to higher education for those
as filling students with knowledge as though they with some disabilities. At the same time, the fre-
were empty vessels nor demonstrating how to quent development of newer digital technologies
uncritically become (like) their teacher. On the and the presumption they are indicative of inno-
contrary, while he considered teaching to be vative, cutting edge programs carries a risk of
exalted and highly worthy, he emphasized that it compulsion to use them in courses. This compul-
was not the teacher or course content that should sion is evident, including at institution level, often
be in focus, in themselves, but creating space and with limited thought about whether or how these
opportunities that enable students to learn: technologies contribute pedagogically to student
“Teaching is more difficult than learning because learning. At times, there is a view that technolo-
what teaching calls for is this: to let learn” gies can replace teachers to improve the budget
(Heidegger 1968, p. 15). bottom line, typically with little account of the
Heidegger’s conceptualizations of learning and actual costs, either financial or to the persons
teaching have provoked re-thinking of a prevalent involved.
preoccupation in higher education with knowl- This approach to the use of technologies exem-
edge acquisition and its application, as well as an plifies a broader concern expressed by Heidegger,
associated privileging of the intellect. His concep- which is not limited to employing particular tech-
tualizations prompt us to place emphasis, rather, nologies. He argued that technology is not merely
on integrating knowing, acting, and being through a neutral means to an end; not simply a tool we
higher education programs (Dall’Alba and Barna- employ for specific purposes. In higher education P
cle 2007). These programs have a crucial contri- settings, this can mean we do not simply make use
bution to make toward enabling students to of technologies, but we can be set upon in our use
integrate what they know and can do with how of them. Similarly, but more paradoxically, Hei-
they are learning to be. Redirecting attention from degger claimed the essence of technology is not
knowledge as an end in itself highlights the poten- anything technological. Instead, he saw technol-
tial of higher education to open possibilities for ogy as a “way of revealing.” In our highly tech-
being and becoming how one strives to be among nologized world, the particular way of revealing
others and things. he identified frames human beings and nature as
resources, ready and waiting to be exploited, what
he referred to as “standing reserve” (1993/1954,
Technologizing Higher Education p. 322). He named this calculative, technological
rationality Ge-stell or enframing (p. 324). When
One of the developments that Heidegger regarded teachers and students are ordered as standing
as posing serious questions for our being was the reserve for the purposes of attaining targets on
rapid uptake of newer technologies. Similar to courses employing newer technologies, monitor-
other spheres of life, newer digital technologies ing throughput in course completions, or ranking
for communicating and accessing information institutions across diverse settings, enframing is
have become ubiquitous in higher education, apparent.
1808 Phenomenology of Higher Education

Heidegger’s notion of technological framing and design of assessment tasks. In so doing, they
opens a range of avenues for re-thinking higher downplay the learning or, more specifically, the
education in our technologized world. As Paul transformation in ways of being in the world,
Gibbs (2010) points out, the extensive which assessment has the potential to encourage
massification of higher education we have (Vu and Dall’Alba 2014). Beyond assessing stu-
witnessed in recent decades in many countries dent achievement, assessment tasks can direct
carries with it a risk of embracing and encourag- students’ efforts in integrating what they know
ing a technological, calculative way of being and how they act into forming who they are
toward others and the natural world. This is becoming.
because a focus on mass education can distract Another common practice in higher education
us from education that directs attention to settings is discussions between teachers and stu-
responding to the uniqueness of particular situa- dents for pedagogical purposes. Teachers can
tions. This, in turn, risks promoting an inauthen- approach these interactions as a means of meeting
tic, dispersed self who lacks commitment to being obligations to students or, in other words, fulfill-
and becoming among others. Gibbs argues, like ing contractual requirements. Amanda Fulford (in
Thomson (2001), that higher education has a key press) points out that this approach reduces teach-
part to play in fostering critical awareness of a ing to a closed exchange between teachers and
technological way of being. This awareness is students, such as providing and receiving course
necessary for taking a resolute stance on our content. She demonstrates this is an impoverished
becoming, in a world among others. conceptualization of teaching that does not have
The notion of technological framing also pro- student learning as its focus. It also fails to take
vides a starting point as Kevin Flint and Adam account of the centrality of relationships among
Barnard (2010) explore the shaping of the self that teachers and students to the pedagogical encoun-
occurs in a professional doctorate program. They ter and the learning that can be promoted (Giles
inquire into ways in which discursive technolo- et al. 2012).
gies operating within an academic institution can In a manner reminiscent of Heidegger’s cri-
limit opportunities for personal development tique of commodity exchange in educational set-
within the doctorate. They use this inquiry to tings, Fulford (in press) argues that limited
explore spaces for personal development through exchange of this kind lacks spontaneity and open-
research in shaping multiple selves among doc- ness to the unexpected, which enable learning.
toral researchers. This requires a way of being with students and
developing sensibilities that are attuned to reading
the relationship and acting in the moment, in ways
Re-thinking Teaching and Learning that encourage learning (Giles et al. 2012). Draw-
Practices in Higher Education ing on Levinas’ notion of encountering the Other,
such as through another person or ideas, Fulford
Phenomenology also provides inspiration and points to ways in which teaching can open spaces
insights for exploring common teaching and and possibilities for enabling such encounters, in
learning practices in higher education settings. In ways that take seriously responsibility for the
the higher education literature, the part that Other in higher education settings.
assessment plays in directing student learning
has been highlighted. Arguments have been
made in favor of assessment of student learning Embodying Learning
that links to the world beyond educational institu-
tions, as well as incorporating online forms of A further way in which phenomenology informs
assessment to improve their contemporary rele- efforts to re-think teaching and learning practices
vance. While these arguments can be seen to have in higher education is by challenging a preoccu-
some merit, they typically feature the attributes pation with developing the intellect, through
Phenomenology of Higher Education 1809

highlighting the inescapably embodied way in that a key purpose of curricula is to promote a
which we live and make our way in the world. sensibility among students for the way in which
Although not specifically directed to educational particular fields or disciplines engage with the
settings, Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s concept of the world. This is inevitably an embodied
“lived body” serves as a source of ideas for understanding.
exploring alternatives to an emphasis on reason
and the intellect. In higher education, where intel-
lectual development often reigns supreme and Conclusion
online environments tend to be associated with
innovation, critical analyses of the ways in This outline has sketched some of the rich and
which our learning and being-in-the-world are varied ways in which phenomenology is serving
necessarily embodied are timely. to inform questions related to educating students
Given a preoccupation with the intellect in in higher education. As noted in the introduction,
higher education, the broad array of varied bodies interest in phenomenology in the field of higher
who study and move about in these settings can go education, although modest to date, shows signs
largely unnoticed in the research literature. In a of expanding. The outline above indicates there is
study exploring the experiences of mature age considerable scope for interrogating current issues
students from working class backgrounds in a in higher education through a phenomenological
number of British universities, Serena Bufton way of inquiring that endeavors to return anew “to
(2003) describes how their embodiment intrudes the things themselves.” This scope extends, of
into their efforts to learn and belong in this unfa- course, well beyond the sketch given here. Phe-
miliar environment. She points to ways in which nomenological inquiry allows us to turn back to
nature and culture intersect in the body, as the world of higher education, with its challenges,
Merleau-Ponty noted and Pierre Bourdieu subse- possibilities and contradictions, in a more reflex-
quently elaborated in his notion of “habitus.” ive way. Sharpening such attunement to the
Bufton outlines how these students experienced lifeworld – our inevitable entwinement with
a lack of “fit” between the institutional habitus and others and things in our living – carries a promise
their own local accents, cultural values, life expe- of enabling us to become more fully human.
riences, and way of speaking and seeing the Higher education has a key part to play in
world. Her study draws attention to a potential directing efforts towards achieving this aspiration. P
blind spot in higher education institutions, where
knowledge can be attributed an illusory neutral
status.
References
An additional phenomenological exploration
of embodiment builds on Merleau-Ponty’s argu- Barnacle, R. (2009). Gut instinct: The body and learning.
ment that embodied being in the world is a pre- Educational Philosophy and Theory, 41, 22–33.
condition for conceptual understanding. Robyn doi:10.1111/j.1469-5812.2008.00473.x.
Bufton, S. (2003). The lifeworld of the university student:
Barnacle (2009) draws on several phenomenolog-
Habitus and social class. Journal of Phenomenological
ical and feminist scholars in re-thinking mind- Psychology, 34(2), 207–234. doi:10.1163/1569162
body relations in higher education. Taking the 03322847146.
example of the role of the gut in emotional Dall’Alba, G., & Barnacle, R. (2007). An ontological turn
for higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 32,
responses and mood – recognized in expressions 679–691. doi:10.1080/03075070701685130.
such as gut reaction and gut instinct – she points to Flint, K., & Barnard, A. (2010). Space for personal devel-
inadequacies of the intellect alone for learning. opment: An exploration of student experience involv-
Against the background of her analyses and ing one professional doctorate programme. Work Based
Learning e-Journal, 1(1), 202–222.
those of others, Barnacle explores the potential
Fulford, A. (in press). Education: Expectation and the
of harnessing sensibility in conjunction with intel- unexpected. Studies in Philosophy and Education.
lect for learning in higher education. She argues doi:10.1007/s11217-015-9495-y.
1810 Phenomenology of Inclusion, Belonging, and Language

Gibbs, P. (2010). Heidegger, time, work, and the chal- phenomenological inquiry is based on
lenges for higher education. Time and Society, 19(3), Heidegger’s (1982) notion of language as the
387–403. doi:10.1177/0961463X09354438.
Giles, D., Smythe, E., & Spence, D. (2012). Exploring “house of Being.” It is guided by the following
relationships in education: A phenomenological questions: What is the lived experience of a child
inquiry. Australian Journal of Adult Learning, 52(2), whose life is interrupted by migration and whose
214–236. home is replaced by a space in which to live,
Heidegger, M. (1968). What is called thinking? (trans:
Wieck, F. D., & Gray, J. G.). New York: Harper Row. where a new language is spoken that does not
Heidegger, M. (1993/1954). The question concerning tech- serve as a guide to the world? What is it like to
nology (trans: Krell, D. F.). In M. Heidegger (Ed.), live in-between languages and cultures? How
Basic writings (2nd ed., pp. 311–341). London: does a child experience school as a stranger in a
Routledge.
Thomson, I. (2001). Heidegger on ontological education, world of others? Can the experience of loss of
or: How we become what we are. Inquiry: An Interdis- words serve as a means to attain new
ciplinary Journal of Philosophy, 44(3), 243–268. understandings?
doi:10.1080/002017401316922408. The essay begins by considering the possibili-
Vu, T. T., & Dall’Alba, G. (2014). Authentic assessment
for student learning: An ontological conceptualisation. ties opened by the phenomenological
Educational Philosophy and Theory, 46(7), 778–791. method – and, in particular, van Manen’s (1994)
doi:10.1080/00131857.2013.795110. “fundamental existentials” – to understand chil-
dren’s lived experiences. It explores how immi-
grant children experience these existentials in
relation to the objects and people at home, to
Phenomenology of Inclusion, their unfolding sense of self and the meaning of
Belonging, and Language belonging to a place, and to the changes in their
lived space brought about by the process of migra-
Anna Kirova tion. Following Heidegger’s (1982) notion of lan-
University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada guage as the “house of Being,” it then reflects on
the meaning of “being in the Other’s house” as
explored through immigrant children’s experi-
Synonyms ences of school, their loneliness and isolation
from their peers, and their inability to make them-
Language as “house of Being”; Phenomenology; selves understood through language. Play as a
Phenomenology of language; Phenomenon of shared experience in childhood is investigated in
childhood migration; Play and belonging; Play relation to young children’s ability to engage with
and language; School and inclusion the world and others linguistically and non-
linguistically. Play as an experience of being
with others allows young immigrant children to
Introduction live between languages as well as to develop their
relation to the language of home and the home of
More than 230 million people, 20% of them language.
young children, live in countries in which they
were not born. When children migrate, a sudden
change occurs in their lifeworlds that is not of The Structure of Human Experiences
their making; instead, the experience “befalls
[them], strikes [them], comes over [them], over- Phenomenological research of children’s experi-
whelms and transforms [them]” (Heidegger 1982, ences aims to clarify, describe, and interpret chil-
p. 57). This essay explores the phenomena of dren’s unique ways of attending to the world. As a
belonging, language, and inclusion in the lived human science research methodology, phenome-
experiences of young children whose childhood nology provides a particularly suitable paradigm
has been interrupted by migration. The for studying the phenomena of belonging,
Phenomenology of Inclusion, Belonging, and Language 1811

language, and inclusion in immigrant children’s physical surroundings brought by the loss of the
lives because it is concerned with questions of familiar world of home (Kirova 2007). For many
meaning with the goal of understanding the sig- children, migration means losing the familiar
nificance of a given human experience. objects inside their home. Yet familiar objects
According to van Manen (1994), the structure alone do not create a sense of at-homeness; the
of any human experience can be revealed by same objects may be experienced differently in a
reflecting on that experience while guided by new space. In order for an object to become part of
four existentials by which human beings experi- our home, our bodies need to “know” it in relation
ence the world: lived space, lived body, lived to other objects as we inhabit the space at home.
time, and lived other. In a general sense, lived Only then does home become a place where our
space refers to the physical environment or land- own being finds its genesis and belonging.
scape in which we find ourselves. Lived body A child’s sense of at-homeness is also
acknowledges that we are always physically in connected to the people who share the space at
the world, and our bodies reveal some aspects of home. These people, usually the child’s parents,
ourselves in a particular situation. Lived time is siblings, and other members of the family, are
subjective time as opposed to objective or clock those who have shown the child what the objects
time. Time is experienced differently depending in the home are and how they are used and cared
on the context in which we experience it. The for. Thus one’s identity is shaped at home by the
lived other is the relationship we have with others way in which the objects in the home are pre-
in the interpersonal space we share with them. sented and understood. A child understands that
The exploration of the ways in which these “something is only where the appropriate and
existentials are experienced by immigrant chil- therefore competent word names a thing as
dren allows for an understanding of the phenom- being, and so establishes the given being as a
ena of belonging, language, inclusion, and the being” (Heidegger 1982, p. 63). Home, then, is
pedagogical possibilities such an understanding where language gives being to the things in the
offers (Kirova 2007). world.
For an immigrant child, everything inside the
new home is because it has been appropriately and
Home, Self, and the House of Being competently named in the child’s mother tongue.
However, in the world outside the new home, P
Home is intimately tied with one’s sense of self; it things remain nameless because other people’s
is where our own being finds its genesis and words are not understood. What is the child’s
belonging. As Steinbock (1995) asserts, “the experience of a world where language no longer
homeworld is not just any world, but selectively shows the essential being of things? How is reality
appropriated with the density of a tradition. It is conceived in a new language?
not the world we experience, but the world from
which we experience” (Steinbock 1995, p. 222,
original emphasis). The walls of the home form a Being at School Is Being in the Other’s
boundary between inner and outer, private and “House”
public, space. One rarely thinks of a home in
terms of its walls, however. Rather, the objects Immigrant children no longer belong to the world
inside the house create a feeling of at-homeness they left behind, nor do they yet belong to the new
because the use of the everyday objects in the world. School is where children encounter the
home is habitual. Children do not question world outside of home. And, while going to
the presence of these objects: they are taken for school is only a fraction of immigrant children’s
granted. new existence, it plays a central role in their
The first and most noticeable change in an understanding of the world. At school, children
immigrant child’s lifeworld is the change in their are asked to relate to each other and the adults in a
1812 Phenomenology of Inclusion, Belonging, and Language

particular rule-governed manner that is funda- immigrant children, a way to show others that
mentally different from their experiences at they too are part of the group. However, this
home. In contrast to the home, in school a child brings little satisfaction. For many children,
is asked to become one of a type: a student who is gaining a feeling of belonging to a peer group is
expected to have the same kind of relationship a long and sometimes painful process during
with each teacher based on designated school which they may become victims of stigmatization
rules. These rules are abstractions sustained by and public humiliation that leave them “empty of
the school/classroom community and the require- happiness” (Kirova-Petrova 2000, p. 108).
ment that students relate to the world in another However, immigrant children’s struggles with
way, that is, by mastering symbolic forms (e.g., the new language also open up possibilities to
the alphabet, numbers, musical notes) that repre- experience the rare occasions when language
sent their knowledge and relationship to the self, speaks itself as language. “But when does lan-
others, and the world around them. Thus school guage speak itself as language?” Heidegger
not only necessitates an ontological change in (1982) asks and then answers:
children, it also imposes a particular (scientific)
Curiously enough, when we cannot find the right
epistemological construction of their knowledge word for something that concerns us, carries us
of and about the world understood through away, oppresses or encourages us. Then we leave
symbols, among which language plays a unspoken what we have in mind and, without
prominent role. rightly giving it a thought, undergo moments in
which language itself has distantly and fleetingly
If the being of anything that exists resides in touched us with its essential being. (p. 59)
the word that names it and if language, as a result,
is the house of Being, as Heidegger (1982) sug- Heidegger suggests that an experience we have
gests, then immigrant children’s inability to name with language draws our attention to our relation
things in the new world of school is more than an to language so that we may then remember this
inconvenience. Words achieve their meaning not relation. Thus immigrant children can ask, “In
just from the things they refer to but from associ- what relation do I live to the language I speak?”
ations created in the mind. The lack of these In speaking their mother tongue, children, like
associations and of a common language creates a adults, talk about many topics, facts, occurrences,
real barrier between immigrant children and questions, and matters of concern. There is an
the rest of the people in the school. With no “essential self-forgetfulness” (Gadamer 1976,
friends and no way of making themselves under- p. 64) to language. However, this self-
stood through language, a child feels lonely forgetfulness does not apply to those who are
(Kirova-Petrova 2000). The feelings of loneliness learning to speak another language. In trying to
and isolation that immigrant children experience choose the right word and to think how to say it,
also affect how they experience time while they immigrant children only occasionally feel suc-
are at school. Time is experienced as being cessful. To think in one language and have to
stretched out (Kirova 2001). As an observer rather translate this thought into another language in
than a participant in the life of school, an immi- speech means that a different mode of thinking
grant child finds school days long and boring. Not is activated. In one’s own language, thought is
being at ease in the new language means, for accompanied by the unfolding of speech. The
immigrant children, among many other things, way of thinking is different when that thought is
being unable to share humor with their peers. not accompanied by an unfolding of speech. This
Sharing humor creates a sense of we-ness only if disconnect can change some new language
a joke is understood. A meeting ground for learners’ mode of thinking, with results that may
we-ness to happen is rooted in both experience be interpreted by others, and by the immigrant
and language and thus is inaccessible to an immi- children themselves, as indications that they are
grant child. Laughter becomes a performance for stupid (Kirova 2007).
Phenomenology of Inclusion, Belonging, and Language 1813

In contrast, native speakers rarely have to con- togetherness, which does not mean only doing
centrate much on what to say. When we are at things together or behaving playfully. Rather, the
home in a language, the words seem to choose true meaning of play comes to life only if the
us. In a self-forgetful mode of thinking and speak- players intentionally let themselves be absorbed
ing, the interaction is truly conversational or into the spirit of play. In the world of play, the
dialogic. In contrast, the mode for using a new sense of togetherness represents itself, not only
language requires reflective thinking rather than a through the boundaries of shared space but
prereflective living with language (Kirova 2007). through the boundaries of shared meanings of
This way of speaking, of choosing the right objects used in play that are created and commu-
words, implies a reflective approach to language: nicated through language and gesture. Thus pos-
an approach that involves suspension from an sibilities open for genuine dialogue between
immediate stance and results in greater self- native and nonnative speakers.
consciousness. Although play experience is here and now, the
As in the experience of turning a house into a players are not limited to the immediate setting:
home, the experience of learning to use another play creates openness where things can be any-
language brings feelings of not belonging. Unlike thing. Unlike the adults’ world of fixed meanings,
learning one’s native language, learning a new for children, things are not yet clearly defined and
language is a conscious, purposeful activity. Lan- structured, particularly in the world of play. In the
guage becomes homework; it is hard work to learn open sense making of play, a pencil suddenly
a new vocabulary. Language is something “out becomes a spoon, a horse, or a soldier. The com-
there” that immigrant children need to grasp, a plete openness of possibilities in play allows
skill yet to be acquired. To come to dwell in the changes and newness to emerge in the play
language is to come to a different level of experi- world. The power of openness extends an invita-
ence. Like dwelling in a new space, dwelling in a tion to children to enter life, which allows them in
new language requires more than memorizing the turn to experience the endlessly evolving ways of
meaning or the position of the words in a sentence seeing and feeling the world around them.
to know how to use them. Learning a new lan- Yet even in play, language limits one’s oppor-
guage does not mean learning a corresponding tunity to create meaning in new ways: the open-
system of signs for what one already knows. ness of play is closed off by naming. In play, often
This aspect is only part of the story. Rather, lan- a child is looking for something in particular, and P
guage comes into being as language through dia- when this something is found, a word calls it into
logue and therefore comes to be understood being. To name is to bring forth an object into the
through “a life process in which a community of context of the mind. Thus to name it is to bring it
life is lived out” (Gadamer 1989, p. 446). into being. Naming gives rise to an image, creat-
How does this life process look to an immigrant ing concreteness in children’s landscapes of
child? What “community of life” must children live images, and giving enormous creative possibili-
out in the new world for the new language to come ties. Yet once something is named, it is, and it is
to being through genuine dialogue? the same for everyone involved in the naming.
Thus a shared meaning is created. As Heidegger
(1982) explains, “the word itself is the relation, by
Play Is Being with “Others” holding everything forth into being, and there
upholding it. If the word did not have this bearing,
For young immigrant children, it is play that the whole of things, the ‘world,’ would sink into
allows them to engage in dialogue with other obscurity” (p. 73).
members of the community in the world around What play allows is acquisition of the new
them. The world of children’s play is shared language to be experienced as dialogic, as a pro-
(Kirova 2007). It requires and creates a sense of cess that is on the border between the self and the
1814 Phenomenology of Language

other. Holland et al. (1998) explain that “the self is References

a position from which meaning is made, a position
that is ‘addressed’ by and ‘answers’ others and the Gadamer, H. (1976). Philosophical hermeneutics. Berke-
ley, CA: University of California Press.
world” (p. 173). Thus it is possible in play to
Gadamer, H. (1989). Truth and method (2nd ed.). New
reauthor the self in a dialogue, and doing so closes York: Crossroads.
the distance one feels when using the new lan- Heidegger, M. (1982). On the way to language. New York:
guage. Children’s unique ability to engage in Harper & Row.
Holland, D., Lachicotte, W., Jr., Skinner, D., & Cain,
activities in which, as in play, meaning is created
C. (1998). Identity and agency in cultural worlds.
rather than imposed shows our human capacity to Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
construct new relatedness to the world and to Kirova, A. (2001). Loneliness in immigrant children:
others. Implications for classroom practice. Childhood Educa-
tion, 77(5), 260–268.
Kirova, A. (2007). Moving childhoods: Children's lived
experiences with immigration. In L. Adams & A.
Conclusion Kirova (Eds.), Global migration and education:
Schools, children and families (pp. 185–199).
Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
The investigation of the phenomena of belonging,
Kirova-Petrova, A. (2000). Researching young children’s
language, and inclusion in the lived experiences lived experiences of loneliness: Pedagogical implica-
of young immigrant children based on tions for linguistically diverse students. Alberta Jour-
Heidegger’s notion of language as the house of nal of Educational Research, 46, 99–116.
Steinbock, A. J. (1995). Home and beyond: Generative
Being allows uncovering the creative and active
phenomenology after Hüsserl. Evanston, IL: North-
relation-making processes that immigrant chil- western University Press.
dren engage in as they perceive and create new van Manen, M. (1994). Researching lived experience:
childhoods among scattered and conflicting Human science for an action sensitive pedagogy. Lon-
don: Althouse Press.
events and experiences. This investigation shows
that for young children these processes are not
limited to language. Rather, young children’s abil-
ity to engage with the world linguistically and
nonlinguistically, as in play, allows them not Phenomenology of Language
only to live between languages but also to develop
their relation to the language of home and the ▶ Phenomenology of Inclusion, Belonging, and
home of language. Language
Furthermore, Heidegger’s notion that breaking
up what is taken for granted is “the true step back
on the way of thinking” (1982, p. 108) allows us
to explore how language helps immigrant children Phenomenology of Movement
experience themselves in the two worlds they live and Place
in – home and school – as well as in-between these
worlds. Whether the new way of understanding Stephen J. Smith
the world is adopted or rejected, there is a chance Faculty of Health Sciences and Faculty of
to reflect on one’s basic way of living. Through Education, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby,
encounters where one breaks out of unquestioned BC, Canada
frameworks and meets the other in face-to-face
situations, there is an opportunity to understand
the other better. Such encounters help immigrant Introduction
children to understand themselves better in terms
of where and how they come to be as they are, and Movement essentially has its place, its material
what and how they will be when they are at home supports and environmental affordances, and its
in the new world. fit with locales, habitats, and regions. This is
Phenomenology of Movement and Place 1815

clearly the case in hydrological terms with precip- As least three registers of movement and place
itation patterns, runoffs, and confluences of flows, appear in the phenomenological tradition. Each of
currents, waves, and tides defining navigable these registers, of corporeality, humanimality, and
waterways and in geological terms with distinc- virtuality, provides topical vantage points from
tive landscapes affecting climatic conditions and which to think through the particular relations of
animal habitations and migrations. Such large- movement and place. Each of these registers also
scale correspondences between movement geom- has educational importance for how we might
etries and place typologies are reflected in incre- understand curricular constructions, pedagogical
mental scales of biological, social, cultural, and relations, and instructional practices in schools.
historical life. Yet human movement seems curi- Corporeality, contrary to its connotations of cor-
ously and anomalously abstracted from these poral punishment, is indicative of a post-Cartesian
scales of life by the natural sciences in terms of movement education and, in fact, suggestive of
the putative functioning of a physiological, ana- somatic practices and processes of educating
tomical, and biomechanical entity. The social sci- physically. Humanimality is a concentrated focal
ences may bring to mind the spaces and places point for ecological education and a corrective to
that contextualize human movement, giving its school curricula and pedagogies of anthropocen-
functionality many varied forms. But something tric humanism and anthropomorphic speciesism.
about the essential life value of movement Virtuality indicates an educational response to the
remains obscured when motility, reduced to challenges of living in an “interactive age” in
bodily functionality, is correlated with sociocul- which life has been taken up in technologically
tural, historico-political forms of life. The vitality mediated facsimiles and where what is called for
of movement and the liveliness of places no lon- may not necessarily be more of the same techno-
ger seem integrally connected. logical mediations of life. These three ways of
Phenomenology provides a reminder that, in casting the phenomenological intentionality of
the apodictic certainty of lived, living, and to-be- movement and place thus suggest educational
lived experiences, movement and place are applications and inventions of learning to live
co-constitutive, mutually and reciprocally well and with others in diverse realms and regions
connected, and actively experienced aspects of of the world.
unitary life phenomena. Intentionality, as the fun-
damental precept of phenomenological theoriz- P
ing, is an interaction effect of place-based Corporeality
movements. It is the effective, affective register
of being-in-the-world, being flesh of the world, The place correlates of human agency inform an
and experiencing simultaneously the immanent “I can” that far exceeds the cognitive grasp of
and ecstatic moments of moving within, and movement activation, execution, and termination.
seemingly at times without, the world. If move- The “body-as-lived” is the trope generally
ments have their places then so, too, can places be invoked in the phenomenological tradition to
recognized as more than sets of activity anchor this expanded sense of agency. Yet
affordances, more even than networks and mesh- focusing on the body, albeit as sensing, feeling,
works of interactivity. Movement capacity is the intuiting “flesh,” inevitably localizes movement
kinetic, kinesthetic, aesthetic, and energetic reso- within self-containment. Maurice Merleau-
nance with landscapes, waterscapes, airscapes, Ponty’s (1968) best efforts to define this primary
and firescapes along with all manner of built and intentionality may well fall short of the mobiliza-
constructed environments. Motility and mobility tion of the places that a fully operative intention-
are, in phenomenological parlance, the noetic ality would reveal.
(experiencing) and noematic (experienced) corre- The body as pre-thetic, preconscious motility
lates of an inherently animated, participatory as advanced by Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and
consciousness. cast by neo-Husserlians in keeping with
1816 Phenomenology of Movement and Place

lifeworld interests, provides the core phenomeno- accordingly as the practical subjects of an other-
logical rendition. Yet movement is associated wise cognitively oriented, liberal curriculum. Yet
unproblematically, for the most part, with bodily corporeality serves as a reminder that bodies of
capacities that are exercised in places that are, to knowledge are also moving bodies and that “lived
some appreciable extent, interchangeable. Critical curricula” are the enactments of knowledge-in-
and feminist philosophers such as Luce Irigaray, action, interaction, and in responsiveness to the
Hélène Cixous, Julia Kristeva, Elizabeth Grosz, changing circumstances of life. Physical education
and Iris Marion-Young rightly point out the per- provides a case in point of a school subject based in
spectival limitations of these studies of corporeal- the latter twentieth century on Cartesian precepts of
ity and the privileging of particular motile extended matter molded through bodily exercises
bodies. They indicate a more fluid, permeable and technical skill development and guided by
corporeality that acknowledges the sociopolitical what Gilbert Ryle called “the ghost in the
spatializings of otherwise marginalized bodies. In machine.” This curriculum superseded movement
this regard, they extend a line of critique prompted education as a more expansive and space-attuned
by Marcel Maus’ study of culturally determined sense of bodily capabilities that now, in the twenty-
comportments, Alfred Schutz’s sociological first century, reappears somewhat under the guise
proposal of multiple lifeworlds, Pierre Bourdieu’s of “physical literacy.” Somatic education with its
culturally enframing habitus, and Michel Foucault’s sources in the nineteenth century provides inspira-
genealogies of subject positioning. tion for extending even farther the curricular incor-
The corporeal turn, which is to say, the turn to poration of kinetic, kinesthetic, and affective
more variegated modes of embodiment, still with sensibilities. A “somaesthetic” agenda, as Richard
an emphasis on the “primacy of movement,” has Shusterman (2008) defined it, provides a broad
been pursued vigorously by Maxine Sheets- curricular framework for connecting the corporeal
Johnstone (2011). She draws extensively upon register of movement and place with the ways of
the work of psychoanalyst Daniel Stern in means of educating children and youth physically
describing the vitality affects and kinetic- right across the school curriculum.
kinesthetic-affective dynamics of movement. Yet But what of the places not represented in the
motility as corporeality, if no longer tied to par- curriculum and inaccessible within its movement
ticular bodies, still seems cast against spatial strictures? Environmental studies and ecological
backgrounds, or else inserted into them, rather education afford movement beyond classroom
than being formative of place awareness if not walls; however, the fuller educational significance
the very sense of place itself. of these curricular shapes may yet be discerned in
Movement has its place, but in being the scholarship of eco-phenomenology beyond
corporealized and somewhat psychologically themes of place-based pedagogy.
cast, it is ultimately placeless. By the same
token, a troubling humanism remains in phenom-
enological scholarship that treats place, whether Humanimality
as habitat, environment, or lifeworld, still as the
backdrop to movement. Place remains spatial, The animal body is characterized by its distinctive
coordinated topographically with predominantly motility; however, it is the conjunction of move-
human interests. ment and place that characterizes the evolution of
This topology of thought is reflected in educa- such variety of animal life forms. Increasing com-
tional questions about what is worth knowing plexity and what we human animals put on
about the world and how that knowledge is best ascending scales of intelligent capacity are
taught. Bodies of knowledge are defined in relative functions of self-movement within a range of geo-
movement abstraction to become passed on graphical and cultural spaces. Whereas crusta-
through judicious placement in school curricula. ceans have their environmental niches, cetaceans
The arts, crafts, trades, and sports are cast roam the oceans. Whereas marsupials move
Phenomenology of Movement and Place 1817

distinctively in burrows, trees, grasslands, and continue to be the places where humanimality is
bush, human mammals move freely on most land- explored; however, it remains to be seen how the
forms and, with technological support, through mainstream school curriculum can incorporate this
waterscapes, airscapes, and even firescapes. deepened relational register of movement and place.
An evolutionary line of movement analysis is
thereby opened up in considering increasing bio-
logical and morphological complexities as a result Virtuality
of place adaptability. Yet so, too, is a phenomeno-
logical direction of inquiry indicated in taking into All of which can still be tethered readily to consid-
fuller consideration the animate consciousness of erations of environments and habitats, and various
moving in, through, around, on, over, under, disciplinary renderings of places and their
between, away from, and toward places of daily animations. But that tethering puts emphasis
immersion in the world. on environment, world, space and place as
The revival of nature studies and onto- affordances, networks and webworks of motility
ethological scholarship from Jacob von Uexküll’s more so than on motions, emotions, and the gener-
(2010) “a foray into the worlds of animals and ation of the diverse forms and multiple structures of
humans” (Von Uexküll 2010) to the subsequent animate existence, which is to say, on the constitu-
phenomenological treatments of animality by tive features of life and of the auto-affectivity to
Martin Heidegger, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and, which “life phenomenology” from Martin Heideg-
more recently, Jacques Derrida and Giorgio ger to Michel Henry draws attention.
Agamben bring animate consciousness to consid- What might be discerned phenomenologically
erations of the “intertwining” of humanimality in that is not so wedded to the coupling of anthropo-
“the flesh of the world” wherein “the relation of centric functionality and spatially constrained
the human and animal is not a hierarchical rela- forms? What might be described (even designed,
tion, but lateral, an overcoming that does not managed, and developed) from the affectivities of
abolish kinship” (Merleau-Ponty 2003, p. 268). dwelling in different locales with various other
Our common animality sets movement in place kinds of animate beings?
and within networks and webworks, and as coter- Michel Henry’s postulate of the “auto-
minous with landscapes, seascapes, firescapes, affectivity” of life as the generative force of feel-
and airscapes of ambulation and flight. “Becom- ings, forms, and functions and as the essence of P
ing animal” is a trope in the scholarship of life’s manifestations is the consistent thread to his
Giles Deleuze and Felix Guattari and a practice writings. While animality and animal life do not
of the self with others in David Abram’s figure in Henry’s accounts of immanent auto-
eco-phenomenological writings (Abram 2010). affection, there remains a strong sense that such
The educational significance of this “animal themes cannot be too far removed from a radical
turn” is not simply its expansive ecological sensi- phenomenology of transcendence within imma-
bility. The long-standing human science interest in nence, without necessarily falling into the diffi-
matters of pedagogical relationality can now register culties of addressing animality via the “ek-stases”
with matters of “vital contact” (Smith 2014) and of biological, ethological, and related logics of
“transpecific conviviality” (Acampora 2006). What lifeworld appearances. Indeed, with the “animal
was seen as being out there, whether expansively turn” in philosophy after Heidegger’s “world
environmental or narrowly humanimal, can be rec- poor” rendition, and following the inspiration of
ognized, heard, and felt as interactional effects and Uexküllian-inspired onto-ethology, Henry’s oeu-
desired, intuited, and divined as connective affects vre suggests that intentionality is inherently affec-
and vitalities of kinship. The nominal reference of tive. Our relations with one another and with those
pedagogical relationality, namely, the child, allows of a different kind are premised on kinetic-
transposition to many kindred others. Ecological kinesthetic-affective attunements and immersion
and environmental programs in schools will in a common unfolding of life.
1818 Phenomenology of Movement and Place

A life ethic, which is to say an ethic of well be more representationally known to human
interanimality, may well be best realized in the beings; however, for neither human beings nor for
translation of auto-affection to the dynamics of other-than-human beings can there really be any
sensing, responding to, and corresponding with escape from the pathos of life. We can only act in
other-than-human animals. This translation and through affectivity and, through a series of
(along with transposition, mimetic resonances, becomings, realize a pathic, motile connectedness
and even Deleuzian notions of becoming-animal) to humans and other animal beings in all kinds of
is, from a Henryian assertion of affectivity over places.
effectivity, a move to a register of virtuality that This affective turn, following the corporeal and
does not abstract from life, but actually reveals its animal turns, provides insight into optimal learning
full force. “Seeing the invisible” is how Michel environments. Such optimization is not necessarily
Henry described it (Henry 2009). Life phenome- reflected in current enthusiasms for flipped class-
nology aims surely at an immateriality (in contrast rooms, twenty-first century communication and
to the current crass materialisms) to which our social media, and online learning. While face-to-
everyday senses can vaguely correlate. We can face exchanges seem indicated by the corporeal
bracket out the identity assertions of Husserlian turn, and body-to-body interactions by the animal
phenomenology (i.e., that which pursues noetic- turn, virtuality as auto-affectivity remains a learn-
noematic intentionality), the nostalgia of lifeworld ing design challenge to connect the fullest possi-
phenomenology (i.e., past tense, “lived” experi- bilities of life expression with the places we know
ence), the worldliness of existential phenomenol- as schools and which may increasingly be places
ogy (i.e., Heideggerian being-in-the-world and where “experiential learning” can best flourish.
Merleau-Pontyan flesh of the world), and even Yet still the places of engaging meaningfully
the hyletic materiality of radical phenomenology with others for the sake of vital, life-giving, life-
and still feel life as an auto-affectivity and animat- showing, life-affirming interactions may seem
ing force. Movement and place can thus become like externalized forms that inform movement
the expressive terms of a turn toward life as that potentiality rather than as Deleuzian flows, vec-
which moves deeply, affects profoundly, and tors, and valencies of animated, humanimal life.
carries the words we say to invoke it. Virtual movements, unlike the representational
The movement of life philosophy shifts human forms digitized for virtual worlds, should be
consciousness to corporeality, the imperatives of regarded as the auto-affective, auto-impressive,
human responsivity to humanimality, and grounds and self-moving expressions of life that Michel
humane interactional qualities of sympathy, empa- Henry claims for the inner landscape revealed by
thy, compassion, and care in the virtual kinetic- “material phenomenology.” Such movements are
kinesthetic-aesthetic dynamics of life-wide attune- of a pedagogical affectivity yet to be realized more
ment. More practically speaking, there emerges a fully but never totally within the shifting configu-
praxis which contests the “barbarisms” (Henry rations of “optimal” learning spaces.
2012) of life-denying representations and the con-
trived relations by which we distinguish ourselves
from other-than-human animals as well as those of Future Registers
our own kind. The school curriculum can be
reanimated, repopulated, decolonized, and revital- The phenomenological tradition from Edmund
ized to become a deeply lived space. Husserl to Michel Henry shows the shifting ren-
Michel Henry’s corpus of writings provides ditions of movement and place to reveal the
telling phenomenological account of what is expressive and worldly potentialities of life’s
essentially at stake in practices that, on the immanent auto-affectivity. Corporeality, animal-
ek-static surface, appear to be quite removed ity, and virtuality are phenomenological markers
from the interrogation of the auto-affectivity of of the realization of what Henry referred to as “the
life. The gradients between suffering and joy may “inner necessity” or what Henri Bergson called
Phenomenology of the Adult-Child Relation 1819

the élan vital, which is to say the inherent forces of how the phenomenological dialectic of move-
and efforts of movement that are most palpably ment and place has been applied to considerations
discernible in places of creative life expression. of curriculum, pedagogy, and instruction. Yet a
The three motile, phenomenological registers of thorough phenomenology of education goes
corporeality, humanimality, and virtuality can be beyond instances of application and, in turn,
regarded as terms of a dialectic in which attention may well provide the very material conditions
turns initially and literally to human corporeality. for addressing questions such as those posed
But the human saturation of the phenomena of the above and thus for contributing substantially to
world inevitably occasions thinking about an ani- the ongoing phenomenological movement.
mal nature. The ecological turn to the wider move-
ments of eco-philosophy in turn gains strength in
critical relation to technologically virtualized References
places. Yet renewed questions of virtuality, devel-
oped through a radical, material phenomenology, Abram, D. (2010). Becoming animal: An earthly cosmol-
ogy. New York: Pantheon Books.
draw attention back to human movement but now
Acampora, R. A. (2006). Corporal compassion: Animal
with consideration of the profound kinetic, kines- ethics and philosophy of the body. Pittsburgh, PA:
thetic, somaesthetic dynamics of life affirmation. University of Pittsburgh Press.
What continuation of this dialectic might we now Henry, M. (2009). Seeing the invisible: On Kandinsky
(trans: Davidson, S.). New York: Continuum Books.
discern on the phenomenological horizon?
Henry, M. (2012). Barbarism (trans: Davidson, S.). New
Phenomenology challenges us with the pressing York: Continuum Books.
questions of life, of living with others of a human Merleau-Ponty, M. (1968). The visible and the invisible
and other-than-human kind, of the quality of our (trans: Lingis, A.). Evanston, IL: Northwestern Univer-
sity Press.
relations with others, and of speaking, writing,
Merleau-Ponty, M. (2003). Nature: Course notes from the
acting, and teaching in authentic, life-affirming College de France (trans: Vallier, R.). Evanston, IL:
ways. Across the academic disciplines and fields Northwestern University Press.
of study where the human sciences have taken root, Sheets-Johnstone, M. (2011). The primacy of movement
(2nd expanded ed.). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
a most pressing task is to reawaken a phenomeno-
Shusterman, R. (2008). Body consciousness: A philosophy
logical attitude and mobilize the methodological of mindfulness and somaesthetics. New York: Cam-
resources of the human sciences in service of the bridge University Press.
movements, affects, and languages of life. How Smith, S. J. (2014). A pedagogy of vital contact. Journal of P
Dance and Somatic Practices, 6(2), 233–246.
might phenomenology continue to have us recog-
Von Uexküll, J. (2010). A foray into the worlds of animals
nize a primacy to movement and bring us in touch and humans (trans: O’Neil, J. D.). Minneapolis, MN:
with the motions and gestures of the multiple University of Minnesota Press.
lifeworlds of daily living? Alternatively, what are
the appearances of nature, environment, ecology,
technology, and virtual worlds that privilege certain
animations? What are the affects and effects of an Phenomenology of the Adult-Child
enhanced phenomenological sensitivity? What Relation
senses, feelings, emotions, and moods of self-
affirmation and responsiveness to others sustain Michael A. van Manen and Max van Manen
us in our daily lives? To what extent might the University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
descriptive, invocative, provocative language of
phenomenology infuse the human sciences and
engender a language for speaking directly and Introduction
movingly of life?
Educational theorizing from matters of teach- A phenomenological focus on the meaning and
able content to those of teaching relationships to significance of the adult-child relation starts from
those of learning environments provide instances the question of how the child experiences the
1820 Phenomenology of the Adult-Child Relation

relation with the adult and how the adult experi- The Emergence of the Adult-Child
ences the relation with the child. Phenomenology Relation Thematized as Childhood
explores the immediately lived or pre-reflective
dimensions of the relational experience rather The emergence of childhood as the development
than the ways we may already conceptualize, of relational distance between the old and the
theorize, or interpret adult-child relations. It is a young arises already in the early work of Johan
form of inquiry that is rooted in continental phi- van den Berg (1956) and in Philip Ariès (1962).
losophy. It aims to grasp the meaning structures Van den Berg documents how by the eighteenth
of human experiences as lived through in every- century, the child had become increasingly vul-
day situations, relations, and actions. It is meth- nerable with respect to themes that have to do with
odologically challenging to determine how adulthood such as sexuality, birth, death, and
young children experience the relations they faith. These “secrets” of adulthood were kept
maintain with adults, especially in infants and from young people for a gradually expanding
young children. The descriptions have to be period of time, leading to a prolonged childhood
interpretive and intuitive yet also tentative and and a deferred adulthood. According to van den
informed by psychological and philosophical Berg, the distance between children and adults
understandings of the intersubjectivities and was created as a result of the increasing complex-
intentionalities of the child's relations with ity of the social order.
others. In other and less complex times and places,
Historically, the phenomenological perspec- children were perceived simply as miniature
tive was adopted to free itself from earlier denom- adults. They were not yet seen as uniquely and
inational interpretations of the adult-child urgently vulnerable due to their young age, inno-
relation. The term “relation” in the phrase adult- cence, immaturity, or lack of experience. As
child relation encompasses all those affective and society and familial relations grew more com-
emotional states and the sentient and existential plex, the young person was infantilized to a
human qualities that exist between an adult and a state of dependency, and thus a relational dis-
child. Commonly, the meaning of the term “rela- tance was created that was named “childhood.”
tion” or “relationship” tends to be taken for To belong to childhood is to belong “not yet” to
granted. According to the OED, the terms “relate” adulthood.
and “relation” derive etymologically from relatus, Some suggest that adults may no longer know
meaning to bring back, return, and report, and (or wish to know) what it means to stand and act
from ferre, meaning to bear and carry. The con- in a mature adult relation with children. Conse-
temporary dictionary meanings of relation(ship) quently, young people exist in a state of aban-
refer to the connections formed between two or donment, a relational and moral vacuum that is
more people or groups based on social interac- neither childhood nor adulthood. The childhood
tions and mutual goals, interests, or feelings. of the theorized child seems to be disappearing,
Thus, the adult-child relation can be seen as a but others have pointed at early texts and art,
connection that emerges between parents and such as the Grandfather and Grandchild portrait
children that they continually return to. by Ghirlandaio (1490), that show that the adult-
Culturally and historically adult-child relations child relation does indeed possess historical sig-
differ empirically and qualitatively in terms of nificance that recognizes the way of being of a
authority, affectivity, closeness, sense of geneal- child. In the painting the (grand)child clearly
ogy, and felt responsibility. These relational fac- seems to experience the relational quality of
tors are continually undergoing changes. But the childhood.
focus here is primarily on the phenomenology of Here follow some selected modalities of
the existentiality of these relations. thematized adult-child relations.
Phenomenology of the Adult-Child Relation 1821

A Relation of Nearness and Distance A Relation of Prematurity

The phenomenology of childhood is in part For developmental psychology, the child is some-
described by the experience of relational distance one who “cannot yet do” certain things, not now
between children and adults. The sense of distance but later. Classic developmental child study in the
can already be observed at the moment of the birth tradition of Rousseau-Piaget tends to perceive the
of a child and in the reference to the newborn child child from the perspective of the end phase of
as newcomer and as stranger. When a “child” is adulthood. But from a phenomenological point
born, he or she still very much enters our life as a of view, the scientific empirical data of develop-
stranger. We do not choose a child as we choose a mental psychology are not given by nature; there
friend for the qualities that he or she already pos- are no natural facts that developmental psychol-
sesses. And even if such choice would become ogy can offer to educators as guides for educa-
technologically available to some degree, then the tional or child-rearing practice. The adult must
newcomer is still someone who is different, rela- orient to where a particular child is now. From
tively unformed, and a carrier of potential. The the child’s present world, educator or parent must
adult names this difference. To name a child is the be prepared to assist and help the child in his or
adult’s act of dealing with the distance that this her becoming.
difference creates. In the act of naming, the child The converse terms childhood and adulthood
is recognized and adopted into the family and com- are relational antonyms. In the experience of the
munity. And in the act of naming, the newcomer child, the adult experiences his or her adultness.
and childhood itself is named. But the notion of The adult-child relation trades on the tensions
childhood can only exist in the recognition of the between maturity and immaturity, sophistication,
connectedness and duality of the adult-child rela- and innocence. It is a relation of growing up for
tion. Childhood and adulthood always implicate the child when the relation gradually dissolves as
each other; they are joined terms of a relational the child gains in cognitive, affective, and moral
discourse. maturity.
There is a socially constructed distance between The original and most personal relationship
childhood and adulthood that inevitably brings between adult and child is the mother-child and
about misunderstandings, alienation, conflict, and parenting relationship. In his classic text, The
rebellion between the generations. Entire indus- Child’s Relations with Others, Merleau-Ponty P
tries, disciplines, and educational institutions have (1964) describes how initially the child’s relation
been established with the purpose of dealing with with others is still undifferentiated as the child is
the child’s process of adultus, literally “growing unaware of itself as a separate being. In other
up.” Some may see this as a phenomenon of ques- words the genesis of the adult-child relation is
tionable value to the child, when adults begin to for the child initially a non-relation. It is not as if
show special interest in childhood that spells trou- at birth there are two separate entities that estab-
ble for the child – but it also means that there is lish a relation. Rather there exists for the child
trouble with adulthood. It means that adulthood has immediately an undifferentiated prenatal oneness
become so complicated and so full of dangers and with the maternal body. There is not yet a com-
contradictions that young people can no longer municative relation as long as the child remains
simply grow up in a natural apprentice relation unaware of itself in its absolute difference. The
beside older people as was supposedly possible in first child me is still latent and entirely unaware of
earlier ages. As the phenomenon of childhood is itself, while the adult me is a me that knows its
historically and culturally relativized, the question own limits.
arises whether and on what basis children still Around 6 months of age, the child, in exploring
deserve special rights as children. things with the hand, will touch the other hand.
1822 Phenomenology of the Adult-Child Relation

And thus, suddenly, the child learns to distinguish especially for their close relations of intimacy.
between the body (the touching hand) as immedi- Elias points out how this increased social pro-
ately felt introceptively and the body (the touched scription of many impulses necessarily increases
hand) as discovered and observed extroceptively. the distance between the personality structure and
the behavior of adults and children. What we see
is the effect of the function of manners and cus-
A Relation of Separateness toms which separates the young person
and Inwardness (childhood) from father and mother (adulthood)
through the invisible wall created by hidden feel-
The child discovers its separateness when, for ings, driven to an experience of psychological,
example, smiling at the mother or father in the social, and generational distance through such
mirror and then being startled when hearing the processes as social rules, praise, and punishment
voice of the mother or father issued not from the (Elias 1978).
specular image but from the physical body of the
parent. A little later, the child becomes aware of
his or her own observable body, when seeing the A Relation of Pedagogy: Child-Rearing
specular appearance of its own image in the mir- and Education
ror. Through the specular image, the child notices
that he or she is visible for himself and herself as Within the educational and child-rearing context,
well as for others. By the second and the third year the adult-child relation is the parent-child,
of age, the child becomes more sensitive to the teacher-student, or pedagogical relation. The con-
look of the adult with whom the child experiences cept of the pedagogical relation was meant to
a certain self-conscious relation. This is also the arbitrate over the question whether the experience
time that the child senses his or her own indepen- of pedagogy – parenting, teaching, childcare – is a
dence and the capacity to say “no.” primordial human experience, thus requiring an
One can infer two phenomenologies of sepa- independent discipline for study, or whether it is
rateness between childhood and adulthood merely an aspect of general processes of sociali-
through the civilizing process of morals and man- zation whereby young people are initiated into the
ners. First, children are separated from adults social order that surrounds them. Wilhelm Dilthey
since they lack the consciousness of an economy (1833–1911) was the first to propose that a science
of inwardness (e.g., the young child is still allo- of education or pedagogy can only find its real
wed to show his or her emotions openly). Second, starting point by studying the relation between the
children are kept separate from adults when adult and the child.
childlike feelings have to go into hiding or “under- Herman Nohl (1967), a student of Dilthey,
ground” (e.g., the child may learn to feel shameful described the pedagogical relation as an intensely
about sexual discoveries). Children are “taught” experienced relation, characterized by three
that certain behaviors and feelings are distasteful, aspects: First, the pedagogical relation is a very
shameful, repulsive, and disapproved. All kinds personal relation animated by a special quality
of commands and prohibitions, do’s and don’ts, that spontaneously emerges between adult and
are more likely to arouse in children certain anx- child and that can be neither managed nor trained
ieties and therefore the inclination to render these nor reduced to any other human interaction. Sec-
acts private. ond, the pedagogical relation is an intentional
Thus, children learn when and how to feel relation wherein the intent of the adult is always
shame and embarrassment about things that they determined in a double direction: by caring for a
are to keep suppressed. And this has an important child as he or she is and by caring for a child for
consequence for their relations with others, what he or she may become. Third, the
Phenomenology of the Adult-Child Relation 1823

pedagogical relation is an oriented relation; this ethical predicaments. And so, pedagogy is both
means that the adult must constantly be able to the tactful ethical practice of our actions and the
interpret and understand the present situation and doubting, questioning, and reflecting on our
experiences of the child and anticipate the actions and practices in living with children.
moments when the child in fuller self-
responsibility can increasingly participate in the
culture. A Relation of Possibility
For the student, the pedagogical relation with
the educator is more than a means to an end Children come to us bearing a gift: the gift of
(to become educated or grown-up); the relation experiencing the possible. Children are children
is an event that has significance in and of itself. because they are in the midst of the primal process
The relation to a real teacher, someone in whose of becoming. Children, who are not already
presence the child or young person experiences resigned to the fate of being born into a world of
his or her evolving identity, is possibly more pro- powerlessness and misery that leaves no hope for
found and more consequential than the experience them, experience life as possibility: anything can
of relations of friendship, love, and so forth. Stu- happen.
dents may always feel indebted for the rest of their In sharing his or her life with this child, the
lives to a real and admired teacher, even though adult cannot avoid but become an example. This
the stuff that they learned from this person may imitational process (mimesis) is the meaning of
have lost its relevance. In part, this may be due to learning. In early English to “learn” meant to
the fact that what is “received” from a great teach as well as to learn. A teacher could learn
teacher is less a particular body of knowledge or (teach) a child to learn something. As an adult,
set of skills than the way in which this subject one embodies possible ways of being for the
matter was represented or embodied in the person child. Merleau-Ponty describes how “mimesis is
of this teacher, his or her enthusiasm, self- the ensnaring of me by the other, the invasion of
discipline, dedication, commitment, and so forth. me by the other; it is that attitude whereby
Pedagogy can be generally described as I assume the gestures, the conducts, the favorite
distinguishing what is good or right from what is words, the ways of doing things of those whom
bad or wrong in our ways of acting and interacting I confront . . . It is a manifestation of a unique
with children. Of course, in our everyday living system, which unites my body, the other’s body, P
with children, we do not always know how to and the other himself” (1964, p. 145). Con-
distinguish actively and reflectively what is good versely, I see the child trying on my gestures,
from what is not good (or less good) for children. my ways of seeing and doing things, my ways
In certain situations and predicaments, we may of reacting, and my ways of spending time. And
question and doubt ourselves or admit that we as I see that happening, I am confronted with my
may not know what is best for this child or these own doubts. Is this the way I want my child to act
children. The point is that this doubt and uncer- and be? And if not, is it the way I want myself to
tainty belongs to pedagogy and shows us the act and be?
profoundly ethical nature of pedagogical thinking Historically and culturally, the world contains
and acting (van Manen 2015). Without this ethical many possibilities of living and being. Children
uncertainty, pedagogy would be reduced to a set encounter the world through friends, schools,
of techniques, recipes, or rules. Teaching, parent- media, neighbors, and digital technologies and
ing, and caring for children are never simple through our mediation. But children find their
affairs that can be handled by means of rules and own uniqueness and identity through personal
recipes. Situational predicaments that can be exploration, choice, and commitment. This is
“solved” by techniques and procedures are not what Hannah Arendt (1958) described as the
1824 Phenomenology, Education, and the More-Than-Human World

fact of “natality” that children are constantly from abuse, disease, or starvation, or recruited as
born into the world and must be allowed to child soldiers in distant lands. We know that
renew the world. How can the adult safeguard there are street children of 5 and 6 years of age
this newness for the growing child? Children who are learning to survive in metropolitan areas
cannot just be expected to discover a life. They without any medical care, illiterate, physically
must also be allowed to act, experiment, and and sexually exploited, and exposed to the
create themselves. Adults have lost this neotenic excesses of violent drug culture. For them,
openness, but in this too, they can learn from the the adult-child relation is an empty existential
child. Neoteny is the retention by adults of child- category without promise or pedagogical
like qualities: to remain open to the new and significance.
human potentialities. Agamben points out that,
in evolutionary terms, adults inherited the phys-
iology of infancy: the hairless skin and fetal References
features of the eternal child. But because of this
neotenicy, the adult is granted the possibility of Agamben, G. (1995). Idea of prose. Albany, NY: SUNY
Press.
openness and potentiality: to make the impossi-
Arendt, H. (1958). The human condition. Chicago, IL:
ble possible (1995, pp. 95–98). University of Chicago Press.
Ariès, Ph. (1962). Centuries of childhood. New York:
Random House.
Elias, N. (1978). The civilizing process: The history of
A Relation of Violence manners. New York: Urizen Books.
and Abandonment Giroux, H. (2003). The abandoned generation. Hampshire,
UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
A critically significant relation between adults Merleau-Ponty, M. (1964). The primacy of perception and
other essays. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University
and children is probably most pointedly named
Press.
a relation of violence and abandonment (Giroux Nohl, H. (1967). Ausgewählte pädagogische Abhandlungen.
2003). This is a highly complex and extremely Paderborn, Germany: Ferdinand Schöningh.
problematic dimension of the experience of Van den Berg, J. H. (1956/1970). Metabletica of leer der
veranderingen: Beginselen van een historische
childhood of young people who, because of
psychologie. Nijkerk: Callenbach.
their young age, belong to the biology of child- Van Manen, M. (2015). Pedagogical tact: Knowing what
hood but whose social and political circum- to do when you don’t know what to do. London: Left
stances actually rob them of the social, cultural, Coast Press/Routledge.
and pedagogical benefits of a sheltered
childhood.
From a critical perspective, childhood can be
regarded as an oppressive socially constructed
Phenomenology, Education, and the
category aimed to regulate and commercially
More-Than-Human World
exploit the educational and social lives of chil-
dren. Keeping children stuck in theories and
Patrick Howard
constraining categories of “childhood” may
Cape Breton University, Sydney, Nova Scotia,
make it difficult to treat their expressed views
Canada
and lived experiences with respect and dialogic
openness and integrity. The terrible truth is that,
globally, every day thousands of children are los-
ing their parents and experience being exploited Synonyms
by adults and abandoned by the societal institu-
tions that ought to protect them. Bioregionalism; Curriculum theory; Eco-
There exists a relation of violence for millions phenomenology; Place-based pedagogy; Rela-
of children who are orphaned by wars, suffering tional pedagogy
Phenomenology, Education, and the More-Than-Human World 1825

Introduction consumption and the global market economy are

not susceptible to easy fixes and solutions. Con-
Education has always been interested in the larger sumerism fueled by pervasive and sophisticated
living landscape – the biotic, more-than-human media manipulation pressures parents to work
natural community. Schools, museums, parks, more, longer and farther afield, depriving children
zoos, camps, youth organizations, and natural his- of a stable home and relegating them to the care of
tory groups facilitate and mediate relationship strangers in often crowded day care. In developed
with place, both natural and built. In formal nations, there is a marked rise in eating disorders
schooling, nature study, conservation education, and obesity as children spend hours inside in the
outdoor and adventure education, environmental, company of television, video, and computer.
global, place-based, and education for sustainabil- A lack of connection to people, community, and
ity are fields across which lines are blurred in their place is having a profound effect on children.
shared goal to more deeply understand the rela- Research has drawn a link between children diag-
tionship between humans and the environment on nosed with ADHD and the lack of opportunities of
which people depend. At this point in human these children to actively engage in outdoor activ-
history, there are strident calls for education to ities in more natural settings and green land-
be central to efforts to transform the human rela- scapes. The phrase “nature deficit disorder” was
tionship with the natural world and in so doing coined to describe the disturbing trend (Louv
mitigate and reverse dire projections of cata- 2005, p. 70). Large-scale international education
strophic climate change and subsequent mass efforts have been organized over the past three
extinction. decades. The documents lay out detailed global
Phenomenology is emerging as an important plans to make these issues the central concern of
approach to more deeply understand human rela- education in the future. However, it is arguable
tionship, the lived experience of being-in-the- education rooted in Judeo-Christian and
world. The experiential focus of phenomenology eighteenth-century Enlightenment constructs of
and its demand for awareness requires close atten- the self-maximizing individual and an infallible
tion to the felt meaning and embodied nature of free market is an obstacle to a transformative
our experiencing. This to experience takes place vision that includes an understanding of human
within a network of relations with which people ecology and the development of a planetary
have contact. Understanding the pre-reflective consciousness. P
experience of place and environment through The international efforts to transform educa-
careful description provides a language by which tion unabashedly call for the teaching of values.
assumptions, unexamined values, and taken-for- Education has always been a normative undertak-
granted horizons of understanding are made com- ing, and values are implicit in every aspect of the
prehensible. Language born of culture and history pedagogical relationship. Educational theorists
frames and structures the world. Language is not are ever mindful of the postmodern critique and
often critically reflected upon but provides the the demise of the master narrative and are uncom-
ever-present background for meaningful contact fortable with reorienting education to any named
with the world. Phenomenology can potentially purpose. Recently proposed transformative
disrupt that language, providing new light and visions of education anticipate the deconstruction-
new language by which to understand human ist critique and present not a master narrative of
relationship with the larger living landscape. any one culture but a story of the ultimate
“ground” in any theory – the planetary
ecosphere – and develop a powerful visionary
The Challenge for Phenomenology context for education, embedding the human
community within the Earth community.
The destruction of the Earth and the tearing of the The growing initiatives to make sustainability,
very fabric of life in the name of hyper- or environmental education, or whatever name is
1826 Phenomenology, Education, and the More-Than-Human World

locally given to an ecocentric reorienting of edu- are asking, “Can the technical, resourcist bias of
cation lead to the question of how to educate for the sciences with its dispassionate, objectifying
the values of embeddedness, interconnection, par- language make it incapable of bearing the burden
ticipation, relationality, holism, attunement, that we place upon it?”
awareness, and ecology. In many schools, chil-
dren learn about the world, their immediate envi-
ronment, and the landscape outside their windows Restoring the Relational
in the science classroom. Science is a cultural
pursuit firmly entrenched in the language of Educators are challenged to find means to go
objectivism, reductionism, and rationality. It is beyond the knowledge of science while at the
rooted in the western philosophical tradition and same time being inclusive of it. This life is a
reflects and reinforces society’s dominant values. particularity, a relationality of embeddedness in
Science has provided and continues to provide place that is unavailable to empiricism and objec-
through the same abstract and reductionistic meth- tivism. There is life, a sentience that engenders
odology the conveniences of technology and the care and affection. It calls for a kind of sensitivity,
advances in medicine that are to be celebrated as the pathic, the felt, a “living way of knowing”
great human achievements adding immeasurably (Jardine 1998, p. 95) that is perhaps not a “know-
to quality of life. Science allows people to under- ing” at all. At least not in the sense of knowing as
stand conceptually the diversity of life and the we usually consider it. Things cannot survive as
importance and complexity of life systems. It has abstractions, as categories on chart paper and
educated the world about the dangers of continu- poster board, but only as unique, individual crea-
ing into a future dependent on carbon. Science is tures, entities living in place. Most often what
powerful; the culture and profession has legiti- happens in dissecting the owl pellet is that the
macy and the confidence of society. Societies owl disappears, the mouse that was her meal dis-
have knowledge, data, and facts, but these do not appears. In the quest for empirical certainty, in
counter growing global crises emerging on many reducing an entity, a species to its constituent
fronts. parts, it disappears in abstraction. The creature is
Schools may emphasize energy audits, conser- lost – the individual and the unique are lost. In the
vation of resources, using efficient lights, turning coldly determined intelligence of the categories,
off computers, and recycling waste. Because of the trees are lost to “forestry,” the skeins of fog,
powerful, pervasive cultural beliefs, these learn- and misty droplets to the “water cycle.” In a sense,
ing activities can further reinforce a resourcist life is lost. Science cannot show the life in the life
position, one predicated on wise use, efficiency, cycle of the owl. Its life is a wholeness, part of the
and the value of the natural world to humans, in totality of experience in a place. It is embodied,
other words, ever strengthening an anthropocen- experiential, and connected to the life process.
tric orientation. Schoolyard gardens and green Some education researchers interested in
space restoration may be understood as making uncovering a language to describe the primacy
places more pleasant for human use, consump- of experience as it is related to growing ecological
tion, and entertainment. Children learn about the awareness and a renewed sense of responsibility
natural world by dissecting owl pellets and to the biotic community look to hermeneutic phe-
diagramming the water cycle. The knowledge nomenology to disclose human existence as a
gained from these learning activities begs the network of relations.
questions, “In what way do our children know But in what sense do educators use the word
the living Earth and what value do they give it?” “ecological”? In paying close attention to the
Wendell Berry (2000) says, “We know enough of meaning of the word is to address its significance.
our history by now to be aware that people exploit “Ecology” can be defined firstly as the science of
what they have merely concluded to be of value, relationships between organisms and their envi-
but they defend what they love” (p. 39). Educators ronments and secondly as the relationships
Phenomenology, Education, and the More-Than-Human World 1827

between organisms and their environments. The description of the world as it is lived. Phenome-
definition itself tends toward objective abstraction nologists describe the pre-reflective; its focus is
by placing the science as a common term with the experiential and outward into the world; as the
relationships. When the life of the English word great French phenomenologist Maurice Merleau-
ecology is traced to its roots, it is understood the Ponty put it, the world is the “natural setting of,
word is derived from the German Okologie from and field for, all my thoughts and all my explicit
the Greek oikos, house and dwelling. The original perceptions” (2002, p. 406). David Abram, the
life of the word is tied to relationship, clan, and American phenomenologist, finds in Merleau-
family. The term dwelling suggests a noun and Ponty ecological implications centered on the
synonym for house; yet it retains the sense of its inextricable relationality of human perception
verb form, to dwell: ecology as dwelling, as what mediated through the body with the larger living
it means to dwell in place. Heidegger describes the world. Abram says the entire phenomenological
troublesome separation in the West between endeavor has taken place within a region of
becoming and being as the artificial separation inquiry circumscribed by a tacit awareness of the
between what it is “to build” and “to dwell.” It Earth as the ground and the horizon of all of our
has been argued that society is preoccupied with reflections, and the hidden thrust of the phenom-
building at the expense of dwelling. Education enological movement is the reflective rediscovery
curriculum privileges the knowledge of building of our inherence in the Earth. Abram’s work is
at the expense of the knowledge of dwelling. In seminal, and its importance cannot be under-
his book Transformative Learning: Educational stated. He provides a language whereby the bio-
Vision for the 21st Century (1999), Canadian sphere as it is experienced and lived from within
scholar Edmund O’Sullivan posits that modernity, by an intelligent body becomes accessible and his
with all its wonders and advances, has reached the work allows for an articulation of the interactive
full fruition of its limitations. O’Sullivan believes and dialogical nature of reality. It is of value to
a new consciousness is called for – “a planetary turn to Abram’s words here,
consciousness” resulting from an educational
framework that must be “visionary and transfor- To touch the coarse skin of a tree is thus, at the same
time, to experience one’s own tactility, to feel one-
mative and must clearly go beyond the conven- self touched by the tree. And to see the world is also,
tional educational outlooks that we have at the same time, to experience oneself as visible, to
cultivated for the past several centuries” (1999, feel oneself seen... We can experience things – can P
p. 3). He argues for what he calls a comprehensive touch, hear and taste things – only because, as
bodies, we ourselves are entirely a part of the sen-
and integrated perspective or what was previously sible field, and have our own textures, sounds and
known as a cosmology, one that would engender tastes. We can perceive things only because we
“an ecologically sustainable vision in the broadest ourselves are entirely a part of the sensible world
terms; what can be termed a planetary vision” that we perceive! We might as well say that we are
organs of this world, flesh of its flesh, and that the
(1999, p. 4). This requires reclaiming the word world is perceiving itself through us. (Abrams
ecology for education to understand that as we 1996, p. 68)
build, we must dwell, and the two cohere.
Educators who turn to phenomenology as a
philosophical orientation and a research method
Language and the Dialogical Nature are in essence seeking to understand and rethink
of Reality human relations with the larger living field
through an experiential approach. Abram is not
Phenomenology begins with particularity, with only paying attention to the experience of nature
phenomena, the reality given in lived experience but to the nature in human experience. Phenome-
before reflection. Bypassing theory, concepts, pre- nology opens a space for a deeper understanding
suppositions, and cultural beliefs, phenomenol- of the interactive and dialogical nature of reality
ogy brackets these and adopts as a method the and allows for an experiential approach to give
1828 Phenomenology, Education, and the More-Than-Human World

voice to new meanings and possibilities. How- influencing the body and mind, as we are wholly
ever, this is often a difficult and challenging task. dependent, deeply embedded in the web of life.
Curriculum theorist David Jardine writes,
Phenomenology raises the possibility of real hope,
i.e. the hope that life as it is actually lived can be Deepening a Sense of Place in the Biotic
faced. It maintains that we as educational ‘theorists’ Community
have living connectedness with the ‘subjects’ of our
inquiry. These children in this classroom, this
teacher, are not distant objects . . . they are us, our Phenomenology and hermeneutics have been
kind, our kin, and understanding them is under- used to inform environmental education that is
standing our kinship with them, understanding, place-based or bioregional and more recently to
not severing, the ties that bind us to the Earth, to investigate sustainability education and the per-
our lives, to the lives of our children. (1998, p. 24)
ceptions of children of their experiences in both
David Orr’s (1994) bold statement, “all educa- built and natural environments. Heidegger’s work
tion is environmental education” (p. 12) is pro- firmly positioned place at the center of the inves-
vocative and points to the inherent divide between tigation of the meaning of being. Dasein is firmly
humans and the natural world that is at the heart of rooted and is always in the world. Heidegger
the educational enterprise. Students are taught (1971) writes, “the way in which you are and
facts devoid of their larger purposes in transmis- I am, the manner in which humans are on the
sive, largely passive classrooms that reinforce the earth, is . . .dwelling. To be a human being
divide between the dominant inside space, the means to be on the earth as a mortal. It means to
human-built world, to the detriment of the larger, dwell” (p. 147). Place-based or bioregional edu-
living world outside the walls of the school. Andy cation is phenomenological in its central premise
Fisher (2002) in his important book Radical to learn to “reinhabit” local places, by becoming
Eco-psychology: Psychology in the Service of aware of the particular ecological relationships
Life explores the shifts in patterns of identity and that operate within and around the place. The
relationships that occur when connections to the very idea of a region in which we “live-in-place”
web of life essential to human well-being are is an elusive concept. The specification of place or
included. Fisher believes phenomenology offers bioregion contests a purely topographical defini-
a bridge to span the distance, the alienation, and tion of place as objective geographic location in a
estrangements and cultivates a deeper understand- map. A phenomenological approach to learning
ing of humans as human beings. Inquiring into the about place introduces a new geography as expe-
strange and unfamiliar is a hermeneutic endeavor. riential, subjective, and storied. It is just this phe-
Fisher demonstrates how Gadamerian hermeneu- nomenal, experiential, and lived dimension of the
tics, particularly, through its central tenet of a bioregion that offers an opportunity to develop a
“fusion of horizons,” allows for a gaining of more complex, subtle picture of the interrelation-
self-understanding through an interaction with ship between humans and the places they inhabit.
something other, novel or alien. A person’s The challenge is to activate and reactivate an
horizons are enriched and expanded when attunement and awareness for the bioregions in
prejudices are risked, and assumptions and which people dwell. Phenomenologists Ingrid
pre-understandings are examined. Fisher’s work Stefanovic and Louise Chawla are among those
is important as it picks up the work of philoso- few researchers who inquire into the environmen-
phers like Merleau-Ponty, Eugene Gendlin, and tal, place-based experiences of children. Typically
David Michael Levin whose focus on the nature undervalued for their naiveté or innocence, the
of human nature explicated an embodied intelli- words and experiences of children have been
gence uniquely designed and attuned for relation- largely overlooked. However, phenomenological
ship with the world. Like Abram, Fisher is a research that opens up such lines of inquiry is of
hermeneutic phenomenologist able to demon- particular significance. The hermeneutic phenom-
strate how nature enters into human experience enological task of laying bare origins coupled
Phenomenology, Language, and the Unspoken: The Preverbal Dimension of Children’s Experience 1829

with the often unstructured, unaffected visions of Heidegger, M. (1971). Building, dwelling, thinking. In
the child suggested profoundly interesting possi- Poetry, language, thought. New York: Harper & Row.
Jardine, D. (1998). To dwell with a boundless heart: Essays
bilities to understand more fully what it means to in curriculum theory, hermeneutics and ecological
live, to dwell in place. A phenomenological lens imagination. New York: Peter Lang.
means deepening a relationship with the biotic Louv, R. (2005). Last child in the woods: Saving our
community. For urban children, who often live children from nature deficit disorder. Chapel Hill,
NC: Algonquin Books.
in homogenized and utilitarian landscapes that Merleau-Ponty, M. (2002). Phenomenology of perception.
are ecologically and aesthetically impoverished, New York: Routledge Classics. (Original work
exploring a deeper sense of their connection to the published 1962)
life of the bioregion through phenomenology is a Orr, D. (1994). Earth in mind: On education, environment
and the human prospect. Washington, DC: Island
research area in need of further inquiry. Press.
At this point in the human story, the relation- O’Sullivan, E. (1999). Transformative learning: Educa-
ship between human beings and the earth, the built tional vision for the 21st century. Toronto: University
environments, urban spaces we design to reflect of Toronto Press.
Pinar, W. (2004). What is curriculum theory? Mahwah, NJ:
our embodied embeddedness in place, and the Lawrence Erlbaum.
education of the young to live in ways that honor
both human nature and the larger living biotic
communities on which they depend are areas
that phenomenology can meaningfully inform
and provide direction. Phenomenology, Language,
William Pinar (2004) says curriculum theory is and the Unspoken: The Preverbal
“about discovering and articulating, for oneself Dimension of Children’s Experience
and with others, the educational significance of
the school subjects for self and society in the ever- Eva-Maria Simms
changing historical moment” (p. 16). More Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, USA
researchers and curriculum theorists are amending
Pinar’s “for self and society” by adding “the
Earth.” Societies are beginning to seek a vision Synonyms
for the school subjects that includes conscious-
ness of our Earth-centeredness. Phenomenology Implicit; Lived; Pre-verbal; Unarticulated; P
can be important in more deeply understanding Unspoken: latent
how profoundly informed is human experience by
the cycles and rhythms of the larger living land-
scape. Phenomenology helps describe human Introduction
dependence on the more-than-human natural
world in news ways and provides a deeper sense The world of experience, which is the arena of
of educator David Orr’s words, “All education is phenomenological research and theory, is not the
environmental education.” epistemological, clear world of rational thinking
but the messy, entangled, and qualitative world of
significations that are complex and hidden and
References have a pre-personal, latent, general structure. A -
non-epistemological undercurrent runs through
Abram, D. (1996). The spell of the sensuous: Perception human experience, which is difficult to unearth
and language in a more than human world. New York: and raise to reflection. The unspoken in phenom-
Random House. enology does not mean that something cannot be
Berry, W. (2000). Life is a miracle: An essay against
modern superstition. Washington, DC: Counterpoint. said but that it escapes ordinary attention. In the
Fisher, A. (2002). Radical ecopsychology: Psychology in following, we will explore some of the basic phe-
the service of life. Albany, NY: SUNY Press. nomenological insights about the implicit
1830 Phenomenology, Language, and the Unspoken: The Preverbal Dimension of Children’s Experience

dimensions of perception and meaning and show how objects actually appear to human experience
how in children the unspoken plays out through in their situated, spatial, temporal, and relational
the body, social life, space, and things and fullness.
lived time. In our ordinary, everyday experience of the
Edmund Husserl (1859–1938), the founder of world, we encounter our cube, for example, as
the phenomenological movement, used the exam- the library building in our neighborhood. One
ple of a cube to illustrate the complexity of a person says “there is the library,” and the other
perceptual act: even though we ever see only one replies “let’s go and check out a book,” and both
side of an object, in our experience, the hidden, assume that they refer to the same building in their
concealed sides or profiles are present as consti- shared landscape. Phenomenologists call this the
tuting absences as well. Without them the cube natural attitude, which comprises a set of assump-
would not be a cube. Even the ground upon which tions and habits, which let us function in the
the cube sits is an essential element of its structure. world. We take the world for granted as a world
Situated in space, the cube exists in a web of of discrete entities, which we can name and
relationships with other things that are close or manipulate, and even other people and our own
distant. Things have dimensions or profiles that bodies are counted among them. The phenomeno-
we do not perceive directly but that come into play logical attitude, on the other hand, attempts to go
in establishing their reality or being. Husserl beyond the natural attitude through careful
spoke of the “fullness,” or the plenum of things, description and analysis of the way things, like
which upon close observation of the perceived the cube of the library building, appear to our
world reveals itself. As soon as a thing appears experience. The goal is to reclaim more and
as a figure before the larger background of other more of the fullness of a thing’s being and to
related things, places, and events – its horizon – understand more of what it essentially is: hidden
we can no longer think of it as a discrete, closed- inside the cube is a collection of books on shelves,
off entity. Since even its physical outlines are the repository of past human experience, coded in
never completely present, a thing is always more alphabetic notation, which needs to be dissemi-
than what meets the eye. It reveals some of its nated into the minds of the next human generation
aspects and conceals others, and its existence as a in order to continue the cultural project which
physical object is tied into a larger, more or less evolved in this location. The task of phenomenol-
perceptually present, web of meaning. Phenome- ogy as a research method is to systematically
nologists call this web of relationships that con- explore the fullness of things that is hidden behind
stitute the being of things the world and a thing our habitual knowing and understanding. Some of
within its worldly horizon a phenomenon (Husserl the concealed profiles belong to the perceptual
1952, 1964, 1969). world and others to history and culture. A thing
If a brief phenomenological analysis of some- is not a discrete and self-enclosed object but a
thing so simple as a cube results in its appearance complex and multi-related phenomenon. The
as a set of complex and infinite relationships, unknown, the mysterious, the transcendent, and
objects can no longer be defined as simple Carte- the unspoken is not somewhere else: it conceals
sian res extensa, materialistic entities, or even itself in ordinary, everyday life. It is present as the
Kantian concepts that can be circumscribed and halo of meaning around things. Some of it can
known. Phenomenology begins with an “idealist” come into awareness and language, but much of it
understanding of the world, i.e., a world that is as remains concealed and unspoken. This play of
much idea as it is matter. Husserl’s great contri- presence and absence is at the heart of the phe-
bution was to place this idealism back into exis- nomenological project, and it reveals itself in
tence. His rallying call, “to the things every simple act of perception.
themselves,” gave the phenomenological move- The work of the French phenomenologist
ment the task to investigate not merely the con- Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908–1961) showed
cepts of things, the Cartesian res cogitans, but that perception and the body’s engagement with
Phenomenology, Language, and the Unspoken: The Preverbal Dimension of Children’s Experience 1831

its environment are more primary than cognition, at the child (and the adult) not only as an episte-
and epistemological capacities rest on the founda- mological being that develops its thinking but as
tion of perceptual structures. Prior to concepts and an ontological being that has a profound experi-
language, human beings are embodied, perceptual ential relationship to others, places, things, and
beings (Merleau-Ponty 2012). A phenomenolog- time. One way of summarizing this attitude is to
ical analysis of embodiment shows that the per- say that ontology precedes epistemology: we are
ceiving body has its own nascent intelligence: we perceptual, meaning-seeking beings before we
do not have to think how to conform our hand to have logic and symbolism. Another way of cap-
pick up the smooth round of an apple or how to turing the primacy of perception is to widen our
adjust our gait when walking downhill. The body understanding of thinking toward a “wild think-
has a precognitive knowledge and implicit ratio- ing” or “nascent cognition,” where meaning and
nality, and meaningful interactions with the per- understanding, though differently structured, are
ceived world can be found already in animal life. already present in pre-symbolic animal behavior.
Perception animal or human – has to be thought If we bring together the phenomenological
as a radically non-dualistic continuum between insight into the fullness and concealedness of
the body and its particular environment: the struc- things and the search for pre-symbolic, percep-
tures of perception and the structures of the per- tual, situated consciousness, a specific task arises
ceived world belong together and form a whole. In for phenomenological psychology and pedagogy
his later work, Merleau-Ponty would call this (Simms 2008). If the young child is primarily an
intertwining of body and world the chiasm. The experiencing being, what are the structures of
challenge, according to Merleau-Ponty, is to show child perception and cognition? How do develop-
how cognition and language arise out of the per- ing human beings act within the horizon of the
ceptual substructure of human existence and how world that is meaningful to them? Merleau-Ponty
thinking and speaking are shaped by and indebted and other phenomenologists have developed a
to it. hermeneutic strategy for exploring the complex
Merleau-Ponty’s philosophy of perception has field of human experience by focusing on some
been very productive for researchers in cognitive of its fundamental and irreducible structures:
neuroscience, child psychology, and education. embodiment, social relationships, spatial
His question, “how do cognition and language situatedness, things, and temporality. Phenome-
come about?” led him to an intense interdisciplin- nology, and particularly the phenomenology of P
ary study of animal behavior and child psychol- childhood, explores the world as it is experienced,
ogy in order to understand the relationship the life world: the lived body, the lived relationship
between perception and thinking (Merleau-Ponty with the other, the lived space and things, and the
2010). Child development offers a special lens lived time. With respect to children:
through which to see the relationship between
perception and the acquisition of symbolism and • The focus on the experience of the developing
abstract cognition. Like animal consciousness, lived body reveals children’s perceptual, motor,
infant consciousness begins as perceptual con- and semiotic capacities (semiotic, meaning
sciousness, and child consciousness in general is making).
closer to the perceived world than the adult mind. • The focus on the experience of lived social
Merleau-Ponty provides us with an epistemolog- relationships reveals the entanglement of self
ical framework for understanding that human and other within the growing circle of human
consciousness – in early human development relationships and the introduction of culture
and across cultures – can be structured differently and language.
than Western adult consciousness, which has been • The focus on the experience of lived space and
the unquestioned model of what it means to be things reveals the physical environment as it
human in Western philosophy. His challenge to intersects and structures perception, emotion,
cognitivism and Piagetian epistemology is to look and cognition.
1832 Phenomenology, Language, and the Unspoken: The Preverbal Dimension of Children’s Experience

• The focus on the experience of lived time themselves to catch it. Her repeated practice in
reveals the rhythms of nature, relationships, catching is not a cognitive, reflective act but the
and culture, which provide the larger frame- gradual adaptation of bodily structures to environ-
work for human development and history. mental events through repetition. Adults shape
and define the meanings of children’s body parts
Body, others, space, and time are existential a and body actions intentionally: the girl might be
prioris or facticities because their structure is forbidden to practice with the ball at all, or to run,
foundational to all human experience. All human or to venture outdoors because of her parent’s
beings are embodied, social, temporal, and live in personal fears or cultural restrictions. Psycholog-
places, even though there is a wide variety in how ically, the human body can have a more expansive
these essential structures are taken up by individ- or more limited perception of what it is able to do,
uals or by cultures. The experience of the body and what kind of world it is competent in. Simone
cannot be separated from the experiences of de Beauvoir (2011) saw the social training of girls
others, space, and time because they always into a limited body action space and the following
appear together, but for the sake of understanding, loss of the sense of “can do” openness and tran-
we can train our lens on one or the other aspect. scendence as the key issue for women’s liberation.
Bodies are disciplined and/or rewarded through
situated, often subtle cultural practices within
The Body: The Preverbal Foundation family, neighborhood, school, and peer group.
But bodies can also be liberated through subtle
The body as lived and experienced is not the reclaiming of gestures and action spaces.
anatomical body, which is an abstraction and con- Merleau-Ponty thought that much of our bodily
ceptualization that reflects the perspective of the life is latent and hard to access consciously, but
body as seen from the outside by the other. The that the body is also the pivot where nature and
anatomical body is a scientific construct that consciousness meet.
homogenizes and standardizes the body. As a
lived body, on the other hand, we can experience
ourselves as “all ears” or “all thumbs,” or a tooth- Social Life: The Mystery of Self
ache can concentrate bodily reality in one cheek and Others
and make it proportionally large. This principle of
differential bodily signification becomes espe- The latent dimensions of social life exert a pow-
cially apparent in children’s drawings: if you tell erful influence on human development from the
young children to draw a soccer game, there is a very beginning. Prior to being independent indi-
good chance that the players in the drawings will viduals, human beings are born into social rela-
have large feet and no or very undifferentiated tionships. Infants come from a womb, and without
hands; if you instruct them to draw children the care of others, they do not flourish. Attach-
playing catch, the reverse is true, and hands will ment, love, and desire form the trajectory that
be large and fingers visible. Children’s drawings pulls the human infant toward the other. The ear-
reveal that in the experienced body, size is not a liest relationship with the other has a personal and
matter of mathematical extensiveness but of sig- a cultural dimension because it sets the patterns
nification: big people or body parts are more for how a particular child relates to the physical
important than others in the experienced situation. and social world, as we saw above.
The lived body finds itself engaged with people A phenomenological analysis of the relation-
places, and things and lives itself as an unreflected ship of self and others reveals that the clear bound-
presence with them – unless its smooth transcen- aries between them, which habitual consciousness
dence and projection into the world as its action presupposes, are not so clear after all. Merleau-
space is interrupted. A child follows the trajectory Ponty (1948/2004) thought of self and others not
of a ball thrown to her, and her hands configure as interior, self-enclosed entities but as unique
Phenomenology, Language, and the Unspoken: The Preverbal Dimension of Children’s Experience 1833

styles of conduct in the world. Most of the time, different moods: comfort, excitement, uncanni-
the self is submerged in its activities and not aware ness, and fear.
of itself, and the other appears as a co-actor As a child, the writer Annie Dillard found an
inserted into the fabric of a child’s world. But in old dime in the alley behind her house, and she
early childhood, the self acquires the ability to spent the next weeks digging up the alley in order
sometimes look at itself as if through the eyes of to find more hidden treasure. She felt like an
the other and become self-reflexive and aware of adventurer or treasure hunter on a quest. Her
its own unique being. Only if the self can look at father had told her that old cities like Rome,
itself from the perspective of the other can human where old coins can be found, were half buried
beings acquire distance from the magical flow of under ground, and she kept digging deeper in
the perceptual world and reflect and think about order to find more of the treasures hidden in the
the world – and themselves. The self is indebted to earth. Children are often intensely sensitive to the
the other because it receives its first nourishment, hidden, secretive profiles of things, and their
its name, its validation as a person, its ability to imaginative play responds to, brings out, and
see possibilities and think, and its language reveals possibilities that belong to the concealed
through others. But it also receives the demands dimensions of the fullness of the world (Van
and injunctions of others and the distortions and Manen and Levering 1996).
injuries that socialization brings along the path of Things are the markers of place in the expan-
love. The other has a core that remains impene- sion of space, and they are related to other things
trable, but even the self – because of its formation through spatial nearness and distance. The phe-
through the other and because it lives through a nomenology of lived space shows that space is
body – can never be completely self-transparent. structured as a horizon around the body. The body
Human beings will always have an irreducible gap inhabits a particular place, the “here,” which
or lacuna in them that is impenetrable to reflection through habitual daily engagement, becomes the
and knowledge. center around which the nearness and distance of
places is structured. The “here” is familiar, and the
“there” is arranged in growing circles of distance
Space and Things: Moods, Play, and unfamiliarity around it. Lived space, how-
and the Disciplining Power of Spatial ever, is not homogenous in its extensiveness but
Forms consists of islands of familiarity that are indepen- P
dent of measured distance. The alley behind a
Things, as we saw in our example of the cube, are person’s house can be the most distant and unfa-
not mere objects, but to experiencing conscious- miliar place because it does not exist on his or her
ness, they are phenomena, i.e., focal entities experiential map, while a hotel room in a distant
within a horizon of meaningful relationships. rainy city can quickly become too near and
This is particularly the case for children: early familiar.
childhood transitional objects, like blankies or Spatial forms, as we saw above, interact with
teddy bears, are experienced as animated and the body and are the other side of bodily gestures:
intentional and have a deep emotional presence. without the ground, there would be no upright
Things have a physiognomy, i.e., their perceivable gait; without things to reach for, there would be
and imaginary structure invites a child to respond no hands; without the illumination of things
and act. The bouncing ball calls the body to stretch through light, there would be no eyes. This
out its arms and run forward, the small space intertwining of body and space implies that bodily
under a drooping bush is irresistible and invites consciousness can be shaped and manipulated
sitting quietly, the drawer wants to be opened and through spatial arrangements. The arrangement
closed, the box needs something in it, and the of school furniture, for example, disciplines chil-
long, smooth hallway beckons running and slid- dren’s bodies into gestures of solitary calmness,
ing. Things are evocative and they inspire containment, and focused attention. Educational
1834 Phenomenology, Language, and the Unspoken: The Preverbal Dimension of Children’s Experience

spaces are predetermined by adults and support The future. Children assume that the future
the socialization of children into the knowledge does not continue infinitely: when a person has
and values of their culture (Langeveld 1983a,b). reached the fullness of her or his being, time
They are a good example of the preverbal com- seems to stop. Parents are just old and do not get
munication between body and spatial affordances, older for a long time, and if I eat more, I will be
and teachers and children usually participate in a older than my older brother. In children’s concep-
habitual way without registering the coercive tion of time, growth is not homogenous and time
power of space. not continuous. On a more visceral level, the
The preverbal, spatial field provides the subtle young are directed toward the future in their desire
but tangible encounter with a particular culture for coming things. The range of the future, the
and its history: places and their things precede width of its horizon, and the openness it provides
our individual lives and carry the material record to the child’s initiative are strongly determined by
of a culture’s past products, intentions, and values parental presence. The strength of the child’s
inscribed into their structures. reach toward what is coming has its foundation
in the trust and hope a healthy adult environment
inspires. Freedom for the child means to be
Lived Time Versus Clock Time granted the opportunity of meeting oneself in a
future that is created, in safety, through one’s own
Lived, experienced time has a different flow than initiative and imagination. The future is the realm
clock time. While the clock gives the illusion of of the possible, and it exists for human beings
time as a homogenous, forward moving stream always as a purely imaginary dimension.
from past to present to future, the phenomenology The past. Children participate in their culture’s
of lived time shows time to be experienced as past through family narrative and the education
nonlinear, fragmented, and tied to movement in process. Family narratives shape children’s early
space. Piaget’s observations and research showed memories of their own lives, and it becomes
that time for young children is tied to the sequence impossible to separate what a person remembers
of events: his daughter complained that it could first hand from memories generated by intense,
not be afternoon since she did not yet take her nap! imaginative participation in other people’s narra-
Past, present, and future do not line up in a neat tives. Even the untold or repressed family stories
sequence but are entangled: the past can loom are part of the total fabric of a person’s history.
ahead and a future that was imagined can fall Narrative participation creates a sense of cultural
behind. The duration of time is not a matter of belonging and allows the child’s life to transcend
measure, but of the fullness of events. its own generation. In the education process, the
The present. Young children assume that the child is inserted into the officially sanctioned nar-
present time is not homogenous for all beings but rative of a culture’s past. Education is the trans-
that each lives in its own time, which can shrink or mission of cultural memory accumulated by past
expand depending on particular activities. generations.
Children – unreflective about themselves and
turned toward the world – strongly sense the
flow of ambient becoming, where things move Conclusion
through time alongside the child’s own being. To
be in the present means to be co-temporal now and The preverbal, unspoken dimension of human
with others in action space. Children easily let go experience can be accessed through the rigorous
and forget what is no longer part of their direct process of the phenomenological method, which
experience of ambient becoming. In the world of penetrates the veil of habitual, everyday,
the young, there is no central time master who unreflected experiences and reveals the power of
assures that all are governed by the same abstract the interwoven structures of embodiment, social
time frame. relationships, space, and time.
Philosophical Education, An Overview of 1835

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time, and language in early childhood. Detroit: Wayne
State University Press. Introduction
Van Manen, M., & Levering, B. (1996). Childhood’s
secrets: Intimacy, privacy, and the self reconsidered.
Education has always been closely related to phi-
New York: Teachers College Press.
losophy. The first serious observation about the
purpose and means of education was undertaken
by the Pre-Socratic thinkers. Pedagogy, didactics,
and other educational disciplines originated from
Phenomenon of Childhood philosophical thinking. In fact, it is impossible to
Migration have a serious discussion about education without P
venturing into the philosophy of education. As
▶ Phenomenology of Inclusion, Belonging, and Max Black put it nicely, “All serious discussion
Language of educational problems, no matter how specific,
soon leads to a consideration of educational aims,
and becomes a conversation about the good life,
the nature of man, the varieties of experience”
(Black 1969). It is precisely from this quote that
Philosophers of Education
we can interpret philosophy of education as a
modern philosophical discipline which aims to
▶ Philosophy of Education and Science
determine the purpose and means of education,
Education
as well as its influence on life and society. It can
range from research of educational theories to the
history of philosophy from the beginnings of phil-
osophical thinking to present day. Nowadays, we
Philosophical Dialogue can discuss Aristotle’s philosophy of education
knowing that, formally speaking, the philosophi-
▶ Philosophy with Children: The Lipman-Sharp cal discipline did not exist in his time. Perhaps we
Approach to Philosophy for Children can find the simplest and clearest definition of
1836 Philosophical Education, An Overview of

philosophy of education in Encyclopædia Philosophical education also incorporates what

Britannica: “Philosophy of education, philosoph- is called “philosophy in education.” As a Venn
ical reflection on the nature, aims, and problems of diagram, it looks like this:
education. The philosophy of education is Janus-
faced, looking both inward to the parent discipline
of philosophy and outward to educational prac- A
tice” (Siegel).
Philosophy of education primarily researches
and deals with philosophical education, but is not
limited to that. Philosophical education is a com-
prehensive philosophical education which aims to
raise a person as a philosophical being. Although
it may sound strange, this is necessary.
B
A philosophical human being would be a person C
who reflects about things and events happening
around them. Primarily, a person should be able to
think critically about themselves and the world
around them. After that, the second level of such
A - Philosophy of education
an education assumes a higher degree of critical B - Philosophical education
thinking about common philosophical issues. Ide- C - Philosophy in education
ally speaking, this level of philosophical educa-
tion should be present at philosophy departments As part of philosophical education, learning
at university level (and higher). Today, first-level critical thinking is a philosophical study. One of
philosophical education is teaching and learning the specific aims of philosophical education at
critical thinking. present is to find ways and methods of teaching
Education without philosophical education critical thinking. In addition, one of the aims of
most often leads to two things – short-term mem- philosophy of education is to reflect about the
ory and practicing certain skills to cope through nature, aims, problems, and usefulness of teaching
life. Such education is one-dimensional and for critical thinking. This is important in today’s
defeats the purpose. If we consider critical think- world when people (and children) are bombarded
ing at early educational stages, ideally speaking, it with thousands of relevant and irrelevant pieces of
would consist of content (knowledge) and reflec- information which expose them to different types
tion on that content. Therefore, there should be of manipulation: political, media, economic,
content and a method for processing that content. etc. It is precisely critical thinking that can provide
In that way, we ensure that the content is under- the individual with the proper tools to resist this
stood, information processed, but also encourage manipulation and choose only relevant informa-
taking a personal critical stand. tion while also developing their own critical
Philosophy in education is the existence of thinking.
philosophy in education either as a separate teach- Critical thinking started in philosophy and that
ing subject or a group of subjects. A person can is why critical thinking has to be regarded as
acquire certain philosophical notions or methods. philosophy in education and must be strongly
Philosophy in education can also be considered in connected with philosophical knowledge. Critical
terms of particular theories which exist around a thinking in formal and informal education nowa-
specific type of education. days is rather popular and in demand. There are
Philosophy of education as a philosophical many different programs for learning critical
discipline is comprehensive and contains, thinking. Unfortunately, there are programs
among other things, philosophical education. which neglect their philosophical origin, only
Philosophical Education, An Overview of 1837

claiming that they teach critical thinking, when, in teaching critical thinking. It is a way of thinking
fact, they do not. Learning for critical of thinking that avoids emotional content and arbitrary prin-
cannot be learning critical thinking if it is not ciples. Critical thinking needs to be impartial and
based on philosophy. Among many definitions has to rely on common sense and consistent argu-
of critical thinking, the one that really points out mentation, according the rules of formal and
the essence of the relation between critical think- informal logic, as mentioned before. The need to
ing and philosophy is in Lipman’s most famous practice critical thinking in modern-day society
work Thinking in Education. While listing the has become stronger due to the fact that we are
definitions of critical thinking, he states that crit- permanently exposed to different means of manip-
ical thinking is “a light version of philosophy” ulation. Along with standard manipulation, such
(Lipman 2003). as, political and economic, there is media manip-
ulation that has reached every segment of our
lives. In part, media manipulation is so obvious
Critical Thinking as a Light Version that it does not even call for critical thinking.
of Philosophy However, critical thinking is an exceptionally ade-
quate tool for uncovering media manipulation on
There are well-known and well-researched studies a larger scale. It encourages people to think about
and theories on education by eminent philoso- the messages received on a daily basis from the
phers. Now that learning critical thinking has media and, by doing so, notices how people are
reappeared as an important issue as the purpose being manipulated by the media.
of education, we have to think back on what Even the very use of the term “critical think-
critical thinking is and look for the origins of ing” is sometimes subject to manipulation. The
critical thinking among a variety of thinkers. term is sometimes used to attract target audience
Recent literature offers many definitions of critical and justify unfounded criticism that only serves its
thinking. Some of the crucial aspects of critical own purpose. Obviously, that is not critical think-
thinking are present in Richard Paul and Linda ing nor should it be. Critical thinking is not, even
Elder’s definition: “Critical thinking is that mode though it is sometimes perceived that way, nega-
of thinking – about any subject, content, or tive thinking only for the purpose of criticizing.
problem – in which the thinker improves the qual- That is not critical thinking that is the opposite
ity of his or her thinking by skillfully taking of it. P
charge of the structures inherent in thinking and
imposing intellectual standards upon them” (Paul
and Elder 2002). Critical Thinking Through the History
With critical thinking, that is, a light version of of Philosophy
philosophy, we improve the quality of our think-
ing and thought processes. Critical thinking Critical thinking is the light version of philosophy,
allows us to view things and events in and around that is why we need to take a look back and see
our lives from all sides and find solutions to our who among the eminent philosophers promoted
problems more easily. The only rules that can be what we may nowadays refer to as critical think-
true for critical thinking are the rules of formal and ing. Teaching for critical thinking was developing
informal logic. In all periods of human history, alongside philosophical thought. Here is a brief
critical thinking was a desirable human trait. Nat- overview.
urally, thinking critically can be dangerous some- There are traces of critical thinking even
times, if we remember Socrates and how he had to among the Pre-Socratic thinkers. The first
drink poison to carry out his own death sentence. teachers of critical thinking that we know of
Critical thinking does not hold any concrete were the sophists. As it is often claimed, they
values or principles that could be imposed by taught reasoning skills, that is, oratory. Known
1838 Philosophical Education, An Overview of

as the masters of persuasion, they often prepared and also shaped informal logic. Critical thinking
their students to discuss in court and at political without the rules of formal and informal logic is
gatherings. This becomes more understandable if not possible.
we consider the fact that the sophists rejected any The doubt advocated by ancient skeptics is
kind of objective norms, including the truth. Nev- related to the development of critical thinking
ertheless, we must not equate sophism with soph- theories. The name itself comes from the Greek
istry and its distortions, also known as eristic, as word skecιB, which means searching, but also
the use of fallacious arguments for the sole pur- skepsis. If we take the etymological meaning,
pose of outsmarting someone. Further, there is a critical thinking is closely related to skepticism
famous quote by Protagoras: “DIOG. IX 51 It was because it requires doubt to look for the truth. Of
he who first said [Protagoras] that there are two course, there is a big difference, because some-
opposed arguments on any matter” (Diels 1983). times we can arrive at verifiable truths.
Therefore, a thing or event can be viewed from In the Middle Ages, Thomas Aquinas devel-
different angles; if we think critically about an oped a system for thoroughly questioning views
event, then we are looking at it from all possible and beliefs. For each idea under his study, he
angles, forming at least two opposing views. Crit- would demonstrate all the views; he would argue
ical thinking should encourage us to question all those points of view, either to dispute or support
possible pros and cons of a premise and lead us to them; and in the end he would express his own
a valid conclusion. Perhaps certain sophists pur- sound views on the matter. He executed this so
sued the wrong goal, but they were among the first precisely that it is safe to say that every idea in his
to encourage critical thinking. system was the subject of critical thinking. How-
Socrates is an essential figure for critical think- ever, Thomas Aquinas did not question religious
ing. With a carefully constructed line of dogmas. In spite of that, the systematic approach
questioning, he pointed his interlocutors toward to certain theories and facts suggests a methodol-
the “truth,” and that truth was something they ogy which is more than acceptable as part of the
were not aware of before the conversation with written methodology of critical thinking.
Socrates. In modern terms, we could say that During the Renaissance, the most interesting
Socrates did not teach his interlocutors what to author is Erasmus. He pinpointed fables as a great
think but how to think. Socrates’ ways of “extra- source of practical thinking simply because fables
cting” the opinion out of the interlocutor, the way carry a strong message for practicalities of life.
he “made” them think about their own views and Erasmus encourages people to read and think
judgment, is known as the Socratic method. This about fables as a good exercise for developing
is the first known method for learning critical critical thinking. Whether Erasmus used the term
thinking. The goal of the Socratic method was to critical thinking the same way as we do today, that
define the notions under discussion. “He wanted is difficult to say. More importantly, he claimed
to give birth to true ideas in the clear form of that fables were a “guide to practical thinking”
definition, not for a speculative but for a practical and added that they were appropriate for practic-
end” (Copleston 1993). Although it is not always ing “good vocabulary.” These two things (practice
possible to agree on a definition, the process can thinking and vocabulary development) are the
guide us toward a clearer, more understandable, goals of modern-day critical thinking workshops.
and concrete definition. The process itself has In any case, even though elements of contem-
actually resulted in fundamental rules of defini- porary critical thinking theories can be found
tion. Even Matthew Lipman points out Socrates among Renaissance thinkers, the actual call for
and the sophists as the philosophers who started to the practice of critical thinking in the modern
develop critical thinking. sense of the term only happened with Francis
Another important figure for critical thinking Bacon.
in Antiquity is Aristotle. He is considered to be the In 1605, the English philosopher Francis
founder of formal logic, which later developed Bacon published Of the Proficience and
Philosophical Education, An Overview of 1839

Advancement of Learning, Divine and Human. thinking. The first 12 rules relate directly to the
This is the first work that is considered to tackle rules of the scientific method. However, critical
critical thinking (and not only what we call critical thinking cannot be excluded from that. One of the
thinking). Bacon states that the mind cannot fol- aims of critical thinking is reaching valid conclu-
low the “right path” if left only to its natural sions, which can be related to the truth. Some
tendencies. He points out that the world has to 10 years after Rules for the Direction of the
be observed empirically. Bacon outlines the main Mind, Descartes wrote Discourse on the Method
topics and ideas which he developed and (Discours de la méthode, 1637). Here again, Des-
perfected in his later works. He also suggests cartes explains the four rules of the scientific
clear obstacles or disorders in learning which method, but the rules can also be applied to the
have to be avoided or addressed to ensure pro- “rules” of critical thinking.
gress. He diagnosed three distempers of learning: Bacon and Descartes were the first ones to
“So that in reason as well as in experience there grapple with the issues crucial to the theory of
fall out to be these three distempers (as I may term critical thinking today. Descartes points out that
them) of learning: the first, fantastical learning; there has to be a special mental discipline to guide
the second, contentious learning; and the last, the mind while thinking. Descartes calls for pre-
delicate learning; vain imaginations, vain alterca- cision and clarity. He also advocates skepsis as an
tions, and vain affectations” (Bacon 1906). Here, important component of thinking. We could say
it is clear that Bacon is discussing erroneous learn- that he follows Socrates’ line of thinking, who
ing/thinking, which he explores further in Novum would successfully confuse the interlocutor and
Organum Scientiarum (1620), where he describes make them doubt their own views or way of
four types of idols for four kinds of natural human thinking. That is when we start to think more
tendencies that lead to misconception and preju- deeply – when there is confusion and doubt. Des-
dice. We can get rid of misconception and preju- cartes demands systematic doubt, which becomes
dice with reason. With his three distempers of integral to critical thinking. Furthermore, he
learning (fantastical, contentious, delicate) and insists that each argument has to be subject to
four types of idols (tribe, cave, marketplace, the- doubt, to be questioned, and to be tested. Bacon
ater), Francis Bacon offered a wide range of mis- and his catalogue of human misconceptions and
conceptions and prejudice. By discovering the typical errors in judgment and Descartes with
errors in our thinking and becoming aware of the systematic “skepsis” and demand for questioning P
misguided beliefs and views, we have made the are the modern pioneers of critical thinking.
first step toward eliminating them. Immanuel Kant pointed philosophy toward the
The goal of developing critical thinking is knowing of the mind in his three critiques and the
nothing more than learning how to think correctly. power of the mind to think systematically and
Therefore, Bacon’s observations on “distempers reasonably. In What Is Enlightenment?, Kant
of learning” and “idols” could be labeled as a urges using our own mind: “Enlightenment is
catalogue of incorrect thinking or typical mistakes man’s emergence from his self-imposed nonage.
in thinking. Other notable works crucial to the Nonage is the inability to use one’s own under-
theoretical development of critical thinking are standing without another’s guidance. This nonage
Rules for the Direction of the Mind (Regulae ad is self-imposed if its cause lies not in lack of
directionem ingenii, 1684) by René Descartes, a understanding but in indecision and lack of cour-
French philosopher, physicist, and mathemati- age to use one’s own mind without another’s
cian. Even though he planned to write 36 rules, guidance. Dare to know! (Sapere aude!) Have
Descartes only managed 21 rules for direction of the courage to use your own understanding, is
the mind. From the point of view of critical think- therefore the motto of the enlightenment”
ing theory, some of these rules can be applied to (Kant 1970).
shaping the rules of not only scientific, mathemat- In The idea of a University from 1852, John
ical, and philosophical research but also critical Henry Newman indirectly suggests the
1840 Philosophical Education, An Overview of

advantages of critical thinking. Newman lists all same as critical thinking in the modern sense of
the advantages we can attribute to someone who the word: “Active, persistent and careful consider-
thinks critically. W. Graham Sumner, an Ameri- ation of any belief or supposed form of knowledge
can philosopher, published Folkways: A Study of in the light of the grounds that support it, and the
Mores, Manners, Customs and Morals in 1906 further conclusions to which it tends, constitutes
with useful contributions to the discussion of crit- reflective thought” (Dewey 1997). For most
ical thinking. He sees critical thinking as a way of authors, this is evidence that Dewey was actually
raising good citizens. Newman, W.G. Sumner, referring to critical thinking, being the “father,”
and several other authors prove that in the originator, or founder of contemporary critical
mid-nineteenth century there was a need for the- thinking theories. The slogan “learning to think” is
oretical research of the study of thinking, that is, also closely related to critical thinking in Dewey’s
for critical thinking in educational systems. Con- philosophy, where he demands learning, more spe-
sequently, that was the time when social progress cifically, practicing critical thinking. It was Dewey
led to discussing “the learning of thinking” within who was among the first thinkers to state that learn-
the system of education. Living without thinking ing to think is fundamental to education.
about what surrounds us, life without critical
thinking, may be simpler, but most aforemen-
tioned authors, as well as Bertrand Russell,
would agree that thinking philosophically is diffi- Conclusion
cult but also that it is extremely useful for individ-
After Dewey, a series of authors continued to
ual progress, s navigate life and find happiness.
develop his reflective thinking system, most
famously, Matthew Lipman who elaborated on
Dewey’s theory. With the aid of other theories,
John Dewey, the Founder of Modern
he developed the theoretical and practical frame-
Critical Thinking Theory
work of Philosophy for Children. The following
articles deal with issues important to the current
The importance of John Dewey in the modern
state of philosophical education. They bring a
development of critical thinking is probably best
cross section of elaborate methods and
illustrated by the following quote: “In fact, people
approaches in Philosophy for Children, but also
have been thinking about ‘critical thinking’ and
discuss the transition between the first and second
have been researching how to teach it for about a
step in philosophical education when students go
hundred years. In a way, Socrates began this
from learning critical thinking to philosophical
approach to learning over 2,000 years ago, but
thinking at high school philosophy classes and
John Dewey, the American philosopher, psychol-
thinking about philosophical issues at the Interna-
ogist and educator, is widely regarded as the
tional Philosophy Olympiad.
‘father’ of the modern critical thinking tradition”
The only way to properly develop critical
(Fisher 2001). Therefore, modern-day theory of
thinking is to start practicing it and developing
critical thinking was founded by the American
thinking skills from early age with philosophical
philosopher, pedagogue, and psychologist John
methodology. After that, it can be expanded
Dewey, primarily in How We Think (1997).
across philosophic and academic areas. Therefore,
Dewey does not use the term “critical thinking,”
think critically!
he says “reflective thinking.” The idea is the same.
Critical thinking is the reflection of our mind
about events and things around us. Dewey’s suc-
cessors gradually neglected the expression
References
“reflective thinking,” and critical thinking became
Bacon, F. (1906). Advancement of learning/The New
more common. According to Dewey’s definition Atlantis. London: Henry Frowde, Oxford University
of reflective thinking, we can gather that it is the Press.
Philosophical Idealism and Educational Theory 1841

Copleston, F.S.J. (1993). A history of philosophy, Volume I - Synonyms

Greece and Rome. New York: Images Books.
Black, M. (1969). A note on “Philosophy of Education”. In
C. J. Lucas (Ed.), What is philosophy of education? Dialectic; Divinization; First principle; Idealism;
London: Macmillan. Mathematics; Reading order; Reality; Theory of
Dewey, J. (1997). How we think. New York: Courier, forms; Wisdom
Dover Publications.
Diels, H. (1983). Predsokratovci: Fragmenti. Zagreb.
Fisher, A. (2001). Critical thinking: An introduction.
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Plato
Kant, I. (1970). Kant political writings (Cambridge texts in
the history of political thought). Cambridge, UK: An ancient tradition records that above the
Cambridge University Press.
Lipman, M. (2003). Thinking in education. Cambridge, entrance to Plato’s Academy was displayed the
UK: Cambridge University Press. inscription, “Let no one enter who does not know
geometry.” The earliest surviving evidence for
this inscription is in a work by the Emperor Julian
(Against Heraclius the Cynic 237d), written some
750 years after Plato established his school, and
Philosophical Grammar there is good cause to believe that the story is
apocryphal. Nevertheless, the tradition reflects
▶ Wittgenstein as Educator important realities about Plato, his philosophical
priorities, and his educational goals both in theory
(in his writings) and in practice (in the Academy
itself). Drawing philosophical inspiration espe-
Philosophical Idealism cially from his Pythagorean predecessors, Plato
and Educational Theory looked to mathematical sciences (arithmetic,
plane and solid geometry, astronomy, harmonics)
Mark Joyal as providing the most compelling evidence for
University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada intelligible, immaterial, unchanging reality – the
transcendent “Forms,” which he considered to be
the student’s highest object of study.
Plato describes and discusses his theory of P
Introduction Forms in numerous dialogues, but it is in his
most famous work, the Republic, that he applies
Among ancient discussions of Greek education, their contemplation to the system of education
philosophical idealism makes its first appear- which he formulates for his Utopian society.
ance in Plato’s Republic, within his formulation Here, in Book 7, Socrates explains at length the
of an ideal state. Here the mathematical sciences shape which education takes for the “Guardians”
and dialectic are presented as affording the stu- of this ideal society and the purpose of this edu-
dent a path to the apprehension of unmediated cation (Annas 1981, pp. 272–293). The Guardians
reality, which, in Platonic theory, is education’s have already completed their cultural and physical
supreme goal. Most subsequent discussion or training when they come to the study of numbers,
activity among Greeks and Romans which which they will pursue to the age of 30. This study
attempts to integrate philosophical idealism serves the general purpose of developing the intel-
either develops or responds to Plato’s thinking lect and training people how to think, but much
on this subject. Plato’s speculation also more importantly (in Plato’s view) it turns the
succeeded in finding accommodation in more mind away from our world, the world of becom-
widespread views about ancient educational cur- ing (genesis), towards truth and reality (ousia), the
ricula and in the thinking of some modern world of Forms (525a–c). Numbers are not Forms,
educationists. of course, but in our world of becoming their
1842 Philosophical Idealism and Educational Theory

study is the closest that we can come to Forms problem he has set, in other words, as an “intel-
themselves (Cornford 1932, pp. 38–39). The lectual midwife” who possesses no body of
order in which the mathematical subjects are stud- knowledge himself but is expert in bringing to
ied is important too. Arithmetic prepares the way birth the intellectual offspring conceived by others
for geometry, which requires us to think in two (cf. Theaetetus 150b–151c). The inquiry is there-
and three dimensions. Astronomy comes after fore viewed as a nonempirical “common search.”
geometry; now the student’s eyes are raised up Its success is achieved through a solution that is
from the earth towards the heavens. The celestial based not on variable opinion (doxa), about which
bodies, nevertheless, are material and of this people may well disagree, but on secure knowl-
world. The heavenly music which they create edge (epistêmê), which is derived from immutable
(originally a Pythagorean belief), however, brings numerical truths. Dialectic, moreover, elevates the
us closer to immaterial reality, and it is direct, particular geometrical solution which Socrates
unmediated apprehension of reality that should coaxes from the slave to a general truth whose
be the goal of education. existence does not rely on the senses.
Just how can the student achieve this direct There are, then, two stages in the process by
contemplation of real, unchanging goodness, jus- which, to Plato’s thinking, the student may appre-
tice, courage, and so on? To answer this question hend pure reality: first, the study of the mathemat-
Plato invoked his doctrine of anamnesis, “recollec- ical sciences, and then, the learning and
tion,” which presupposes that the soul, in discar- application of dialectic (Cornford 1932,
nate state, has had direct apprehension and pp. 173–190). We know from surviving evidence
knowledge of the Forms before a person’s birth. that the practice of dialectic – the processes of
Its subsequent incarnation and contact with the collection, division, and classification – was an
body cause the person in whom the soul has been activity central to Plato’s Academy.
embodied to forget this knowledge, but it can be
“recollected” when this person is given the right
promptings, especially through skilful questioning. Aristotle
A problem with the doctrine of anamnesis, how-
ever, is that it explains why, not how, people are In his research and teaching, Aristotle pursued the
able to gain access to the Forms. More problematic dialectical activity of classification with great
still is that the doctrine requires proof of the soul’s energy. As is well known, however, he broke
immortality. Plato therefore saw greater potential decisively from his teacher Plato by rejecting the
for explaining how the study of numbers could lead theory of Forms. Unlike Plato, he was an empiri-
to apprehension of reality in the application of cist, unwilling to exclude the role of perception
dialectic (Republic 532a–535a), which Socrates and the senses from the acquisition of knowledge.
calls “the capstone of the curriculum” (534e) Aristotle observed that experience and memory
(Annas 1981, pp. 276–293). enable us to collect related instances of things
The use of dialectic to accomplish this goal and events, and “from many notions that come
(and its concomitant potential to exemplify recol- from experience, one universal supposition about
lection) is demonstrated most vividly in Plato’s similar things is produced” (Metaphysics
dialogue Meno (81e–85d). Here Socrates interro- 981a5–7). The procedure which leads to this
gates a young, unschooled household slave who result is called induction; through its application
has no previous knowledge of mathematics. people are able to apprehend universals which,
Through a long series of carefully framed ques- when analyzed, yield first principles. But our dis-
tions he leads the slave to the correct solution to covery of first principles depends on sense per-
the problem of doubling the area of a square. ception, so disputes may be expected to arise over
Socrates conducts the interrogation as one who the authenticity of a first principle. In these cases,
(like the slave) does not know the answer to the it is the task of dialectic to defend (or disprove) its
Philosophical Idealism and Educational Theory 1843

authenticity (Topics 101a25–b4). According to investigation would be philosophia, which is

Aristotle, the knowledge of first principles and concerned with transcendent, theological
first causes is “clearly” sophia, i.e., “wisdom” principles.
(Metaphysics 981b25–982a3).
The fact that Aristotle refused to endow
these first principles with their own separate Later Platonists and Early Christians
existence is of fundamental importance for
understanding his break from Plato and their It remains difficult to determine how far Aristotle
disagreement over the goal of education. For may have been dependent upon Plato – even if
Plato, apprehension of first principles – of his only by reaction against him – in formulating an
Forms, in other words – is impossible when the educational curriculum which was designed to
soul is incarnate, since it is then in contact with bring the student to the contemplation of immate-
the body, which is implicated in fallible sense rial existence. About numerous other ancient
perceptions. For Aristotle, it is only through the thinkers, however, we need not be in any doubt
sense organs that first principles can be (Hadot 2005, pp. 263–293). For instance,
apprehended. the Alexandrian (Jewish) Platonist Philo
Precisely where Aristotle’s thinking on ideals (ca. 25 B.C.–ca. A.D. 40), best known for his
belongs in his educational activity is far from commentaries on the Pentateuch, often referred
clear, but the evidence of ancient commentators to enkyklios paideia, especially the mathematical
on his works (writing mainly between the second sciences, as an important but preliminary stage in
and the sixth centuries A.D.) may provide some the curriculum, subordinate to the pursuit of
help. Some of these commentators distinguished philosophia; hence his characterization of this
two kinds of Aristotelian writings, the exoterikoi early stage as the “handmaid of wisdom”
and the enkyklioi “discussions” or “arguments” (Intercourse with the Preliminary Subjects
(logoi). Just what the adjectives exoterikoi and 73–76). Yet just as enkyklios paideia contributes
enkyklioi refer to in these phrases is open to to the pursuit of philosophy, so philosophy then
some basic disagreement. Many have believed contributes to the possession of wisdom (sophia),
that exoterikoi logoi are popular works which which is the knowledge of divine and human
Aristotle intended for wider consumption, espe- matters and their causes (79). Clement of Alexan-
cially philosophical dialogues not unlike Plato’s, dria (ca. 150–ca. 215) adopted Philo’s evaluation P
whereas enkyklioi logoi are works which were not of the relative places of enkyklios paideia,
meant for publication but, being of a more tech- philosophia, and sophia (even quoting Philo),
nical nature, reflect the teaching which took place but Clement went further by defining wisdom as
in his school. But there are flaws in this argument, “knowing God” (Miscellanies 1.5.30.1–2).
and an alternative proposal has been put forward Lactantius (ca. 240–320) characterized wisdom
(Bos 1989, pp. 111–152): exoterikoi logoi are in a similar way but denied that the path to sophia
discussions which deal with the things outside ran through philosophia, since “knowing God” is
(ta exo) the physical realm, while enkyklioi logoi something that all people – not only philosophers
deal with physical reality, the things within (en) but “workmen, peasants, women, and all who
the circle (kyklos) of the universe. These latter have human form” – are capable of by nature,
logoi, being nearer to the experience to which and these people should therefore receive instruc-
people can easily relate, are the subject matter tion (The Divine Instructions 3.25–26).
for the preliminary stage of education, which The opinions on education of St. Basil of
would later acquire the name enkyklios paideia, Caesarea (329/330–379) demonstrate a profound
an important designation often translated as “stan- Christian engagement with Plato’s writing on the
dard education.” The former logoi are the concern subject and deserve special attention. Early in his
of advanced students, whose object of essay To the young, on how they may benefit from
1844 Philosophical Idealism and Educational Theory

pagan literature (2), delivered ostensibly before St. Augustine (354–430) similarly believed that
an audience of youths, Basil makes a basic point the products of pagan learning could be presented
emphatically: Christians consider this life and its to students in order to prepare them to acquire
goods to be nothing, and believe the soul to be knowledge of “the one God himself” (On Christian
infinitely more valuable than the body. Teaching 144). The liberal arts, especially the
So long as you are unable, because of your age, to mathematical subjects, condition the student for
understand the depth of the Holy Scriptures’ mean- contemplation of higher things (On Order
ing, in the meantime . . . we give a preliminary train- 2.12–16). The influence of Plato, crucial in
ing to the eye of the soul . . .. We must recognize that Augustine’s conversion to Christianity (Confes-
a contest is set before us, the greatest of all contests,
to prepare for which we must do everything and sions Bks. 7–8), is evident everywhere in his writ-
perform every task, as far as we can, and we must ings. Like Basil, he applied Plato’s image of “the
associate with [the writings of] poets, prose-writers, eye of the soul” to describe the apprehension of
orators, and all men from whom we are likely to intelligible reality (Various Questions 46.2).
derive some benefit for the care of the soul. Just as
dyers first prepare by certain treatments that which is
going to receive the dye, and then apply the colour,
whether it be purple or some other shade, in the same Divinization
way will we, if the glory of the good is destined to
abide with us as indelible, then understand the sacred
and mystical teachings after we have received pre- Philo’s goal to “know divine matters,” and the
liminary initiation by those external [i.e. pagan] aspiration of learned Christians to “know God,”
means. And like those who have become accus- both reflect a view about philosophy that traces its
tomed to seeing the [reflected] sun in water, so will origins to Plato’s Theaetetus, where Socrates tells
we direct our eyes to the light itself.
his interlocutor Theodorus that “we must try to
The dominant theme here is that of “prepara- escape as quickly as possible from here to there,”
tion” for apprehension of the ideal: Our study of and that this escape is “assimilation to god, as far
pagan authors helps us to prepare for the greatest as possible” (176a–b). Assimilation to god, or
of all struggles. Pagan literature is like the unseen “divinization,” is an ideal that was understood
preparatory material that dyers use before they and sought in different ways by different ancient
apply the glorious color that is the Holy Scrip- people. Early Christians, for instance, could strive
tures; it provides a preliminary initiation, but the for it through life in the desert or in the monastery.
Scriptures are sacred mysteries. The Scriptures are For Platonists from the third century
the light itself; pagan literature is reflected light A.D. on – i.e., Plotinus and his Neoplatonist
that prepares us to look upon the real thing. These successors – divinization was the supreme goal,
images all trace their origin back to Plato’s Repub- progress towards which was afforded by the study
lic (Döring 2003): the “eye of the soul” which is of texts.
raised up through dialectic (533c–d), the simile of Naturally enough, the texts which they studied
dyers and their wool (429d–e), and the progress above all were the Platonic writings – not all of
from the vision of reflected images to contempla- them but rather those that were considered most
tion of the light itself (515e–516b). Basil’s useful and relevant to their goal. Once agreement
assumption is that intelligible, unchanging reality was reached on the identity of these fundamental
is contained in the Scriptures, not Plato’s world of dialogues, two further developments occurred:
Forms; the “eye of the soul” gains understanding certain scholars proposed the “correct” organiza-
of the Scriptures through ascent up a pedagogical tion and reading order of these Platonic writings,
ladder. Basil’s work was widely read and admired and commentaries on each of them were written in
throughout the Middle Ages where Greek order to facilitate their study. The surviving evi-
was understood; from the fifteenth century on it dence for these reading orders shows a clear desire
gained enormous popularity in western Europe to draw students progressively to works that deal
through the Latin translation of Leonardo Bruni with the contemplation of transcendental being, in
(1370–1444). particular the Timaeus and the Parmenides, which
Philosophical Idealism and Educational Theory 1845

were (in that order) the final two in most reading would find no acceptance from any Platonic
lists (Koch 2013; Tarrant 2014). For a similar scholar today, but Schleiermacher’s purpose was
reason, Platonists also included some of a pedagogical one, and his solution demonstrates
Aristotle’s writings in their curriculum, most nota- the same concern that much earlier thinkers had
bly the Categories and Metaphysics. shown to raise the student’s mind through dialec-
tic to contemplation of the ideal which truly exists.
In the Republic, which is among the last dialogues
The Later Tradition that Schleiermacher prescribed, that object of con-
templation is “the Good.”
Throughout the Middle Ages, arithmetic, geome- At about the same time that Schleiermacher’s
try, astronomy, and harmonics preserved their role translations were first appearing, Johann Gottlieb
as preparation for the study of philosophy and Fichte (1762–1814), follower and interpreter of
theology. Boethius (ca. 480–ca. 524), who had Immanuel Kant, published the Addresses to the
confidence that these subjects could lead the stu- German Nation which he had delivered in Berlin
dent to comprehension of what really exists, in 1806 when the city was under occupation by
appears to have been the first to apply the medie- Napoleon. The second and third Addresses deal
val title quadrivium to this set of subjects directly with education. Fichte’s idealism
(Training in Arithmetic 1). represented a radical development of Kant’s and
For 350 years after the reintroduction of Plato’s is unmistakable in both of these Addresses, espe-
works into western Europe around the beginning cially in his assertion of human freedom. Obvious
of the fifteenth century, “Platonism” implied espe- too is the influence of Platonic idealism. Only one
cially the emphases and preoccupations of the extract can be provided here, but many others,
Neoplatonists of late Antiquity. It is unsurprising, equally illustrative, could be presented without
therefore, to find that when the great Renaissance difficulty (Address 3, 29; trans. G.H. Turnbull):
humanist Marsilio Ficino came to select and
[The student] is a link in the eternal chain of spiri-
arrange the first ten works of Plato which he tual life in a higher social order. A training which
would translate into Latin and later incorporate has undertaken to include the whole of his being
into his 1484 edition (the first printed edition of should undoubtedly lead him to a knowledge of this
Plato’s complete works in any language), this higher order also. Just as it led him to sketch out for
selection and arrangement aimed to provide for
himself by his own activity an image of that moral P
world-order which never is, but always is to be, so
the ascent of the reader’s mind to the vision of must it lead him to create in thought by the same
God, just as the Neoplatonic sequences of late self-activity an image of that supersensuous world-
Antiquity had done (the Parmenides and the order in which nothing becomes, and which never
has become, but which simply is for ever; all this in
Philebus occupy the ninth and tenth places). such a way that he intimately understands and per-
Ficino makes this intention clear in his preface to ceives that it could not be otherwise. Under proper
the 1464 collection of these ten works which he guidance he will complete his attempts at such an
addressed to Cosimo de’ Medici (Toussaint 2013). image, and find at the end that nothing really exists
but life, the spiritual life which lives in thought, and
It is a common belief that the Neoplatonic that everything else does not really exist, but only
interpretation of Plato lost its dominance as a appears to exist.
result of the translations and exegeses of the dia-
logues by Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768–1834). The effect of philosophical idealism on educa-
This belief is overstated, but there is no question tional theory is apparent in other, mainly German,
that these publications (1804–28) did mark a turn- thinkers of the past 250 years (especially Kant,
ing point in the study of Plato (Tigerstedt 1974, Hegel and Schelling). Nowhere, however, is it
pp. 5–7). Yet it was central to Schleiermacher’s expressed so forcefully and directly as it is in
project, too, to determine the order in which the these works, and never during this time did it exer-
dialogues were composed and should be read cise such influence as it did on the development of
(Lamm 2013). The sequence which he decreed German nationalism through Fichte’s Addresses.
1846 Philosophical Inquiry

Cross-References
Philosophical Inquiry
▶ Educational Theorists
▶ Formation of School Subjects ▶ Philosophy with Children: The Lipman-Sharp
▶ Hegel on Moral Development, Education, and Approach to Philosophy for Children
Ethical Life
▶ Intellectual Virtues and Educational Practice
▶ Liberal Arts Education
▶ Nation, Nationalism, Curriculum, and the Mak- Philosophical Inquiry in Education
ing of Citizens
▶ Socratic Dialogue: A Comparison Between Félix García Moriyón
Ancient and Contemporary Method Faculty of Teacher Training and Education,
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM),
Madrid, Spain
References

Annas, J. (1981). An introduction to Plato’s Republic. Synonyms

Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Bos, A. P. (1989). Cosmic and meta-cosmic theology in
Aristotle’s lost dialogues. Leiden/New York/ Introducing philosophy as a subject matter in for-
København/Köln: Brill. mal education; Practice of philosophical dialogue
Cornford, F. M. (1932). Mathematics and dialectic in the in educational settings, The
Republic VI–VII. Mind, 41, 37–52, 173–190.
Döring, K. (2003). Vom Nutzen der heidnischen Literatur
für eine christliche Erziehung. Die Schrift Ad
adolescentes de legendis libris gentilium des Basilius Introduction
von Caesarea. Gymnasium, 110, 551–567.
Hadot, I. (2005). Arts libéraux et philosophie dans la
Philosophy has been highly important throughout
pensée antique: Contribution à l’histoire de
l’éducation et de la culture dans l’Antiquité (2nd ed.). the history of Western education. It was clearly
Paris: Vrin. present during the period of Classical Greece, led
Koch, I. (2013). L’exégèse plotinienne des dialogues. In by the sophists, but also by Socrates, Plato, and
A. Balansard & I. Koch (Eds.), Lire les dialogues, mais
Aristotle. It regained its importance throughout
lesquels et dans quel ordre? Définitions du corpus et
interprétations de Platon (pp. 59–83). Sankt Augustin: the Middle Ages, most especially with the rise
Academia Verlag. of the European renaissance – starting around
Lamm, J. A. (2013). Plato’s dialogues as a single work of 1000 A.D. – in schools and universities. Philoso-
art: Friedrich Schleiermacher’s Platons Werke. In
phy continued and was maintained, at least in
A. Balansard & I. Koch (Eds.), Lire les dialogues,
mais lesquels et dans quel ordre? Définitions du corpus some countries, with the implementation of oblig-
et interprétations de Platon (pp. 173–188). Sankt atory formal education.
Augustin: Academia Verlag. Over recent decades, we have found ourselves
Tarrant, H. (2014). Platonist curricula and their influ-
in an apparently contradictory situation. On the
ence. In P. Remes & S. Slaveva-Griffin (Eds.), The
Routledge handbook of neoplatonism (pp. 15–29). one hand, there is a notable awareness of the
London/New York: Routledge. decreasing importance of the humanities, among
Tigerstedt, E. N. (1974). The decline and fall of the neo- which many people (mistakenly, in my opinion)
platonic interpretation of Plato: An outline and some
include philosophy. The damage done to educa-
observations (Commentations, Humanarum Litterarum,
vol. 52). Helsinki: Societas Scientiarum Fennica. tion by this abandonment of the humanities in
Toussaint, S. (2013). De Dialogorum congrua successionis general – and philosophy in particular – has
serie: retour sur Ficin, Cosme et Platon. In A. Balansard often been decried (Nussbaum 2010).
& I. Koch (Eds.), Lire les dialogues, mais lesquels et
dans quel ordre? Définitions du corpus et interpréta-
tions de Platon (pp. 133–147). Sankt Augustin: Aca-
demia Verlag. Translation into English: Tom Lardner
Philosophical Inquiry in Education 1847

On the other hand, we have witnessed a notable the start that one cannot engage in philosophical
increase in the presence of philosophy in formal inquiry without addressing certain subjects and
education. One concrete example is the growth of concepts belonging specifically to the philosoph-
philosophical practice at the primary school level ical discipline. These are the themes that often
within the general framework of philosophy for appear in introductory manuals to philosophy or
children or with children. Similarly, interest in in higher level philosophical encyclopedias that
civic or social values education, which is often can be consulted on the internet. These manuals
linked to philosophical learning, has been on the and encyclopedias include, among others, the
rise. We should also highlight UNESCO’s com- basic issues of metaphysics, such as unity, reality,
mitment to the presence of philosophy in formal truth, the good, beauty, etc., or those related to
as well as informal education. In short, there is Kant’s four questions concerning what we can
plenty of evidence available to shine a positive know, what we should do, what may we hope
light on the situation, backed up by a number of for, and what it means to be human. This does
UNESCO reports. not rule out, of course, that any subject or issue
There is, in other words, a notable effort to from human experience can and should be
extend the presence of philosophy at the primary addressed from a philosophical perspective.
school level and to consolidate or initiate – Focusing on those aspects that characterize
depending on the country – its presence in sec- philosophical inquiry, especially on what philos-
ondary schools. The dominant trend is to present ophers normally do, three features stand out.
philosophy as a specific activity, akin to a process Firstly, it is the kind of thought that shows a
of inquiry that is regarded as essential in the clear capacity to analyze and reason. Secondly, it
education of children and young adults. That is shows a special preference for discussions about
why this article is entitled “Philosophical Inquiry concepts and subjects that are ambiguous, vague,
in Education.” What follows seeks to clarify the uncertain, borderline, etc. Finally, philosophers
concept of philosophical inquiry, justify the create and work with wide-ranging frames of ref-
importance of that activity in education, and erence, what we could also call global concepts,
finally to take a look at those environments making connections between theory and practice,
where it should be present. or between abstract thought and real-life experi-
ences (Rondhuis 2005). It is possible to add
another feature as a corollary, following from P
Clarifying the Concept those described above: a “philosophical inquiry”
aims at seeking out the problems with what we
One feature of philosophy is that those who prac- accept as “given,” while working to clarify and
tice it do not often agree on exactly how to define bring closer to more generally acceptable “resting
it, although there tends to be mutual understand- points in inquiry” those issues that seem vague
ing and at least a partial agreement as to what they and purely subjective. This allows to talk about
are doing. When we move on to talking about its progress: people are getting better at philosophi-
presence in education, we encounter another prob- cally addressing and discussing issues and also at
lem apart from the definition itself. There is still a differentiating between good and poor reasons
debate between those who, following Kant, and asking always for stronger and better-founded
emphasize the importance of teaching students justifications of ideas (Golding 2013).
to philosophize, and those, more akin to Hegel, Those features of philosophical inquiry are
who place importance on teaching philosophy – found in the ideas of Lipman and many other
i.e., teaching certain content and knowledge authors working in the area of philosophy with
pertaining to philosophy. children and for children, who have contributed
While this article focuses here on philosophical important ideas and practices concerning the pres-
inquiry, which puts the emphasis on philosophy as ence of philosophical inquiry in the classroom.
an activity, it is also necessary to make clear from Lipman stresses the importance of fostering
1848 Philosophical Inquiry in Education

higher-level or multidimensional thinking, a kind language and language games for formal educa-
of critical, creative, and careful thinking, with all tion. Then there is the hermeneutic approach,
the cognitive and affective dimensions that this which seeks out intersubjective dialogue in order
implies. This is the sort of thinking that help to reach a personal appropriation of that which is
human beings to advance in the difficult path expressed in texts – whether written, visual, or of
toward the truth. Or, following the work of Michel any other kind. Finally, it is possible to opt for a
Tozzi (1994), it is also possible to summarize the deconstructive philosophical inquiry, a postmod-
basic features of philosophical inquiry into three ern approach highlighted by its ability to disas-
general points. In such inquiry, people first pro- semble texts, identifying their genealogy along
blematize, that is, call into question what they with their internal ruptures, which helps to ques-
normally accept as certain and well known. tion meanings that are derived in an unreflective
Then, they conceptualize, which means being rig- manner. At the same time, this approach serves to
orous and precise in the use of concepts. And highlight the limits of any rational project.
finally, they present their points of view, avoiding
the use of fallacies and invalid arguments.
In its efforts to support the presence of philos- Justifying Philosophy’s Presence
ophy, UNESCO “interprets philosophy in a broad
sense as dealing with universal problems of Today philosophical inquiry can be found in all
human life and existence and instilling indepen- levels of education – primary, secondary, and
dent thinking for individuals. Philosophy is at the university. UNESCO coordinated a splendid pro-
heart of human knowledge, and its scope is as ject between 2009 and 2011 which resulted in the
wide as UNESCO’s own fields of competence.” publication of six reports on Teaching of philoso-
(UNESCO 2005). This perspective on philosoph- phy in. . .: Latin America and the Caribbean, the
ical inquiry is similar to those described above. It Arab region, Asia and the Pacific, English-
is viewpoint that roots itself in classical philoso- speaking African countries, French-speaking
phers and the Socratic method, where irony African countries, Europe, and North America.
(problematizing) is combined with maieutic (the These reports were followed by five general con-
thoughtful emergence of knowledge). It is also a ferences organized to discuss these issues. The
model that was highly present in the teaching of conferences were held in Tunisia, Santo
philosophy in Medieval European schools and Domingo, Milan, Manila, and Bamako. Gener-
universities, beginning with Abelard and revived ally, these reports are optimistic about the pres-
in a way by Leonard Nelson’s (1922) powerful ence of philosophy, although very different
proposal. It has spread and taken on great impor- situations make it difficult to generalize. Also it
tance since that time. is DOUBTFUL that philosophy is being done in a
Given these basic characteristics of philosoph- similar way in all the places WHERE it is taught.
ical inquiry, we can now choose – according to Most likely all the experiences have a certain
preference or subject – among a number of inquiry family resemblance, but it is less certain that phil-
methods that are currently popular in the aca- osophical inquiry is being practiced everywhere.
demic philosophical community. One major In any case, in these times of crisis in the
trend follows Husserl’s phenomenological humanities – when society is making
method, which has the strong point of focusing far-reaching demands on educators – it is needed
on the things themselves, tentatively putting aside to provide arguments to justify why students
what we take for granted. The second trend is that should devote time in their schedule to philosoph-
which has come to be called analytic philosophy. ical inquiry, which obviously takes time away
This trend focuses on language itself as the central from other material and subjects. Justifying this
issue, placing value on the analysis of everyday by noting the extra-philosophical benefits from
Philosophical Inquiry in Education 1849

the activity does not mean negating its intrinsic first century, it titled its book about the teaching
value. Nor does it mean that we are surrendering of philosophy, Philosophy and the school of
in a way to a market perspective. Rather, it only Liberty.
means that teachers of philosophy have to give The link between philosophy and democracy is
reasons for why students should learn philosoph- not, however, intrinsic or obvious. Many philos-
ical inquiry. This is simply trying to address a ophers say that democracy needs people who are
basic demand in a democratic society – students educated with the philosophical skills attained
in particular, but also their families and society in through familiarization with philosophical
general, devote a huge amount of resources to inquiry. With this in mind, the Spanish philoso-
education. Justification and accountability are pher José Antonio Marina has called for the
fundamental. inclusion of philosophical competency in educa-
The intrinsic value of practicing philosophical tion, invoking the concept of competencies or
inquiry can be a leading argument in our justifi- skills that are guiding contemporary educational
cation. Doing philosophy is always a first-person reform. It is clear, however, that such philosoph-
activity, that is, it is something that no one can do ical skills can be present without implying the
for us. It is only oneself who can respond to two construction of democratic societies. There are
basic questions: what kind of person do I want to well-known examples throughout history. It is
be and what kind of world do I want to live in. The enough to remember that Popper considered
assertion that Plato put in the mouth of Socrates is Plato, Marx, and other philosophers as “enemies
still valid: “the unexamined life is not worth living of liberty,” or to cite Lukacs’ evaluation of the
for a human being.” As such, philosophy is essen- German idealist philosophers, who advocated an
tial for attaining a full human life, something that assault on reason, to be reminded of the antidem-
makes it intrinsically valuable. Forgoing philoso- ocratic spirit of some good philosophers. The
phy is to avoid taking ownership over one’s practice of philosophical inquiry only contributes
own life. to democracy if an explicit choice in favor of
A second argument, based in a sense on an democracy precedes such inquiry (García
extrinsic value, establishes a direct link between Moriyón 2013).
philosophical inquiry and the construction of Other arguments serve to justify the practice of
democratic societies. The appearance of philoso- philosophical inquiry in the classroom by
phy in classical Greece coincides with the citing its positive effects on students’ cognitive P
Athenian democracy’s period of splendor. It and affective growth, as well as on their
is difficult to conceive of that particular academic performance in general. In other
democracy – the advocate of isonomy, isegoria, words, it is a justification that appeals to extrinsic
and parrhesia – without acknowledging the con- benefits – apart from the philosophical reflection
tribution of its philosophers, especially the soph- itself, yet derived from it. The usefulness of this
ists. More recently, we can cite the role played by approach lies in that it does not resort to philo-
the enlightened les philosophes in the eighteenth sophical argument in validating the positive effect
century, during the fall of the absolute monarchies of philosophizing in the classroom. Rather, it cites
and the birth of contemporary democracies. In educational and psychological research and pro-
1916, shortly after the rise of totalitarian political vides indisputable evidence that this effect is pos-
regimes throughout Europe, John Dewey linked itive and significant. It was Matthew Lipman who
democracy with education, regarding democracy explicitly introduced this approach when he
not only as a political regime but as a way of life included the results of research by experts in edu-
depending on processes of deliberation based on cational psychology in his first book (Lipman
rigorous argument. UNESCO showed the same et al. 1980). Since that time there have been
commitment when, at the dawn of the twenty- many studies demonstrating these positive
1850 Philosophical Inquiry in Education

outcomes, including a number of meta-analyses great weight to, among other sources, the evalua-
(Trickey and Topping 2004) and longitudinal tion done by Gert Biesta (2013), who warned of the
studies. We can confidently state that the benefits risk of excessively focusing on two educational
of philosophical inquiry for the educational pro- objectives – qualification (especially professional)
cess have been proven beyond any doubt. and socialization – while ignoring subjectification.
It is true that these studies have evaluated the The reports point out that it is the latter which
educational effect of philosophical inquiry when it makes growth and empowerment possible for
is practiced in a certain way, i.e., when philosophy students.
is done in classrooms that have been transformed Accordingly, in looking for competencies or
into communities of philosophical inquiry – the skills related to improving the educational process
distinguishing mark of the philosophy for children of subjectification, it would seem necessary to
project and other, similar approaches. In any case, include specific time slots in all subjects when
we saw above that the effect of philosophy students can reflect on the fundamentals of each
depends on how teachers understand and practice discipline. This refers to the need to problematize
philosophy in the classroom. Yet it is not always and clarify the basic concepts of each subject area,
taught and learned in the same way, and experi- in order to achieve full understanding of them.
ence shows that it is clearly positive when philos- Similarly, the learning of subject matter must be
ophy in the classroom is done in the form of compared and contrasted with that which is
communities of philosophical inquiry. learned in other subjects, as well as related to the
students’ everyday experience – in order to attain
a global framework of understanding of their per-
The Presence of Philosophical Inquiry sonal lives and of the world they want to live
in Education in. Therefore, it is essential that teachers in general
include philosophical inquiry in their habitual
Now that the meaning of philosophical inquiry educational practice. Only in this way, according
has been clarified and we have provided a brief to Biesta’s critique, will we attain integrated learn-
justification for its presence in education, it is ing in a truly educative experience.
needed to look at how it should be present. It is Such inquiry, however, requires its own space.
time to explore how to practice philosophical In accordance with the solid and coherent pro-
inquiry in formal education, leaving aside posal put forth by Matthew Lipman and Ann
for now its presence in other educational Sharp, children must have some time each week
environments – in nonformal as well as informal devoted solely to philosophical reflection. This
education. These other environments are surely should occur throughout their entire formal oblig-
important and are currently expanding, but it is atory education process, i.e., in every year of that
better to put them aside now for reasons of space. process. Only if that time is allocated can the skills
Recent educational guidelines stress the impor- and abilities acquired through philosophical prac-
tance of competencies as basic elements running tice grow into true behavioral habits – habits that
through all materials and subjects. This emphasis are necessary in the education of critical, creative,
on competencies can be controversial, so to avoid and caring people. Finally, a well-prepared teach-
confusion, we will clarify the issue by looking at ing corps is needed to lead this philosophical
thoughts on education from some years back, for inquiry, teachers who can transmit and exemplify
example, the Delors report from 1996, La philosophical content and procedures in their edu-
educación encierra un tesoro (Learning: the Trea- cational activity – with the goal of facilitating
sure Within) and one that came out soon thereafter children’s learning such that the skills become
in 1999 by Morin, Les sept savoirs nécessaires à behavioral habits.
léducation du futur. These views serve to clarify It is not easy to demand specific time in the
the meaning of competencies, avoiding reduction- curriculum for philosophical inquiry in an era
ist interpretations of same. This approach gives when that curriculum is already loaded. The
Philosophical Roots of Gilligan-Kohlberg Controversy, The 1851

importance of allocating that time, however, is

evident. This is already partially being done, at Philosophical Roots of Gilligan-
least within the European Union, in three areas. Kohlberg Controversy, The
One is civic and social values education, which
has become part of the basic curriculum and is Rauno Huttunen1 and Leena Kakkori2,3
1
being taught, as can be expected, with a clearly University of Turku, Turku, Finland
2
philosophical imprint. Another is religious educa- University of Jyväskylän, Jyväskylän, Finland
3
tion, which in some countries such as the United University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, Finland
Kingdom has a less faith-based and more philo-
sophical focus. Finally, there are standard philos-
ophy classes, which for now are only given in Synonyms
some countries and at the secondary level.
Although they remain insufficient, these are Ethics of care; Gilligan; Kant; Kohlberg; Philoso-
three areas in which there is a genuine possibility phy of education; Theories of moral development
of progressing in the implementation of philo-
sophical inquiry as a cornerstone of an educa- The American psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg
tional project able to meet the challenges and (1927–1987) is a modern classic in the fields of
demands of today’s society. moral social psychology and theory of a moral
development. His cognitivistic theory of moral
development has become a paradigm in the psy-
References chology of education. Students of teaching and
education in many countries have been taught that
Biesta, G. J. J. (2013). The beautiful risk of education. there are six universal developmental modes (stages
Boulder/London: Paradigm Publishers. or schemas) of moral thinking, which are an empir-
García Moriyón, F. (2013). Metaphors of the teaching ical fact verified by Kohlberg and his followers in
of philosophy. Childhood & Philosophy, Rio de
Janeiro, 8(18), 345–361. Retrieved from http://www.
hundreds of empirical studies. Thus, the Kohlberg
periodicos.proped.pro.br/index.php/childhood/article/ theory must be true because it is empirically veri-
view/1383/1201 fied. Nevertheless, one might ask can there be
Golding, C. (2013). We made progress: Collective episte- empirical proof on transcendental (philosophical)
mic progress in dialogue without consensus. Journal of
Philosophy of Education, 47(3), 423–440.
theory of morality and its development. Jürgen P
Lipman, M., Sharp, A. M., & Oscanyan, F. S. (1980). Habermas was the first to note that Kohlberg’s
Philosophy in the classroom. Philadelphia, PA: Temple theory of moral stages is a kind of rational recon-
University Press. struction and that, as such, it cannot be empirically
Nelson, L. (1922). Die Sokratische method. English ver-
sion. Retrieved from http://www.friesian.com/method.
verified or falsified (Habermas 1995). Kohlberg
htm intentionally wanted to do empirical research in
Nussbaum, M. C. (2010). Not for profit: Why democracy the field of moral theory which traditionally has
needs the humanities. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univer- been considered an area of pure metaphysics and
sity Press.
Rondhuis, T. (2005). Philosophical talent: Empirical
philosophical speculation. He believed that his
investigations into philosophical features of adoles- empirical studies can solve the tension between
cents’ discourse. Rotterdam: Veenman Drukkers. facts and values, as a title of his article implies:
Tozzi, M. (1994). Penser par soi – même. Initiation à la From Is to Ought: How to Commit the Naturalistic
philosophie. Bruxelles: Vie Ouvriére et Chronique
Sociale.
Fallacy and Get Away with It in the Study of Moral
Trickey, S., & Topping, K. J. (2004). “Philosophy for Development (Kohlberg 1981). If Kohlberg is right,
children”: A systematic review. Research Papers in there is no gap between facts (what there is) and
Education, 19(3), 365–380. values (what there ought to be), and hence human
UNESCO. (2005). Report by the director-general on an
intersectorial strategy on philosophy. Paris: UNESCO.
morality is after all a naturalistic phenomenon and
Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/ not a transcendental (noumenal) entity of the Kant-
0013/001386/138673e.pdf ian type. This is strange statement from Kohlberg
1852 Philosophical Roots of Gilligan-Kohlberg Controversy, The

who wants to follow Kant’s practical philosophy Wall Street, a character called Gekko illustrates
which includes the model of the “two Kingdoms.” in his speech very nicely Bernard de Mandeville’s
Kohlberg sees no contradiction in here. Surely private-vice-public-benefit moral theory
empirical research must have some role in ethical (de Mandeville 2004) which corresponds nicely
theory, but we still believe there is a gap or a with Kohlberg’s concept of preconventional
Hume’s guillotine between “Is” and “Ought.” In moral consciousness:
this matter, we agree with Harvey Siegel who writes The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed – for
that “neither Kohlberg nor anyone else can justify lack of a better word – is good. Greed is right. Greed
judgments of moral adequacy by appeal to the facts works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures
of development” (Siegel 1986, p. 76). the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all
of its forms – greed for life, for money, for love,
This kind of philosophical critique of knowledge – has marked the upward surge of
Kohlberg’s moral theory does not have much mankind.
weight within the disciplines of psychology and
Mandeville claims that a private vice like self-
education, in which empirical evidence is consid-
ishness is most beneficial to public welfare. Man-
ered the hard currency. Of course, the moral devel-
opment of a human being is an empirical deville declares that people who act for their own
benefit do more good for the society than superfi-
phenomenon, but it also has a transcendental or
cial altruists. So, a successful society must be built
philosophical dimension. The most famous oppo-
nent of Kohlberg is the feminist thinker Carol on the vice of selfishness. There is no point to
chase higher virtues, like Lord Shaftesbury does,
Gilligan, who presents both philosophical and
because the search is a “wild-Goose-Chase”
empirical counterclaims against Kohlberg’s
cognitivistic theory of moral development. (Mandeville 2004, p. 331). For Mandeville,
morality is as uncertain as fashion and is depen-
Gilligan’s main criticism is that Kohlberg con-
dent on teaching and the subtle propaganda of
structs what he considers “the highest stage of
dishonest civic leaders. Selfishness is certain and
moral development” from a male viewpoint and
constant because it lies in the essence of man.
thus it is not neutral and impartial at all. Gilligan
claims that the Kohlbergian ethic of justice is only
one aspect of moral maturity – Kohlberg rejects the
side of moral feelings and sentiments (see entry Francis Hutcheson (1694–1746)
“Gilligan-Kohlberg Controversy” in EEPAT).
The so-called Gilligan-Kohlberg controversy Scottish moral sentimentalists Francis Hutcheson
touches at the heart of philosophical ethics. The (1694–1746), David Hume (1711–1776), and
basic question concerns the source of our moral- Adam Smith (1723–1790) fought fiercely against
ity: reason (duty) or love (moral sentiments, vir- Mandeville’s moral theory and concept of man.
tues of friendship). This was also central issue in Hutcheson’s (2004, pp. 21–22; 69–75) counter-
Francis Hutcheson’s, David Hume’s, Jean- claim against Mandeville is that there are such
Jacques Rousseau’s, Adam Smith’s, Immanuel things as a natural moral sense and natural moral
Kant’s, and Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel’s eth- sentiments. Hutcheson adopted the notion of
ical theories. In order to understand the philosoph- moral sense from Lord Shaftesbury (2004,
ical root of the Gilligan-Kohlberg debate, it is p. 52), who was a student of John Locke.
worthwhile to take overview of the eighteenth Hutcheson (2004, p. 121) claims that moral
century moral theories. sense motivates our actions and makes us sensi-
tive to moral qualities of action:
. . . but had we no Sense of moral Qualitys in
Bernard de Mandeville (1670–1704) Actions, nor any Conceptions of them, except as
advantageous or hurtful, we never could have
honour’d or lov’d Agents for publick Love, or had
The good point to start is from British egoism and any regard to their Actions, further than they
Bernard de Mandeville. In Oliver Stone’s film affected ourselves in particular. We might have
Philosophical Roots of Gilligan-Kohlberg Controversy, The 1853

form’d the metaphysical Idea of publick Good, but perfectly inert, and can never either prevent or pro-
we had never desir’d it, further than it tended to our duce any action or affection.
own private Interest, without a Principle of Benev-
olence; nor admir’d and lov’d those who were stu- Hume agrees with Mandeville that human
dious of it, without a moral Sense. beings possess primary self-interest, but unlike
Mandeville, Hume thinks that there exists also
Hutcheson agrees with Shaftesbury that God
sympathy (Hume 2004, p. 337): “. . .we naturally
has given us a moral sense and along with it the
sympathize with others in the sentiments they
feeling of nobler pleasure which comes from
intending well for others and that by doing so entertain of us. Thus self-interest is the original
motive to the establishment of justice: but a sym-
“we undesignedly promote our greatest private
pathy with public interest is the source of the
good” (Hutcheson 2004, p. 75; Shaftesbury
2004, p. 88). moral approbation, which attends that virtue.”

David Hume (1711–1776)

In the footsteps of Shaftesbury and Hutcheson Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778)
followed two ethical thinkers that many contem-
poraries considered the brightest minds on Earth: Concerning the moral passions, Jean-Jacques
David Hume and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Rousseau holds very much the same opinion as
Although Hume followed Hutcheson in many his (former) friend Hume, but he is much more
ways, he did not believe in such thing as universal pessimistic concerning the benefits of civilization.
love of mankind. He preferred the concept of In his first public work A Discourse on the Sci-
sympathy which is at work only when people are ences and Arts (First Discourse), Rousseau
close to us. For Hume passions and sentiments are (2016a) claims that the advancement of the sci-
primary and reason secondary. In his work A ences and arts has caused the corruption of virtue
Treatise of Human Nature, Hume (2004) pro- and morality. Due to the civilization process, peo-
claims that “Reason is, and ought only to be the ple have lost their natural emotional sensitivity (la
slave of the passions, and can never pretend to any sensibilité) to the pain and suffering of the fellow
other office than to serve and obey them” (Hume man (see example Kontio 2003). For Rousseau,
2004, p. 283). Of course this slavery is not abso- an uncorrupted and uncivilized natural man is not
lute. Reason can correct passions and moral sen- a Hobbesian egoistic violent person-owner but a P
timents. At its best, reason can correct or kind and caring creature (noble savage) of God. In
reorientate moral sentiments, but in no way Second Discourse, the concept of the state of
moral sentiments can be derived from reason nature becomes more complex and less romantic
(Hume 2004, p. 313): (see Lähde 2008, pp. 67–165). Also the picture of
Since morals, therefore, have an influence on the the civilization process gets more sophisticated,
actions and affections, it follows, that they cannot but the role of passions remains essential in
be deriv’d from reason; and that because reason Rousseau’s thinking. Like Hume, Rousseau
alone, as we have already prov’d, can never have
any such influence. Morals excite passions, and
acknowledges that self-preservation or self-
produce or prevent actions. Reason of itself is interest is a principle of the human soul, but
utterly impotent in this particular. The rules of there exists also another principle, which is pity.
morality, therefore, are not conclusions of our Pity is “an innate repugnance to see his fellow
reason. . .’tis in vain to pretend, that morality is
discover’d only by a deduction of reason. An active
suffer” (Rousseau 2016b, p. 19). Also animals
principle can never be founded on an inactive; and if have the same feeling, but humans – unlike
reason be inactive in itself, it must remain so in all animals – are free agents even in the state of
its shapes and appearances, whether it exerts itself nature. In Second Discourse, Rousseau also clar-
in natural or moral subjects, whether it considers the
powers of external bodies, or the actions of rational
ifies the relation between his two concepts of self-
beings. It would be tedious to repeat all the argu- love: amour-de-soi and amour-propre (Rousseau
ments, by which I have prov’d, that reason is 2016b, p. 41):
1854 Philosophical Roots of Gilligan-Kohlberg Controversy, The

We must not confuse egocentrism (amour-propre) the intelligible world) (Kant 1971, p. 104; Kant
with love of oneself (amour-de-soi), two passions 2002, p. 80). The causality of freedom simply
very different by virtue of both their nature and their
effects: Love of oneself is a natural sentiment which means that a human being has the capacity
moves every animal to be vigilant in its own pres- (faculty) to begin a process in the world just by
ervation and which, directed in man by reason and the power of his or her will. This capacity exists
modified by pity, produces humanity and virtues. despite the lack of empirical proof (proof at the
Egocentrism is merely a sentiment that is relative,
artificial and born in society, which moves each level of appearances).
individual to value himself more than anyone else, Kant postulates without a proof or deduction
which inspires in men all the evils they cause one that there exists such a thing as the causality of
another, and which is true source of honor. With this reason or freedom which is related to the timeless
well understood, I say that in our primitive state, in
the veritable state of nature, egocentrism does not essence of the human being, i.e., the transcenden-
exist. tal ego (Kant 2007, pp. A552/B580):

The sense of being hurt is possible only in a The causality of reason in its intelligible character
does not arise or start working at certain time in
social context in a civilized State in which a strug- producing an effect. For then it would itself be
gle for property (distribution) and a struggle for subjected to the natural law of appearances, to the
recognition exist. If an action happens in a nonso- extent that this law determines causal series in time,
cial context, no feelings of hatred or desire for and its causality would then be nature not freedom.
revenge can emerge. Kant says that a human cannot comprehend
without contradiction the paradoxical relationship
of the causality of freedom and the causality of
Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) nature. Kant calls this the third antinomy of pure
reason (Kant 2007, pp. A446–447/B474–475).
Hume, Rousseau, and Smith, due to their eloquent As a member of the kingdom of freedom, the
rhetoric and enormous knowledge on the history human being – or at least the transcendental
of philosophy, made an impressive contribution to ego – can exercise his or her freedom of will and
the theory of moral sentiments. The contemporary choose to follow a duty. Kant thinks that a morally
philosophers did not have a chance in the debate worthy action means following a duty. From the
against these two friends. Only a hermit form moral point of view, the significance of the motive
Königsberg could really compete with Hume behind an action surpasses that of its outcome.
and Rousseau in every area of philosophy The motive of a morally worthy action is duty,
(epistemology, aesthetics, social philosophy, and duty is derived from the so-called categorical
logic, rhetoric, philosophy of religion, and ethics), imperative. Dishonest persons occasionally act
and also in fashion. He is, of course, Immanuel according to the categorical imperative, while vir-
Kant (1724–1804) – the greatest representative of tuous persons do so all the time. Nevertheless, a
rationalistic ethics of all times. dishonest person does not employ their freedom
The most fundamental concepts in Immanuel of will and choose to follow the categorical imper-
Kant’s practical philosophy are the presupposition ative, which is why their actions have no moral
of freedom of will and the notion of duty. Kant worth. Only a person that is rational and free and
concludes that although natural necessity covers possesses good will can act morally. Rationally
all happenings (at the level of appearances; the oriented will inserts the moral dimension into an
phenomenal world) in the world, human beings action. Without the moral dimension, an action is
possess an inherent transcendental freedom. The irrational and unfree – but the action could still be
causality of freedom exists alongside the causality carried out in accordance with the categorical
of nature. The human being is simultaneously a imperative.
member of two kingdoms: the kingdom of neces- According to Kant, people have two kinds of
sity (natural causality in the sensible world) and imperatives: hypothetical and categorical impera-
the kingdom of freedom (causality of freedom in tives. A hypothetical imperative is a rule of action
Philosophical Roots of Gilligan-Kohlberg Controversy, The 1855

in the pursuit of a particular goal. A hypothetical and the duty to respect his or her pupils as persons.
imperative dictates “if you want X do Y.” Kant Kant himself strongly opposed the view that a
claims that reason also produces the absolute moral duty could sometimes exist in conflict
maxim of moral action, the categorical impera- with another moral rule. Nevertheless, we are
tive. A categorical imperative is unconditional. It not prepared to jump to the conclusion – like
simply says “do X.” This law applies to all ratio- MacIntyre does – that Kant’s project of Enlight-
nal beings, not only human beings. Again there is enment is a total failure. Kant’s practical philoso-
no proof or deduction involved in this law. It is phy is a major resource for modern theories of
exclusively a “fact of Reason.” law, ethics, and education, but it is one-sided. It
At least the following three formulations can underestimates the role of moral sentiments and
be found in relation to the categorical imperative moral virtues subordinating them under the prac-
in Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals (Kant tical reason and cognitive elements of human
2002, pp. 50–57): morality. In his last opus magnum Metaphysic of
Morals, Kant (1996) writes about a plenty of
1. Act only on that maxim through which you can virtues (doctrine of virtues) and morally relevant
at the same time will that it should become a feelings, but the core of his argument remains
universal law. unaltered.
2. Act as if the maxim of your action were to
become through your will a universal law of
nature. Adam Smith (1723–1790)
3. Act in such a way that you always treat human-
ity, whether in your own person or in the per- Adam Smith is well remembered because of his
son of any other, never simply as a means, but concept of “invisible hand” which illustrates how
always at the same time as an end. the market mechanisms work in civil society (e.g.,
economy). At the time of Adam Smith a new
Kant’s practical philosophy contains many par- economic order (capitalism) was rising and this
adoxes and difficulties. The most famous paradox new economic order based on economic exchange
concerns teaching and moral development. It is between isolated self-centered individuals.
called the pedagogical paradox (see Kant 2015). Thomas Hobbes’s, John Locke’s, and Bernard de
This is one way to present the paradox. If we truly Mandeville’s egoistic moral theories (e.g., British P
follow the categorical imperative in school edu- moral egoism) created suitable ideological ground
cation, we must treat pupils as free persons and for this new capitalistic mode of production. Nev-
not as a means for bringing up mature adult per- ertheless, Adam Smith surely did not want to
sons (i.e., childhood is the means and adulthood support the moral theory of British egoism
the end). Then again, the purpose of education is although his book The Wealth of Nations (Smith
to educate a pupil – by means of the use of power, 1973) suits well into the world view of British
which is an inappropriate way of treating a moral egoism. In the book The Theory of Moral
person – so that she can become an enlightened Sentiments (Smith 1976; later TMS) Smith pre-
mature person in the future. If a pupil is not a free sents a moral theory which is the total opposite of
and mature person, how can we treat her like one? moral egoism.
If we do not treat her as a free person in education, So there is inherent contradiction or at least a
we will treat her only as a means to an end, tension in Adam Smith’s social philosophy.
although that end is the pupil’s future adult per- This contradiction is known as Das Adam-
sonality. Thus, if we treat her only as a means, Smith-Problem. On one hand, Adam Smith
how can she ever be more than a mere means? defends the free market and faceless economic
This is a specific situation in which two different exchange relationships, in which egoistic and ratio-
duties can be seen to be in conflict – a teacher has nal individuals strive only for their material inter-
both the duty to make use of power in education ests. The sphere of this egoistic economy is called
1856 Philosophical Roots of Gilligan-Kohlberg Controversy, The

civil society, and there is no place for compassion Besides the sense of propriety Smith presents
and humanity in the civil society. On the other even more demanding ethical maxim. He wants
hand, Adam Smith claims that human morality is also to speak about universal benevolence in the
based on such feeling as sympathy and benevo- spirit of Stoic cosmopolitanism. Notion of univer-
lence. Adam Smith himself of course did not think sal benevolence goes far beyond the ordinary
that there is any contradiction in the situation in sense of propriety which could at best include all
which the individual acts egoistically in the eco- the citizens of our own country (TMS vi.2.3.1). It
nomic sphere (civil society) and feels humanity and also presuppose benevolent God.
compassion toward his fellow men in the ethical Thus we can see three Smithian perspectives of
sphere. Adam Smith considers moral sentiments to morality:
be a precondition for a free market society. There
rich and healthy people take voluntary care of the 1. Man’s has natural inclinations towards self-
drop-outs, invalids, elders, etc., without a State- interest with underdeveloped sense of
founded social policy. Thus in no way Adam propriety
Smith would support any form of Social Darwin- 2. Sense of propriety with different degrees
ism or nowadays cold hearted global capitalism. 3. Universal benevolence which presuppose
Unlike Hume, Adam Smith did not believe benevolent God
such thing as “moral sense” and considers such
notion as bad usage of English tongue (TMS vii
3.3.15). Instead of moral sense Smith speaks Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
about sense of propriety (TMS i.1.3.-4.). Tronto (1770–1831)
explains Smith’s sense of propriety as following
(Tronto 1993, p. 46): “Propriety refers to the sen- In the beginning of the nineteenth century, there
timent we share, being by nature sociable, that were two major alternatives in moral theory: the
makes us eager to be sure that others perceive us Scottish theory of moral sentiments and the Kant-
as proper. If we did not develop a sense of propri- ian ethics of duty. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
ety, perhaps we would be able to ignore the situ- read carefully the texts of David Hume, Jean-
ations of others. But our desire to be accepted, our Jacques Rousseau, Immanuel Kant, and Adam
sense of propriety, causes us to develop an ability Smith. He wanted to create a synthetic practical
to put ourselves in others’ positions.” philosophy which would resolve the antithetical
Sense of propriety is related to Smith’s idea of contradiction of love and reason in moral theory.
the impartial spectator. Smith claims that moral From his early work Das Leben Jesu (Hegel 1906)
point of view is the moral sentiment of impartial to his last opus magnum The Philosophy of Right
spectator. If we are engaged in moral conflict our (Hegel 2001), Hegel tries to create a grand syn-
instant moral feelings might be more or less thesis that would “overcome” (Aufheben) the ten-
biased. In social interaction we learn to imagine sion of love and reason both in society and in
the reaction of the others who have no particular human consciousness.
favorable emotion towards any engaged party. We In his early text System of Ethical Life (System
learn to imagine what kind of moral feelings the der Sittlichkeit) (Hegel 1979), Hegel introduces a
impartial spectator would feel. We also have to three-level model of society, which consists of the
assume that the impartial spectator is well- family, the civil society, and the State. A sittliche
informed and sympathetic to somewhat normal State means a community of reciprocally
degree (TMS, iii.2.31–32). When we examine well-behaving and caring citizens. In Philosophy
the morality of our own action we should examine of Right, Hegel (2001) creates a grandiose theory
like the impartial spectator would examine (TMS of society based on these three instances. The
iii.1.2.). The voice of the impartial spectator is a family is the sphere of love within which man
voice of conscience. It is a proper way to judge takes care of his beloved. In this sphere, love
ourselves (TMS iii.1.3). “rules” and overcomes reason. The civil society
Philosophical Roots of Gilligan-Kohlberg Controversy, The 1857

is the sphere of private contracts and egoistic References

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Siegel, H. (1986). On using psychology to justify judg-

ments of moral adequacy. In S. Modgil & C. Modgil Philosophy of Education
(Eds.), Lawrence Kohlberg – consensus and contro-
versy (pp. 65–78). East Sussex, UK: The Falmer Press.
Smith, A. (1973). The wealth of nations. Suffolk, UK: ▶ Hegel on Moral Development, Education, and
Penguin. Ethical Life
Smith, A. (1976). The theory of moral sentiments. Oxford, ▶ Philosophical Education, An Overview of
UK: Oxford University Press.
Tronto, J. (1993). Moral boundaries. New York: Routledge. ▶ Philosophical Roots of Gilligan-Kohlberg
Controversy, The
▶ Philosophy of Education and Science
Education
Philosophy

▶ Patterns in Teaching Philosophy

▶ Philosophy of Education and Science Education Philosophy of Education and Science
Education

Roland M. Schulz
Philosophy and Childhood IERG, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC,
Canada
▶ Philosophy with Children: The Lipman-Sharp
Approach to Philosophy for Children
Synonyms

Educational aims and reforms of science educa-

Philosophy for Children tion; Educational theory; Philosophers of educa-
tion; Philosophy; Philosophy of education;
▶ Philosophy with Children Philosophy of science; Science teacher education
▶ Philosophy with Children: The Lipman-Sharp and identity
Approach to Philosophy for Children
Educational philosophy and theory (EPAT) as
subjects of interest remain outside the mainstream
of thinking in science education, whether the
Philosophy in Education research field or professional classroom practice.
Science education is known to have borrowed
▶ Philosophical Education, An Overview of ideas from pedagogues and philosophers in the
past – e.g., from Rousseau, Pestalozzi, Herbart,
and Dewey – however the subfield of academic
philosophy of education has been little canvassed
Philosophy in High School and remains on the whole an underdeveloped
area. At first glance such a state of affairs may
▶ International Philosophy Olympiad not seem all too surprising since science education
is mainly concerned with educating students
about particular science subjects or disciplines.
But this necessarily implies a tight link between
Philosophy of Disability subject content and educational issues and aims.
Essential philo-educational questions arise at both
▶ Disability Studies in Education (DSE) and the levels, confronting researcher and teacher, often
Epistemology of Special Education in ways that can intersect:
Philosophy of Education and Science Education 1859

What should be the ultimate aim(s) of science edu- (1) for intellectual development (accumulation of
cation? Accumulation of knowledge? Should sci- knowledge), (2) for individual fulfillment
ence education enhance both critical thinking and
moral education? Or should it be preoccupied with (character), or (3) for socioeconomic or sociopo-
preparing the next generation of specialists? Should litical benefit (vocations, citizenship, etc.;
the quality of science education be supervised by cf. Matthews 2015; Roberts 1988). All three, in
national standards? What is the nature of science, turn, have strong affinities with earlier, classically
and thereto, is it authentically represented in text-
books, lab work, and classroom discourse? Does a defined educational theories and perspectives:
hidden epistemology and cultural bias/ideology the first can be associated with the original
exist behind conventional curriculum and school knowledge-based educational project of Plato,
science? Does a teacher’s personal beliefs and con- the second is with Rousseau, and the last is a
ceptions of scientific knowledge and development
reflect current views of science history, epistemol- cross-cultural and timeless expectation of most
ogy, and practice? How does a science teacher’s societies, although in the USA the philosophy
personal philosophy and identity enhance or con- was modified by Dewey and progressivism (e.g.,
strict authentic views of science and/or a learner’s as social adaptation or reconstruction; cf. Eisner
capability to understand, appreciate, or critique sci-
ence? Are learners’ cultural views, beliefs, and per- 1992; Schulz 2014).
sonal preconceptions more a hindrance or help? When educational goals are examined histori-
Should school science learning theories ape scien- cally, the foregoing three are ubiquitous; they
tific epistemology and practices? persistently present themselves albeit in different
If science education is to mean more than mere guises, and they certainly can be identified
instructional techniques with associated texts to throughout science educational reform history.
encompass broader aims including ideals about No one normally holds exclusively to one or the
what constitutes an educated citizen (i.e., defining other, although usually one or the other is empha-
“scientific literacy”), or foundational questions sized over the other two at a given time (or two
about the nature of education, of learning, of may be mixed and dominate over the
knowledge, or of science, then educational phi- third) – depending upon the defined educational
losophy and theory must come into view (Nola or socioeconomic “crisis” at hand and under influ-
and Irzik 2005). ence of respective social group interests. Such
An education in science has historically been buried philosophies usually surface when diverse
associated with narrow “technical” training in stakeholders (teachers, parents, science education
specialized disciplines (e.g., conventional school researchers, State-controlled ministries, industry, P
science), with broader aims of liberal education and policy decision-makers) attempt to give voice
(e.g., independent thinking, cultural enlighten- to notions of “science literacy” and find they too
ment), with teaching science for “social rele- often conflict and can’t seem to be “balanced” or
vance” (e.g., science-technology-society- reconciled.
environment: STSE reforms), or lately with “sci- The field of science education research has
ence for engineers” (e.g., the newest US STEM over the last 30 years been staked out by
reforms) – the last one an updated version of the incompatible positions from positivism to post-
older vocational interest (Norris 1997; Pedretti modernism, from “diehard realism to radical con-
and Nazir 2011). The vocational focus – high structivism,” the latter encompassing versions of
school science courses as prerequisites for epistemological and sociological relativism
techno-professional careers – has been a predom- (impacted by studies in the post-positivist philos-
inant aspect of teaching science since its inception ophy, history, and sociology of science). Thereto,
in the 1900s and remains an expectation of par- teachers’ personal and professional identities are
ents, students, and society in general. Yet all these in conflict when curriculum orientations clash,
diverse curricular directions (or “orientations” or especially when they are exposed to discordant
“emphases”) imply or assume a particular philos- academic perspectives on the nature of science
ophy of education that is rarely openly articulated (NoS). Modern science teacher education has
or even acknowledged: whether to teach science tended overall to bypass philosophy and
1860 Philosophy of Education and Science Education

Philosophy of Education • self-reflection/ identity

and Science Education, • critical inquiry • concepts of knowledge, belief & truth
Fig. 1 PSE Synoptic • epistemology vs. hermeneutics
• foundations
framework Philosophy • language theory
• creative theorizing
(P) • values (ethics)/ aesthetics
• roles of theoretical/technical/
practical reason
Philosophy of • assess learning theories
Science • assess goals/science literacy
Education • assess policy documents
(PSE) • meta-analysis of the field
• worldviews/cultures
Philo/History Philosophy
of Science of Education
(PHS) (PE)

• NoS for Sci Ed • interests & ideologies

(e.g. linkage of philosophy-of-chem with PE) • educational questions,
• HPSS reforms ( content knowledge ‘CK’) values & metatheory
• scientific argumentation • teacher PK & PCK
• nature of scientific inquiry • critical pedagogy

philosophy of education for courses on instruc- language studies, poststructuralism, postmodern-

tional techniques, classroom management, cul- ism, feminism, hermeneutics, scientific argumen-
tural studies, and learning theories from tation, Rorty-influenced pragmatism, “critical
psychology and cognitive science – which still theory”). The value of the subdiscipline of philos-
dominate the field – but a shift toward EPAT ophy of science for science education has been
could have positive results for helping clarify the generally recognized since the 1960s and has cur-
identity of both the research field and teacher rently developed into the worldwide history and
professionalism (Fensham 2004; Schulz 2014). philosophy of science (HPS) reform movement
Minimally it would help teachers develop a phil- (Matthews 2015). Philosophy of education itself
osophical orientated critical mind-set toward edu- has made a major impact on science education in
cational fads and ideologies that often follow in the past only in so far as John Dewey’s ideas and
the wake of a perceived “crisis in science educa- progressivism have continued to influence educa-
tion,” which ensue upon economic and sociopo- tional thinking (Fensham 2004). Of lesser influ-
litical situated national and/or global disorders. At ence, though still significant, especially for those
least three so-called crises have been identified: arguing today for the value of teaching science for
the aftermath of the 1957 “sputnik shock,” later on liberal education purposes, have been Scheffler,
in the early 1980s with the US Nation at Risk Peters, and Hirst, themselves influenced by the
report during the neoconservative Reagan era, 1950s/1960s Anglo-analytic philosophy of lan-
and another in the late 1990s following various guage and philosophy of science.
TIMSS and PISA publications, those international Yet the question of the necessity to develop an
standardized science and mathematics education “in-house” philosophy of science education (PSE)
reports. All have in their time and for their own has only recently been addressed, although math
(edu-philosophical) reasons lamented the sup- educators have debated the character of “philoso-
posed deplorable state of either national or global phy of mathematics education” for almost three
science literacy. decades. Such a philosophy would need to take
Philosophy for science education has been of into consideration (if not to integrate) develop-
scattered interest among researchers for several ments in such diverse fields as philosophy proper,
decades, especially their limited foray into its sub- philosophy of science, and philosophy of educa-
fields, which needs to be acknowledged (e.g., tion (see Fig. 1; Schulz 2014):
Philosophy of Education and Science Education 1861

The framework in-itself assumes neither technical reason. Researchers arguing for science-
prior philosophical positions (e.g., metaphysical societal-issues (SSI) and sociopolitical or “activ-
realism or epistemological relativism) nor peda- ism” reform movements expect teachers and stu-
gogical approaches (e.g., constructivism, multi- dents to not only distinguish technical from
culturalism, sociopolitical activism, etc.). As a practical or pragmatic reasoning but expect profi-
graphic organizer, it does provide science teachers ciency, to make effective use of them in classroom
and researchers a holistic framework to undertake discourse, research, and ethical decision-making
analysis of individual topics and perhaps help and action. Barring such clarification and prepa-
clarify their own thinking, bias, and positioning ration, reform programs will continue to face
with respect to different approaches and ideas. many predicable hurdles, including being poorly
The main point is to show that any particular implemented or, at worst, confronting resistance
PSE as it develops for the teacher or researcher by science teachers.
should take into consideration, and deliberate PSE ultimately aims at improving science edu-
upon, the discourses pertinent to the three other cation as a research field as well as assisting
major academic fields when they impinge upon teachers in broadening their theoretical frame-
key topics in science education. At minimum it works and enhancing their practice. Likewise, it
should contribute to helping develop a philo- aims to raise awareness among researchers to
sophic mind-set. explicitly front their educational philosophies
In sum (as the figure illustrates), any philoso- and theories, since the tendency in the past has
phy of science education (PSE) is foremost a been to make prescriptive arguments for various
philosophy (“P”) and as such receives its merit reform projects (e.g., the 1950s “science for sci-
from whatever value is assigned to philosophy as entists,” STSE, SSI, STEM, activism) based on
a discipline of critical inquiry – unfortunately, its obscure or perhaps concealed – or partly hidden – -
benefit for the field may not appear at all obvious educo-political and philo-theoretical premises.
to science educators. Furthermore, such a philos- This frequently coordinates with individual
ophy would need to consider issues and develop- authors’ own favored philosophies of science
ments in the philosophy, history, and sociology of (i.e., realist, empiricist, pragmatist, social con-
science (“PHS”) and analyze them for their appro- structivist, etc.), whose biases are at best
priateness for improving learning of and about semitransparent.
science. Finally, such a philosophy would need In Europe, science educators have drawn upon P
to consider issues and developments in the philos- other educational and philosophical traditions,
ophy of education and curriculum theory (“PE”) whether Ernst Mach’s educational ideas (little
and analyze them for their appropriateness for known outside of Germany/Finland) or the more
education in science, as to what that can mean established and occasionally contested Bildung/
and how it could be conceived and best achieved. Didaktik tradition, one whose roots in romanti-
A fully developed or “mature” PSE can be under- cism can be traced back some 200 years. Mach’s
stood as an appropriate integration of all three educational theory and Bildung – also Rousseau,
fields. Hirst, and Dewey – represent in fact what can be
As one specific example, it could contribute to called metatheories of education, those that go
clarifying the dissimilar roles that theoretical, considerably beyond learning theory (e.g., con-
technical, and practical reason play (Aristotle, structivism) and seek to answer broader questions
Habermas) in different reform initiatives which of what an educated person should ideally become
to this day remain confused or ignored. Science or what educational institutions should strive in
teachers are primarily trained in using theoretical achieving for their citizens. It is well known such
reason (discipline-structured knowledge and theories go back to Antiquity, beginning with the
instruction in traditional classrooms) and not in Greek idea of paideia (e.g., Plato, Isocrates, Aris-
the other two modes, whereas STSE and espe- totle, Cicero) and are always normative and
cially STEM reforms presume the primary use of prescriptive.
1862 Philosophy of Education and Science Education

Modern metatheories are required to answer for students, that is, a predominant focus on “sci-
the four key educational questions: what to teach ence education as/for sociopolitical action.” Such
(curriculum), how to teach (instruction), when to desired normative projects openly espoused by
teach (stages of learner maturity), and especially certain researchers represent a fourth, non-
why to teach (specification of outcome or aim). traditional goal (next to the common three men-
Some educational theorists (e.g., Kieran Egan) tioned above) that seek to fundamentally
have argued that educational development could reconstruct and reorientate curriculum and the
substantially differ from psychological develop- schooling of science education for social transfor-
ment, and hence educational metatheory should mation (and not social adaptation) purposes,
proceed autonomously from the findings of scien- according to Eisner’s (1992) categorization of
tific psychology in prescribing educational pro- curriculum ideologies.
gress and aims. This newer sociopolitical variety of PSE has
It is in the contested field of educational phi- drawn criticism from a liberal education per-
losophy and theorizing that science education spective, which points out that it significantly
now finds itself becoming increasingly embroiled, downplays the importance of scientific knowl-
whether drawing with some measure upon classi- edge and discovery for its own sake and neglects
cal theories of Plato, Rousseau, and Bildung or the personal and aesthetic dimensions of sci-
upon relatively more topical educational (meta) ence, especially the aspects of beauty, creativity,
theories of Mach, Peters, Dewey, Egan, Gardner, and wonder (Hadzigeorgiou 2015). It purpo-
Noddings, and others. Most importantly, it is sively seeks to shift the weight of the primary
within the confines of the framework of the spec- goal of science education away from the con-
ified educational philosophy that the meaning of ventional one of preparing the next generation of
“what counts as science education” in general, scientists, engineers, doctors, and other techno-
and thereto, the meaning of “science literacy,” science-based professions for an exclusive stress
will eventually be spelled out. One can expect instead on “science for citizens.” In other words,
that just as educational philosophies are often one aims for achieving critical citizenship for
incompatible, so too will be the resulting expres- global sustainability, including a critical and
sions of science literacy programs. ethical distancing from our “knowledge econ-
This can be illustrated with some contempo- omy” with its techno-scientific base in post-
rary developments. A number of researchers, industrial society, and often from Western
presently still in the minority, have sought to science itself.
elaborate an unconventional or “provocative” Turning away from the interests of researchers,
PSE (self-described) by drawing upon ideas and and focusing instead on the immediate perspective
values from poststructuralist, postcolonialist, and of the classroom science teacher, PSE can be made
feminist theory, as a philosophy of education, practical if it allows for integration of the multiple
intending to “envision and create a critical and philosophies that a teacher carries, linked with a
emancipatory science education for the twenty- heuristic teaching model that bridges philosophical
first century” (Zembylas 2006, p. 585). abstraction with the teaching situation, allowing
Approaches to employ insight from Lyotardian choices about the what, the how, and the why of
postmodernism, nonetheless, have been met with science teaching (Janssen and Berkel 2015).
considerable criticism, not least of which are The latest discourse and stimulating debates
problematic arguments concerning PE and PS concerning EPAT topics as related to the explicit
(Schulz 2007). Others have argued also on eman- emergence of various philosophies of science
cipatory grounds and aligned with critical theory education (PSEs) have opened up new intellectual
and critical pedagogy (and drawing upon territory for the discipline of science education,
Deleuze, Foucault, and others), to develop an encompassing both researchers and teachers, but
overt politicized and “activist” science education to different degrees. In general it can be admitted
Philosophy of Education: Its Current Trajectory and Challenges 1863

the research field requires EPAT as a capacity to

think deeper and more systematically about the Philosophy of Education: Its Current
unique cultural, educational, and epistemological Trajectory and Challenges
dimensions of teaching and learning of science as
philosophy, as profession, and as practice. Philos- Randall Curren
ophy as a discipline of critical inquiry, and philos- Department of Philosophy, University of
ophy of education as a subdiscipline, would Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
ideally enable teachers to develop a reflective,
critical PSE to help integrate their teaching phi-
losophies and identities and, hence, examine cur- Philosophy of education is a domain of philosoph-
ricular, cultural, and epistemological issues as ical inquiry into the nature and aims of education;
they arise: whether associated with classroom dis- the diverse normative dimensions of education;
course, textbook exposition, curriculum change, the aspects of learning, teaching, and curricula;
societal identified crises, reform initiatives, or and the character and structure of educational
professional policy deliberations. theory and its own place in that theory. It seeks
understanding of educational matters and to pro-
vide practical guidance for educational practice
References and policy. Throughout its history, philosophy of
education has been shaped by related philosophi-
Eisner, E. (1992). Curriculum ideologies. In P. W. Jackson cal developments and by contemporaneous
(Ed.), Handbook of research on curriculum
(pp. 302–326). New York: Macmillan. educational, social, economic, and political cir-
Fensham, P. (2004). Defining an identity. The evolution of cumstances. Over the past half century, it has
science education as a field of research. Dordrecht: also come to exhibit features associated with its
Kluwer. professionalization as a research specialization.
Hadzigeorgiou, Y. (2015). A critique of science education
as socio-political action from the perspective of liberal
education. Science & Education, 24, 259–280.
Janssen, J. J. M., & van Berkel, B. (2015). Making philos- Historical Overview
ophy of science education practical for science
teachers. Science & Education, 24, 229–258.
Matthews, M. R. (2015). Science teaching: The contribution of What we know of the origins of philosophy of
history and philosophy of science. New York: Routledge. education in the West suggests that it began in P
Nola, R., & Irzik, G. (2005). Philosophy, science, educa- Greek Antiquity in the pedagogical claims and
tion and culture. Dordrecht: Springer. counterclaims of the adult educators we now
Norris, S. P. (1997). Intellectual independence for
non-scientists and other content-transcendent goals of know as philosophers, orators, and sophists (all
science education. Science Education, 81, 239–258. of whom claimed the title “philosopher” in their
Pedretti, E. G., & Nazir, J. (2011). Currents in STSE time) and in debates about the role of slave peda-
education: Mapping a complex field, 40 years gogues, the invention of group lessons for chil-
on. Science Education, 95, 601–626.
Roberts, D. A. (1988). What counts as science education? dren, and the virtues and limitations of Spartan
In P. Fensham (Ed.), Development and dilemmas in education. In the aftermath of the Peloponnesian
science education (pp. 27–54). Philadelphia, PA: Wars, the philosopher-moralists of Athens called
Falmer. for systematic investments in education, and they
Schulz, R. M. (2007). Lyotard, postmodernism and science
education. A rejoinder to Zembylas. Educational Phi- explored related questions about justice, virtue,
losophy and Theory, 39(6), 633–656. happiness, human development, civic friendship,
Schulz, R. M. (2014). Rethinking science education. Phil- political stability, the relationships between edu-
osophical perspectives. Charlotte, IL: Information Age cation and law, and the tools of statesmanship.
Publishing.
Zembylas, M. (2006). Special issue: Philosophy of science So it was that in the works of Plato and Aris-
education. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 38(5), totle, many of the perennial problems of philoso-
585–587. phy of education were framed: What is education?
1864 Philosophy of Education: Its Current Trajectory and Challenges

How does it contribute to human well-being or education? What is the relationship between edu-
flourishing? To what extent, and by what means, cation and labor? How is education related to
can the aim of educating children for their own socioeconomic status and opportunity?
good be reconciled with educating them for the The history of philosophical inquiry con-
common good? How can education contribute to cerning education reveals an occupation with the
civic unity? Should education be the same for nature, aims, and means of education, with philo-
everyone? Should education be a matter of indi- sophical aspects of teaching and learning, and
vidual parental choice or publicly controlled? with matters of educational authority, responsibil-
Through what forms of learning and instruction ity, equity, and entitlement. Through most of this
are virtues of character and intellect acquired? history, philosophical inquiry concerning educa-
How does rationality develop, and what role tion rarely announced itself as philosophy of edu-
does instruction play in that development? To cation, no one made a living as a philosopher of
what extent and by what means can education education, and no societies or journals of philos-
“emancipate” human beings or enhance their free- ophy of education had yet been founded. All of
dom? What is knowledge and how is it acquired? this began to change in the middle of the twentieth
Can understanding and knowledge be transmitted century. Philosophy of education constituted itself
through teaching? How are methods of inquiry as a profession employed primarily in faculties of
and methods of instruction related to one another? education and as a scholarly enterprise straddling
What is the role of the arts in education? What role education and philosophy. Journals and societies
do practical arts and the development of talents were founded, a handful of institutions established
play in a “liberal” education? How are education Ph.D. programs in philosophy of education, and
and work related to one another? the prestige of research stimulated a growing
Other questions of enduring interest got their stream of publications, much as it did in other
footing in the early modern period, in the midst of academic domains. As its professional advance-
the scientific revolution and the seemingly endless ment has progressed, philosophy of education has
religious persecution and wars of the Reforma- come to exhibit traits associated with the rising
tion. Philosophers, from René Descartes and costs and diminishing returns on research in a
Thomas Hobbes to John Locke and Jean-Jacques field’s established core. One consequence of this
Rousseau, were occupied with understanding the is that the nature and limits of philosophy of
new science, reconciling it with religious faith and education are now harder to identify.
moral knowledge, and rethinking the relationships
between church, State, and moral formation:
What must be learned through experience to be Professionalization, Fragmentation,
understood? To what extent is learning through and Strategies of Renewal
inquiry or discovery feasible? To what extent can
education rely on “natural” learning, motivated by Judging from what is presented and published
curiosity? Should societies forgo the imposition under the aegis of the philosophy of education
of a State religion and trust the spontaneous activ- societies of Australasia, Great Britain, and
ity of human reason to impart the moral prerequi- North America, philosophy of education is
sites of good citizenship? In the nineteenth and exploding in so many directions away from its
early twentieth centuries, the industrial revolu- historic core that one may wonder whether it is
tion, growth of mass schooling, new-found simply disintegrating. It seems intent on leaving
respectability of democracy, and consolidation of no far-flung theoretical stone unturned, on what
the modern system of the arts and aesthetics cast often appears the merest supposition that so
new light on enduring questions of philosophy of important a theory would naturally have some
education and prompted some new ones: Is mass educational implications. To write about Derrida
schooling desirable? Is it compatible with cultural or Dualism, Wittgenstein or Whiteness, or
excellence? Should all students receive the same Levinas or Inferentialism may be thought so
Philosophy of Education: Its Current Trajectory and Challenges 1865

obviously rich in practical implications that edu- diminished communication between philosophers
cation need not be mentioned at all. Are these of science and collective memory of work in the
exploding fragments of a field meaningfully teth- field’s core that could usefully inform their work.
ered to enduring central questions about educa- With these drawbacks of abandoning the core
tion? If so, is there a body of ongoing inquiry into having been recognized and discussed, there has
those central questions that informs the diverse been a significant renaissance of work on the
fragments? field’s central topics in recent years.
Similar concerns have been expressed about Why should these patterns recur across
other philosophical subfields in recent decades. diverse fields of inquiry? There is a dynamic of
Philosophers of law have asked whether their diminishing marginal returns on investment that
own field, once so plainly defined by a cluster of explains it (Tainter 1988, 111 ff.). As a field con-
conceptual and normative questions about the stitutes itself as a self-governing professional
nature and boundaries of law, authority, obliga- enterprise, it will begin by addressing the most
tion, responsibility, and liberty, has come to a basic and important problems in its domain, a
standstill. Philosophers of science, once similarly domain defined by its object of study. It will
focused on the nature of science and logic of address the nature of the objects in the domain,
scientific laws, explanation, evidence, and theory, their properties, and their variety and relationships
have also worried about the fragmentation of their to one another. If the domain is one of human
field and the extent to which its far-flung parts are practice, it will not only seek understanding but
not informed by work on the fundamental ques- will identify norms of success and provide guid-
tions. All three fields, all of them philosophies of ance on achieving success. Only by starting in this
domains of norm-governed human endeavor, way is a field likely to attract interest and establish
have exhibited dramatic out-migration from their the external and internal legitimacy a profession
centers. As fields of inquiry, law and education requires. External legitimacy is predicated on a
have looked beyond themselves for periodic intel- promise of value to the host sociopolitical system,
lectual renewal, and philosophy of law and phi- and internal legitimacy is predicated on intrinsic
losophy of education have followed suit. Yet the intellectual rewards and socioeconomic return on
patterns of out-migration have been very differ- energy invested in acquiring professional exper-
ent. Philosophy of law has advanced and critiqued tise. The pioneers of fields of inquiry establish the
feminist, neo-Marxist, economic, humanistic, and starting points of such legitimacy by demonstrat- P
semiotic analyses of core aspects of law while ing the success of their methods in producing
moving beyond the field’s defining core to inves- model solutions to fundamental problems. The
tigate diverse, specific legal rules, procedures, and course of subsequent work within that research
principles. The explosion away from the core has paradigm will follow a predictable path. Improve-
been characterized by detailed engagement with ments in the answers to the most basic questions
puzzling and controversial features of legal sys- will be increasingly difficult to obtain, as energy
tems and developments pertaining to them, rely- invested in mastering increasingly complex
ing on intimate knowledge of law and framed in debates and methods yields smaller and smaller
terms accessible to legal scholars and practitioners refinements. Marginal return on investment in
who are not philosophers. Aspirations to shape further research on the field’s defining questions
practice are not misplaced. The movement away will decline, and this will yield incentives to
from the core of philosophy of science has (1) work on relatively unexplored but increasingly
followed a similar pattern to the extent it has peripheral problems and (2) search outside the
occupied itself substantially with what is distinc- field’s established parameters for new sources of
tive in different sciences – their distinctive onto- intellectual “energy” or new research paradigms.
logical puzzles and modes of inquiry, Both strategies for preserving an acceptable
confirmation, and explanation. The occupation return on investment in research are themselves
with one or another diverse science has subject to declining marginal returns, but the
1866 Philosophy of Science

former is more reliably conducive to maintaining Kaminsky, J. S. (1993). A new history of educational
the legitimacy of a professionalized field of philosophy. London: Greenwood Press.
Siegel, H. (2007). Education, philosophy of. In Encyclo-
inquiry. As the examples of medicine, law, and paedia Britannica. Retrieved from Encyclopaedia
other fields demonstrate, progress on peripheral Britannica Online: http://search.eb.com/eb/article-
problems can be conducive to both external legit- 9108550
imacy and internal legitimacy in the form of intel- Siegel, H. (2009). The Oxford handbook of philosophy of
education. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
lectual gratification and feasible career paths. Tainter, J. (1988). The collapse of complex societies. Cam-
Prospecting for transformative theoretical para- bridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
digms is more adventuresome. In philosophy of
education, literary studies, and some related
fields, it also often trades on a status hierarchy
that honors abstraction. But it is a strategy analo- Philosophy of Science
gous to prospecting for gold or prospecting for
petroleum at a point when energy return on energy ▶ Philosophy of Education and Science
invested in petroleum exploration and develop- Education
ment is in sharp decline.

Looking Ahead Philosophy of Social Science

In order to flourish in the years ahead, philosophy ▶ On the Logical Form of Educational Philoso-
of education must recommit itself to its central phy and Theory: Herbart, Mill, Frankena, and
problems and find the patience and resourceful- Beyond
ness to do philosophically sound and interesting
work on fundamental and controversial aspects of
education. Only in this way can it replenish itself
with talent, bolster its legitimacy, and set itself on
Philosophy with Children
a trajectory of accumulating success. In develop-
ing its periphery, it would do well to observe the
Marjan Šimenc
norms of counterpart domains of practical philos-
Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana,
ophy, such as philosophy of law and biomedical
Ljubljana, Slovenia
ethics – norms that counsel normative clarity and
serious engagement with what can be learned of
the institutional and human realities in one’s
Synonyms
domain of inquiry.
Community of inquiry; Philosophy for children;
Teaching philosophy
References

Blake, N., Smeyers, P., Smith, R., & Standish, P. (Eds.). Introduction
The Blackwell guide to the philosophy of education.
Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Curren, R. (1998). Education, history of philosophy of. In Philosophy with children (PWC) as well as phi-
E. Craig (Ed.), Routledge encyclopedia of philosophy losophy for children (P4C) as practices of philo-
(Vol. 3, pp. 22–31). London: Routledge. sophical thinking of children are essentially
Curren, R. (Ed.). (2003). A companion to the philosophy of
connected to the American philosopher Matthew
education. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
Curren, R. (Ed.). (2007). Philosophy of education: An Lipman. Lipman designed the community of
anthology. Oxford, UK: Blackwell. inquiry (COI) as a form of philosophizing for
Philosophy with Children 1867

children, created plenty of resources for class- It should be noted that the P4C programme was
room work, and developed the philosophical developed in the USA, where – as in some other
foundation of the programme. On a practical countries – they did not incorporate philosophy in
level, he founded the Institute for the Advance- their preuniversity curriculum. Teaching philoso-
ment of Philosophy for Children at Montclair phy as a school subject on an upper-secondary
State University where teachers are educated and education level has a long tradition in European
where philosophers get acquainted with the P4C countries. Independently from the P4C pro-
programme and the Thinking journal as a source gramme, there was a debate in Europe on different
of reflection on the practice. P4C eventually approaches to the teaching of philosophy and the
spilled over the border of the country: it is present reasons for it being limited only to upper-
in 50 countries, and Lipman’s resources have been secondary level of education; some of these were
translated into more than 20 languages. the French group Greph (groupe de recherches
Lipman did not coordinate the project on his sur l’enseignement philosophique), the dialogic
own; he was helped by his colleagues, especially and pragmatic philosophy didactics by Ekkehard
by Ann M. Sharp. The seminars held in Mont- Martens, a German philosopher, and discussions
clair were attended by philosophers from all within the AIPPH (Association Internationale des
around the world who later founded national Professeurs de Philosophie) on the difference
centers for the P4C. In different countries, the between teaching about philosophy and doing
programme was adapted to the social and cultural philosophy. Thus, some countries began with
environment and the local philosophical tradi- independent initiatives to incorporate the teaching
tions. For a clearer distinction, Lipman tried to of philosophy also into primary education. Simul-
differentiate between his own programme and taneously, there were other principles of philo-
other principles of philosophical work with sophical practice (philosophical counseling, the
children. philosophy cafe, the neo-Socratic dialogue . . .)
Thus, in her approach to P4C that includes emerging independently from the P4C, which,
children below 5 years of age with the help of similarly to the latter, are founded on a belief
picturebooks, Karin Murris, on Lipman’s request, that parallel to the academic philosophy there is
started using the term philosophy with children, the philosophy in everyday life, meaning that
“which has also been taken up by others as it besides the theoretical philosophy there also
expresses the democratic and collaborative nature exists philosophy as a way of life. Today, PWC P
of the practice: philosophy adults do with, not for is one of many philosophical practices and as such
children.” (Haynes and Murris 2011, p. 300). One it is not only influenced by pedagogical and phil-
could use PWC as a general term, referring to osophical ideas, but also by other philosophical
every practice, including Lipman’s (similar goes practices which, reciprocally, it influences as well.
for P4C: it can refer to every practice or Lipman’s For PWC, a diversity of philosophical prac-
exclusively), or in a narrow sense, for every tices may be compared to the Wittgenstein con-
non-Lipman practice. The former is more com- cept of family resemblance: there is no common
monly used, and it is also used by The Interna- essence, only a string of resemblances, but not a
tional Council of Philosophical Inquiry with single property connects all the members of a
Children (ICPIC), which was established in family. However, it seems that philosophers, the-
1985, “to strengthen communications among orists, and practitioners who work with the PWC
those in different parts of the world who are are all somehow interconnected. Primarily, they
engaged in philosophical inquiry with children, are a part of a common space of the PWC, defined
in teacher education, in research and for school by magazines, conferences, and societies. The
administrators looking to initiate and develop pro- other connecting element is grounded in the con-
grams that would encourage children’s philosoph- tent: PWC is marked by the connection to Mat-
ical thinking” (ICPIC 2015). This is how the term thew Lipman, who established the link
PWC is used in this article. philosophy-child. This connection to Lipman
1868 Philosophy with Children

can be represented by continuation and modifica- Sutcliffe 2012, p. 10). Therefore, last words are
tion, but it can also have a form of criticism. used to introduce postdebate commentaries that
do not construct the dialogue any more. (The first
level of dialogue is similarly parsed by Peter
Modification: The Structure Worley – his philosophical enquiry method [PhiE]
of the Practice consists of five steps: stimulus, first thoughts, task
questions, talk time, and enquiry.) Beate Borresen’s
The 2008 publication of the Philosophy for Chil- work follows the same direction, introducing a log
dren, Practitioner’s Handbook, presents five tra- sheet into the procedure, which enables the indi-
ditional steps of the Lipman model, albeit slightly vidual to reflect on each step of the COI. Catherine
modified: (1) the reading of a philosophical story; C. McCall, who developed the Community of Phil-
(2) asking questions and forming the programme osophical Inquiry (CoPI) while working with
of work; (3) discussion on the questions in the Lipman, took another direction. She developed an
COI; (4) self-evaluation of the practice, philo- 18-step approach that focuses on a detailed descrip-
sophical exercises, and activities; and (5) in tion of each step of a discussion. Ekkehard Martens
between each episode, the moderator presents a developed an integrative model including five
mind game and a guided discussion on an impor- methods (phenomenology, hermeneutics, analysis,
tant concept according to the discussion plan from dialectics, speculation), extracted from the history
the handbook. Students may also be involved in a of philosophy. Oscar Brenifier continues to invent
nondialogical philosophical activity (e.g., an new strategies that force the students to think, thus
interview with parents on an important philosoph- nurturing their thinking.
ical question, taking pictures, doing art, etc.)
(Gregory 2008, p. 9).
The comparison of standard instructions of the Criticism
P4C and the PWC instructions (which emerged in
the context of the work done in English schools) Oscar Brenifier developed his approach to the
shows a number of similarities and differences. philosophical practice with children exclusively
Sara Stanley suggests the following procedure: of the P4C. He attended the 2003 ICPIP congress
(1) presenting the stimulus, (2) thinking time, in Varna and published a critical article on the
(3) recorded thinking time, (4) collecting ques- “Lipman Method.” His attention was mainly
tions, (5) analyzing and deciding upon questions, drawn by the demonstration of the P4C he
(6) dialogue, and (7) closure and evaluation witnessed. The children participating in the dem-
(Stanley 2006, p. 31). There are no obvious dif- onstration were stringing opinions with no critical
ferences besides the second step (asking ques- thought on the subject. In a discussion they held
tions) being divided into several steps. However, with Brenifier, they also claimed that philosophy
there are two new moments incorporated, the is interesting mainly due to the fact that “there is
“thinking time” and the “recorded thinking no ‘true’ and no ‘false’ and that everyone can say
time” – important innovations which introduce what he wants” (Brenifier 2007, p. 226).
the element of silence and the element of writing The demonstration of the P4C was focused on
that the classical P4C approach omitted. expressing opinions, not on the analysis and jus-
Hymer and Sutcliff, in their 10-step model, also tification of those, keeping the method on a pre-
strive for a more structured research. Their model philosophy level. According to Brenifier, this is
breaks the dialogue down into three different steps: also evident from the children’s statements that
first words, building, last words. The first step is the charm of philosophy is in the absence of true
dedicated to the students’ suggestions on how to answers, which is a point of view defended by
handle a problem, while the last step helps an those who have not yet encountered philosophy,
individual to have a last say on the topic, to sum- the goal of which is to show the narrow-
marize, perhaps ask a new question (Hymer and mindedness of the common-sense relativism.
Philosophy with Children 1869

Brenifier’s critic of Lipman received a number primarily on the autonomy of the pupils. Gardner
of responses. Pierre Lebuis (Lebuis 2005), a does not accept the reason for difficulties to lie
Canadian practitioner of P4C, noted that he only in the strenuous implementation of the pro-
agreed with Brenifier’s critic of the P4C practice gramme, but rather focuses on searching for
in Varna, but declared that that was not the deeper reasons for them. Doing so, she uses
Lipman practice. The described demonstration of Lipman’s statement that all research should
the communal research deviated from P4C. The reach for the truth, at the same time noting that
reason for the deviation, according to Lebuis, is “his writing [is] so rich with insight, particularly
most probably the limited training of the teachers, with regard to the processes and procedures of
which should not be attributed to the programme inquiry that I fear that his comments with regard
itself, but rather to the problems related to the to the importance of truth as its regulative ideal are
implementation of the programme. too often overlooked” (Gardner 1996, p. 103).
In this manner, Lebuis exempts Lipman from When analyzing the reasons for a research to
the critic and indirectly raises awareness of an slip into conversation, she pinpoints the fact that
unusual fact: Brenifier, who criticizes Lipman Lipman in his texts writes about the “natural phil-
sharply, is closer to him than many a person within osophical propensity” of children, thus giving an
the PWC movement. In his criticism, Brenifier impression that a teacher should let the children
enumerates the activities that the facilitators of speak freely, and the dialogue will flow correctly.
the COI should provide: “They must produce According to her analysis, Lipman’s suggestion of
questions, formulate hypotheses, interrogate pre- using modeling as a key method in educating
suppositions, give counter-arguments, find the teachers “masks the intricacies and in particular
contradictions, analyse ideas, produce concepts, the philosophical nuances employed by experts
problematize statements, identify the issues, etc.,” for ensuring a successful community” (Gardner
(Brenifier 2007, p. 237) which corresponds to 1996, p. 104).
Lipman’s description of the elements of philo- It should be noted that the title of the article per
sophical research in Thinking and Education: the se, “Inquiry is no mere Conversation,” bears proof
articulation of disagreements and the quest for of her faithfulness to Lipman, who, in Thinking in
understanding; fostering cognitive skills (e.g., Education, named one of the chapters “The art of
assumption finding, generalization, exemplifica- conversation,” and another one “The structure of
tion) through dialogical practice; learning to dialogue” (Lipman 1991, p. 235). From the con- P
employ cognitive tools (e.g., reasons, criteria, tent of these two chapters it is clear how Lipman
concepts, algorithms, rules, principles); and considers various theories, and bases his own
joining together in cooperative reasoning (e.g., view on the discussion of these theories, but
building on each other’s ideas, offering counter- does not evaluate them. Thus, he starts his discus-
examples or alternative hypotheses, etc.) (Lipman sion of the dialogue with a view that emphasizes a
1991, p. 242). “disclosure” of a subject in dialogue on one side
Seven years before Brenifier, Susan Gardner and the persuasion at the other side, claiming that
opened a debate on the same grounds. In the the dialogue happens somewhere in between,
article “Inquiry is no mere Conversation” she while the COI dialogue is a “dialogue that is
draws attention to the “underrating of the role of disciplined by logic” (Lipman 1991, p. 236). So,
facilitator,” which leads to the devaluation of an in Lipman’s writings we find a plurality of ideas
“otherwise brilliant pedagogical method” that cannot be found in the conclusions he makes.
(Gardner 1996, p. 102), but she takes a step further This plurality in written form often anticipates the
than Lebuis. Gardner emphasizes the relationship plurality of understandings and methods of work
between COI and the truth: the communal that later emerged within the PWC.
research is essentially a research, therefore it Brenifier’s article received response also from
seeks truth. This is why in understanding the Walter Kohan, who worked in Brazil. He agrees
facilitation of COI, it does not suffice to rely with Brenifier’s criticism on many points, but at
1870 Philosophy with Children

the same time exposes the key differences. The but to speak with one’s own voice and to bring
specificity of his point of view is best shown something new into the world . . .” (Haynes and
through the answer on Brenifier’s address of rela- Murris 2011, p. 296). In order for “other” and
tivism. Kohan points out that Lipman had always “different” to be encountered, mere critical
outspokenly objected relativism, and therefore, research of every opinion does not suffice, but
Brenifier’s objection to Lipman is unjustified. rather an openness that enables the new to emerge
However, Brenifier and many others within the in a discussion. Thus, the fight against relativism
PWC movement are connected by philosophical becomes more complex. The rigidity of thinking
underestimation of relativism. Philosophical con- is enriched by new spaces opening up and the
cepts are controversial, so no one can claim that he open-mindedness toward the otherness. The appa-
is the only one who holds the truth. The concept of ratus of critical thought is not only nonadequate
truth, as well as other philosophical concepts, can but can act harmfully as well, since it can, when
be understood in a number of ways. “This is why put into central focus in an inappropriate manner,
what counts most is not for the children to be close a space within which the children are
relativists or absolutists, but for them to be phi- searching for their voice.
losophers, essentially the people who openly, cre-
atively and critically deal with different concepts
on the grounds of their experience” (Kohan 2005). Conclusion
Kohan thus does not defend Lipman from
Brenifier’s accusations, but rather addresses An overview of different models of practice and a
Brenifier and the PWC, claiming that they force discussion on the objectives of the philosophical
feed the children their own perception of truth practice with children has shown that the demar-
instead of opening up a space where children cation line between the P4C and PWC cannot be
could think of the truth on their own. In this man- drawn between Lipman and different representa-
ner, Brenifier’s criticism led to a dialogue that tives of the PWC, but rather that the differentia-
questioned several of the fundamental concepts of tion happens within Lipman’s work as well as
the P4C. Paradoxically, the most radical criticism among different representatives of the PWC. The
on Lipman was not expressed by Brenifier as an aforementioned discussion has thus led from a
outside observer, but rather by Kohan, who com- mere stating of opinions of the children, past the
pleted his doctorate with Lipman. structured practice in which a facilitator leads
However, the story does not end here. In an and steers the children in quest of truth
issue of the Journal of Philosophy of Education, (simultaneously teaching them about thinking
dedicated to philosophy for children, Murris and and other skills), to the practice of philosophy
Haynes include also epistemological and moral based, again, on the thinking of the children.
relativism into the “recurring themes in the prac- This time, it is not based on expressing opinions,
tice of PWC educators.” They attach it to the but on “philosophy as an experience of thinking
popular belief that “philosophy has no right or which doesn’t admit of any definite order. It
wrong answers” (Haynes and Murris 2011, aspires to think the unthinkable. (. . .) It opens
p. 295). They, too, do not comply with the stan- the door to difference. In short, it allows an
dard instruction in P4C on critical research of encounter with childhood” (Kohan 2002, p. 11).
every aspect presented in a discussion, as “every The first and the last do not represent the two
participant [is] a potential source of insight and extreme poles within the PWC as they do the
worthy of being listened to responsively. (. . .) We extreme poles of every practice aiming to connect
value the rich openings philosophical teaching philosophy and children.
creates for everyone involved to play freely with Lipman’s text offers a plurality of principles
new ideas. The aim of education should not be a that cannot be found in his conclusions. This
mere focusing on the acquisition of knowledge, or plurality on a textual level anticipates the plurality
a process of socialization into an existing order, of interpretations of his work within the PWC.
Philosophy with Children: The Lipman-Sharp Approach to Philosophy for Children 1871

When Walter Kohan insists on philosophy not

being “an ability but an event; not a tool but an Philosophy with Children: The
experience” (Kohan 2002, p. 10), he is being true Lipman-Sharp Approach
to the connection between philosophy and a child, to Philosophy for Children
which is at the very heart of Lipman’s work. The
development of PWC could be understood as a Joe Oyler
deviation from Lipman’s ideas, but the pluraliza- Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ, USA
tion of the programme evident in the new
resources, modifications in the structure of work,
and the introduction of ideas from different
Synonyms
philosophical schools may also be understood as
an expression of importance of the Lipman’s
Community of Inquiry; Dialogic Teaching; Edu-
programme.
cational Philosophy; Ethical Inquiry; Inquiry Dia-
logue; Philosophical Dialogue; Philosophical
Cross-References Education; Philosophical Inquiry; Philosophy
and Childhood; Philosophy for Children; Philos-
▶ Philosophy with Children: The Lipman-Sharp ophy with Children
Approach to Philosophy for Children

References Introduction

Brenifier, O. (2007). Regard critique sur la méthode Philosophy for Children (P4C) is a designation
Lipman. In O. Brenifier (Ed.), La pratique de la first associated with Matthew Lipman’s and Ann
philosophie a l’école primaire (pp. 261–296). Tolouse: Margaret Sharp’s particular approach, which now
Sedrap Education.
Gardner, S. (1996). Inquiry is no mere conversation. Ana-
exists within a broader, global educational move-
lytic Teaching, 16(2), 102–109. ment, Philosophy with Children (PwC). Today,
Gregory, M. (2008). Philosophy for children, practitioner many approaches that share similar commitments
handbook. Montclair, NJ: The Institute for Advance- to the Lipman-Sharp (LS) approach use the P4C
ment of Philosophy for Children.
label as well. Throughout this entry, LS-P4C will P
Haynes, J., & Murris, K. (2011). The provocation of an
epistemological shift in teacher education through phi- be used to indicate the Lipman-Sharp approach.
losophy with children. Journal of Philosophy of Edu- LS-P4C was the first attempt to develop a com-
cation, 45(2), 285–303. prehensive curriculum designed to engage chil-
Hymer, B., & Sutcliffe, R. (2012). P4C pocketbook.
Alresford, UK: Teacher’s Pocketbooks.
dren and teenagers in philosophical inquiry.
ICPIC. (2015). Mission statement. Retrieved from http:// Often referred to as the “Lipman approach,”
icpic.org/about-icpic/. LS-P4C is better understood as the result of an
Kohan, W. (2002) Education, Philosophy, and childhood: extensive and equal collaboration between Mat-
the need to think an encounter. Thinking, 16(1), 4–11.
Kohan, W. (2005). Brésil: Regard critique sur la methode
thew Lipman (1922–2010) and Ann Margaret
Lipman II. Diotime, 24(1). Retrieved from http://www. Sharp (1942–2010), cofounders of the Institute
educ-revues.fr/DIOTIME/AffichageDocument.aspx? for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children
iddoc=32659. (IAPC) at Montclair State University in Mont-
Lebuis, P. (2005). Québec: Regards critique sur la “méthod
Lipman” (I), philosophie et pédagogie en action.
clair, New Jersey. With affiliate centers in over
Diotime, 24(1). Retrieved from http://www.educ- 40 countries worldwide, the IAPC has served as
revues.fr/Diotime/AffichageDocument.aspx?iddoc= the home of LS-P4C since its founding in 1974.
32658. Globally, versions of P4C and PwC are
Lipman, M. (1991). Thinking in education. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
represented by the numerous constituents of the
Stanley, S. (2006). Pocket pal: Creating enquiring minds. International Council for Philosophical Inquiry
London: Network Continuum Education. with Children (ICPIC), established in 1985.
1872 Philosophy with Children: The Lipman-Sharp Approach to Philosophy for Children

The Lipman-Sharp Approach 4. An empirically researched and supported

model of classroom discussion
The genesis of P4C is often marked by the appear-
ance of Harry Stottlemeier’s Discovery (1982), a Although other programs and approaches
philosophical novel written by Matthew Lipman across PwC reflect similar features, none reflect
between 1967 and 1969 and first published in all four in a systematic and comprehensive way as
1970. Initial publication of Harry came with sup- LS-P4C does.
port from the National Endowment for the
Humanities (NEH) for use in a successful pilot Theoretical Foundations
in the Montclair, NJ, school district. In the novel, P4C curriculum and methodology are grounded
Harry Stottlemeier is a fifth grader who stumbles in social-constructivist learning theories. These
upon some of the rules of formal logic theories point to social interaction (dialogue) as a
(Aristotelian) and explores them in different con- mechanism for the internalization of new and
texts with his friends. Although this is a consistent more complex ways of thinking and speaking
thread throughout the novel, the characters also (Mercer and Littleton 2007). An important
grapple with a variety of philosophical concepts insight of these theories is that the modeling of
and questions drawn from the philosophical canon these more complex ways of speaking and think-
including: Invention versus Discovery; Thoughts ing is not exclusively the role of the teacher.
and Reality; Children’s Rights; Can a person have When groups of young people engage in
more than one personality?; Do animals have thoughtful and disciplined discussion, any one
culture? of them may activate effective ways of thinking
In its infancy, Lipman envisioned LS-P4C as a and speaking that serve as strategies to be inter-
series of such novels, although he had a hunch that nalized by others. The insights of these theories
the program could become more than a curricular are reflected in both the practice of classroom
one (Lipman 2008). With the founding of the dialogue, advocated for in LS-P4C, and in the
IAPC and with significant contribution from varied dialogic episodes occurring in the IAPC
Sharp, LS-P4C further evolved into a pedagogical curriculum novels.
program aimed at the improvement of thinking The philosophical foundations of P4C curric-
with a particular commitment to rigorous and ular content draw upon Lipman’s and Sharp’s
respectful philosophical dialogue. Lipman and vast knowledge of the (mostly Western) philo-
Sharp were aided in their endeavors by colleagues sophical canon. The pedagogical components of
from throughout the world at various times and in the approach more specifically draw upon the
various ways. It is because of this collaboration insights of numerous American philosophers
that LS-P4C today continues to be unique within including Justus Buchler (1954) and the pragma-
the field of PwC and pre-college philosophy in tists John Dewey (1916) and Charles Sanders
that it represents a comprehensive pedagogical Peirce (1955). Lipman’s and Sharp’s conception
approach with its own empirically verified, sys- of critical thinking is also strongly influenced by
tematic curriculum and classroom methodology. pragmatist epistemology that sees the “truth”
There are four distinguishing features of the replaced by “reflective equilibrium” as something
LS-P4C approach that mark its unique place in that evolves over time, through an ongoing pro-
the field: cess of inquiry, communal scrutiny, and verifica-
tion in action (Gregory 2007). Additionally, the
1. Clear theoretical foundations in philosophy, theories of John Dewey (1916) are reflected in
psychology, and educational theory P4C’s particular philosophy of education as
2. Clearly defined pedagogical objectives that essentially supporting children in awakening to,
guide and inform the approach and grappling with, that which is problematic in
3. A systematic curriculum involving philosoph- whatever subject matter they are engaged
ical novels and teacher manuals (Lipman 2008).
Philosophy with Children: The Lipman-Sharp Approach to Philosophy for Children 1873

Pedagogical Objectives envisioning possible worlds; independent in pre-

Central to the LS-P4C approach is a commitment senting their own thoughts rather than mirroring
to helping children strengthen their capacities for those of others; experimental in trying on news
inquiry, with the goal of helping them to arrive at ways of proceeding; expressive of our experience
their own reasonable, philosophical judgments with our thoughts and perceptions; surprising in
concerning questions and issues that arise in what it creates, thereby generating new wonder;
their own experience. This commitment is and maieutic in its attempt to bring out the best in
established and elucidated in a vast collection of the world (Lipman 2003b).
theoretical materials from Lipman, Sharp, and Caring Thinking. One of the most unique
their colleagues in P4C and PwC. Although aspects of LS-P4C’s pedagogical vision and its
often generalized as empowering children to conception of higher-order thinking is the role of
“think for themselves,” LS-P4C advocates under- caring thinking. The idea of caring thinking arose
stand “thinking for oneself” to involve the appli- from Lipman’s and Sharp’s sensitivity to the role
cation and development of critical, creative, and that our passions and emotions play in thinking. To
caring thinking. that end, Lipman and Sharp identify caring think-
Critical Thinking. Although largely devel- ing as thinking, that is, at a minimum: concerned
oped alongside a number of different critical with the problems and challenges that others face;
thinking programs and perspectives, LS-P4C is careful to maintain the cognitive excellence of the
unique in its focus on judgment as the key func- process and product of one’s thinking; normative
tion of critical thinking. According to LS-P4C, in searching for what ought to be rather than sim-
critical thinking involves the application of ply describing what is; and deliberative in
criteria, sensitivity to context, inferential reason- weighing contextual factors prior to making a
ing, metacognition, and self-correction (Lipman judgment (Lipman 2003b). Caring thinking is
2003b). Critical thinking for LS-P4C is also thus thinking that reflects care through a sensitivity
concerned with application, where the product of to how we are thinking, what is worth thinking
this kind of thinking results in a judgment that can about, and what is important to consider as we are
be put into practice or initiate a change. This thinking. A number of P4C programs around the
practical aspect of critical thinking is deeply world, especially ones concerned with developing
informed by C. S. Peirce’s (1955) concern with pro-social behaviors and the reduction of violence,
protecting the results of one’s inquiry from turn- make caring thinking their central focus. P
ing into meaningless abstractions and unjustified
beliefs. Doing so means evaluating the results IAPC Curriculum
according to their practical consequences (Greg- The LS-P4C/IAPC curriculum is designed to help
ory 2007). Consistent with Peirce’s concern, the teachers and students develop a philosophical
LS-P4C teacher manuals and methodological lit- ear – to recognize philosophical dimensions of
erature reflect a focus on testing ideas in action. their experience and of school subjects – to
Creative Thinking. Where critical thinking engage in group dialogue and to practice critical,
might be understood as the application of rules creative, and caring thinking. The LS-P4C curric-
and standard criteria of logic and inferential rea- ulum includes ten novels, each with an accompa-
soning in a given context, creative thinking, in nying teacher manual (to which several other
contrast, involves going outside those rules to authors contributed). Eight of these, Elfie
generate new possible answers, new criteria, or (2003a), Kio and Gus (1982), Pixie (1981),
new ways of framing things. Lipman referred to Harry Stottlemeier’s Discovery (1982), Nous
this as a “freshness,” which he linked with a sense (1996a), Lisa (1983), Mark (1980), and Suki
of wonder that is essential to philosophical think- (1978), are published directly by the IAPC. Two
ing and inquiry (2003b). Lipman and Sharp char- others, The Doll Hospital (1999) and Geraldo
acterized creative thinking in part as thinking that (2000), were published by the Australian Council
is original or precedent setting; imaginative in for Educational Research (ACER).
1874 Philosophy with Children: The Lipman-Sharp Approach to Philosophy for Children

IAPC Novels. One of the most unique contri- Equally important to serving as a stimulus for
butions Lipman made to the field of PwC is the philosophical inquiry, the LS-P4C novels serve as
philosophical novel as philosophical text. models for group discussion and for critical, car-
Together, Lipman and Sharp continued the devel- ing, and creative thinking (DeMarzio 2007).
opment and use of the philosophical novel in Characters like Harry, Lisa, and Suki discover
service of their particular educational aims. logical reasoning, engage in self-correction, and
Within the LS-P4C, the novel plays a number of consider matters of context. They do so while
important roles, some but not all of which can be confronting issues that are ethical, metaphysical,
filled by good literature in a variety of traditions aesthetic, and epistemological in nature. Through-
and disciplines. Lipman and Sharp were not out their shared inquiries, they are considerate of
against teachers using materials from outside of others who have suffered personal losses, have
the IAPC curriculum, but did see the philosophi- physical disabilities or whose behavior might be
cal novels as best equipped to fully address the considered anti-social. They engage in the kind of
pedagogical commitments and theoretical insights behavior conducive to good communal inquiry,
of their model. To that end, Lipman and Sharp including acknowledging, clarifying, and build-
encouraged others to develop their own philo- ing upon the ideas of others. They also hold each
sophical novels. The privilege that the LS-P4C other accountable for their ideas and thoughts in
approach grants to the philosophical novel is ways that reflect sensitivity and rigor.
grounded in its ability to serve as both a stimulus In addition to modeling the processes and dis-
for, and a model of, philosophical sensitivity and positions of good inquiry, each of the characters in
multidimensional thinking (DeMarzio 2007). the LS-P4C novels exemplifies a kind of thinking
The LS-P4C novels are meant to serve first or a type of thinker (DeMarzio 2007). Harry is a
and foremost as a stimulus for the questioning critical thinker who approaches things logically.
and wonderment of the students reading them. Lisa is a caring thinker who displays a deep sen-
Lipman and Sharp were sensitive to exposing sitivity to context and the experiences of others.
young people to philosophical ideas without Suki is the creative thinker who sees things
“hitting them over the head” with them. Where through the eyes of an artist and helps other to
traditional children’s literature may touch upon a look at things in novel ways. Seldom depicted
variety of philosophically interesting ideas or dealing with a problem on their own, the charac-
themes, they all too often reflect a lesson or a ter’s collaborations represent the various ways
“moral to the story” that cannot be ignored by that these kinds of thinking can be enlisted in
even the most careless reader. The LS-P4C support of each other.
novels attempt to balance story with philosophy IAPC Manuals. Where the LS-P4C novels
in ways that allow children to uncover the phil- model the interplay of different kinds and pro-
osophical issues that emerge for them (DeMarzio cesses of thinking, the manuals help supplement
2007). Maintaining this balance helps the philo- the skills and conceptual depth that make the
sophical ideas and issues embedded in the story interplay possible (Lipman 1996b). Lipman and
to remain connected to the context in which they Sharp populated their curriculum manuals with
are explored by the characters. When the philo- two distinct tools – Philosophical Discussion
sophical concept emerges in this way, the objec- Plans and Philosophical Exercises – meant to be
tives of problem finding (critical thinking) and activated by the teacher based on her assessment
contextual attentiveness (caring thinking) are of the group’s skill in philosophizing together.
supported. When the children are allowed to These plans and exercises correspond to each of
draw the ideas from the stimulus, they are also the “leading philosophical ideas” written into
given an opportunity to generate wonder and each section of the novel.
express their thoughts about the text in ways Exercises aim to help increase precision in the
reflective of creative thinking. use of cognitive skills. For example, if during a
Philosophy with Children: The Lipman-Sharp Approach to Philosophy for Children 1875

discussion the participants are having a hard time and Sharp’s work until 1978. Often attributed to
establishing criteria, then the teacher might have C. S. Peirce, Lipman’s and Sharp’s notion of the
them work together through an exercise to get classroom community of inquiry also drew on
more practice in doing so. Dewey’s (1916) writing on problem-based
Discussion plans help the group to delve inquiry in schools and on Justus Buchler’s
deeper into a philosophical concept or issue, (1954) writing on classroom dialogue as a form
often testing the conceptual boundaries that of philosophical inquiry. CI is represented in the
frame them. They can be used to provoke an LS-P4C/IAPC training materials as a dialogue
inquiry themselves or to explore different ways community, working/thinking together to deter-
of opening up a concept. For example, if the mine what is most reasonable to believe or do, in
participants are exploring the concept of human response to a contestable question. A reasonable
families and the teacher sees that they are strug- conclusion in CI for Lipman and Sharp is seldom,
gling to frame the concept as anything beyond if ever, understood as a consensus view. Instead,
blood relationships, the teacher might bring in a typical products of an effective CI might be: the
discussion plan that looks at love, trust, or famil- elimination of indefensible claims; a new or more
iarity as potential criteria relevant to consider- comprehensive understanding of an issue or con-
ations of family. Discussion plans are typically cept; a plan for how to act or live; or a more noble
constructed in ways that pit criteria against each vision of society. Framing CI as a goal-oriented
other or that present the criteria as questions of task lends itself to ongoing reflection and assess-
growing complexity. At no point in the manuals ment by the group.
do discussion plans or exercises include final Lipman and Sharp recommended a particular
answers at which participants should arrive. sequence of practice for the LS-P4C approach, not
Instead, they are constructed in ways that maintain as a rigid method, but as a set of components that
the sense of problematicity central to the LS-P4C teachers were welcome to experiment with, based
approach. upon the group’s needs and development. The
Equally important to LS-P4C approach is that essential parts of the sequence and relevant peda-
the novels and manuals not be moved through gogical justifications are as follows:
systematically, like a typical curriculum work-
book. The true spirit of the approach allows for a • Engaging with a Stimulus – For Lipman and
class to struggle through a chapter in the novel for Sharp, this may come in a variety of forms, P
months, to reflect on, assess, and revise their prac- including, but not limited to, shared experi-
tice with support from exercises and discussion ences, works of art, and important or troubling
plans drawn from anywhere in the manual or even world events. However, when the group lacks
constructed by the teacher or the students them- the experience to mine these stimuli for the
selves. The LS-P4C curriculum is meant to stim- philosophically problematic, the LS-P4C
ulate and enhance respectful, collaborative, and novels are a helpful resource.
rigorous philosophical inquiry into concepts that • Student-Generated Question – Letting students
the group has deemed meaningful and worth- generate questions in response to their engage-
while. This leads us to what should be understood ment with a stimulus is meant to give them
as the central component of the LS-P4C practice in recognizing the philosophical, dis-
approach – the community of inquiry. covering the problematic, and digging beneath
the surface. For Lipman and Sharp, it is also a
Community of Inquiry practical strategy for keeping students
The LS-P4C model of group dialogue is widely engaged. The assumption here is that students
referred to as the community of inquiry (CI/CoI) will be more intrinsically motivated to inquire
or community of philosophical inquiry (CoPI), into things they identify as meaningful. It is
although these terms did not appear in Lipman’s also practice of caring thinking. When the
1876 Philosophy with Children: The Lipman-Sharp Approach to Philosophy for Children

teacher lets the students control key compo- reflection. Because the CI itself is a kind of
nents of the inquiry process, she is modeling moral and cognitive engagement, it is ripe for
respect and collaboration and setting the stage analysis and experimentation. A teacher in the
for an egalitarian participation structure. This LS-P4C vein will set aside time at the end of
egalitarian structure has been identified as an each inquiry session to ask the group to assess
important component in classroom discussion its work. She might ask them to reflect on the
in a number of empirical studies. cognitive, moral, political or philosophical
• Inquiry Dialogue – In the LS-P4C approach, criteria that define and shape a good commu-
this stage of the sequence is where the majority nity of inquiry. Typical assessment questions
of the group’s time is spent. In a typical might include: Are we looking at the issue from
LS-P4C classroom, a group might spend different perspectives? Are we making sure
25 min constructing a list of student questions that no one is dominating the discussion? Are
and then spend 10–15 independent inquiry ses- we challenging each other’s thinking? Are we
sions engaging as a CI in response to the ques- building toward a reasonable conclusion? Are
tions. Depending on the skill of the group and we digging deep into concepts and ideas? Are
the results of group and individual assessment, we getting better at [one of these] than we used
the teacher might also include sessions where to be? How can we improve our practice
the group works on an exercise or discussion and/or our thinking next time? These meta-
plan. It is in the CI that the group practices and cognitive practices help clarify and reinforce
hones its skills in critical, creative, and caring the norms of good inquiry, and encourage stu-
thinking. dents to treat thinking itself as something to be
The LS-P4C facilitator is an invaluable part strategized about and improved upon.
of the CI. Initially, the facilitator is often a • The final stage in the sequence involves the
visiting philosopher or the classroom teacher. group translating the inquiry into some mode
In the LS-P4C approach, the students should other than dialogue, like doing an art or action
eventually take on the various responsibilities project that in some way implements the new
of facilitation as they internalize the facilita- judgments and also continues the inquiry. Test-
tor’s moves, resulting in a group that facilitates ing the results of the inquiry in this way is an
itself. To achieve this ideal, the facilitator important step that maintains the applicability
serves the important role of modeling and and meaning of philosophical inquiry in our
supporting the virtues of good communal daily lives. It is also an important test within
inquiry (Gregory 2007). She helps the students the pragmatist epistemological tradition
to be clear in what they are saying and think- (Lipman 2001, 2003).
ing, and helps them to see how their thoughts
and comments relate to the contributions of The Future of LS-P4C
others. She tracks the inquiry, names argumen- The history of LS-P4C is one of experimentation
tation and inquiry moves as they arise, and and evolution. The approach has grown from an
helps students see important points that idea of a dime-store novel for young people to a
emerge. She does this with a sensitivity to curriculum and then to what today might best be
letting the students determine the trajectory of understood as a pedagogical vision for what edu-
the inquiry. Said another way, while the partic- cation can and should be. The LS-P4C approach
ipants determine the direction in which they continues to grow through the work of the IAPC,
want the inquiry to go, it is the facilitator’s whose mission is to advance P4C via educational
job to help them go there together, critically, programming, dissemination, and professional
creatively, and caringly (Splitter and Sharp affiliation and through continued empirical and
1995). theoretical research. The LS-P4C approach con-
• Metacognitive Reflection – Essential to the tinues to produce empirically verified educational
LS-P4C approach is the use of post-inquiry results, and the IAPC is committed to increasing
Philosophy with Picturebooks 1877

the effectiveness of the approach through a deeper Soter, A., Wilkinson, I. A. G., Murphy, P. K., Rudge, L.,
and more nuanced understanding of the various Reninger, K., & Edwards, M. (2008). What the dis-
course tells us: Talk and indicators of high-level com-
aspects of the approach outlined here. prehension. International Journal of Educational
Research, 47, 372–391.
Splitter, L., & Sharp, A. M. (1995). Teaching for better
thinking: The classroom community of inquiry. Mel-
bourne: ACER. Retrieved from https://www.acer.org/
References

Buchler, J. (1954). What is a discussion? Journal of Gen-

eral Education, 8(10), 7–17. Reprinted with edits by
Lipman, M. (1979). Thinking: The Journal of Philoso-
phy for Children, 1(1), 49–54. Philosophy with Picturebooks
De Marzio, D. (2007). What happens in philosophical
texts: Matthew Lipman’s theory and practice of the Karin Murris
philosophical text as model. Childhood and Philoso-
phy, 7(19), 29–47.
University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South
Dewey, J. (1916). Democracy and education: An introduc- Africa
tion to the philosophy of education. New York:
Macmillan.
Gregory, M. (2002). Constructivism, standards and the
classroom community of inquiry. Educational Theory,
Background
52(4), 397–408.
Lipman, M. (1978). Suki. Montclair, NJ: IAPC Philosophy with picturebooks as an educational
Lipman, M. (1980). Mark. Montclair, NJ: IAPC. philosophy and practice can be understood only in
Lipman, M. (1981). Pixie. Montclair, NJ: IAPC.
Lipman, M. (1982). Harry Stottlemeier’s Discovery (2nd
the context of the Philosophy for Children (P4C)
ed.). Montclair, NJ: IAPC program. Since Matthew Lipman et al. (1977)
Lipman, M. (1982). Kio & Gus. Montclair, NJ: IAPC. outlined the educational philosophy of this pro-
Lipman, M. (1983). Lisa (2nd ed.). Montclair, NJ: IAPC gram, there have been differences of opinion
Lipman, M. (1996) Nous. Montclair, NJ: IAPC.
Lipman, M. (1996). Philosophical discussion plans and
about the kinds of texts best suited to teaching
exercises. Analytic Teaching, 16(2), 64–77. philosophy in education. The program is radically
Lipman, M. (2001). Philosophy for children: Some different from other approaches in three
assumptions and implications. Ethik und Sozialwis- distinct ways.
senschaften. Streitforum für Erwägungskultur EuS
First, there is an entangled relationship P
12 Heft 4/Number 4, 405–416. Retrieved from http://
iug.upb.de/ewe between text and philosophy. In collaboration
Lipman, M. (2003). Thinking in education (2nd ed.). Cam- with colleagues at the Institute for the Advance-
bridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ment of Philosophy for Children (IAPC), based at
Lipman, M. (2008). Philosophy for children’s debt to
Dewey. In M. Taylor, H. Schreier, & P. Ghiraldelli
Montclair State University (USA), Matthew
(Eds.), Pragmatism, education, and children: Interna- Lipman (1922–2010) developed this comprehen-
tional philosophical perspectives (pp. 143–151). sive curriculum consisting of seven dedicated and
Amsterdam: Rodopi B.V. (deliberately imageless) novels and accompany-
Lipman, M., Sharp, A., & Oscanyan, F. (1980). Philosophy
in the classroom. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University
ing manuals to support and guide teachers in the
Press. use of the texts for all phases of preuniversity
Lipman, M. (2003). Elfie (2nd ed.). Montclair: IAPC schooling. Lipman argued that “without a curric-
Mercer, N., & Littleton, K. (2007). Dialogue and the ulum of some kind. . .the chances that one will be
development of children’s thinking: A socio-cultural
approach. London: Routledge.
able to do philosophy at all are greatly reduced”
Peirce, C. S. (1955). The fixation of belief. In J. Buchler (Lipman 1997, p. 1). The curriculum had been
(Ed.), Philosophical writings of Peirce (pp. 5–22). New specifically designed for teachers who had not
York: Dover Publications. studied academic philosophy. In that sense, the
Sharp, A. M. (1999). The Doll Hospital. Australia: ACER.
Retrieved from https://www.acer.org/
P4C curriculum has become the “archetypal”
Sharp, A. M. (2000). Geraldo. Australia: ACER. Retrieved text for P4C, the yardstick against which all others
from https://www.acer.org/ are measured.
1878 Philosophy with Picturebooks

Secondly, Lipman’s philosophy of and in edu- character we desire to have in the end is loaded
cation radically opened up a space for a new into the means” (Lipman 1991, pp. 15, 245, fn 3).
branch of philosophy: philosophy of childhood. After reading Russian psychologist Lev
His logically and not empirically sequenced P4C Vygotsky’s work in the late 1940s (Lipman
curriculum bypasses any stage theory of chil- 1996, p. xiii), and especially inspired by George
dren’s cognitive development. In education, the Herbert Mead, Lipman (1993, p. 319) developed
influence of psychological theories of child devel- his curriculum on “an explicit theory of thinking
opment as the basis for curriculum construction as internalized speech.”
still remains very strong (File et al. 2012). In American Pragmatist Charles Sanders Peirce
contrast, the P4C program sequences practice in (1839–1914) was the first to fuse together the
a range of thinking skills and exploration of recur- terms “community” and “inquiry” in the domain
ring philosophical concepts rather than compe- of scientific inquiry, but it was Lipman who intro-
tences (Lipman et al. 1977). The exercises and duced the method as a pedagogy for the teaching
discussion plans in the different manuals are of philosophy in schools (Lipman et al. 1977,
sequenced logically, whereas an empirical Ch7). The basic assumption is that learning phi-
sequence would involve a correspondence “to losophy is best achieved by engagement in
already existing stages of cognitive development philosophical practices. Further developed in col-
derived from descriptions of children’s behaviour laboration with Sharp and other colleagues,
in non-educational contexts” (Lipman 1988, Lipman (1991, pp. 15–16) describes the commu-
p. 147). P4C’s curriculum conceptualization nity of enquiry as:
expresses a philosophy of childhood that is
A dialogue that tries to conform to logic, it moves
(albeit in a limited sense) nondevelopmentalist forward indirectly like a boat tacking into the wind,
which therefore demands a pedagogy that is but in the process its progress comes to resemble
post-developmentalist. Developmentalism involves that of thinking itself. Consequently, when this pro-
an essentialist view of a child and generalizations cess is internalized or introjected by the partici-
pants, they come to think in moves that resemble
about what individual children as a matter of fact are its procedures. They come to think as the process
capable of, views that are a result of age-related thinks.
prejudices. The configuration of “child as philoso-
pher” (Haynes 2008, 2014) has helped to expose Laurance Splitter and Ann Margaret Sharp,
such discriminatory and limiting views, who have written extensively on the subject, pre-
spearheaded by Gareth Matthews (1994). Like fer not to give a definition of a community of
Lipman, Matthews regarded children’s capacities inquiry, because it is one of those key concepts,
to philosophize as a historically neglected area of they say, “. . .which takes on new aspects and
interest in education and child development. dimensions as teachers and students apply it and
Thirdly, the P4C program assumes an modify it to their purposes. A community of
entangled relationship between text and enquiry is at once imminent and transcendent: it
pedagogy: the “teaching methodology” (Lipman provides a framework which pervades the every-
et al. 1977, pp. 59–80) for reading the philosoph- day life of its participants and it serves as an ideal
ical novels is philosophical inquiry. Lipman com- to strive for” (Splitter and Sharp 1995, pp. 17–18).
pared academic philosophy to memorizing the They explain that the internalization of the variety
inscriptions in a graveyard: memorizing a collec- of voices in a community of inquiry will lead to a
tion of names and dates. A pedagogy is needed richer, more varied “inner” dialogue and, as a
that does justice to philosophizing as an result, a better, more reasonable thinking through
activity – philosophy as “a way of life” (Lipman “self-correction.” They continue that it is because
1991) – and academic philosophy is in need of we define ourselves as persons through the dia-
reconceptualization. For Lipman (and Dewey) we logues and conversations we engage in, that the
cannot “educate for enquiry unless we have edu- ethical, social, and ontological aspects of the com-
cation as enquiry – unless, that is, the qualitative munity of inquiry are central to the very notion of
Philosophy with Picturebooks 1879

reason itself (Splitter and Sharp 1995, pp. 32–33). the generally accepted outcome of previous inqui-
David Kennedy (2006, pp. 159) suggests that in ries. The P4C curriculum focuses on questions,
inner dialogue we also address the “child not answers, on thinking, not knowledge.
within” – the child the adult once was and still is. The program has inspired others to create a
The key educational idea is that the fictional variety of alternative resources and approaches
novels model children and adults engaging in to support teachers in their philosophical work,
communities of philosophical inquiry. Lipman either for practical reasons (e.g., shorter, cheaper)
explains (1997, p. 1) that student teachers and or philosophical and pedagogical reasons (for the
qualified teachers need “models of doing philos- program’s lack of internal consistency, see Murris
ophy that are clear, practical and specific. They 1997; for its Anglo-American philosophy bias,
need to be able to distinguish essentially decidable see Martens 1999, 2008).
concepts from essentially contestable concepts, if The current positivist educational climate has
they are to understand why only the latter are truly provoked P4C advocates to justify the addition of
philosophical.” The novels function as models. P4C to the existing curriculum by pointing out its
They are not a narrative version of the history of usefulness in terms of raising standards, teaching
philosophy (as, e.g., attempted in Jostein thinking skills, creativity, citizenship, inclusion,
Gaarder’s Sophie’s World, 1994), but central phil- and emotional literacy. These are justifications
osophical ideas, themes, and questions have been that are often motivated by accountability or the
“injected into” the text without the use of techni- need to secure funding. Understandably, such an
cal jargon. The history of Western philosophy is instrumental approach has been criticized
presented as a mode of thinking, with the novels (Vansiegelheim 2005; Long 2005). P4C can be
representing the kind of thinking that is typical of the home of a complex mixture of educational
the history of philosophy. ideas and philosophical traditions as practitioners
The philosophical thinking in the novels is situate the approach rhizomatically in their own
enacted by fictional, thoughtful children who cultural, ethnic, religious, and socioeconomic
reflect explicitly on their thought processes in contexts and infuse the practice with their own
the way adult philosophers would do, but that identity and beliefs.
children “normally” do not. Engagement of real P4C challenges many perceived wisdoms
children with the “abnormal” conversations in the about classroom size, epistemological expertise,
novels (Kennedy 2011, p. 61) helps them the limits of scientific knowledge, and who should P
“develop their own philosophy, their own way of ask the questions in class (see, e.g., Benjamin and
thinking about the world” through the community Ecchevarria 1992). It questions what it means to
of inquiry pedagogy (Lipman 2008, p. 166). In be a child and what it means to be treated as a
that sense, the P4C curriculum positions the ideal- citizen. Some authors emphasize the radical dem-
philosopher-child (Murris 2015). ocratic nature of the practice. The concept of
“democracy” is understood to include moral prin-
ciples such as freedom and equality and implies
Philosophy with Picturebooks that schools make space for children to actively
participate as citizens in contexts that are mean-
Lipman’s pioneering work reaches beyond the ingful to them. Depending on one’s practice, P4C
mere introduction of just another subject in the can nibble away at the very undemocratic foun-
curriculum, that of philosophy. It profoundly dations of modern education itself (Kennedy
questions how schools regard knowledge and 2006; Kohan 2002; Haynes 2008).
how subjects are taught. For Lipman the state- Although Lipman himself was very much
ments of which human knowledge is said to be inspired by the philosophies of both Plato and
composed are, in fact, answers to questions by American pragmatism (especially John Dewey)
now long forgotten (Lipman and Sharp 1984, and later on also used Vygotskian socio-
p. 158). What we now call factual knowledge is constructivism to theorize the pedagogy, others
1880 Philosophy with Picturebooks

have used a wide range of other philosophies and about the picturebook that makes it such a suitable
educational theories to justify P4C, including philosophical text?
Kantian philosophy (McCall 2009), semiotics, The P4C curriculum contains the promise of a
critical pedagogy (Kohan and Wozniak 2009), complete, whole, continuous curriculum that
postmodernism (Kennedy 2006), and critical expresses a developmental view of a human
posthumanism (Murris 2016). being – in terms of development in understanding
Disrupting the paradigm of adult philosophy philosophical concepts. The latter are introduced
with its emphasis on language, logic, and ratio- in an age-related sequential manner, each time
nality, David Kennedy, Walter Kohan, and others with “a little more depth, breadth and sophistica-
have influenced the choice of text, the text- tion” (Lipman et al. 1977, p. 59). The philosoph-
pedagogy relationship, and how texts are read in ical child for Lipman (1993), Matthews (1992,
P4C (Haynes and Murris 2012). These 1993, 2006, 2009), and others (Wartenberg
dimensions explain the reasons and motivations 2009; Mohr-Lone 2012) is the child whose verbal
for the subsequent diversification of practices – utterances resemble the ideas of established aca-
differences in the field are related to implicit or demic philosophers, and the picturebooks are
explicit views of a child, what philosophy is, and selected on the basis of the classical philosophical
ideas about how philosophy can learn from a themes and topics they “contain,” such as freedom
child. Since the early 1990s the introduction of versus determinism, lying versus truth telling, or
these alternatives to the P4C curriculum has gen- justified anger (Costello 2012).
erated new debates about the necessary require- Other approaches to the use of picturebooks for
ment for teachers of P4C (and the trainers of these P4C focus on critical and creative thinking
teachers) to have a background in academic phi- approaches to literacy education (Roche 2015).
losophy. The phrase “philosophy with children” Avoiding the term “philosophy” can be helpful in
was born to distinguish between the “official” not alienating teachers, but the risk attached is that
Philosophy for Children program and other P4C is conceptualized as a mere thinking skills
approaches such as “philosophy with approach without the history of philosophical
picturebooks” (Murris 1992). The phrase philos- inquiry to draw on as resource. For Lipman, think-
ophy “with” children articulated an important dif- ing skills should always be taught in the context of
ference and became more widely used much later a humanistic discipline, such as philosophy – a
by what Vansieleghem and Kennedy (2011) refer discipline that is “representative of the heritage of
to as the “second-generation” P4C proponents. human thought” (Lipman 1988, p. 40; 1991,
They broke with a strategic uniformity to the pp. 29–30). The task of philosophy is to encourage
educational approach and “welcomed difference children to think for themselves in, about, and
as a principle of growth” (Vansieleghem and Ken- among the disciplines, which involves an induction
nedy 2011, p. 172). The emphasis for many of into the higher-order thinking and critical reflection
them, but certainly not all, is no longer on a upon the methodology of each discipline: its
curriculum that models the normative ideal of assumptions, criteria, procedures, and modes of
analytic reason, but on dialogue that generates reasoning (Lipman 1991, pp. 263–264). A crucial
communal reflection, philosophical conversa- question is how this is done and how the implied
tions, and democratic practices that include child reader is positioned in the texts that are chosen for
and young people’s voice – regarded as a poten- the philosophical work.
tially transformative power in deciding what Philosophy with picturebooks was introduced
counts as philosophy. The diversity of P4C theory by Murris (1992) and further developed in collab-
and practice is entangled with questions about oration with Joanna Haynes after they met in 1994
philosophy, what it is, and which texts one should (Murris and Haynes 2002; Haynes and Murris
choose for teaching it. 2012). Philosophy with picturebooks has proven
The picturebook has been a recurrent feature in to be popular in practice, not only in early years’
the diversification. Why is this? What is peculiar settings or primary/elementary education.
Philosophy with Picturebooks 1881

Picturebooks are short, self-contained stories, not focus on ‘something greater than the judgments,’
too expensive, and sometimes already available in that is, the criteria for those judgments” (Lipman
schools, at least those with the financial resources 2008, p. 59). These criteria, in turn, interlock with
to provide books. In such schools, teachers are other criteria that are interlocked with other
familiar with the medium, and the children are criteria and so on, and, although no answers yet
used to, and often appreciate, visual texts. emerge, the process is “intriguing, exciting, illu-
Good quality picturebooks are more than just minating” (Lipman 2008, p. 59). They generate
books with illustrations (hence the spelling of inquiries that focus on meaning, rather than
“picturebooks,” instead of “picture books”). learning, on understanding, rather than truth –
Oft-quoted, classic points of reference in chil- provoking conceptual questioning. Reading
dren’s literature research argue that picturebooks picturebooks philosophically does not involve a
involve two very different interdependent sign process of finding out what pictures denote or
systems (the images and the words) (Nikolajeva literally represent, but requires sensitivity in
and Scott 2006; Sipe 1998). The reader, so the bringing together what is said and what is unsaid.
argument goes, is pulled in different directions of These judgments are often complex and
meaning-making by the use of these two different unpredictable and involve emotional, imagina-
sign systems; the linear direction of the text tive, and reasoned responses – not necessarily
invites readers to continue reading; the pictures with a focus on the philosophical concepts that
compel them to ponder. Importantly, the “gaps” adults find interesting (Murris 1997).
between text and image may be experienced dif- Lipman’s P4C novels position the “abnormal”
ferently as people grow older, which challenges child, the thinking child – the adult philosopher’s
teachers to listen and respond differently from child modeled in communities of inquiry with
children (Haynes and Murris 2012). In their influ- peers. In contrast, philosophy with picturebooks
ential article, Maria Nikolajeva and Carole Scott often involves children in inquiries about fantas-
(2000, p. 238) argue that a picturebook “speaks to tical scenarios in the void between reality and
both adults and children” and that “the two audi- fantasy, rather than about the world as it “is” (for
ences may approach textual and visual gaps dif- the adult philosopher). The perspective of what it
ferently and fill them in different ways.” means to be child-philosopher-like is firmly
Children’s literature scholar David Lewis (2001, embedded in adult assumptions and desires
p. 74) describes metaphorically how in contem- about how a child should be. In contrast, philoso- P
porary picturebooks “[w]ords are never ‘just phy with picturebooks does not locate the philo-
words’. . . [they] are always partial, incomplete, sophical “in” texts themselves but in the space in
unfinished, waiting the flesh of the pictures. Sim- between text, child reader, and adult reader
ilarly, the pictures are perpetually pregnant with (teacher). Gert Biesta (2011, p. 317) writes about
potential narrative meaning, indeterminate, unfin- “exposure” as the quality of human interaction,
ished, awaiting the closure provided by the words. which “makes the event of the incoming of
But the words and the pictures come from outside uniqueness possible.” It is this kind of philosophy
the picturebook.” The interaction between image that cannot be mapped out or modeled by the
and text is neither stable nor predictable. “Bound- philosophical novels. It could not be; it escapes
aries have dissolved,” writes Lewis, “inviting a representation. This position assumes that we
promiscuous mixing of forms” (Lewis 2001, have to be more modest in our claims about
p.90). Picturebook narratives often feature what narratives can do when doing philosophy
unusual characters (e.g., humans covered in in class. A pedagogy of exposure involves con-
body hair, aliens), extreme concepts (e.g., immor- sciously giving up regarding education as the
tality, the size of the universe), and obscure formation of childhood as well as regarding chil-
thought experiments. dren as adult opportunities to carry out adults’
These narratives provoke philosophical ideals and to use education as an instrument for
conversations – “‘a language of languages,’ a such ends (Kohan 2011, p. 430).
1882 Philosophy with Picturebooks

Although the sociocultural orientation of the References

way in which the P4C community of inquiry is
often theorized was revolutionary at the time, its Benjamin, M., & Echeverria, E. (1992). Knowledge in the
Classroom. In A. M. Sharp & R. Reed (Eds.), Studies in
constructivist ontology seems ironically rather
philosophy for children (pp. 64–79). Philadelphia, PA:
individualistic some 45 years after its introduc- Temple University Press.
tion. What is assumed is that students and teachers Biesta, G. J. J. (2011). Philosophy, exposure, and children:
learn P4C through a process of “internalization” How to resist the instrumentalisation of philosophy in
education; N. Vansieleghem & D. Kennedy (Eds.),
and therefore presupposes a humanist subjectivity
Special issue philosophy for children in transition:
based on binaries such as inner/outer, nature/cul- Problems and prospects. Journal of Philosophy of Edu-
ture, and matter/discourse and an anthropocentric cation, 45(2), 305–321.
perspective of what it is to be human/child (and Costello, P. (Ed.). (2012). Philosophy and children’s liter-
ature. New York: Rowan & Littlefield.
therefore what is involved in teaching philoso-
File, N., Mueller, J., & Basler Wisneski, D. (2012). Cur-
phy). In philosophy with picturebooks there is a riculum in early childhood education: Re-examined,
dynamic entanglement between philosophy, the rediscovered, renewed. London: Routledge.
democratic practice of the community of inquiry Gaarder, J. (1994). Sophie’s world: A novel about the
history of philosophy (trans: Moller, P.). New York:
pedagogy, the notion of the competent child as
Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
(implied) philosophical reader, teachers as philo- Haynes, J. (2008). Children as philosophers (2nd ed.).
sophical readers, and the epistemological ambigu- London: Routledge Falmer.
ity and aesthetic qualities of the picturebooks. The Haynes, J. (2014). Already equal and able to speak: Prac-
tising philosophical enquiry with young children. In
ontology and epistemology this practice assumes
S. Robson & S. Quinn (Eds.), Routledge international
are relational. handbook on young children’s thinking and under-
Moving toward a critical posthumanist orien- standing. London: Routledge.
tation, P4C scholars have recently started to pay Haynes, J., & Murris, K. (2012). Picturebooks, Pedagogy
and Philosophy (Routledge Research in Education
more attention (this includes the analysis of phil-
Series). New York: Routledge.
osophical enquiries) to the picturebook’s materi- Kennedy, D. (2006). Changing conceptions of the child
ality: the effects of graphic design, choice of art from the renaissance to post-modernity: A philosophy
style, visual grammar, use of colors, and medium of childhood. New York: Edwin Mellen Press.
Kennedy, D. (2011). From outer space and across the
(paper, virtual, etc.) (Murris 2016). In fact, there
street: Matthew Lipman’s double vision. Childhood &
are infinite material-discursive elements that Philosophy, 7(13), 49–74.
could and should be considered when reading Kohan, W. O. (2002). Education, philosophy and childhood:
texts philosophically. How these “languages” The need to think an encounter. Thinking, American
Journal of Philosophy for Children, 16(1), 4–11.
interact, connect, and influence each other also
Kohan, W. O. (2011). Childhood, education and philoso-
depends on what readers “bring to” the narrative phy: Notes on deterritorisation; N. Vansieleghem &
themselves and the affordances of the material D. Kennedy (Eds.), Special issue philosophy for chil-
environment. From this perspective the prepara- dren in transition: Problems and prospects. Journal of
Philosophy of Education, 45(2), 339–359.
tion and education of teachers for philosophical
Kohan, W., & Wozniak, J. (2009). Philosophy as a spiritual
practice should be less focused on induction in set exercise in an adult literacy course. Thinking: The Jour-
curricula and more on the acquisition of a wide nal of Philosophy for Children, 19(4), 17–24.
range of philosophical content knowledge from Lewis, D. (2001). Reading contemporary picturebooks:
Picturing text. London: Routledge.
various traditions in combination with the learn-
Lipman, M. (1988). Philosophy goes to school. Philadel-
ing of philosophical pedagogical skills and atti- phia, PA: Temple University Press.
tudes. The philosophy teacher does not scaffold Lipman, M. (1991). Thinking in education. Cambridge,
existing truths, but problematizes the relationship MA: Cambridge University Press.
Lipman, M. (Ed.). (1993). Thinking, children and educa-
that both students and teachers have to truths in
tion. Duboque, IA: Kendall/Hunt.
which they are already installed (Kohan 2011, Lipman, M. (1996). Natasha: Vygotskyan dialogues. New
p.346). The choice of text can hinder or support York: Teachers College Press.
this experiential process of bringing something Lipman, M. (1997). Philosophical discussion plans and
exercises. Critical and Creative Thinking, 5, 1–17.
new into the world.
Place 1883

Lipman, M. (2008). A life teaching thinking. Montclair: Splitter, L. J., & Sharp, A.-M. (1995). Teaching for better
NJ. Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for thinking; The classroom community of enquiry. Mel-
Children. bourne: ACER.
Lipman, M., & Sharp, A. M. (1984). Looking for meaning: Vansiegelheim, N. (2005). Philosophy for children as the
Instructional manual to accompany Pixie. Montclair: wind of thinking. Journal of Philosophy of Education,
Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Chil- 39(1), 19–37.
dren, with University Press of America. Vansieleghem, N., & Kennedy, D. (2011). Introduction: What
Lipman, M., Sharp, A. M., & Oscanyan, F. S. (1977). is philosophy for children, what is philosophy with
Philosophy in the classroom (2nd ed.). Philadelphia, children – after Matthew Lipman?: N. Vansieleghem, &
PA: Temple University Press. D. Kennedy (Eds.), Special issue philosophy for children
Long, F. (2005). Thomas Reid and philosophy with children. in transition: Problems and prospects. Journal of Philos-
Journal of Philosophy of Education, 39(4), 599–615. ophy of Education, 45(2), 171–183.
Martens, E. (1999). Spelen met denken: Over Filosoferen Wartenberg, T. E. (2009). Big ideas for little kids: Teaching
met Kinderen. Rotterdam: Lemniscaat. philosophy through children’s literature. Lanham, MD:
Martens, E. (2008). Can animals think? The five most Rowman & Littlefield Education.
important methods of philosophizing with children.
Thinking: The Journal of Philosophy for Children,
18(4), 32–35.
Matthews, G. (1992). Thinking in stories. Thinking, 10(2), 1.
Matthews, G. (1993). Philosophy and Children’s Litera- Place
ture. In M. Lipman (Ed.), Thinking, children and edu-
cation (pp. 274–280). Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Karen Malone
Publishing Company.
Matthews, G. (1994). The philosophy of childhood. Cam-
Centre for Educational Research, Western Sydney
bridge, MA: Harvard University Press. University, Penrith, NSW, Australia
Matthews, G. (2006). Thinking in stories. Thinking, 18(1), 3.
Matthews, G. (2009). Getting beyond the deficit concep-
tion of childhood: Thinking philosophically with chil- Synonyms
dren. In M. Hand & C. Winstanley (Eds.), Philosophy
in schools (pp. 27–41). London: Continuum.
McCall, C. (2009). Transforming thinking: Philosophical
Critical place pedagogies; Geography; Place the-
inquiry in the primary and secondary classroom. Lon- ory; Place-based education; Spatial theory
don: Routledge.
Mohr-Lone, J. (2012). The philosophical child. Lanham:
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Introduction
Murris, K. (1992). Teaching philosophy with picturebooks.
London: Infonet Publications.
David Harvey (1989 as cited Tuck and McKenzie
P
Murris, K. (1997). Metaphors of the child’s mind: Teaching
philosophy to young children. PhD thesis, University of 2015, p. 1) notes: “How we represent space and
Hull. time in theory matters, because it affects how we
Murris, K. (2015). The philosophy for children curriculum:
and others interpret and then act with respect to
Resisting “teacher proof” texts and the formation of the
ideal philosopher child. Studies in Philosophy and the world”. Edward Casey in his book The Fate of
Education. London: Routledge. doi:10.1007/s11217- Place in 1997 also ruminated that discussions on
015-9466-3. place have been important, if not always a central
Murris K (2016). The posthuman child: Educational trans-
theme, for much of the history of Western philos-
formation through philosophy with picturebooks.
Routledge Contesting Early Childhood Series. London: ophy. Many contemporary thinkers, inspired most
Routledge. prominently, perhaps, by Martin Heidegger,
Murris, K., & Haynes, J. (2002). Storywise: Thinking have made “place” a central concern of theory
through stories. Newport: Dialogue Works.
(particularly ontological meanings) and illustrated
Nikolajeva, M., & Scott, C. (2006). How picturebooks
work. London: Routledge. that it mattered. Jeff Malpas (2006), for example,
Roche, M. (2015). Developing children’s critical thinking argued that throughout his life Heidegger was
through picturebooks: A guide for primary and early concerned with understanding “the ‘placed’ char-
years students and teachers. London: Routledge.
acter of being,” with “the place of being – as a
Sipe, L. R. (1998). How picture books work: A semiotically
framed theory of text-picture relationships. Children’s topology of being” (p. 305). Cresswell (2015) in
Literature in Education, 29(2), 97–108. later writings postulates Heidegger saw place as a
1884 Place

spiritual and philosophical endeavor with the where social relations are enacted and meanings
authentic human existence being one rooted in are produced; and sense of place is the subjective,
place. Scholars in a range of disciplines have emotional attachment personal or shared that are
adopted place as a central conceptual and philo- evoked by a place. Cresswell (2015) notes the
sophical theme, but in particular geography, theoretical contribution of Yi-Fu Tuan here who
humanities and social sciences have been central used the term “topophilia” to define the affective
to understanding how place comes to be activated bond between people and place and argued people
through and within the relations of humans with come to know the world through places. “Places”
others. Areas that have been theorized in literature in this insistence are theorized as shared temporal
include place in relation to the body, the local, the spaces. The work of Edward Relph is also signif-
regional, and the global. Place as a theme has icant here with his philosophical commitment to
incorporated a range of foci such as location, phenomenology and his introduction of the con-
architecture, place attachment, place identity, cept of “placelesssness” which came to be a useful
sense of place and in the arts the production, term for later theorizations of the human experi-
practice, and performance of place. In more con- ence of place and mobility in a globalized world
temporary times, theoretical frames have sought (Cresswell 2015). Massey (1994) in her substantial
to unsettle the romantic sometimes more static body of work on place also around this time iden-
physical notions of place with critical, feminist, tified that place was not only a set of social relations
poststructuralist, and new materialist theorists tak- and networks, but she believed there was a need to
ing up conceptual ideas around gendered spaces, pay attention to the complex politics and power
contested spaces, embodied spaces, the politics of of these relations and how they were constantly
space, cultural topographies, cyberspace, nomad- being played out through shared lives. For Massey,
ism, spaces of desire, monumental spaces, forgot- place was open and hybrid and the product of
ten spaces, and the materiality and relations of interconnecting flows (Cresswell 2015). A place
objects and entities (human and nonhuman). therefore by its very nature was full of power
and symbolism, a complex web of relations of
domination and subordination, of solidarity and
Place and the Geographers co-operation. How these relations were negotiated
revealed the power and politics of “place” bound-
Place as a key theoretical concept emerged prin- aries and the temporal constraints of time. While for
cipally from the discipline of geography. The Massey (1994), time is often conveyed as having a
early physical geographers understood place pri- “coherence and logic to its telling, while space does
marily as a static spatially bound concept where not” (p. 267). Places have spaces between them,
localized social and material practices were while time provides space its characteristics of flu-
enacted (Tuck and McKenzie 2015). A revival in idity and place its opportunity to pause.
the later 1970s saw key scholars reinsert “place”
outside of its spatial framing to be focused on the
social relations that become inscribed within these Theorizing Identity and Community
locales, as they exist necessarily in place and Through Place
across places (Cresswell 2015; Massey 1994).
Cresswell (2015) argues for “spaces” or locations Physical locales, through the experience of being
to become “places” people must imbrue meaning in space and time, have been theorized as lived
to them. Cresswell (2015) (drawing on the work spaces, as the site for the cultural production of
of political geographer John Agnew) recognized a identity, and offered as the location for place
meaningful location as having three aspects: loca- dwellers to connect to the real, material geogra-
tion, locale, and sense of place. Location is the phies of place and with the imagined, symbolic
physical setting that can be static (a town) or geographies of space. Theories on community and
moving (a ship); locale is the material setting cultural identity extended these ideas by
Place 1885

discussing how identity (in community) could be both elements of order and chaos. Order, because
produced through and between places and that all spatial locations of phenomena are caused; and
these places could then become the terrain for therefore they can in principle be explained in
elaborating strategies of selfhood. This construc- “time.” Order also because there are indeed spatial
tion of a community or communal way of being in systems, sets of phenomena in which spatial
“place” is a central theme of place theory and arrangements are also part of the constitution of
place pedagogy. David Gruenewald (see for a system. Yet chaos is also an element inherent to
example Gruenewald and Smith 2008) often our understandings of the spatial, because
discussed in his early work the importance of although the location of each set of phenomena
“real world,” “community based” pedagogies as may be directly caused, the spatial positioning
central to place-based theories, although this work of one in relation to the other may not.
was often limited by the idea of a static “commu- That is, place encounters become unintended
nity” existing in a specific “place.” These consequences – paradoxical mixtures that often
“orderly” “static” views of community places end up manifesting as unexpected relations
have not gone uncontested and like many key between sets of phenomena. Building on assem-
conceptual ideas in place theory have been blage theory, these relations can be mapped as
disrupted in more contemporary theorizing within having two roles for place, a material existence
the disciplines of geography and other social sci- and an expressive existence, and two forces
ences, spilling over into the education theory lit- supporting place coherence, territorializing
erature (Tuck and McKenzie 2015). The focus on forces, and deterritorializing forces (Cresswell
the local community specifically came under scru- 2015). Cresswell (2015) on the changing set of
tiny within discourses of globalization, as the theoretical relationships noted with a phenomeno-
relevance of “place” in a global, open, unbounded logical emphasis on gathering, and the post-
world with the relative collapsing of space-time structuralist notion of assemblage, places
due to increased mobility was questioned. Massey become syncretic wholes made up of parts.
(1994) argued that even though humans are living Cresswell writing on the history of the idea of
through a time of spatial upheaval, an era of pow- place noted traditionally there emerged three
erful globalization place provides ironically a back- main ways place was approached: a descriptive
cloth for theorizing experiences of colonialization (surface) approach, a social constructionist
and decolonialization, dislocation, otherness, and approach, and a phenomenological approach. In P
disorientation. The unsettling of place as “ordered” order to represent the complexity, he identified
and “located” allowed for the analyzing of those that geographers (such as Doreen Massey) were
changes at both at the level of geographical and writing accounts outside of these approaches by
social relations. For example, deeper analysis of incorporating syncretic and descriptive accounts
place allowed for the revealing through feminist that were informed by phenomenology, post-
theorizing the implications of sexism, exposing structuralism, and assemblage theory. This
power relations in colonialization by contrasting represented what Massey came to call the
indigenous and settlers histories past and present, “throwntogetherness” of place.
and for noticing economical relations of capital and
corporate accumulation.
Decolonizing Conceptions of Place

Spatial, Phenomenology, Tuck and McKenzie (2015) write, “decolonizing

Poststructuralism, and Assemblage conceptualizations of place confront, undermine,
Theory disavow, and unsettle understandings of place”
(p. 49). They note that indigenous philosophies
Through this unique relationship with time-space and theories (though they do critique the notion of
compression, place is often theorized as having theorizing as to narrow to represent the ways
1886 Place

indigenous people speak of their interactions or actions matter” (p. 185) and our humanness of
relationship to “place”) “represent significant being in and with place in the world.
epistemological and ontological departures from
those [philosophies of place] that have merged in
Western Frames” (p. 51). They explain how Place in Education Theory
“place” and “space” are imbued with a colonizing
settler history and that an “ontology of the land” Until more recent times, it has been argued edu-
encompasses a material, spiritual, emotional, and cation theory has for the most part ignored the
intellectual understanding that is more akin to an importance of “place” as a relational concept. In
ontological conceptualization of place that does her essay in the 2005 edition of the philosophy of
not prioritize the human or the place but a collec- education, Ruitenberg (2005) goes to great
tive and shared relation to the “land.” The per- lengths drawing on the work of David Orr and
spectives of Indigenous have been central to others that beyond place as a static physical con-
recent shifts in re-theorizing space, place, and cept, the place where learning occurs, and place
time outside of Western frameworks. Theoretical has had no particular impact in contemporary
work on place in decolonizing spaces brings to the education. She notes in her introduction that edu-
surface issues of replacement and emplacement cation philosopher Michael Peters has also in the
and the invisibility of Indigenous people’s per- past been quoted as saying “modern educational
spectives in settler epistemologies that repeatedly theory has all but ignored questions of space, of
foreclose discussions on the urgency of decoloni- geography, of architecture” (2005, p. 212). Ema-
zation (Tuck and McKenzie 2015). nating from this limited view of place, theorizing
place-based pedagogies, has focused primarily on
teaching strategies around engaging learners to
Place and the New Materialist Turn get to “know a place” to build place-based attach-
ments. Place-based education, according to Stone
The recent new materialist turn has provided also (2009), was fundamental to schooling that
a useful segue here for theorizing even further the supported environmental education and sustain-
entangled and complex materiality of bodies and ability. He argued that when places were known
entities as it sets about supporting the means for deeply and were well loved, they had the best
re-configuring the dynamism of space, time, and chance of being conserved and cared for in the
matter through the conceptions of all things future. “When people acquire a deep knowledge
“intra-acting with” and “being in” the world of a particular place, they begin to care about what
(Barad 2007). Barad (2007) for example intro- happens to the landscape, creatures, and people in
duces the apparatuses for studying diffraction as it” (Stone 2009, p. 13).
the means for pointing out the specificity of par- Gruenewald and Smith (2008) have also
ticular entanglements and the entangled effects argued that place-based education rooted in com-
that “differences” make. Thinking about the munity settings should be reclaimed as central
nature of differences and space, time, mattering places of public education and that this
is to consider that prior to their intraaction entan- could alter the role of schools and places of learn-
glements do not exist. As humans, writes Barad ing with and through connection to places.
(2007), we are not outside observers of this A significant element of a place-based pedagogy
entangled world nor are we located in a particular for education therefore has been the opportunity
place, but we are part of the world, “part of the for children to be active learners in the real world
world-body space in its dynamic structuration” and to take their learning outside of the classroom.
(p. 185). Onto-epistem-ology is the term she pro- Ruitenberg (2005) wary of this often narrow
poses for describing the study of knowing in emphasis on place pedagogies and outdoor or
being, coming to terms with how “specific intra- environmental education has argued this limits
Place 1887

the focus of place-based education on the natural slow ecopedagogy of place that comes from the
environment, with this “connection to place” is experiential education and experiential learning
presented mostly with “a hint of nostalgia and tradition that has been well represented in
romanticism” (p. 212). She contends place “place-based education” provides an example of
means more than the natural environment, places a “phenomenological deconstruction at the per-
are political spaces often with contested histories sonal, social, cultural, and ecological layers of
and . . .“each (inhabited) place has a spatial con- experience.” They position this work as a
figuration through which power and other socio- response to the intercorporeal and ecocentric
politico-cultural mechanisms are at play” (p. 215). turns of contemporary theorizing that sought to
address a new ontological ethics of human-nature
encounters. This shift to a more radical theorizing
Radical or Critical Place Pedagogies of place contested “traditional/dominant episte-
mic and anthropocentric metaphors of learning,
Theorists of place-based education resisting a teaching, thinking, and knowing” (Payne and
romantic nostalgia of place, as evident in educa- Wattchow 2009, p. 30) and illustrated a turning
tion discourses around children needing to “re- point where educational theorists begun to move
connect to place” or develop a “sense of place,” outside and disrupt “under-theorized” definitions
have embraced critical theory as enacted through of “place” (Tuck and McKenzie 2015). Much of
a more radical critical pedagogy of place. New this disruption came from a realization that bina-
forms of radical place-based pedagogies by criti- ries are not useful in conceiving place. Nespor
cal place-based theorists in education, similarly to (2008, p. 481) articulated this well when he
cultural and radical geographers in earlier times, wrote: “A division of the world into parallel bina-
have drawn attention to structures of oppression ries such as place and nonplace, inhabitant and
based on race, class, and gender. By interrogating resident, commons and markets, or local and
classroom pedagogies and curriculum content, global, turns complex, changing relations into
they have questioned how and why certain ways discrete states, chops gradients into well-bounded
of conceptualizing place are being valued and regions, and obscures the critical questions of how
prioritized in classrooms. A radical or critical places are constituted and connected to one
pedagogy such as that taken up in contemporary another.”
times by education theorists such as Ruitenberg P
focus on supporting students to consider
conflicting interpretations of places, and the mul- Posthumanist and New Materialist
tiplicity of meanings they have for others. It sup- Theorizing
ports students to notice the complexity of place
relations who is welcome, who is able to live, Recent contemporary theorizing of place-based
work, and play in which spaces, and why, and education drawing on key concepts of place,
who benefits and who loses from the different human and nonhuman relations using post-
modes of emplacement. Armed with a radical humanist and new materialist theorizing is seek-
pedagogy of place “students are taught to see the ing to disrupt the Cartesian divide between human
multiplicity of and conflicts between interpreta- and other entities. This work challenged the sim-
tions of a place, the traces of meanings carried by plistic dichotomies/binaries of animal/human,
the place in the past, the openness to future inter- nature/culture, subject/object, place/nonplace
pretation and meaning-construction” . Therefore, that constructed how place came to be viewed
“(a) radical pedagogy of place does not pretend to within the impending consequences of the
offer answers to or ‘correct’ interpretations of Anthropocene (Malone 2015). Malone (2015)
hotly contested places”(Ruitenberg 2005, for example in her recent theorizing argues that
p. 218). Payne and Wattchow’s (2009, p. 18) by considering multispecies relations as
1888 Place Theory

multifarious and diffractive place encounters it Harvey, D. (1989). The conditions of postmodernity: An
supports educational opportunities that question inquiry into the origins of cultural change. London:
Blackwell.
the impact of anthropocentrism and human excep- Malone, K. (2015). Reconsidering children’s encounters
tionalism in the classroom, especially through the with nature and place using posthumanism. Australian
disruption of traditional research methodologies Journal of Environmental Education, 32(1), 42–56.
and pedagogies in outdoor learning, environmen- Malpas, J. (2006). Heidegger’s topology: Being, place,
world. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
tal and sustainability education. Malone (2015) Massey, D. (1994). Place, space and gender. London:
states these new theories provide “the spaces for Polity Press.
interrogating further child/body/species/place Nespor, J. (2008). Education and place: A review essay.
relations as assemblages, associations and rela- Educational Theory, 58(4), 475–489.
Payne, P., & Wattchow, B. (2009). Phenomenological
tionships that could be useful when considering deconstruction, slow pedagogy, and the corporeal turn
the complexity of core concepts in sustainability in wild environmental/outdoor education. Canadian
education like interdependency and multiple ecol- Journal of Environmental Education, 14, 15–32.
ogies” (p. 54). Ruitenberg, C. (2005). Deconstructing the experience of
the local: Towards a radical pedagogy of place. In
K. Howe (Ed.), Philosophy of education society
(pp. 212–220).
Conclusion: Complexity of Place Stone, M. (2009). Smart by nature: Schooling for sustain-
Theorizing ability. Berkeley, CA: Centre for Ecoliteracy, Water-
shed Media.
Tuck, E., & McKenzie, M. (2015). Place in research:
Theorizing about or through concepts of “place” Theory. Methodology and methods. New York:
as identified through these varied theoretical Routledge.
turns are by definition ambiguous and contradic-
tory. Seemingly an ordered and simple concept,
place is also simultaneously complex and
contested. In no context is the nature and purpose
Place Theory
of this complexity of negotiations of place more
evident than when gazing into classrooms and
▶ Place
noticing the subtleties of contrasting definitions
being espoused. Education will continue to
evolve as an important contested location where
epistemological and ontological questions of
place/space/time/matter relations exist in the Place-Based Education
complexity of heterogeneous “space.” Place the-
orizing has and will continue to be an essential ▶ Place
philosophical, conceptual, and methodological
activity for furthering deeper understandings of
education.
Place-Based Pedagogy

References ▶ Phenomenology, Education, and the More-

Than-Human World
Barad, K. (2007). Meeting the universe halfway: Quantum
physics and the entanglement of matter and meaning.
London: Duke University Press.
Cresswell, T. (2015). Place: An introduction (2nd ed.).
West Sussex: Wiley. Placenta
Gruenewald, D., & Smith, G. (Eds.). (2008) Place-based
education in the global age. New York: Taylor &
Francis Group. ▶ Fonua
Placing Semiotics Within the Academy 1889

dramatically marked by the 1633 trial and con-

Placing Semiotics Within the demnation of Galileo for teaching the twin here-
Academy sies that the Earth is not the universe’s center and
that the sun does not revolve around the Earth. It
John N. Deely was a bad day – but not only for religious author-
Saint Vincent College and Seminary, Latrobe, PA, ities, students of scripture, and theologians.
USA Among the hardest hit victims of this fiasco was
“common sense”, which still has not managed to
regain a serious semblance of credibility in
Synonyms learned circles. The eighteenth-century attempt
by Thomas Reid to identify common sense as
Epistemology; Humanities; Science; Sebeok; the test of the truth of knowledge and the morality
Semiosis; Specialization of actions fell by the wayside, and the Enlighten-
ment view that scientific knowledge based on
systematic observation, experiment, and mathe-
Introduction matization could ultimately replace all of presci-
entific opinions, became the accepted view.
Today’s academy culminates in universities, the Yet, there remains at the heart of human knowl-
central institution of education feeding the intel- edge an unresolved problem that the rise of mod-
lectual culture of humankind. In historical con- ern science serves to underscore rather than
text, philosophy (science in the “cenoscopic” resolve: the inescapable conundrum that unless
sense of critical control of objectivity unaided by human awareness as preceding all scientific train-
instruments), along with literature, preceded uni- ing and refinement has some validity in its own
versity life but came to form an integral part of right, then nothing even of science can truly be
university curriculum. But modern science (in the knowledge. For to begin study of science presup-
“ideoscopic” sense, knowledge that could never poses the common awareness of human animals
be attained without instruments) began its distinc- out of which the development even of modern
tive development in the dawning years of the science as species-specifically human becomes
seventeenth century, and its acceptance within possible in the first place. Stjernfelt (2007) puts
the university was anything but smooth. Intellec- the matter in semiotic terms: in order for it to be P
tual advance depends on logic, but old habits have true that the Way of Signs leads everywhere in
to be overcome, and such displacement is seldom nature, it must also be true that “science is contin-
easy within culture. It took more than two centu- uous with everyday knowledge which is, in turn,
ries for modern science to gain its standing – a continuous with animal cognition and so on indef-
standing so firm that students now think of the initely down the scale of evolution” (p. 8).
university in terms of science above all, as Among the early modern philosophers, nota-
evidenced in the acronym STEM (science, tech- bly Berkeley and Hume, this problem never came
nology, engineering, mathematics) for early to be recognized as such. Instead, they assumed
twenty-first-century attempts at a “core curricu- that mental representation was the beginning of all
lum”. Where is semiotics in such a scheme? awareness, an assumption that led to the famous
“problem of the external world”; for even though
empiricists followed by preference Locke rather
Demise of “Common Sense” as an than Descartes, they failed to observe or comment
Unresolved Problem upon the fatal assumption (that Locke shared with
Descartes) that the direct objects of our apprehen-
In the context of intellectual culture, no revolution sion are mental representations formed by our
had greater importance than the one that took own minds. The “problem of the external world”
place in the early seventeenth century, arose in modernity from just this assumption: that
1890 Placing Semiotics Within the Academy

the mind itself makes whatever is a direct and knowledge united in the common assumption
immediate object of awareness. Locke and Des- that subjective representation is somehow the
cartes identified this immediate object with ideas. heart and essence of human knowing.
Kant rejected this as too subjective, as “subjectiv- The problem with epistemology is not the exis-
ism”; and in proposing his alternate solution of the tence of things in themselves. The problem rather
senses as giving rise to phenomena distinct from is the theory which makes things “unknowable”.
the things provoking sensation, he thought to pre- That is a thesis the science of modernity never
serve the universality of scientific knowledge: it is fully bought into, unlike the philosophers. The
to the phenomena that reason then by its a-priori doctors studying cancer want to know precisely
forms contributes objective necessary structure. what this deformation of cells is as it occurs,
Yet Kantian “objectivism” proved no less idealis- whether we understand it or not, precisely because
tic than the criticized subjectivism of Descartes only by our coming to know that can we then
and Locke, inasmuch as Kant’s own view was no come to do something about it, namely, cure the
less divorced from an awareness “scientific” in the cancer.
sense of giving us an actual knowledge of the
“way things are” in their subjective constitution
and intersubjective relations obtaining indepen- Semiotic Consciousness, Its Nature and
dently of whether we are aware of them or not Levels of Development
(Deely 2001).
By way of epistemological warning of “road- Semiotics began with the general proposal by
block ahead”, it followed that ontology and epis- Augustine that the difference between nature and
temology in modern parlance mean, in fact, the culture is irrelevant to the action of signs, for
unknowable because unattainable (what was whenever one thing comes to make something
termed in Latin times ens reale) versus the know- other than itself present in our awareness, signs
able (termed in Latin times ens rationis). On this are at work. Whether the one thing or the other has
point, between Descartes and Kant there is only its origin inside or outside of our minds and bod-
this difference: for Descartes ens rationis was ies, from nature or from culture, is irrelevant to the
conceived subjectively, whereas for Kant it was action of signs. Material objects which are also
definitively objective, yet wholly determined in its themselves signs existing outside of us presup-
knowability by human subjectivity. pose cognitive qualities inside of us which are
themselves already signs as manifesting some-
thing other than themselves, something they
Cryptosemiotics, an Historical Interlude themselves are not. The wife is not the idea of
wife; yet when the idea of wife fails, the woman
Semiotics was forced underground in the modern sensed cannot be recognized as wife. So there are
interval, called after Sebeok (1976, 1979) the objects external to our bodies which can be signs
“cryptosemiotic interlude”, for the very “episte- only when perceived in conjunction with concepts
mology” upon which the leading modern philos- internal to us and which relate us to those very
ophers all agreed as the starting point of human material objects recognized as this or that – wife,
knowledge already presupposed that the Way of mother, lover, or whatever.
Signs did not exist in its own right. The Way of But still we are not at the heart of the matter,
Signs is a path that categorically rejects the view given that sensation is a vehicle of semiosis prior
that only mental representations of whatever sort to concept formation. For human beings are ani-
are the immediate final terminus of knowledge. It mals, and all animal awareness begins with sen-
is a path that “leads everywhere in nature, includ- sations, not with ideas of sensations, à la Locke,
ing those domains where humans have never set but with sensations as that incipient experience of
foot” (Emmeche 1994, p. 126). That idea proves objectivity brought about by the action of some
incompossible within modern theories of sensible thing upon an animal’s organs of sense.
Placing Semiotics Within the Academy 1891

Light reflects off different bodies differently, and objects perceived and/or objects understood,
when this differently reflected light strikes some objectify something of the animal’s surroundings
animal’s organ of sight, what the animal will “see” wholly and solely on the basis of the interaction of
depends not only upon the surface reflecting light the animal’s body with the surrounding bodies of
but also upon the constitution of the animal’s eye. the immediate physical environment. Accord-
The result will be some color. How does this color ingly, even though we do not experience sensa-
exist? Neither “in the thing stimulating” as some tions wholly separated from our perceptions,
medievals thought, nor “in the eye of the sense experience, analytically considered, differs
beholder”, as the early moderns postulated. It both from sense perception and from understand-
exists precisely between the two as a relation ing, in that the latter two require and presuppose
connecting one to the other, arising from the those psychological qualities or states that we call
action of stimulation here and now. concepts or ideas, while sensations are prior to
There is another angle, especially decisive concept formations and presuppose only the
from the semiotic point of view. The animal sens- action of the physical surroundings upon the
ing color simultaneously senses a shape and a external sense organs of the animal body.
position or movement: shape is not color, but is There are, as Poinsot showed (1632: Bk. 1,
revealed dependently upon color; so the relation ques. 6), no grounds for holding that external
of color to shape and position or movement, etc. is sense, prescissively distinguished as such within
already a sign-relation – color is the vehicle on the perception and understanding, attains directly as
basis of which shape and position are revealed in its proper object only an image produced by the
sensation. There is no moment of awareness in mind itself. The semiosis of sensations gives rise to
which this action of signs is not at work, for all an awareness (as a nascent objectivity), which
objects are significates, and all concepts are vehi- simply cannot be classified as epistemological or
cles supporting interpretive sign-relations: from ontological in any modern sense, because the rela-
the very beginning of sensation, prescissively tions upon which objectification depends at this
(analytically and not experimentally) distin- level are prior to any such differentiation. Thus,
guished from perceptions and intellections, our semiotics takes us to the very heart of the problem
awareness depends also upon signs that precede of knowledge, namely, how it is that signs are able
concept formation. This action of signs within to lead us everywhere in nature.
sensation is different from the perception of a P
woman as wife. Whereas perception of material
objects requires and presupposes concepts formed Facing the Problem of Specialization
within the perceiver, sensation of basic qualities vis-à-vis the Modern Fragmentation of
logically precedes formation of concepts and pro- University Culture
vides the very material which concepts are formed
to interpret. Within the universities, in the seventeenth century
All animals interpret what is sensed according when science in the modern sense began to take
to a certain status: something to be sought, some- hold, specialization presented itself as a sine qua
thing to be shunned, or something safe to ignore. non, as a necessity for scientific advance in this
The human animal further creates concepts that modern or ideoscopic sense dependent upon the
make it possible to discover what these objects of instrumental extensions of the environmental
perception are (correctly or incorrectly interpreted awareness as species specific to human animals
by the animal, as the case may be), whether aware- (contrasting with the exclusively cenoscopic
ness dependent or awareness independent, apart medieval science). As specializations required
from their specific status in relation to the animal. for scientific advance in knowledge took hold,
So, intellectual concepts can make objects know- general opinions of previous philosophy
able according to what they are in themselves. But fragmented. By the late nineteenth century, diver-
the signs of sensation, considered as prior to sity of specializations threatened the very notion
1892 Placing Semiotics Within the Academy

of any unity of knowledge, and the teachers and students’ minds and opened them to an under-
administrators within universities began to cast standing apparently beyond specialization.
about for some ways of gaining an overview, Yet, this approach in the end tended to feed
some ways of restoring, or at least minimally into the split between what C. P. Snow charac-
preserving the intellectual development of terized as the two cultures: sciences on one side,
humankind as a common heritage in which each rooted in specializations aimed to interpret the
of us shares and has a stake. The two main ave- book of nature, and humanities on the other
nues of attempt were an introduction of so-called side, rooted in broad reading interpreting the
interdisciplinary courses, as well as programs of books written by men. Again “interdisciplinar-
study based on reading “great books”. Both ity” was achieved more de facto than de jure.
approaches had their merits and limited success, Neither the interdisciplinary nor the “great
but neither cut to the heart of the matter. books” approach achieved in principle a unifi-
cation of the two cultures.

The Ad Hoc or Improvisational Character

of Interdisciplinary Teaching Enter Semiotics

Interdisciplinary programs are designed to put This point of impasse is the entry point for the
together two or more specialists in the same class- doctrine of signs, the “one undivided science”
room, offering students the dialectic of professors which, as Peirce points out (1908: CP 8.342;
making sense first to one another and then, hope- c.1897: CP 2.227), does “not depend upon new
fully, also to the students from within specialized special observations”, yet directly addresses that
perspectives, while also accommodating them- upon which all special observations and common
selves to the other perspective of specialization observations alike depend, namely, the action
represented by their colleague(s) in the given of signs, semiosis. STEM education – education
classroom. Thus, twentieth-century interdisciplin- in science, technology, engineering, and
ary programs proved invariably to be personality- mathematics – contrasts with liberal arts educa-
dependent, gerrymandered affairs, more or less tion as yet a further extension of C. P. Snow’s two
valuable depending upon the talents of the pro- cultures. But an individual, student or faculty,
fessors involved, but “interdisciplinary” in no who comes to understand the standpoint and per-
more than a de facto fashion rather than intrinsi- spective that semiotics engenders transcends pre-
cally interdisciplinary. cisely this division.
At Indiana University, when Thomas A.
Sebeok became Director of the Research Center
A Recrudescence of Scholasticism: The for Language Studies in the early 1970s, among
“Great Books” Approach his first official actions was to change the name to
the Research Center for Language and Semiotic
The “great books” approach fared no better as Studies, and everyone expected him to launch an
learning was determined as based on opinions of MA and PhD program in semiotics. He did not.
“authorities”, back to the tradition of the Latin Instead, he introduced what he called a “Certifi-
scholastic universities, even if a plurality of cate in Semiotics”, which students could
sources was replacing the centrality of Aristotle. acquire only after, or in conjunction with, gradu-
Since the “great books”, which have shaped the ate study in an established discipline, be it
modern world within which the university today linguistics, anthropology, biology, English, phys-
exists, come from a variety of specialists, from ics, sociology, or whatever. His argument was
Chaucer and Shakespeare among the humanists that semiotics is not so much a discipline in its
to Newton and Einstein among the scientists, a own right as it is a field including all the disci-
great-book-based education indeed broadened plines, inasmuch as “all thought is in signs”. As a
Play and Language 1893

consequence, Sebeok considered that semiotics as References

an area of study within the academy ought not to
be treated as one more specialization but rather Deely, J. N. (2001). Four ages of understanding. The first
postmodern survey of philosophy from ancient times to
needs to be seen as that which makes specializa-
the end of the twenty-first century. Toronto: University
tion in the first place possible, because it estab- of Toronto Press.
lishes the experiential ground from which (first in Emmeche, C. (1994). The garden in the machine.
sensation and then also in conception) the whole Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Nicolescu, B. (2002). Manifesto of transdiciplinarity.
of human knowledge springs! Thus, someone on
Albany, NJ: State University of New York Press.
their way to mastering a given subject Peirce, C. S. (i.1866–1913). In C. Hartshorne, P. Weiss, &
matter – physics, chemistry, literature, and A. W. Burks (Eds.), The collected papers of Charles
sociology – would discover on turning to semiot- Sanders Peirce (Vols. I–VIII). Cambridge, MA: Har-
vard University Press, 1931–1958.
ics that their chosen specialization already
Poinsot, J. (1632). Tractatus de signis. The semiotic of
depends upon (albeit is not reducible to) the action John Poinsot. Berkeley, CA: University of California
of signs as revealing and distinguishing the very Press, 1985.
subject matter which is the object studied by the Reid, T. (1764). An inquiry into the human mind on the
principles of common sense. In S. H. William (Ed.),
specialization.
The works of Thomas Reid (pp. 93–211). Edinburgh:
Hence, students of semiotics are made to real- Maclachlan and Stewart, 1852.
ize that in seeing signs at work within a given Sebeok, T. A. (1976). Contributions to the doctrine of
academic discipline, they are seeing something signs; corrected 2nd impression. Lanham, MD: Univer-
sity Press of America, 1985.
that is true of all specialized disciplines, because
Sebeok, T. A. (1979). Semiosis in nature and culture. In
true of the whole of human knowledge, namely, The sign & its masters (pp. 3–26). Lanham, MD: Uni-
that underlying all else in awareness and in the versity Press of America, 1989.
background always is the action of signs, thanks Stjernfelt, F. (2007). Diagrammatology: An investigation
on the borderlines of phenomenology, ontology, and
to which it becomes possible to know objects in
semiotics. Dordrecht: Springer.
the first place, let alone differences between Taylor, D. (2008). Semiotics & other assorted stories.
objects which define different disciplines as Unpublished term paper for Spring ‘Philosophy of
fragmented areas of specialization. Knowledge’ class at University of St Thomas,
Houston.

Conclusion P

Semiotics is postmodern in a double sense. It Play

shows the way beyond the epistemology of
modern philosophy and, at the same time, ▶ Gadamer and the Philosophy of Education
enables us to see the unity of human under-
standing beneath and within development of
specializations essential to the establishment of
modern science. It “investigates what all the Play and Belonging
other disciplines seem to take for granted”
(Taylor 2008, p. 6). Semiotics, as knowledge ▶ Phenomenology of Inclusion, Belonging, and
that results from thematic study of sign action, Language
is not only interdisciplinary and transdisciplin-
ary (cf. Nicolescu 2002) but also predisciplinary
in providing that common ground of animal
awareness out of which humans as semiotic Play and Language
animals come to realize within the biosphere a
unique ethical responsibility that includes edu- ▶ Phenomenology of Inclusion, Belonging, and
cation in semiotics. Language
1894 Play: Aesthetics and Ambiguity of Play in Early Childhood Education

Nation’s Committee on the Rights of the Child

Play: Aesthetics and Ambiguity states that all children have the right to play.
of Play in Early Childhood Education Recently, the United Nations Committee on the
Rights of the Child (UNCRC) reminded State
Beth Ferholt1 and Monica Nilsson2 parties of this right and warned that children’s
1
Brooklyn College, City University of New York, time for play is often reduced. They write: “For
New York, NY, USA many children in both rich and poor countries,
2
Jönköping University, Jönköping, Sweden child labor, domestic work or educational increas-
ing demands serve to reduce the time available for
the enjoyment of these rights” (UNCRC’s General
Introduction Comment No. 17, 2013, emphasis added). How-
ever, these two categories of curricula remain
Play has been the central component of most uncontested by any third alternative.
curricula for young children throughout the last
century. Friedrich Froebel is considered by most
to be the father of the modern, Western preschool Aesthetics and Ambiguity of Play in
and he held play to be the child’s natural mode of Early Childhood Education
expression. The adults’ role in Froebel’s kinder-
garten was to stimulate children’s play through the Gunilla Lindqvist’s (1995) work traces this limi-
provision of specific forms of environments and tation of curricula for young children back to the
toys. This approach is in concert with contempo- dichotomy between imagination and realistic
rary Western European and American biological, thinking, and her response is her exploration of
psychoanalytic, cognitive-developmental, and the “common denominator” of play and aesthetic
cross-cultural psychological theories of play, in forms, which she calls the “aesthetics of play”
which one finds assertions that children’s play is (Lindqvist 1995). Lindqvist is one of the few
fundamentally different from adult activities and play scholars who have focused on the relation-
that adult knowledge, experience, or developmen- ship between play and art. Lindqvist’s study of the
tal stage is a teleology for children’s play. See, for aesthetics of play is based in Vygotsky’s theories
instance, the work of Groos, A. Freud, Klein, of play, imagination, and creativity (1978, 1987,
Erikson, Winnicott, and Piaget, although these 2004) and also in Vygotsky’s (1971) psychology
are just a handful of the theorists who make this of art. Vygotsky’s (1978) rebuttal to theories of
claim. play that position imagination and realistic think-
The ideal of modern Western childhood, with ing in opposition to one another was first
its emphasis on the innocence and malleability of published in 1933 and was hailed as overcoming
children (Aries 1962), has combined with various the naturalistic and psychoanalytic theories of
social conditions to promote two categories of children’s play that preceded it (Elkonin 2005).
curricula for young children in regards to play: (One can use the terms imagination and fantasy as
one in which children’s play is directed toward synonyms, but the term imagination is preferred,
adult-determined developmental goals and one in as the term fantasy has connotations of being “not
which children’s play is protected from adult inter- true” which imagination does not have.)
ference (so called “free play”). These two catego- Vygotsky (1987) highlights the importance of
ries of curricula appear to be equally powerless in understanding imagination as an aspect of the
response to the current crisis, in which “academic” process of creating and experiencing reality that
subject matter learning is becoming the focus of defines our species rather than as something
the curriculum, in place of play, in many early “other” than reality. He elaborates upon his
childhood classrooms internationally (Brooker claim that “(i)magination is an integral aspect of
and Woodhead 2013). Article 31 of the United realistic thinking” (1987, p. 349), thus:
Play: Aesthetics and Ambiguity of Play in Early Childhood Education 1895

No accurate cognition of reality is possible without that can be of value to adults and children alike.
a certain element of imagination, a certain flight This pedagogy features playworlds, which are
from the immediate, concrete, solitary impressions
in which this reality is presented in the elementary adult-child joint play activities in which children
acts of consciousness. The processes of invention or and teachers jointly create, enter, and exit fantasy
artistic creativity demand a substantial participation worlds. Children contribute their play expertise
by both realistic thinking and imagination. The two and adults contribute their experience with art
act as a unity. (1987, p. 349)
and science. A playworld often takes its starting
As Cole and Pelaprat (2011) explain, human point in a text, such as a children’s book, poem, or
conscious experience is a process that requires not story.
just our phylogenetically constrained abilities and Playworlds are created and studied in a variety
our culturally organized experience but also our of forms and for a variety of reasons, internation-
active reconciliation or “filling in,” our imagining, ally, for instance, in Japan, Finland, the United
as we try to make sense of our world. States, and Serbia, as well as in Lindqvist’s home
Vygotsky describes four basic ways that fan- country, Sweden (i.e., Marjanovic-Shane et al.
tasy is associated with reality in the creative pro- 2011). However, Lindqvists’ (1995) study of
cess: (1) Anything that one’s imagination creates playworlds led her to conclude that there are two
is always based on elements from reality – from aesthetical forms of play. One is connected to
one’s past experiences. (2) Experience is also music, poetry, and rhythmic movement. This
based in imagination, for instance, through imag- form takes its starting point in the young child’s
ining/remembering of one’s own or someone poetic and rhythmic relationship to objects and
else’s experiences, through stories or through language. The second form is connected to literary
other means. (3) Emotions that arise in reality forms and originates from the basic pattern in
affect imagination, but imagination also affects folktales. This form can be found in children’s
emotions. (4) Fantasy becomes reality when play and stories from the age of three but also in
imagination is crystallized in a material form children’s literature. The plot dominates in this
which is returned to reality as a new and active esthetical form of play. These two esthetical
force that has the potential to change reality: “(T)o forms can each constitute a basis for creating a
combine elements to produce a structure, to com- playworld, which in turn supports these two
bine the old in new way, . . . is the basis of crea- esthetical forms.
tivity” (2004, p. 12). These conclusions of Lindqvist’s (1995) P
Imagination and creativity are therefore both concerning the aesthetics of play in curricula for
necessary for thinking, human growth and devel- young children can be further developed through
opment, and the process that is the interrelation of theories of aesthetics and early childhood peda-
the two is a trait of all people, including young gogies that focus on aesthetics. Early childhood
children. This second point can be seen especially pedagogies that focus on play tend to be less
clearly in play, claims Vygotsky, as he argues that useful in developing Lindqvist’s conclusions
play is imagination embodied in the material because they remain firmly based in play theory
world. A child’s play is not a reproduction of that does not acknowledge Vygtosky’s challenge
what she has experienced nor is it unrelated to to the separation of fantasy and reality and does
these experiences. Instead a child’s play is a cre- not value play for its intrinsic qualities. As Brian
ative revision of what she has experienced. Sutton-Smith (1997) writes: “. . .extrinsic aca-
Lindqvist (1995) designed the creative peda- demic, social, moral, physical, and cognitive
gogy of play to foster and study the aesthetics of play functions, with a progress-oriented thrust,
play. Within this pedagogy children’s play is have been the major focus of most child play
understood to be an early form of the artistic and scientists . . .” (1997, p. 50). It takes an outsider
scientific endeavors of adulthood and, therefore, to the field, such as Gadamer (1960), to argue
to produce new and intrinsically valuable insights that play ontology is linked to experiencing,
1896 Play: Aesthetics and Ambiguity of Play in Early Childhood Education

understanding, and bildung and that play thus has insights from the pedagogy of listening into the
a value in itself. nature of aesthetics in relation to exploration can
Wartofsky (1976) argues that “(h)uman beings help to deepen an understanding of the aesthetics
become human in coming to know themselves as of play.
human” and that the creation and appreciation of Within the pedagogy of listening, children are
art, what he calls “the very activity or praxis of considered to be culture and knowledge creators
art,” is “humanizing praxis” because it “is a praxis rather than just reproducers of knowledge. Chil-
which comes to know itself, i.e., which takes itself dren are understood to be developing theories and
as its own object” such that “this very activity is a hypotheses about the world that should be consid-
fundamental mode of human self-knowledge” ered to be equally possible to those of adults. Key
(1976, p. 357). Wartofsky continues thus: components of this process of exploration are the
environment and materials, which are thought of
“(A)rt represents its own process of coming into
being and insofar, exemplifies and objectifies the as a “third teacher” who supports children and
distinctively human capacity of creation. It is in the teachers in formulating problems rather than
self-recognition of this creative capacity that human searching for correct answers.
beings come to know themselves as human, in the The pedagogy of listening employs a studio or
specific sense that they come to know themselves as
creators or as artists”. (1976, p. 357) atelier, which is regarded as a place of exploration,
invention, and experimentation, and an atelierista,
If one understands art in Wartofsky’s terms, an educator with an arts background. The hundred
then one can ask if the esthetics of play consist languages is a term within the pedagogy of listen-
of coming to know oneself as human. Others have ing that describes the many ways children explore,
used the work of Mikhail Bakhtin to consider play make and test hypotheses, and express themselves,
as humanizing, although this work is not based in i.e., through dance, music, gesture, the visual arts,
the study of aesthetics, such as Wartofsky’s etc. The atelier and atelierista are both resources
study of aesthetics within the field of philosophy, that exist to support processes of exploration and
but in interdisciplinary stances, such as listening through these 100 languages.
Stetsenko’s (2015) “transformative activist Central to this process of listening is documen-
stance.” Marjanovic-Shane and White write: “As tation, as exploration is not based on pre-defined
an act-deed (postupok), play is considered as a goals but is instead developed from the children’s
way of relating to others as well as a means of interests, questions, and engagement. When
co-creating and representing subjectivities” documentation is reflected upon, it becomes ped-
(2014, p. 119). Working from both Bakhtin and agogical documentation. Pedagogical documen-
Vygotsky’s positions, Stetsenko and Ho argue that tation is used to guide a project based on what
in play “children sort out the difficult challenge of teachers perceive to be children’s meaning-
becoming unique, self-determined, and free per- making processes.
sons within the communal world shared and A founding atelierista of the pedagogy of lis-
co-created with others” (2015, p. 221). tening, Vea Vecchi, writes the following of the
The pedagogical approach of the preschools of “esthetic dimension” of this pedagogy:
Reggio Emilia, Italy, known internationally as the
pedagogy of listening, focuses on aesthetics Perhaps first and foremost it is a process of empathy
understood as a process of empathy that relates relating the Self to things and things to each other. It
is like a slim thread or aspiration to quality that
the self to things and things to each other. Explo-
makes us choose one word over another, the same
ration is the central component of the pedagogy of for colour or shade, a certain piece of music, a
listening, and within this approach play is often mathematical formula or the taste of a food. It is
regarded as an expression of a traditional an attitude of care and attention for the things we do,
a desire for meaning: it is curiosity and wonder; it is
Fröbel – inspired preschool didactics that are
the opposite of indifference and carelessness, of
based on a vision of the child as “nature” conformity, of absence of participation and feeling.
(Dahlberg and Lenz Taguchi 1994). However, (2010, p. 5)
Play: Aesthetics and Ambiguity of Play in Early Childhood Education 1897

Hutt et al. characterize the difference between References

play and exploration succinctly. They write:
“Implicit in the behaviors we termed ‘exploration’ Aries, P. (1962). Centuries of childhood. New York:
Knopf.
was the query: What does this object do? whilst
Brooker, L., & Woodhead, M. (Eds.). (2013). The right to
implicit in the behaviors we termed ‘play’ was the play: Early childhood in focus #9. Milton Keynes, UK:
query: What can I do with this object?” (1989, The Open University.
p. 11). The pedagogy of listening shows explora- Cole, M., & Pelaprat, E. (2011). “Minding the Gap”: Imag-
ination, creativity and human cognition. Integrative
tion in which art is a tool in the activity of explo-
Psychological and Behavioral Science, 45(4),
ration. The creative pedagogy of play shows play 397–418.
in which art (aesthetical form) is the activity. Both Dahlberg, G., & Lenz Taguchi, H. (1994). Preschool and
of these pedagogies have been developed in great school: If two different traditions and about the vision
of a meeting place. Stockholm: HLS publishers.
part by teachers of young children, and these
Dewey, J. (1934). Art and experience. New York: Perigee
teachers continue to be engaged in problematizing Books.
the differences and similarities between play and Elkonin, B. D. (2005). The psychology of play. Journal of
exploration. Russian and East European Psychology, 43(1), 1–98.
Gadamer, H. (1960). Truth and method. New York:
If, just as science and art are two key forms of
Seabury.
adult creativity, exploration and play are two key Hutt, J., Tyler, S., Hutt, C., & Christopherson, H. (1989).
forms of early childhood creativity, it may be Play, exploration and learning. London/New York:
that art as experience (Dewey 1934) in early Routledge.
Lindqvist, G. (1995). The aesthetics of play: A didactic
childhood, which both of these pedagogies point
study of play and culture in preschools. Uppsala: Upp-
to, is the necessary area of focus in an ongoing sala University.
study of the relationship between play and aes- Marjanovic-Shane, A., & White, E. J. (2014). When the
thetics. The question of how one might best study footlights are off: A Bakhtinian interrogation of play as
postupok. International Journal of Play, 3(2), 119–135.
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Marjanovic-Shane, A., Ferholt, B., Nilsson, M., Rainio,
fruitfully addressed not only through theories pro- A. P., & Miyazaki, K. (2011). Playworlds: An art of
duced within the academy but also through development. In C. Lobman., & B. O’Neill (Eds.), Play
knowledge generated within early childhood ped- and culture. Association for the Study of Play (TASP),
Lanham, MD: University Press of America.
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shaped by a better understanding of the aesthetics realizing the future: Implications from a transformative
of play. activist stance. In Martin, J. Sugarman, & K. Slaney P
Currently, learning is emerging internationally (Eds.), The Wiley handbook of theoretical and philo-
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1898 Plurality of Tradition

Vygotsky, L. S. (2004). Imagination and creativity in child- systems in particular ways and are bound by social
hood. Journal of Russian and East European Psychol- understandings of childhood, children, and the
ogy, 42(1), 7–97.
Wartofsky, M. (1976). Models: Representation and the role of the family. Since the spread of formal
scientific understanding. Dordrecht: Springer Science early childhood education with the nineteenth-
& Business. century kindergarten movement, there have been
significant shifts in how early childhood educa-
tion and care is understood and provided through
policy interventions in many, mainly minority
Plurality of Tradition
world, countries. It is a domain, often uneasily
posited, at the intersection of multiple policy
▶ Gadamer and the Philosophy of Education
spheres, including education, welfare, and work-
force. Since the turn of the second millennium,
policy for early childhood education has been
Policy subject to considerable scrutiny internationally
through the international flow of research and
▶ Digital Learning, Discourse, and Ideology the influence of world policy institutions (e.g.,
▶ Edusemiotics To Date, An Introduction of the OECD and World Bank). This scrutiny has
▶ Mathematics Education as a Matter of Policy been driven by multiple factors including the chal-
▶ Semiosis as Relational Becoming lenges of disadvantage and inequality, changes in
demography, changes in how the institutions of
early childhood education are constituted and
understood, and considerations of the enactment
Policy Imperative in Early Childhood
of children’s rights.
Education and Care

Frances Press
Policy and Policy Imperatives
Charles Sturt University, Bathurst, Australia
Policy is designed to steer practices toward
desired futures. Formal policy documents articu-
Explanatory Notes
late objectives and frequently seek to mandate or
Significant variations across national contexts in
guide how these objectives are to be achieved.
key terminology for this entry necessitate the
Importantly, policy encompasses more than text
inclusion of explanatory notes. The age range for
and is manifest through how texts are translated
early childhood is from birth to 8 years. The term
into practice, as well as choices and silences about
early childhood education and care is used to
preferred courses of action (Press and Mitchell
refer to formal education and care services pro-
2013). The term “policy imperative” is used to
vided for young children in the years before com-
describe and capture the stated objectives driving
pulsory schooling and in the early years of school.
policy choices, the framing of the problem to be
These services may or may not be part of State
addressed through policy, and the underlying (and
education systems. This definition encompasses
often unarticulated) beliefs and values underpin-
the range of prior to school education and care
ning policy.
services available to children including preschool,
Early childhood education and care systems
kindergarten, nursery school, and child care.
vary significantly across national contexts in
their purpose as well as in how they are organized.
Introduction These variations have been explained in various
ways. In an examination of the marked differences
Policy imperatives frame and shape the imple- in policy approaches to child care in France and
mentation of early childhood education and care the United States, White (2009) argues that the
Policy Imperative in Early Childhood Education and Care 1899

ideas underpinning policy choices, specifically The Family or the State: Where Does
the interaction of “norms, frames, and program- Responsibility for Children’s Early
matic ideas” are key to explaining how different Education Rest?
systems emerge. Thus policy solutions are shaped
when policy actors put forward the “right” pro- Children’s right to education is enshrined in Arti-
grammatic ideas using the “right” policy frames cle 28 of the United Nations Convention of the
that resonate with extant norms to convince policy Rights of the Child. This article states that, in
decision-makers. Rigby et al. (2007) argue that particular, primary education should be “compul-
policy design choice, for instance, government sory and available free to all.” Although a number
investment in public child care or reliance upon of global policy institutions, such as the Organi-
the market, shapes not only what the system looks sation for Economic Cooperation and Develop-
like but also how the policy problem is under- ment (OECD) and the World Education Forum
stood. Most policy scholars agree that policy (WEF), promote universal access to early child-
regimes leave institutional legacies that are highly hood education (OECD 2001, 2006, 2012, WEF
influential in determining the general direction of 2015), this exhortation does not enjoy the same
future policy. degree of unanimity as children’s access to school
Policy imperatives provide another way of education. In part this is because the desirability of
understanding variations in the nature of early early childhood education and care for infants and
childhood education and care systems and enable very young children is strongly contested. Such
an understanding of these variations within, as contestation arises from competing discourses of
well as across national contexts. Attention to the motherhood, conflicting understandings of the
policy imperatives at play is particularly useful for conditions considered necessary to children’s
understanding early childhood education and care healthy development, concerns regarding young
systems because this sector sits at the intersection children’s vulnerability, and competing views
of multiple policy domains in a way that is distinct about the nature and extent of State intervention
from that of education systems for older children in care and education. In an essay canvassing
and adults. Western philosophical constructions of childhood
Following the emergence of formal early in early childhood education, Davis (2010, p. 289)
childhood education with the nineteenth- writes that the education of very young
century kindergarten movement, policy for children “(m)ore than any other stage in child P
early childhood education has been shaped by development. . .foregrounds the relations of pri-
objectives related to welfare, women’s equality, vate to public, family to community, maternal
educational achievement, and the workforce sustenance to civic welfare.”
needs of the economy. It has also had to nego- At the end of the nineteenth century, many
tiate competing views about the role of the kindergarten advocates emphasized the responsi-
family and the State in relation to responsibili- bility of mothers for children under 2 or 3 years of
ties for the development and well-being of age by refusing the youngest children access to
young children. More recently, the ratification kindergartens. This position was reinforced later
of the United Nations Convention on the Rights in the twentieth century by Bowlby’s maternal
of the Child (UNCRC) in 1989 has lent momen- deprivation theory that emphasized exclusive
tum to advocacy for early childhood education maternal care for the first 3 years of life. Thus,
and care policy to be based on a commitment to for much of the previous century, the assumed
children’s rights. Each broad policy domain family norm informing early childhood education
shapes early childhood education and care sys- and care policy was of one parent in the workforce
tems in distinct, and at times, competing ways. (usually the father) and one parent at home
How (and whether) children’s rights and inter- (usually the mother) responsible for children and
ests are conceptualized and enacted within each the domestic sphere. As a result, early childhood
policy framing is contested. education and care in many minority world
1900 Policy Imperative in Early Childhood Education and Care

nations focused on older children in the years rely upon their husbands for support. These were
before school and paid scant attention to younger interventions targeted to specific groups of chil-
children and infants, except in cases where the dren deemed to have particular needs because of
family was deemed unable to provide appropriate the failure of the family or the State to provide
levels of care. In addition, although some govern- adequately for their healthy development. Nurs-
ments’ policies strove for universal access to early ery care in particular was often described in terms
childhood education for older children, the poli- of being an unfortunate necessity.
cies of other governments sought only to provide In more recent decades, a number of highly
access as a compensatory measure for children influential longitudinal studies (e.g., the Effective
facing risks to their development. Provision of Preschool Education study 2004)
have affirmed the positive impact of high-quality
early childhood education and care for children
Feminism and Women’s Participation who face risks to their healthy development
in Paid Labor and/or who are at risk of school failure. In his
review of longitudinal studies, Nobel Prize-
In the latter third of the twentieth century, femi- winning economist James Heckman (2006) con-
nism has been instrumental in driving significant cluded that early childhood education and care
shifts in early childhood policy, particularly in was the most cost-effective intervention for chil-
relation to the expansion of childcare provision. dren facing disadvantage.
The availability of child care enables mothers with Another version of early childhood education
young children to engage in paid labor and to and care as a policy response to welfare emanates
participate in the public sphere. It thus becomes from changes to family formation, in particular,
a strategy to support women’s equality. increasing numbers of single-parent households
As women’s participation in paid labor has (predominantly female headed). Child care
become a norm in many nations, economies enables women to maintain employment, post-
have become reliant on women’s contribution. childbirth and regardless of family composition,
Hence government policies to support child care and thus reduces the likelihood of children being
are often now framed as key labor force strategies. raised in poverty. Hence, acting as a buffer against
poverty, child care mitigates the risks to children’s
development that poverty may pose.
Welfare

Early childhood education and care policy objec- Rights and Citizenship
tives concerned with welfare are usually concerned
with outcomes related to children. In more recent The widespread ratification of the United Nations
years, however, such policy has also sought to Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)
achieve welfare objectives concerned with parents. at the turn of the 1990s has generated increasing
The kindergarten movement evident in many attention to the rights of young children. Rights
minority world nations at the end of the nineteenth considerations not only concern the entitlement
century was associated with philanthropic inter- rights of children to particular services such as
ventions on behalf of children living in poverty education, they also focus upon how rights
and children who were often poorly nourished and might be manifest within services.
living in cramped and unsanitary conditions. Sim- Article 3 of the Convention states that the best
ilarly, in the first few decades of the twentieth interests of the child should be a primary consid-
century, the nursery movement emerged to pro- eration in all actions concerning children. Thus,
vide for the babies and very young children of attention to the daily experiences of children
mothers who worked from necessity, because they within services (rather than anticipated outcomes
were widowed, deserted, or otherwise unable to from attendance) and how children’s citizenship is
Policy Imperative in Early Childhood Education and Care 1901

played out within early childhood education is When the primary policy imperative for the
also an important objective. provision of early childhood education and care
is to enable women’s paid employment, it is posi-
tioned as an adjunct to workforce participation
The Impacts of Policy Imperatives (either as an emancipatory measure or as an eco-
nomic measure). In this case, the policy tendency
Because early childhood education and care inter- is to prioritize outcomes of childcare accessibility
sects diverse policy domains (e.g., education, and affordability. That is, policy focuses on
women’s equality, welfare, and labor), the policy supply – ensuring that there are sufficient numbers
imperative becomes critically important. Each of child care places to meet demand and
policy imperative comes with a tendency to priv- containing the cost to families. Child care is
ilege particular aspects of early childhood educa- often made available for children from a
tion and care. Thus the imperative is highly young age.
influential in determining which children and When the primary policy imperative for the
families have access to early childhood education provision of early childhood education and care
and care services, what the service system looks is related to welfare objectives, the policy ten-
like, as well as the content and the nature of dency is to target the provision of services to
children’s experiences within such settings. Addi- particular individuals, groups, or localities. Eligi-
tionally, the multiple and sometimes competing bility for government-supported provision is
imperatives at play can result in policy incoher- determined typically through the application of
ence within nation states as well as helping to assessment criteria and might include economic
explain differences across nation states (Fig. 1). or social indices, or health, ability, or welfare
The following section canvasses the tendencies assessments.
toward particular policy outcomes associated with When the primary policy imperative for the
each policy imperative. This is followed by a short provision of early childhood education and care
discussion of the policy problem this poses for the is related to educational outcomes, provision
development of early childhood education and may be universal or targeted. In universal sys-
care systems. tems, provision is often (though not always) lim-
ited to 1 or 2 years before school entry. As
educational discourses strengthen in early child- P
hood education and care, early childhood policy
Children's analysts point to the risk of the “schoolification”
early
education of curriculum in early childhood education and
care. That is, creating early childhood curricula
that more closely resemble those of schools and
Labour force
Welfare the loss of play-based pedagogies that have tra-
interventon
Early ditionally distinguished curriculum for very
childhood young children.
education
and care When the primary policy imperative for the
provision of early childhood education and care is
within a discourse of children’s rights and citizen-
Women's Citizenship
ship, the policy tendency is to attend to the experi-
equality entitlement ences of children within such programs and to
nurture children’s values and dispositions for dem-
ocratic life. So, for instance, the OECD report
Starting Strong II recommends that early child-
Policy Imperative in Early Childhood Education
and Care, Fig. 1 Policy domains intersecting early child- hood education and care systems “support broad
hood education and care learning, participation and democracy” (p. 218)
1902 Policy Scholarship

and safeguard communal, interactive, experiential, provision of services – interact with the various
and social contexts for children’s early learning. policy imperatives at play in early childhood edu-
cation and care, to shape early childhood educa-
tion and care in particular ways.
The Policy Problem Policy Imperatives
Pose
References
Policy interest in children’s early care and educa-
tion is exemplified by the OECD’s production of Davis, R. (2010). Government interventions in child
four Starting Strong reports – international policy rearing: Governing infancy. Educational Theory,
reviews of early childhood education and care 60(3), 285–298.
(2001, 2006, 2012, 2015) in addition to the Babies Heckman, J. (2006). Investing in disadvantaged young
children is an economically efficient policy. Retrieved
and Bosses (2007) report which canvassed issues from http://jenni.uchicago.edu/Australia/invest-
of childcare provision as part of reviewing work disadv_2005-12-22_247pm_awb.pdf
and family policies. Starting Strong I adopted the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
term “early childhood education and care” to (OECD). (2001). Starting strong I: Early childhood
education and care. Paris: OECD.
denote the inseparability of children’s care and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
education. The need to adopt such a term in itself (OECD). (2006). Starting strong II: Early childhood
is indicative of the policy problem posed by the education and care. Paris: OECD.
impact of diverse policy imperatives. Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD). (2012). Starting strong III: Early childhood
In many nations, policy for children’s early education and care. Paris: OECD.
education and care has been developed in a piece- Press, F., & Mitchell, L. (2013). National policies in a
meal manner as different policy imperatives give globalised world. International Journal of Early Child-
rise to different responses. Significantly, policy hood, 45, 155–166.
Rigby, E., Tarrant, K., & Neuman, M. (2007). Alternative
rationales for the provision of early childhood edu- policy designs and the socio-political construction of
cation and care may be driven by objectives childcare. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood,
unrelated to children, such as supporting parents’ 8(2), 98–108.
(read “mothers”) participation in the paid work- Sylva, K., Melhuish, E., Sammons, P., Siraj-Blatchford, I.,
& Taggart, B. (2004). The effective provision of pre-
force. Even in cases where such rationales are school education project: Findings from preschool to
primarily focused on children, there are tensions end of key stage 1. Retrieved from https://www.ioe.ac.
between whether the resulting service system is uk/RB_Final_Report_3-7.pdf
primarily a welfare intervention, an educational United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
(1989)
intervention linked, for instance, to ideas of school White, L. (2009). Explaining differences in child care
readiness or an environment constructed around policy development in France and the USA: Norms,
conceptions of children’s democratic practice and frames, programmatic ideas. International Political
citizenship. Many other implications arise from the Science Review, 30(4), 385–405.
World Education Forum. (2015). Incheon declaration.
various policy imperatives at work in relation to Education 2030: Toward inclusive and equitable qual-
early childhood education and care, including who ity education and lifelong learning for all. Retrieved
should work in such services, how services are to from http://www.waam2015.org/sites/default/files/
be provided, from what age children have access, incheon_declaration_en.pdf
and the nature of early childhood curricula.
Nations’ extant norms – including conceptual-
izations of children and childhood, the positioning
of the family and the State, the perceived role of Policy Scholarship
women and mothers in particular, and the empha-
ses placed on governments and markets in the ▶ Social Imaginaries: An Overview
Political Aspects of Assessment 1903

“knowledge is power” and control of access to

Political Aspects of Assessment knowledge is a powerful tool for the control of
populations. However, this insight can also be
Harry Torrance used to drive the curriculum and schooling in
Manchester Metropolitan University, particular directions. Thus Resnick and Resnick
Manchester, UK (1992) take the same broad insight and, in a sense,
turn it on its head – if assessment is going to
How a society selects, classifies, distributes, trans- influence the curriculum and educational experi-
mits and evaluates the educational knowledge it ences so profoundly, then let’s use it positively, to
considers to be public, reflects both the distribution
best effect, and not simply accept the taken-for-
of power and the principles of social control
(Bernstein 1971, p. 47); granted values of the powerful. Build better
You get what you assess; you don’t get what you assessments, and you will lead education in the
don’t assess; you should build assessment towards direction you want it to develop. Either way, the
what you want. . .to teach. . . (Resnick and Resnick
political implications of assessment are
1992, p. 59).
significant – influencing what is taught, how it is
Introduction taught, by whom, and to whom.
Perhaps because so much development and
The above quotations demonstrate that politics, analysis is undertaken in the relatively closed
and political choices, infuse and permeate every worlds of psychometric research and test agen-
aspect of assessment design and use. Everything cies, assessment is often thought of as a largely
that a society values cannot be taught in school, technical aspect of educational systems. Assess-
choices about curriculum content and teaching ment is designed and used to measure the capa-
methods have to be made. In turn, everything bilities and achievements of students and report
that is taught cannot be assessed; again, choices on these to the students themselves, teachers, par-
have to be made, samples have to be constructed ents, employers, university admissions officers,
(via test items of various kinds). Thus what is and other users of test and examinations results.
assessed represents, and in practice comes to be Here the argument is that assessment simply
regarded, as the most important elements of edu- reflects what is taught and learned, it does not
cational experience and curriculum content. This determine it. That examination results may carry
is sometimes known as the “backwash” effect, very significant consequences for students is not P
whereby what is assessed narrows and drives the often regarded as a political issue per se, though
curriculum in particular directions. However, the uneven distribution of results across cohorts
Bernstein’s argument goes beyond this. It is not and social groups (for example, by social class,
that assessment inadvertently impacts on the cur- gender, and race) may raise political concerns
riculum and students’ educational experiences, about economic efficiency and social mobility.
but rather the selections that are made about Rather, assessment is seen as a politically neutral
what to assess very specifically reflect what the way of measuring achievement and distributing
most powerful in society value – and it is those social and economic life chances – distributing
values which influence and pervade the school life chances on academic merit.
curriculum. In advanced economies, this is aca- More recently, test results have begun to be
demic knowledge and, to a lesser extent, specific used to evaluate schools, teachers, and even
skills and capabilities. This insight can be used to whole school systems through national and inter-
analyze the political implications of assessment national testing regimes such as National Curric-
(“evaluation” in Bernstein’s terms) in relation to ulum Assessment (NCA) in England, No Child
social control – who gets to learn what and with Left Behind (NCLB) in the USA, National
what consequences. As the old aphorism has it, Assessment Plan Literacy And Numeracy
1904 Political Aspects of Assessment

(NAPLAN) in Australia, the National Certificate equally well be argued that comparatively unsuc-
of Educational Achievement (NCEA) in New cessful schools, working in difficult circum-
Zealand, and international comparative test orga- stances, require more resource rather than less.
nizations such as the Programme for International Historically, perhaps for a period of a hundred
Student Assessment (PISA, run by the Organisa- years or more from the 1860s to the 1960s, assess-
tion for Economic Cooperation and Development, ment was used to categorize, select, and certificate
OECD). Even here however, with tests carrying minorities of students: to identify and direct small
potentially severe consequences for schools and numbers of the supposedly “feeble minded” to
teachers, the tests themselves are largely regarded special institutional provision and to select small
as technical and neutral mechanisms for identify- numbers of students for elite education and sub-
ing the outcomes of education. Test results may sequently to certificate their academic achieve-
feed into political decision-making, but tests and ments. Education was a scarce good, access to
testing are not thought of as political in and of educational opportunities were limited, and edu-
themselves; rather it is argued that they provide cational assessment was largely concerned with
information for decision-making (OECD 2013). It selecting individuals for those limited opportuni-
can also be argued that test results focus attention ties: for access to an elite secondary education and
on the outcomes of education, on the quality of access to university. In turn, grades and certifi-
what is produced, rather than the inputs, with this cates were awarded to individuals at the end of
being especially important in developing coun- particular courses of study, as they progressed
tries (Pritchett et al. 2013). But taking a small through the education system. So the focus of
number of outcomes measures (usually tests in assessment was on identifying individual achieve-
language, maths, and possibly science) as indica- ment and particularly on selecting and certificat-
tive of the quality of an education system as a ing individuals. In so doing, this process
whole risks the corruption of the indicator as functioned to identify and legitimate on grounds
schools and teachers focus on teaching to the test of educational merit, the identification of the next
(“you get what you assess”). Thus as test scores go cohort of suitably qualified and socialized person-
up, educational quality may not necessarily be nel for economic and social leadership roles in
improved; it may even go down, as teaching to society. Selection and certification was done by
the test narrows the curriculum and the educa- relatively small elite groups, of relatively small
tional experience of students, even very success- elite groups, for relatively small elite groups and
ful students (and perhaps especially the very was underpinned by reference to the idea that
successful students). There is extensive evidence innate intellectual ability was distributed along a
of this happening in the USA and UK (Torrance normal distribution curve within a population
2011). It is a trade-off that may be worth accepting (Sutherland 1984). Thus assessment developed
in the short term in developing countries where as a political technology of exclusion, with school
the baseline quality of educational provision is leaving examinations in particular, constituting a
still low, but not in advanced economies where key mediation point in the articulation of school-
schools must produce much more than a limited ing with the economy. The selection, tracking and
range of test scores. Furthermore, the distribution progression of students through the education
of life chances to individuals and the distributing system, and the certification of their achieve-
or withholding of resources to and from particular ments, or lack of them, have functioned very
schools and teachers are inherently political activ- directly to prepare, filter, and allocate groups of
ities. For example, national testing and interna- students into vocational and academic tracks and
tional comparisons routinely now involve to identify particular individuals for specific roles
redirecting public funding to successful schools and employment opportunities.
and withdrawing it from unsuccessful schools More recently, the focus and purpose of assess-
through restructuring plans and even closure of ment has changed. The intellectual field and policy
so-called failing schools. However, it could context now assumes that all, or at least the
Political Aspects of Assessment 1905

overwhelming majority, of the population can and very much down to the efforts of the individual
should be educated to the highest level possible. student, teacher, and indeed parent (via their sup-
The focus is now on education for all and the port for their children’s learning), rather than locat-
development of a fit-for-purpose assessment sys- ing success and failure at the level of institutional
tem as a system, i.e., as part of an integrated processes and selection procedures, as was the case
approach to national human resource development. previously (Torrance 2011, 2015).
The imperative now is to treat education as an So, assessment intersects with every aspect of
economic investment, both on the part of the indi- an educational system and indeed of a social sys-
vidual student and on the part of government. How tem more generally: at the level of the individual
and why these changes have occurred could be the student and teacher and their various experiences
subject of a much longer chapter. Suffice to say that (positive or negative) of the assessment process, at
we now live in a world of intense global economic the level of the school or similar educational insti-
competition and mass movements of capital and tution and how it is organized and held to account,
labor. Unskilled mass production and employment and at the level of the educational and social
opportunities have virtually vanished from devel- system with respect to what knowledge is
oped economies, and the emphasis now is on edu- endorsed and which people are legitimately
cation for the so-called knowledge economy and as accredited for future economic and social leader-
a form of investment in human capital. Govern- ship. Assessment controls the curriculum and, in
ments now need to develop assessment mecha- turn, the work of teachers, and the educational
nisms which harvest and utilize the capabilities of experiences of students more generally; it allo-
the majority of their populations, rather than dis- cates life chances and opportunities (or the lack
pense with them, and thus assessment is now devel- of them) to individuals and in turn legitimates the
oping as a technology of inclusion. It is expected to idea of social and economic stratification on
accurately identify and report the individual educa- grounds of measured achievement and academic
tional achievement of the vast majority of the stu- merit, and it renders diverse school systems com-
dent population; in turn, such measures are also mensurate and comparable with each other via
expected to accurately evaluate the effectiveness international test programs (Lingard et al. 2013).
of individual schools (and sometimes teachers), It might be argued that we need some mecha-
while parallel international measures compare, con- nism to identify achievement, to mediate social
trast, and evaluate the quality and effectiveness of and economic competition for scarce opportuni- P
whole national systems of education. ties such as senior technical, administrative, and
Furthermore, the field of assessment studies has managerial positions, and indeed to allocate such
itself expanded and become much more sophisti- opportunities to those best equipped to succeed
cated, exploring the relationships between assess- and thereby benefit society as well as the individ-
ment, teaching, and learning. Assessment is now uals themselves. But much empirical evidence
expected to support and underpin the process of and theoretical analysis suggests that assessment
learning, not just measure the outcomes of learning. processes and outcomes reproduce social and eco-
So, again, the expectations for the field are vastly nomic inequalities by reflecting the culture and
more ambitious than was once the case and the values of the already successful, rather than iden-
political implications are multiplied as assessment tifying capability and achievement irrespective of
comes to pervade every aspect of the teaching- social background (Bourdieu and Passeron 1977;
learning process via formative approaches to Cassen and Kingdon 2007). This is also the impli-
assessment and not just through a generalized con- cation of Bernstein’s argument concerning the
trol of the curriculum. While the development of a distribution of power – already powerful social
more inclusive system may appear to be a more groups control the content and procedures by
benign use of assessment, it remains a political use which “merit” is defined. Not surprisingly it
and, moreover, such inclusion attributes success reflects their own accomplishments and behav-
and failure, and devolves responsibility for them, iors. More recently, it has been suggested that
1906 Political Aspects of Assessment

the development of new technologies and global- merit while masking the role that power and culture
ized competition is rendering even the traditional play in reproducing social and economic inequal-
success of the “educated middle classes” vulnera- ity? Do international testing programs such as
ble to obsolescence as many middle management PISA merely provide useful comparative evidence
and administrative tasks become ensconced in for national educational decision-making or do
computer programs rather than the roles of they deflect attention from the political nature of
employed individuals (Lauder et al. 2012). How- the interventions planned and the resource alloca-
ever, while such developments may threaten tra- tion choices that are then made, with assessment
ditional definitions of social and economic effectively substituting for policy and creating the
success, they do not challenge the political role policy problem it purports to address? Moreover,
of assessment. Quite the reverse, they will inten- do international testing programs render national
sify the political role of assessment in further systems commensurate, comparable, and hence
rendering individuals responsible for determining open to private commercial exploitation as it
their own futures (Torrance 2015). becomes easier and more profitable to sell the
Having said this however, it is also important same test and textbook to 15 or 20 countries rather
to recognize that assessment is engaged in volun- than just into one national system?
tarily and is not simply imposed on students and How we answer these questions will determine
teachers in some arbitrary or conspiratorial fash- our position on the political aspects of assessment.
ion, though some specific versions of assessment Our answers will reflect, at least in part, our posi-
are indeed imposed on school systems by govern- tion within an education system, within the pol-
ment. Assessment in general is a ubiquitous fea- icy/practice nexus, and effectively turn around
ture of modern education systems precisely whether or not we can envisage more valid and
because different educational actors have an inter- equitable approaches to assessment, certification,
est in developing and working with assessment. and selection being developed. There is no short-
Examiners and test developers produce assess- age of advocates for other approaches to
ments to sell into an educational market (and an assessment – approaches which would involve a
increasingly international and globalized market far greater range of educational outcomes being
at that, selling tests is a multimillion dollar indus- pursued, including the development of practical
try); teachers use assessment for purposes of moti- skills and abilities and the application rather than
vating and controlling students in the classroom; just the recall of knowledge. These could be pur-
and students submit to assessment because of the sued by developing more practical assessments of
potential social and economic benefits that suc- “authentic” tasks undertaken in situ and reported
cess can bring. Here we see both the political through various forms of “profiles” or “records of
economy and the micropolitics of tests and testing achievement” compiled over time by students
at work – with test agency profits and people’s themselves (Torrance 1995). Reviewing such
individual careers and career opportunities being approaches is beyond the remit of this entry,
very specifically promoted or inhibited by partic- except to say that developing such approaches
ular approaches to and uses of assessment. would still reflect the political aspects of assess-
So, the political aspects of assessment turn on ment, but involve different political choices being
our interpretation of some key questions and made and different political and economic goals
revolve around the role they play in controlling being pursued.
the overall trajectory and productivity of education
systems. Does assessment merely measure what
has been learned, or control what is to be learned,
References
and how it is to be taught? Does assessment merely
manage entry to the labor market and select and Bernstein, B. (1971). On the classification and framing of
certificate the best equipped for the job or does it educational knowledge. In M. Young (Ed.), Knowledge
legitimate such selection by reference to academic and control. London: Collier-MacMillan.
Political Economy of Charter Schools 1907

Bourdieu, P., & Passeron, J. C. (1977). Reproduction in school debate, it is helpful to view charter schools
education, society and culture. London: Sage. from the perspective of political economy. Per-
Cassen, R., & Kingdon, G. (2007). Tackling low educational
achievement. York, UK: Joseph Rowntree Foundation. haps the main reason there are so many misunder-
Lauder, H., Brown, P., & Tholen, G. (2012). The global standings surrounding charter schools is because
auction model, skill bias theory and graduate incomes. there is no reliance on political economy to make
In H. Lauder, M. Young, H. Daniels, M. Balarin, & sense of them. The fact that we live in a culture
J. Lowe (Eds.), Educating for the knowledge economy?
Critical perspectives. London: Routledge. that is anti-inquiry, anti-discussion, and averse to
Lingard, B., Martino, W., & Rezai-Rashti, G. (2013). Test- scientific renderings of phenomena contributes to
ing regimes, accountabilities and education policy: this state of affairs. The dominant forces in soci-
Commensurate global and national developments. ety, such as Wall Street, big business, and their
Journal of Education Policy, 28(5), 539–556.
OECD. (2013). Synergies for better learning: An interna- political and media representatives, have a direct
tional perspective on evaluation and assessment. Paris: interest in promoting mystification and incoher-
OECD. ence about many critical issues. This keeps people
Pritchett, L., Banerji, R., & Kenny, C. (Eds.) (2013). disoriented and vulnerable to ideas and agendas
Schooling is not education: Using assessment to
change the politics of non-learning. Center for Global that are not in their interest. Today, nearly every
Development. Washington DC. Retrieved from www. issue is spun to the point that no one knows what
cgdev.org. to believe any more. Maximum confusion is wide-
Resnick, L., & Resnick, D. (1992). Assessing the thinking spread. This incoherence and disinformation
curriculum. In B. Gifford & M. O’Connor (Eds.),
Future assessments: Changing views of aptitude, invariably harms the public interest and blocks
achievement and instruction. Boston, MA: Kluwer. the path of progress; it does not serve the majority.
Sutherland, G. (1984). Ability, merit and measurement. Political economy provides us with rigorous
Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press. conceptual tools which empower us to place any
Torrance, H. (1995) (Ed.). Evaluating authentic assess-
ment. Maidenhead, UK: Open University Press. phenomenon, including charter schools, on a
Torrance, H. (2011). Using assessment to drive the reform sound objective analytical footing. From the per-
of schooling: Time to stop pursuing the chimera? Brit- spective of political economy, questions such as
ish Journal of Educational Studies, 59(4), 459–485. “are there any good charter schools?” or “how can
Torrance, H. (2015). Blaming the victim: Assessment,
examinations and the responsibilisation of students we improve charter schools?” are superfluous. If
and teachers in neo-liberal governance. Discourse: anything, such questions are a frank admission
Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education. Online that there are many lousy charter schools out
first: doi: 10.1080/01596306.2015.1104854. there but somehow the concept and practice of P
charter schools is acceptable. Statements such as
“charter schools are so diverse that it is undesir-
Political Economy of Charter Schools able to make generalizations about them” or
“charter schools had noble, progressive, grass-
Shawgi Tell roots origins” are also erroneous or misplaced.
Nazareth College of Rochester, Rochester, Such questions and statements miss the mark alto-
NY, USA gether and expose the absence of a rigorous
approach based on political economy.
From the standpoint of political economy, the
Synonyms main question is: what is the relationship between
charter schools and the laws governing the pro-
Neoliberalism; Profit; Rights; School choice duction and exchange of the material means of
life? That is, to understand the nature of charter
schools, when they emerged, why they emerged at
Introduction a specific time, and who they really serve, we
must examine the way production and exchange
In order to understand charter schools and to avoid of the means to reproduce existence takes place in
many of the confusions inherent in the charter a particular society at a particular time. Without
1908 Political Economy of Charter Schools

rooting phenomena in the material production to generation, “Political economy is therefore

of life, we risk taking an ahistorical and essentially a historical science” (p. 104). No
decontextualized approach to phenomena. mode of production lasts forever. Everything con-
To this end, this entry defines political econ- tains its own negation and is in a constant process
omy and describes the political economy of char- of becoming (Malott and Ford 2015).
ter schools. Special attention is paid to the law of Under capitalism, the highest development of
the falling rate of profit and neoliberalism as they commodity production, products are produced
relate to charter schools. This entry also outlines mainly for exchange and profit, not for meeting
an alternative to charter schools and existing pro- social needs. If something is not profitable, it will
duction and exchange relations. Such an alterna- not be produced, regardless of whether society
tive is a human-centered society that provides needs it or not. A commodity is anything that
human rights, including the right to education, can be bought and sold. Under advanced commod-
with a guarantee; it is the negation of the present ity production, society coordinates products and
state of affairs. Rights belong to humans by virtue exchange through the market, through the
of their being and for no other reason whatsoever; so-called invisible hand, what Marx called the
they cannot be given or taken away and must be law of value, which is why chaos, anarchy, and
guaranteed from birth to death. violence are ever present. Slumps and crises are
endemic to such an unplanned economic system
because conscious human organization of the
Political Economy economy is continually negated by the old capital-
ist relations and ideas. Production and consump-
Engels (1877) states that “Political economy, in tion cannot be harmonized when the socialized
the widest sense, is the science of the laws economy is separated into privately owned
governing the production and exchange of the competing parts. The result is perpetual crisis.
material means of subsistence in human society” Every commodity has a use value and exchange
(p. 104). Political economy examines how humans value, which means that every commodity is
produce and exchange what they need to live, simultaneously an object of utility and a bearer
including the relations they enter into with each of value. The substance of this exchange value,
other in the course of this production and abstract human labor, was discovered by Marx.
exchange. This production and exchange of prod- Undifferentiated human labor, labor stripped of its
ucts is the basis of every society because there can particular useful form (e.g., weaving, baking,
be no life, history, or development without the plowing), forms the essential content of value.
production of the means of existence. Engels “[A] commodity,” writes Carchedi (2011), “con-
goes on to clarify that while production and tains value, crystallised human labour in the
exchange “constantly determine and influence abstract” (p. 5). In this view, all labor can be
each other,” they are different functions because reduced to the expenditure of human brains, mus-
“Production may occur without exchange, but cles, nerves, and limbs. No matter what it is, noth-
exchange – being necessarily an exchange of ing can be produced without human energy. This
products – cannot occur without production” capacity, as opposed to the useful forms it takes,
(p. 104). Not all societies have produced products imparts to products their value. Unlike use value,
for the purpose of exchange because not all soci- which is tangible and readily perceived, value is
eties have had a well-developed social division of not something one can touch or readily observe. It
labor and a system of private ownership. Such can be grasped only through the power of abstrac-
societies are a very recent phenomenon, histori- tion. More than anything else, value represents the
cally speaking, and emerge and grow in relation to way production and exchange are organized in a
the development of the forces of production. Fur- particular society; it is fundamentally a social rela-
thermore, because production and exchange often tion. Or, as Carchedi (2011) puts it, “Value cannot
vary from country to country and from generation be observed, only labour can” (p. 8).
Political Economy of Charter Schools 1909

Under capitalism, workers do not own the intends is irrelevant; the logic of capital is deci-
means of production; they lack the wherewithal sive. You live and die by the market whether you
to provide for their own existence and livelihood, like it or not (of course, if you are too big to fail,
which means that they must sell their ability to then you are too big to jail, and you will get an
work to the capitalist, who legally owns the means enormous financial handout from the govern-
of production. Capital (dead labor) expands only ment). New technologies, machinery, and tech-
by exploiting workers (living labor), which is why niques must be introduced on a continual basis
workers and capitalists have opposing interests. In in order to stay ahead. The alternative is to fall by
this setup, workers, who are the source of all the wayside.
value, are alienated from both the production pro- However, this drive to outcompete others and
cess and the products of their labor; they have no seize more surplus value invariably causes the rate
control over the world they themselves create. of profit to decline in the long run. In The histor-
From a capital-centered perspective, workers are ical transience of capital, Maito (2014) shows
a derogatory cost of production, a burden, and a that since the mid-to-late 1800s, despite periods
liability. This view conceals the fact that it is of boom and bust, the rate of profit has steadily
owners of capital who are unproductive, superflu- declined in 14 major countries (including
ous, and a drain on the economy and society. It is Germany, the USA, Japan, the United Kingdom,
actually the capitalist who is a liability and has no and China). The data reveal a long-term tendency
right to be (Malott and Ford 2015). to economic breakdown, showing that
The magnitude of value is determined by the capitalism is not capable of infinite development.
average work time required to produce something Uninterrupted extended reproduction is impossi-
useful. It does not matter what is being produced, ble under advanced commodity production and
whether it is bread, cars, or houses – all are the private ownership of the means of production.
products of the same common social substance: For more than a century, the torturous business
human labor power. While the use value of a cycle has ruined the lives of millions at home and
commodity stems from the specific type of work abroad. Naturally, official political economy
one is engaged in (e.g., baking bread, manufactur- claims that anarchy and crisis are natural and
ing cars, building houses), its value (or exchange inevitable and that there is no alternative to this
value) stems from the average labor time it takes destructive state of affairs.
to produce it. Thus, something that takes on aver- Roberts (2009) explains that “when the organic P
age 10 h to produce possesses more value than composition of capital rises (i.e., the amount of
something that takes on average 7 h to produce. capital invested in plant, machinery and equip-
As productivity increases, the value of a commod- ment relative to wages and benefits to the work-
ity falls because it can be produced faster. force), then the rate of profit for the capitalists will
eventually fall” (p. 55). As more is invested in
machinery and technology (constant capital), and
Law of the Falling Rate of Profit less on wages and salaries (variable capital), the
more the rate of profit declines. Machinery cannot
Building on the work of his predecessors, Marx add value to products, it simply transfers value.
showed that under capitalism, competition and the Labor is the only source of profit. Only labor can
real threat of extinction pressure major owners of add value to products. Surplus value has no other
capital to constantly improve the forces of pro- source. And since profit equals unpaid labor, the
duction and productivity so as to stay ahead of aim of the capitalist is to convert paid labor into
others and maximize profits. Regardless of their unpaid labor. Accordingly, if variable capital (i.e.,
personal values and intentions, any capitalist who living labor, the only source of value) is continu-
becomes complacent about these inescapable ally diminished while constant capital is continu-
pressures quickly finds themselves out of the ally increased, then the rate of profit (which differs
game. This is why what a capitalist believes or from the mass of profit) is bound to decline.
1910 Political Economy of Charter Schools

While capitalists use many destructive ways to free market in a new form. Neoliberalism is cap-
counter this inevitable decline in the rate of return italism under new and different conditions, con-
on investments (e.g., intensifying worker exploi- ditions which differ markedly from previous eras.
tation, layoffs, monopolizing markets, going to And because neoliberalism is global, we may use
war, tearing up contracts, mergers, bankruptcies, the expression neoliberal globalization to refer to
militarizing the economy, establishing State- the imperialist character of globalization.
organized pay-the-rich schemes, eliminating Neoliberalism is the latest iteration of capital-
social programs, increasing debt, and intensifying ism; the form capitalism has taken in major econ-
antisocial public opinion), they cannot overcome omies since the late 1970s. It is a concerted
the law itself; it is inescapable and affects the attempt by the ruling circles to reverse the falling
economy as a whole. rate of profit, which takes sharp downturns at
Today there are few, if any, profitable invest- specific points in time, in this case starting around
ment opportunities for major owners of capital; 1980. Its main components include privatization,
everything is tapped out; markets are saturated. deregulation, repression, and abdication of gov-
Especially after the Great Recession of 2008, ernment responsibility for the well-being of the
which has now turned into a long depression, all people. It takes the form of phony austerity pro-
major investments have declined or stopped. The grams around the world, with Greece serving as
world’s major economies (including India and the most vivid recent example of neoliberal
China) are either anemic or slowing down. Stag- pillaging.
nation is widespread. Unimpressive economic Neoliberalism entails the elimination of many
forecasts are continually revised downward, social programs and social welfare state arrange-
while representatives of the financial oligarchy ments brought into being, mainly through the
go so far as to openly declare that we may never struggles of millions of workers, during the first
see the weak economic growth that preceded the and middle parts of the twentieth century. It
Great Recession. reverses many of humanity’s achievements. It
Capitalists are simply not investing. Tradi- continually imposes cuts in wages, salaries, ben-
tional or typical sources of profit have largely efits, pensions, unemployment insurance pro-
disappeared. Instead, major owners of capital are grams, and more, increasing insecurity and
relying increasingly on what Henry Giroux calls misery for millions. Parks, libraries, sanitation
casino capitalism, or financial parasitism, to sat- and administrative services, utilities, roads,
isfy their unlimited greed. This is where the focus water, prisons, schools, healthcare – all are being
of the economy shifts from value creation to (real privatized at a faster rate under neoliberalism in
and fictitious) value appropriation. For capitalists, order to reverse falling profitability. Inequality,
determining how to redistribute real and fictitious debt, unemployment, underemployment, and
wealth increasingly replaces the actual creation of poverty have reached new levels under the neo-
new wealth. The so-called real economy declines, liberal antisocial offensive. None of these assaults
while manipulation of newly created toxic and on workers, the middle strata, the public interest,
exotic fictitious financial instruments, along with and the society could have been achieved without
trillions of dollars in quantitative easing, thrives. the increased involvement of the State on behalf
This retrogressive trend has only intensified in the of major owners of capital. Public authority and
neoliberal period and shows no signs of letting up. public right have essentially disappeared in the
neoliberal period.

Neoliberalism
Charter Schools
Neo means new while liberalism refers to the
economic doctrine of laissez-faire capitalism, the Charter schools, now numbering about 6,500, are
so-called free market. Neoliberalism refers to the first and foremost a political-economic project
Political Economy of Charter Schools 1911

that emerged squarely in the context of neoliber- legitimize exchange relations under advanced
alism. They did not emerge before the onset of commodity production.
neoliberalism and have nothing to do with The core error with this approach is that educa-
education reform. In fact, charter schools tion is not a commodity. Education is not a busi-
appeared less than ten years after the publication ness. It cannot be bought and sold like beef jerky or
of the infamous 1983 A Nation at Risk Report, chewing tobacco. Schools cannot be opened and
which called for the broad neoliberal restructuring closed like a shoe store. Students, parents, and
of American education. teachers are not consumers or products. Education
For major owners of capital, charter schools, is a basic human responsibility that a modern soci-
also known as contract schools, represent a main ety must guarantee so that society moves forward.
way to transfer public funds, assets, and authority To subject education to the chaos, anarchy, and
to the private sector so as to counter falling prof- violence of the free market is irresponsible and
itability. When a student enrolls in a charter profoundly counterproductive. It ensures constant
school, public per-pupil funds, mostly State and instability and upheaval – hardly good conditions
federal, but sometimes local funds too, flow from for teaching and learning. This is why teacher,
the public school to the charter school. Annually, student, and principal turnover rates are very high
this drains billions of dollars from public schools, in charter schools (Miron and Applegate 2007;
especially chronically underfunded, segregated, Stuit and Smith 2009). It is also why 88% of charter
urban public school systems attended mostly by schools are not unionized (National Alliance for
poor and low-income minority students. Venture Public Charter Schools 2010) and many, if not
philanthropists (e.g., Bill Gates), seedy lawyers most, practice selective enrollment patterns that
and real estate developers, hedge fund managers, contribute to an already segregated school system
movie and sports celebrities, and millionaires of (Rotberg 2014) and skewed results on curriculum-
other stripes have all jumped on the charter school narrowing high-stakes standardized tests produced
bandwagon in the context of a failing economy in by a handful of for-profit companies. For extensive
order to get a piece of the nearly one-trillion-dollar information on unethical and illegal activities in
public education budget. Hundreds of millions charter schools across the country, see Charter
more in public funds come from the federal Char- School Scandals at http://charterschoolscandals.
ter Schools Program launched in 1994. blogspot.com. For their part, Baker (2012), Green
Currently, 44% of all charter school students in and Mead (2004), Karp (2012), Lubienski and P
the USA are enrolled in a school owned and Lubienski (2014), Saltman (2010), and others
operated by an education management organiza- have shown why charter schools are not public
tion (EMO) (Miron and Gulosino 2013). The real schools.
figure is likely higher. EMOs are essentially
privatized for-profit organizations. However, it
does not matter if we are talking about for-profit The Way Forward
or nonprofit charter schools though because both
engage in for-profit arrangements and both There can be no progress so long as the govern-
embrace the free market and competition ment serves major owners of capital and tramples
(winning and losing). Their contractual on people’s rights. The government must restrict
nature makes this possible. Contract schools monopoly right and take up its responsibility to
stand outside long-standing governance arrange- provide human rights, including the right to edu-
ments in American public education and make cation, with a guarantee. Choice in education
privatization and marketization possible by means removing government responsibility for
operationalizing the public-to-private transfer of education and subjecting it to the violence of the
wealth and authority. Oman (2011) notes that a free market in the name of providing opportunities
“Contract is the quintessential legal institution of a to poor and low-income minority students. It is the
market economy” (p. 1). Contracts codify and opposite of what is needed.
1912 Political Economy of Charter Schools

As part of a modern nation-building project, serve students and society but really enrich a
the government must fully fund a high-quality handful of capitalists. The problem is not one of
public education system open to all. It must also money because there is an overabundance of
provide the rights to food, shelter, clothing, resources in society. The issue is: who decides?
healthcare, pensions, and work with a guarantee. The financial oligarchy is unwilling and unable to
Rights belong to humans by virtue of their being use the social product to serve the public interest
and for no other reason whatsoever. Rights are not and advance society. It is fully committed to the
privileges. They cannot be given or taken away neoliberal agenda. Only the working class and
and are not based on competition, contracts, abil- people can provide a new direction for society,
ity, wealth, race, sex, language, religion, or an alternative to the existing society and the out-
national origin. Human needs are not negotiable moded system it is based on.
and cannot be reduced to a matter of policy.
In order for education, healthcare, work, and
more to be guaranteed for all, the people must References
have control over the socialized economy. So
long as the socialized economy remains in the Baker, B. (2012). Follow up on why publicness/privateness
of charter schools matters [Web log post]. Retrieved from
hands of the top one percent, uneven development,
http://schoolfinance101.wordpress.com/2012/05/04/
instability, slumps, crises, chaos, and anarchy will follow-up-on-why-publicnessprivateness-of-charter-
increase. Millions will suffer unnecessarily and schools-matters/
things will continue to go from bad to worse. This Carchedi, G. (2011). Behind the crisis: Marx’s dialectics of
value and knowledge. Boston: Brill Publishers.
is why the fight for political empowerment is par-
Engels, F. (1877). Anti-Duhring. Retrieved from https://
amount. The right of the people to govern and www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/download/Eng
decide their own affairs, including economic els_Anti_Duhring.pdf
affairs, is critical. Workers and all progressive Green, P. C., III, & Mead, J. F. (2004). Charter schools and
the law: Establishing new legal relationships. Nor-
forces must deprive owners of capital of their abil-
wood, UK: Christopher-Gordon Publishers.
ity to deprive everyone else of their rights. Karp, S. (Spring 2012). Challenging Corporate Ed Reform:
Workers themselves must decide what is pro- And 10 hopeful signs of resistance. Rethinking schools.
duced and consumed, as well as when and where Retrieved from http://www.rethinkingschools.org/
archive/26_03/26_03_karp.shtml
it is produced and consumed. All the main sectors
Lubienski, C., & Lubienski, S. (2014). The public school
of the economy must be controlled by the people. advantage: Why public schools outperform private
Private interests that seek to distort and extort the schools. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
economy cannot be tolerated. The economy must Maito, E. (2014). The historical transience of capital: The
downward trend in the rate of profit since XIX century.
be oriented to increase the material and cultural
Retrieved from https://thenextrecession.files.wordpress.
well-being of all instead of serving the narrow com/2015/05/maito-esteban-the-historical-transience-
private interests of a tiny ruling elite. The contra- of-capital-the-downward-tren-in-the-rate-of-profit-since-
dictions between socialized production and pri- xix-century.pdf
Malott, C., & Ford, D. (2015). Marx, capital, and educa-
vate ownership, mental and manual labor, and
tion. New York: Peter Lang.
use value and exchange value must all be over- Miron, G., & Applegate, B. (2007). Teacher attrition in
come so as to develop society and the economy in charter schools. Education Public Interest Center.
an all-sided, conscious, and planned manner. Retrieved from http://epsl.asu.edu/epru/documents/
EPSL-0705-234-EPRU.pdf
Anarchy in production and exchange is inconsis-
Miron, G., & Gulosino, C. (2013). Profiles of for-profit and
tent with modern requirements. nonprofit education management organizations: Four-
Only under such conditions will education be teenth Edition – 2011-2012. Retrieved from http://nepc.
fully funded, high quality, and open to all. With colorado.edu/files/emo-profiles-11-12.pdf
National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. (2010).
people in control of their livelihoods and destiny, Unionized Schools. Retrieved from http://dashboard.
no longer will there be a need for charter schools publiccharters.org/dashboard/schools/page/union/year/
and other school-choice schemes that purport to 2010
Populism 1913

Oman, N. B. (2011). Contracts and markets: A very short

essay without footnotes. (Research Paper No. 09–100). Political Theory of Neoliberalism
Retrieved from http://ssrn.com/abstract=1859471
Roberts, M. (2009). The great recession. www.lulu.com
Rotberg, I. (2014). Charter schools and the risk of ▶ Neoliberal Globalization and Educational
increased segregation. Phi Delta Kappan, 95(5), Administration: Western and Developing Nation
26–30. Perspectives
Saltman, K. (2010). The gift of education: Public educa-
tion and venture philanthropy. New York: Palgrave
Macmillan.
Stuit, D., & Smith, T. M. (2009). Teacher turnover in
charter schools. National Center on School Choice. Politics
Retrieved from http://www.vanderbilt.edu/schoolchoice/
documents/stuit_smith_ncspe.pdf
▶ Deleuze and Guattari: Politics and Education
▶ Educational Leadership as a Political Enterprise

Political Economy of Disablement,

The Politics of Open Education, The

▶ Marxism and Disability Studies ▶ Openness and Power

Politics of Openness, The

Political Economy of Open
Education, The
▶ Openness and Power
▶ Openness and Power

Popular Education
P
Political Economy of Openness, The ▶ Adult and Continuing Education in the Nordic
Countries: Folkbildning
▶ Openness and Power

Populism
Political Philosophy
Manuel Anselmi
University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
▶ Dewey on Democracy

Introduction

Political Theory Analyzing educational phenomena means under-

standing factors which are not merely pedagogical
▶ Education and Political Theory: Prospects and but above all social. This is especially true for the
Points of View Latin American context, where some social and
1914 Populism

power structures strongly influence educational democracies. Populism particularly seemed to be

activity as, for example, populism, which before a prerogative of Latin American governments
being a political reality is a social phenomenon where the charismatic relationship between the
interwoven in the fabric of the population. leader and people took on a patriarchal connota-
Aspects of the populist mentality which tion. In this sense the case of Argentinean
affect institutional education programming are Peronism had an almost paradigmatic function.
reproduced through educational devices. Thus With the end of the 1990s in the period follow-
there exists a deep correlation between education ing the collapse of the Soviet Bloc, we see new
and populism: to understand the first, we must not forms of populism, which have been defined neo-
neglect to study the second. populisms to distinguish them from previous pop-
Populism is a political phenomenon which has ulisms. Not only at the margins of the more
returned to affect many political and social con- advanced societies, but even in more consolidated
texts of the globe in the last few decades after a democracies, we witness the birth of very robust
season in which it had seemed relegated to only a forms of populism. This is the case of the popu-
few areas like Latin America. By populism we lisms of the European right, such as Haider in
mean a power relationship based upon a direct Austria and Bossi and Berlusconi in Italy, or also
rapport between a charismatic leader and the peo- the case of Latin American populisms, personified
ple (Canovan 1981). On the basis of popular con- by leaders such as Chávez, Evo Morales, and
sensus, it offers itself as an alternative to a Correa, who represented the so-called Latin
constituted power (establishment) and develops American “left turn” in the first decade of the
a political discourse based upon a rigid juxtaposi- new millennium. Today we can count populist
tion between us and them. Contemporary scien- entities in many countries in many areas of the
tific debate on populism is focused on some world: from Russia to Thailand, to Turkey, to
crucial aspects such as its definition and its rela- Spain, and to Latin America. In Italy we have a
tionship with democracy: the new form of media populist political context with several political
populism. forces in competition with one another structured
The first scientific studies on this theme on the basis of this characteristic: Berlusconi, the
occurred in the period between the two wars. Northern League, the Five Star Movement, and
They were prevalently historical in character and the current premier Renzi.
took as their subject of interest the first forms of On the level of populism analysis, we have
American populism from the second half of the different orientations of study. Margaret Canovan,
nineteenth century and the Russian populisms for example, provides a first classification of pop-
(narodniki) occurring slightly later. Successively ulisms, which still has great value today. Canovan
the conclusion of the fascist experience in Italy declares repeatedly the need for a systematic study
contributed to a further scientific research on the in sociological terms of populism so that “Popu-
subject. For all that it is impossible to sustain that lism becomes a sociological category rather an
fascism and populism are the same thing, even so historical one” (Canovan 1981, p. 299). Canovan
on an analytic level they do have a lot in common, identifies two macro-categories: the first one
such as the mobilization of the masses and the which she defines agrarian populisms, the Amer-
presence of a charismatic leader. The great differ- ican People Party, and Russian populism is part of
ence is that fascism availed itself of a strong and this category; the second one, which she calls
strategic ideology, while populisms have always political populism, is formed by the populist dic-
made recourse to tactical and composite ideolog- tatorship, populist democracy, reactionary popu-
ical forms. lism, and politicians’ populism.
For a good part of the second half of the twen- By agrarian populisms Canovan means both
tieth century, this term referred to extra European the farmers’ radicalism in the USA and the peas-
experiences for the most part or at least countries ant movements of Eastern Europe, particularly
outside of the group of the more advanced western Russian populism. The first is represented by
Populism 1915

those protest movements on the part of agricul- Political populisms are such because their
tural producers, who, in the second half of the focus is political rather than agrarian. It is con-
1800s, repeatedly launched protest actions with ceivable, however, that there may be cases in
the purpose of claiming economic autonomy which an agrarian populism is also political or
when it came to deciding the prices of their that a political populism may contain elements
products. The objective of this movement was of agrarian populism. In political populism, ele-
to detach itself from its subordinate position with ments such as the urban dimension, the presence
respect to the federal monopolists who, owning of charismatic leadership, and/or structured polit-
the means of distribution of the products, profited ical parties are preeminent.
outrageously to the detriment of the producers. The first kind of political populism which
From the very first protest actions, these pro- Canovan presents is the “populist dictatorship,”
ducers showed themselves to be an extended and to illustrate she indicates two paradigmatic
community of resistance, and within a few examples: the Argentinean Juan Domingo Perón
years, they came to found the People’s Party (1895–1974) and the American Huey P. Long
with an effective rhetoric based on the formula (1893–1935). In both cases, Canovan underlines
of “plain people.” Canovan stresses that it was the special condition of widespread social
not just a socioeconomic phenomenon based on uprooting of citizens as the condition that creates
the claims of agricultural producers, but rather a possibility of populism: a widespread individual
sociopolitical phenomenon of revolt against the disorientation that acts as a lever to the rhetoric of
dominant plutocratic elite and national politi- redemption proposed by the leader and which
cians, which for the first time in the history of permits a positive outlet for social resentment.
the USA were able to express a form of “radical They are phenomena of collaboration between
democracy” (Canovan 1981, p. 58). classes, hardly ascribable to a single ideological
The case of narodnichestvo, Russian popu- logic, but highly anti-elitist and characterized by
lism, is profoundly different. If American popu- an extraordinary mass mobilization through
lism is something that arises from within society means of a leader’s just as extraordinary charis-
and from the deepest needs of economic and matic ability. This kind of populism has an effect
political representation of the social base, Rus- of weakening democratic institutions and favor-
sian populism is instead the result of an elabora- ing the personalization of the political dimension.
tion made by an intellectual elite. It was a Precisely because of this dynamic of mass con- P
populism of the intelligentsia that was proposed sensus, these populisms have more things in com-
to the rural social classes, whose doctrine was mon with fascism and Nazism.
aimed to hypostatize and glorify the rural life- Populist democracy is the second type of polit-
style in anti-modern protosocialist terms and on ical populism. With this expression are meant all
the basis of a sentiment of rediscovery of Slavic the forms of populism which strive for a consid-
roots. American populism arose from the people erable increase of political participation and a
as a form of self-awareness in the wake of a government of the people. Populist democracy is
rebellion; Russian populism took its moves therefore a radical democracy where the aspects of
from young intellectuals who, abandoning bour- the representation of the people and the mediation
geois and metropolitan life to stay near the peas- between the governing classes are reduced to the
ants, often rediscovered their orthodox and minimum. All the movements that require greater
patriotic roots. In this case, in fact, there was direct democracy in clear opposition with repre-
the elaboration of an ideology which contributed sentative democracy and its dysfunctions are part
more than a little to the development of the strug- of this subtype. Canovan includes the case of
gle against tsarist autocracy, often resulting in McCarthyism in this area of analysis. Studied by
acts of terrorism. The end of this movement Shils in his famous book The Torment of Secrecy
was decreed by the establishment of the Bolshe- (Shils 1956) as a populist social reaction in a
vik regime. political context of democratic elitism, it was the
1916 Populism

spread of a popular mentality which simplified the style expressed through their actions and political
terms of political issues, coming to assume highly practices. The “catch-all people’s parties” and all
uncivil and violent positions. In contrast, Switzer- those organizations that are found in the demo-
land is a case of concrete, or perhaps it would be cratic dimension without necessarily desiring a
better to say institutionalized populist democracy. radical structural change, but find strength in
Government procedures established by the Swiss direct popular consensus, belong to this subgroup.
constitution are, in fact, a rare example of accom- The concrete political forms where it is possible to
plished radical democracy. The people have the find this populist style range from what is called
possibility to intervene in many crucial questions anti-politics to personalist parties to radical coali-
of political life trough referendums and participa- tions. Canovan gives the example of Jimmy Car-
tive forms. The reason for this political regime, ter for the USA, who defined himself personally
which may be considered unique, is the peculiar- as a populist or the Partido de la Revolución
ity of the process of formation of the Swiss State. Mexicana PRI. The structural characteristic of
Unlike other States which were created through a politicians’ populism is the tactical nature of pop-
top-down process, Switzerland came into being ulism, which consists of using popular appeal as a
through a bottom-up evolution of a federal kind means of renewing consensus and social legiti-
among the different cantons. Canovan also pre- macy to realign from time to time political action
sents what may be the extremes of populist with the requirements of the context. In this case,
democracy, which have often been pointed out the paradoxical nature of the concept of “people”
by neo-elitist critics: the risk, for example, of a is evident more than ever: if, on the one hand, it is
tyranny of the majority in which minorities are not ambiguous, vague, and undefined; on the other
adequately represented; the tendency of public hand, at the social level, precisely because of
opinion to influence government policy in a non- this vagueness, it allows forms of political inclu-
objective and distorted way, based on the over- sion, even only momentary and limited, which
simplification and over-dramatization of issues; or renew politicians’ power.
the loss of authority and legitimacy of the elected Canovan’s latest studies focused precisely on
government due to a social logic of exaltation of the people as an abstract political concept, but also
the popular point of view, but also a loss of as a widespread social representation conditioning
authority and prestige of office on the basis of an the citizens’ actions. Populism is set in a wider
absolute egalitarianism. horizon of problems which goes back to the nature
Reactionary populism is characterized by an of the western State, so that it is impossible to
antiprogressive, nationalist, and often xenophobic understand populism as a feature of contemporary
and traditionalist ideological content. The return democracies unless you reconstruct genealogi-
to the people is conceived as a return to roots and a cally the progressive centrality of the people and
refusal of every element of progress. In this form of popular sovereignty in constitutional forms, in
of populism, the contrast is therefore between a political culture, and in political theory. The peo-
popular base that is identified in its retrograde and ple are thus a widespread social concept among
reactionary cultural forms against the elites and the citizenship which not only legitimize political
their progressive and cosmopolitan culture. authority but also have the possibility of changing
Therefore this kind of populism is often in sharp it, according to what Canovan calls sovereign
disagreement with intellectuals and all forms of people in reserve.
avant-garde art. Canovan identifies a typical It is possible to catalogue the principle theories
example in the politician George Wallace, gover- on populism in at least three different approaches
nor of Alabama famous for his positions in favor as Gidron and Bonikowsky have clarified: popu-
of the defense of racial segregation of blacks. lism as a political ideology, populism as a political
Politicians’ populism is the last one of the style, and populism as strategy.
political populisms according to Canovan’s clas- The theories that consider populism an ideol-
sification. More than anything else, it is a political ogy hark back to the concept of “thin-centered”
Populism 1917

ideology elaborated by Michael Freeden. 1996; Jansen 2011). Concentrating our attention
According to these authors, populism is in fact a on the social dynamics which underlie the popu-
subtle and limited ideology, typical of the new list phenomenon, these bring to light aspects such
postmodern context and after the end of the great as social mobilization, social polarization, the
twentieth-century ideologies. The most signifi- institutional crisis which precedes the populist
cant representative of this theoretical orientation ascent, and the role of leadership in regard to
is Cas Mudde (Mudde 2007). Mudde explains that all this.
populism is a set of ideas on politics and on The increase of populisms in the last decades
society which is structured on a macro opposition on a global scale has not only been a matter of
of us against them, where us is the people while quantity but also a matter of quality. Today in fact
them coincides with the elite. Populism is thus we can find numerous types of new populisms and
always an anti-elitist ideology in a context where new labels. We speak in fact of media populism to
the elite coincides with the power establishment. indicate those forms of populism which are based
This aspect of juxtaposition between an us and a on forms of social consensus through the media,
them follows an ingroup-outgroup logic one example was the case of Berlusconi in Italy
highlighted by Teun Van Dijk (1998), where and his use of television to impose a political
every ideology develops a discursive logic of domination, or we speak of web populism to
social representations according to which every- indicate specifically strategies of consensus
thing that belongs to the sphere of us is inclusive, which use the Internet; we also speak of ethno-
positive, and enhancing, while everything belong- populism to define that type of populism based on
ing to the sphere of them is excluding, negative, a strong ethnic connotation of the people in ques-
and diminishing. Applying this logic to populism tion, as in the case of Evo Morales’s movement in
presupposes the first sphere being associated with Bolivia (De la Torre 2007).
the people, while the second belongs to the elite In addition to political populism, other forms
enemy of the people and to all which opposes the of populism exist such as penal populism. This
people. type of populism regards the forms of pressuring
The second approach conceives populism as a and alteration of the justice system by politics.
form of discourse. The most significant exponents Penal populism is not necessarily tied to a charis-
are Laclau and Panizza (Laclau 2005; Panizza matic figure or leader, but it is made up of a series
2013). These scholars essentially interpret popu- of procedures and situations. Amplifying and P
lism as a means of protesting and engaging in distorting the risk of criminality during electoral
politics on the basis of a communicative style campaigns, failing to make recourse to statistical
geared toward the claim of a majority of society data, or making criminal trials glamorous and
against the dominating elites. Especially Laclau’s hyping them up, altering their perception by pub-
writings have permitted a relative revaluation of lic opinion, and pressuring the judges are some
populist forces. Keeping especially in mind the examples.
Latin American cases of progressive matrix pop- Beyond the complexity due to the multiple
ulism of the first decade of the present millen- forms of populism, this phenomenon poses a pro-
nium, Laclau has explained how populism may found problem with regard to the concept of
be the political discourse interpreted by the democracy. Populism may be considered either
excluded part of society in a subordinate context pathology of the forms of political representation
with respect to the elite. Thanks to the populist that emerges when the classical mechanisms of
discourse, a new democratizing perspective is mediation in representative governments enter
possible in a context where democracy is merely into crisis. However it may also be seen as an
formal and oligarchic tendencies prevail. intrinsic form of democracy because it is pro-
The third type of approach considers populism foundly tied to popular sovereignty, one of the
as a strategy and thus essentially a form of social cornerstones of modern democracies. The peo-
political mobilization and organization (Weyland ple’s rallying cry in such a strong and absolute
1918 Positioning

way typical of populist forces may even be per-

ceived as an excess of democracy. Certainly the Postcolonialism, Development,
action of criticism of the establishment fostered by and Education
populism is a form of delegitimization of the
established order and of the preexisting symbolic Dip Kapoor
social scene; thus populist action constitutes a University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
possibility of social change of the forms of citi-
zenship and of democratic participation in a more
direct and vertical direction. Introduction

This entry considers the colonial contexts of

References development, including development as neocolo-
nialism in the postindependence period, followed
Canovan, M. (1981). Populism. New York: Harcourt by a consideration of the role(s) of education
Brace, Jovanovich.
designed for development and the attendant aca-
De la Torre, C. (2007). Es el populismo la forma
constitutiva de la democracia Latinoamericana? In demic or literary postcolonial critiques of postwar
J. Aibar (Ed.), Vox populi. Populismo y democracia development and education. Often neglected in
en Latinoamérica (pp. 55–83). Ciudad de México, academic postcolonial scholarship, anti-/
México: Flacso.
Jansen, R. S. (2011). Populist mobilization: A new theoretical
decolonial postcolonialism emergent from the
approach to populism. Sociological Theory, 29(2), 75–96. works of scholar activists and indigenous and
Laclau, E. (2005). On populist reason. Londres: Verso. land-based sovereignty politics and related con-
Mudde, C. (2007). Populist radical right parties in Europe. ceptions and practices of development and educa-
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
tion in the postcolony are also given due
Panizza, F. (2013). What do we mean when we talk about
populism? In C. de la Torre & A. Cynthia (Eds.), Latin consideration.
American populism in the twenty first century
(pp. 85–117). Baltimore/Washington, DC: The Johns
Hopkins University/Woodrow Wilson Center Press.
Shils E. (1956) The torment of secrecy: The background &
Colonial Developmental Contexts
consequences of American security policies. Chicago, and Civilizing Missions
IL: Dee.
Van Teun, D. (1998). Ideology: A multidisciplinary The French Enlightenment political philosopher
approach. London: Sage.
Antoine-Nicolas de Condorcet in his book, Out-
Weyland, K. (1996). Neopopulism and neoliberalism in
Latin America: Unexpected affinities. Studies in Com- lines of a Historical View of the Progress of the
parative International Development, 31(3), 3–31. Human Mind, proffered the following questions:
Will all nations one day attain that state of civili-
zation which the most enlightened, the freest, and
the least burdened by prejudices, such as the
Positioning French and the Anglo-American, have attained
already? Will the vast gulf that separates these
▶ Mathematics Education as a Matter of Identity people from the slavery of nations under the rule
of monarchs, from the barbarism of African tribes,
and from the ignorance of savages little by little
disappear? According to Condorcet, these
Postcolonialism immense countries, to arrive at civilization,
appeared only to wait till Europeans furnished
▶ Gender, Postcolonialism, and Education them with the means, at which point they would
▶ Global English, Postcolonialism, and Education instantly become friends and disciples. David
▶ Humanism, Postcolonialism, and Education Hume, the Scottish philosopher and ostensible
▶ Poststructuralism, Postcolonialism, and Education founder of modern political science, writing in
Postcolonialism, Development, and Education 1919

1754, suspected that Negros and in general all the hand or a life. The eighteenth–nineteenth-century
other species of men were naturally inferior to the exploits of the British East India Company in
Whites, i.e., there never was, according to Hume, Bengal, the richest State at the time, included the
a civilized nation of any other complexion than introduction of English landlordism, the tripling
White nor even any individual eminent either in of land taxes, the dispossession of some 20 million
action or speculation. Civilizational and racial small holders including forced conversions to
deficits were translated into knowledge and edu- growing opium for export to China (see Opium
cational inferiority prompting the British anti- Wars), the eventual destruction of the local textile
slavery activist Thomas Macaulay to pontificate industry, and the subsequent famine-related
that even a single shelf of European literature was deaths of a third of the population (ten million
worth all the books of India and Arabia. He sub- people), prompting then governor-general Wil-
sequently suggested the liquidation of indigenous liam Bentinck to comment that the bones of cotton
culture through the linguistic colonization weavers were bleaching the plains of India and
(by English) of the Indian educational system in that such misery could hardly be found in the
the early nineteenth century. history of commerce.
The self-proclaimed civilizing responsibility Frantz Fanon concluded that “Europe is liter-
and alleged racial superiority referenced by these ally the creation of the Third World. . .an opulence
Europeans were notably predicated upon various that has been fuelled by the sweat and the dead
expressions of colonial developmental violence bodies of Negroes, Arabs, Indians and the yellow
including slavery, genocide, unbridled exploita- races” (1963, p. 76), while Mohandas Gandhi,
tion of natural resources and labor, and oft irre- when asked by a journalist what he thought of
versible restructuring of local political economies Western civilization, is rumoured to have replied
toward capital, a unique distinction of modern with cynicism that it would be a very good idea.
European colonial (racialized) capitalist develop-
ment (Quijano 2000; Rodney 1972). These emas-
culations are variously documented in colonial Postwar Development and Education
critiques forwarded by the likes of Eduardo
Galeano (Open Veins of Latin America), Walter A century and a half later since Condorcet and
Rodney (How Europe Underdeveloped Africa), Hume and shortly after the Second World War, as
Hamza Alavi (Capitalism and Colonial Produc- the colonized worlds achieved statehood and offi- P
tion: South Asia), Syed Hussein Alatas (Myth of cial independence from their colonial occupiers,
the Lazy Native: Malaya) and Pramoedya Ananta this racialized civilizing mission of the European
Toer (The Buru Quartet: Indonesia), Dadabhai powers became the ideological foundation of the
Naoroji (Poverty and Un-British Rule in India), postcolonial colonial modern development mis-
and Frantz Fanon (Wretched of the Earth: Africa). sion (Duffield and Hewitt 2013; Levy and
Eduardo Galeano (1973), with reference to the Young 2011) echoed in the Point Four Program
sixteenth-century Spanish silver extraction from (or Fair Deal aimed at spreading the promise of
the Potosi mines of Bolivia, noted that if one took science, technology, and industrialization) pro-
all the silver mined from this hill, it could build a mulgated by President Harry S. Truman of the
bridge from Potosi to Spain, while another bridge USA, for the “Third World”: a spatiotemporal-
could also be built from Potosi to Spain with the political pejorative, if not fallacy, drawn from
bones of the Inca slaves who died in these mines nineteenth-century French economic demogra-
(eight million Incas are estimated to have died pher Alfred Sauvy’s use of the term referring to
during Spanish silver extraction). Belgian colo- the marginal Third Estate or Tiers Monde in
nialism is estimated to have resulted in the deaths France. An emergent neocolonialism (see
of ten million Congolese killed in the pursuit of Kwame Nkrumah) soon defined the continued
rubber and ivory wherein native refusal to tap exploitation of the “officially independent” colo-
rubber for the colonialists often meant losing a nies in the continued interests of Euro-American
1920 Postcolonialism, Development, and Education

capitalist development. Over two-thirds of the In the Theory of Economic Progress written in
world’s people from Africa, Asia, Latin Ameri- 1944, C. S. Ayres proclaimed the inevitability of
can, and the Caribbean were consigned to the industrial life and values while claiming that the
dustbin of history as backward, traditional, defi- irrational values of prescientific and preindustrial
cient, and once again in need of Euro-American (tribal) cultures were doomed. Sociological theo-
aid, tutelage, and beneficence (via the Develop- ries of modernization, including psychosocial and
ment Project; see Philip McMichael) in all matters behavioral theories proposing traditional–modern
of being but primarily in relation to the economic binaries, imposed disempowering and homoge-
and ostensibly to address poverty through inter- nizing deficit constructions on traditional societies
national state-capital-centered Euro-American and peoples (Third World), which were colonially
modernization (Escobar 1995; Rist 2002/2014). productive if not tautological. Sociologists Alex
The subsequent installation of Bretton Woods Inkeles and David Smith compared (evaluated)
institutions (e.g., IMF and World Bank) controlled Ahmadullah (rural/traditional man) to Nuril
by the imperial powers (e.g., voting rights (urban/modern man) in Bangladesh. The Ameri-
according to capital shares) in the context of the can psychologist David McClelland set out to
Cold War together provided the institutional demonstrate need achievement scores (low- and
architecture for what has been dubbed as the Mar- high-achievement countries) and differentials
shall Plan for the “Third World.” Contemporary warranting achievement motivation training inter-
United Nations expressions of this project include ventions (education) to stimulate economic devel-
the Millennium Development Goals or MDGs opment in the “Third World.”
(2000–2015) and the recent Sustainable Develop- These initial theoretical foundations of the
ment Goals or SDGs. Both sets of goals include macro development project were also instructive
focuses around education and literacy, while the for theorizing education and international devel-
World Bank continues to be the dominant funder opment (McCowan and Unterhalter 2015). In
and global developer of these educational initia- keeping with the modernizing Zeitgeist, neolib-
tives. Development theorists and theory (Peet and eral capitalist development necessitated an educa-
Hartwick 1999) play an integral part in informing tion which trained and enhanced worker’s skills
these institutions and goals and in addressing the for economic growth and productivity while mea-
perennial project of Kipling’s White Man’s Bur- suring educational worth in terms of returns on
den, potentially ensuring that neocolonialism con- educational investment (Human Capital Theory).
tinues to transform the capitalist modern West Neo-Marxist theories encouraged a revolutionary
from a geo-temporal entity to a psychological critical education (toward socialism) which
category wherein it seems “the West is now every- addressed economic exploitation and the repro-
where, within the West and outside, in structures duction of inequality (including de-linking from
and in minds” (Nandy 1983, p. xi). First World dependency) inevitably linked to cap-
For development economists (dominant for the italist modernizations. Micro-perspectives on
first two postwar decades), whether liberal, (alternative) development based on radical demo-
classical Marxists or neo-Marxists (see Depen- cratic and humanist traditions stimulated various
dency Theory and World Systems Theory forms of local/community and individual empow-
critiques of capitalist modernization and the erment schemes through participatory learning
“development of underdevelopment theory” and action for local development predicated on
– influential from the 1960s to the early 1980s in transforming consciousness and the development
Latin America), decolonization was a matter of of a just society (see ▶ Freire, Paulo (1921–1997));
adopting industrial development predicated on and liberal egalitarianism emphasized educational
scientific rationality and the inescapable tide of opportunity to equip all individuals for full partic-
technological advance along capitalist (or its ipation in a democratic society and a humanized
Keynesian welfare variants) or socialist politica- capitalist economy addressing basic needs, human
l–economic revolutionary historical trajectories. rights, human development (all capacities),
Postcolonialism, Development, and Education 1921

gender, the environment and citizenship, and based on universal concepts and plans, while
good governance, i.e., an education which academic postcolonialism seeks to question
assumed and reproduced liberal (reformed) mar- and undo “development” as a Eurocentric
ket colonialism and imperialism. This was, by invention masquerading as universalist; and
some accounts, a product of both the Communist 3. Methodologically, where development is
threat during the Cold War and as part of an selectively ahistorical (e.g., colonial silence),
exercise in the management of discontent associ- macro, and measurement focused, while aca-
ated with poverty and inequality caused by demic postcolonialism is preoccupied with
market-led development, if not the rising tide of the (colonial) historical, micro-experiential
expectations stimulated by consumer capitalism. (difference/context) and culture, representa-
The World Education Crisis signaled by Philip tion, identity, and discourse.
Coombs in the early 1970s put mass modern
(capitalist) education (and education equals The academic (literary) postcolonial scholar-
schooling and associated nonformal interven- ship of Edward Said pertaining to Orientalism and
tions) on the development map, eventually pro- othering; Homi Bhabha and the unintentional
mpting the World Conferences on Education for subversive potential of hybridity and mimicry;
All (e.g., Jomtien, Thailand in 1990) and related Gayatri Spivak and the question of subalternity,
MDG and SDG inclusions insisting on the global representation, and articulation; and Dipesh
expansion of modern schooling as a self-evident Chakrabarty’s discursive attempts to unseat
good, i.e., professing an educational ideology Europe as the sovereign theoretical subject, i.e.,
(education cures all) while maintaining a deafen- Provincializing Europe to disrupt intellectual
ing silence around the question of educational dependency and recognize other knowledge(s)
neocolonialism(s) and cultural imperialism being (see Raewyn Connell’s Southern Theory) have
reproduced via EFA in the postcolonial era provided the basis for postcolonial critical
(an alleged historical rupture from the colonial engagements with the Development (Theory)
period as per this dominant rhetoric). Project on these and other counts (McEwan
2009), including in relation to dominant concep-
tions of education for development.
Literary (Academic) Postcolonialism, Postcolonial education (in relation to grand
Development, and Education: Discursive narratives pertaining to development and beyond) P
and Representational Interventions (McCowan and Unterhalter 2015) deconstructs
dominant conceptions of development, related
Addressing postcolonialism and development, “othering,” and caricaturing through binaries
Christine Sylvester suggests that one field begins (e.g., traditional–modern) and dominant represen-
where the other refuses to look. While both fields tations and prescriptions while stimulating critical
are preoccupied with the “colonies” and educational pedagogies (pursuing decolonization
North–South relations, there are predictably sig- of the mind) which, for example, globalize curric-
nificant (debatable) points of tension and differ- ula based on comparative-solidarity and selective
ence (McEwan 2009, p. 2) including: inclusions of marginalized knowledge(s), if not
complete lobotomies as in the case of languages
1. Applicability, where development knowledge (see Ngugi wa Thiong’o); emphasizes critique and
(economics) invites translation into practice a pedagogy of ethics and hope to encourage empa-
(mainly macro solutions/interventions), while thy (not detachment) as opposed to compassion-
academic postcolonialism (literature) mainly based approaches in vogue in development edu-
concerns itself with critiquing colonial dis- cation; and questions academic development tour-
course and representations; ism and field research by academics while
2. Theoretical objectives, where development is suggesting a need for self-reflexivity (unlearning
concerned with modernist transformation of privilege, acknowledging complicity, learning
1922 Postcolonialism, Development, and Education

to learn from below, etc.) in these cross border/ from various social struggles in semirural indige-
cultural engagements (McEwan 2009). nous and small/landless peasant regions and con-
Decolonizing education, research, and knowledge texts of the postcolony (e.g., Zapatista Army of
production in the interests of epistemic and cog- National Liberation or EZLN movement in Chia-
nitive justice and pluralizing the quest for univer- pas, Mexico; Landless Workers Movement or
sals and global citizenship are some primary MST in Brazil). Colonialism, after all, meaning
concerns of an academic postcolonial education to cultivate, inhabit, and guard as derived from
and development engagement. colere in Latin, was and continues to be about land
According to Chandra Mohanty (see Feminism as is also evident in the current land-grab practices
Without Borders), however, while discursive cat- of richer States and agribusiness in economically
egories are clearly central sites of contestation, exploitable regions (“Third World”) akin to the
they must be grounded in and informed by the empty land hypotheses or the legal basis (doctrine
material politics of everyday life, especially the of discovery) for the same during the colonial Age
daily life struggles for survival of those written of Discovery.
out of history. That said, as another body of crit- Sharing a concern for material exploitation
ical colonial theorizing suggests, academic con- with Marxist scholarship and revolutionary poli-
testations over discourse/knowledge and tics, Euro-American development and education
education/development (mental decolonization) are variously critiqued, bypassed, resisted, or rad-
not only need to be informed by but also need to ically reconstructed in different contexts of the
actively engage in/with the material politics of “postcolony” through anticolonial and anti-
everyday life and these struggles for survival. proletarian material (developmental) struggle
over land (dispossession) and labor (servitude).
Unlike developmental and educational moderni-
Anti-/Decolonial Postcolonialisms, zations predicated on capitalist or Marxist (and
Development, and Education: in-between) incorporations into the historical
Indigenous, Peasant, and Land-Based pathway of Europe and America, many indige-
Sovereignty Politics nous scholars anticolonial revolutionary critics
proposed conceptions and relations with land as
While “development studies” rarely listens to the central to political economies and cultures. This
subaltern, the academic and literary post- enabled a land-based anti- or decolonial politics
colonialism of the comfortable classes tends not which jettisoned incorporations into the colonial
to be concerned with material politics or with, imperatives of capital (i.e., privatization impera-
according to Christine Sylvester, whether the sub- tives of land and agro-industrial colonizations of
altern is eating. rural spaces and bodies) and Marxism (i.e., prog-
Anticolonial (revolutionary nationalisms and nostications of inevitability around capitalist dis-
place-based movements), anti-capitalist, indige- possession of land and exploitation of labor and
nous sovereignty (decolonial), and modified revolutionary class struggle thereof from within
socialist politics worked out in and through and against capital and toward modern industrial
concrete social struggles offer other colonial cri- socialism).
tiques, conceptions, and practices of development Karl Marx dismissed rurality and peasants as
and education that register historical and continu- counterrevolutionary in sociopolitical terms,
ing material projects generally overlooked by while the idea of revolution was appropriated by
academic and literary postcolonialists and the Marxist class-based project. Anticolonial rev-
developmentalists alike. These formulations are olutionary activists and intelligentsia affirm the
informed by an engaged-activist intelligentsia of political and revolutionary possibility of the
the likes of Frantz Fanon, Walter Rodney, Amilcar indigenous and the peasantry as anticolonial rev-
Cabral, Ranajit Guha, and Jose Mariátegui, to olutionaries informed by a land-based sover-
name a few possibilities while also germinating eignty. According to Zapatista Subcomandante
Postcolonialism, Development, and Education 1923

Insurgente Marcos (2001) of the EZLN in Chia- order to “halt our history for us to remain tied to
pas, Mexico, the problem is that they want to take the history of Portugal as if we were a wagon on
our land so that our feet have nothing to stand their train” (Cabral 1979, p. 32). The basis for
on. In the Algerian context, Frantz Fanon common ground and political–economic unity
(1963) notes that for the colonized “land is the subsequently had less to do with class (which
most meaningful” as it is “the land which must was not significantly introduced as suggested)
provide bread and, naturally dignity” but all the than it did with a unity of/around territory; taking
colonized “has ever seen on his land is that he can back the land for those who have lived in the same
be arrested, beaten, and starved with impunity” place and ensuring that its production is for their
(p. 9). He affirms that in “colonial countries only own use, i.e., are the economic activities on a
the peasantry is revolutionary. It has nothing to given land supporting its inhabitants?
lose and everything to gain” and that “colonialism According to this proposition, the relationship
only loosens its hold when the knife is at its between a land and (indigenous) population is
throat” given that it is incapable of reasoning; as seen as the key to historical development as
a “naked violence” (p. 23). Some Marxist histo- opposed to the history of class struggle and devel-
rians and activists in the Indian and South Asian opment and education (for development) as mod-
context similarly addressed a peasant and tribal ern industrial civilizational progress. In so doing,
subaltern (sacral) politics in an attempt to write the likes of Cabral and Marcos, if not Fanon and
histories from below and register subaltern Guha, variously affirm and restore the historical
agency/history and organization in/from a poten- agency (and history) of peasant and indigenous
tially autonomous (from elite nationalist or impe- collectives denied under Marxist historical prog-
rial) political domain (Guha 1982), expressed nostications singularly tied to the class struggle in
today as a politics of sovereignty in some rural relation to capital and the European historical
struggles addressing development dispossession journey (hence the charge of Eurocentrism) and
(Harvey 2003) in the “postcolony.” a case in point pertaining to the Local Histories/
In theoretical, materialist, and political terms and Global Designs proposition (see Walter Mignolo).
as a continued critique of economic exploitation, Indigenous development socialisms (Mariátegui
anti-/decolonial postcolonial developmentalists 1996), for example, are put forward on material and
have suggested that Marxist imperatives break political (and not just normative and utopian)
down in colonial contexts as colonial politica- grounds while pointing to the superior productivity P
l–economic structures actually thwarted (halted or of pre-Incan communalism based on ayllu
disrupted) class formation that accompanies (from a (community) and practices like minga (collective
Marxist perspective) the development of market labor) when compared to the Spanish colonial
production and therefore the prospects for class- capital-feudal criollo estates and haciendas while
based revolution/politics. acknowledging the political significance of myth as
This denial of the historical process of devel- motivation and inspiration (what subalternists in
opment (colonization stopped indigenous history) Asia refer to as a fundamentally religious subaltern
of national productive forces, a violent colonial politics) for strong collective bonds to account for
usurpation, called for a revolution that did not Peru and Latin America’s varied indigenous politi-
change history (Marxism) but restored it by cal experience from Europe and the individualistic
linking a colonial future to the precolonial past, and isolated French peasant, prompting Marx’s
not as nostalgia but as a renewed continuity pejorative analogy comparing them to a sack of
(Cabral 1979; Marcos 2001; Mariátegui 1996). potatoes (disunited and politically impotent). The
Speaking in relation to the contexts of Cape strong links between community and land (basis of
Verde and Guinea, Amilcar Cabral calls for a political struggle) make communal modes of pro-
counterforce to restore the history of the colo- duction for local needs politically feasible, if not
nized, one that takes back the land from the Por- desirable even on normative, spiritual, and historical
tuguese colonialists who have taken the land in grounds as stressed in an indigenous sovereignty
1924 Postcolonialism, Development, and Education

politics of decolonization (Marcos 2001; Meyer and if not a continued developmental and educational
Alvarado 2010; Sankaran 2008). relevance derived from a material and cultural
Education as formal schooling by the neocolo- history pre-dating the Enlightenment and the
nial developmentalist state (and private interests) coloniality of Euro-American power, develop-
under these localized conceptions of development ment, and an education for development.
and sovereignty based on historical and collective
modes and ways of being linked to land as place,
territory, and history is a space of colonial contes-
tation against domination. Parallel if not entirely
References
different spaces of education are often put forward
Cabral, A. (1979). Unity and struggle: Speeches of Amilcar
in these contexts of struggle. In illustration, Raul Cabral. New York: Monthly Review Press.
Zibechi points to three examples of “education Duffield, M., & Hewitt, V. (Eds.). (2013). Empire, devel-
born in the basement of our societies” opment and colonialism: The past in the present. Suf-
folk: James Currey.
(borrowing a Zapatista phrase) “by those without”
Escobar, A. (1995). Encountering development: The mak-
referring to Indians and peasants in (1) a school ing and unmaking of the third world. Princeton, NJ:
created by a community/ayllu (e.g., Warisata, Princeton University Press.
Bolivia), (2) the “dislocated school” in a move- Fanon, F. (1963/2005). The wretched of the earth (trans:
Farrington, C.). New York: Grove Press.
ment (e.g., Landless Workers Movement or MST,
Galeano, E. (1973). Open veins of Latin America: Five
Brazil), and (3) the Andean and Zapatista schools centuries of the pillage of a continent. New York:
encouraging the art of learning (e.g., Kichwas Monthly Review Press.
weaving) (Meyer and Alvarado 2010, Guha, R. (Ed.). (1982). Subaltern studies 1. New Delhi:
Oxford University Press.
pp. 317–328).
Harvey, D. (2003). The new imperialism. London: Oxford
With their respective contextual and political University Press.
variations, a similar anti-/decolonial sovereignty- Levy, J., & Young, I. (Eds.). (2011). Colonialism and its
related land-based developmental politics and legacies. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
Marcos, S. (2001). In Juana Ponce de Leon (Ed.), Our word
education are informing myriad and current
is our weapon: Selected writings. New York: Seven
food sovereignty struggles (see Food First, Stories Press.
GRAIN, War on Want or Journal of Peasant Stud- Mariátegui, J. (1996). The heroic and creative meaning of
ies), anti-development dispossession (e.g., by socialism: Selected essays of Jose Carlos Mariátegui.
Amherst, MA: Humanities Press.
mining and agribusiness land grabs) movements,
McCowan, T., & Unterhalter, E. (Eds.). (2015). Education
and indigenous and small/landless peasant poli- and international development: An introduction. Lon-
tics in numerous locations of the “postcolony” don: Bloomsbury Publishing.
(see The Via Campesina indigenous and McEwan, C. (2009). Postcolonialism and development.
London: Routledge.
small/landless peasant “postcolony” network
Meyer, L., & Alvarado, B. (Eds.). (2010). New world of
organization). indigenous resistance. San Francisco, CA: City Lights
These anti-/decolonial postcolonial activisms Books.
and associated demands for sovereignty based Nandy, A. (1983). The intimate enemy: Loss and recovery
of self under colonialism. Oxford, UK: Oxford Univer-
on the notion of land held in common and
sity Press.
comunalidad (Meyer and Alvarado 2010) (also Peet, R., & Hartwick, E. (1999). Theories of development.
see Ubuntu and African Socialism) contradict London: The Guilford Press.
Lockean liberal conceptions of land as private Quijano, A. (2000). Coloniality of power and eurocentrism
in Latin America. International Sociology, 15(2),
property and modern capitalist developmental
215–232.
claims based on superior productivity for profit Rist, G. (2002/2014). The history of development: From
and the related deployment of terra nullius. Post- Western origins to global faith. London: Zed.
colonial engaged-activist theories and material Rodney, W. (1972). How Europe underdeveloped Africa.
London: Bogle-L’Ouverture.
movement practices continue to register a contem-
Sankaran, K. (2008). Globalization and postcolonialism:
porary relevance, however unspectacular under Hegemony and resistance in the 21st Century. Lanham:
the terms of a modern colonial capitalist Zeitgeist, Rowman & Littlefield.
Postmodernism and Education 1925

Additionally the first section will point out what

Postcritical Pedagogy the task of philosophy could consist of from a
Deleuzian and Guattarian point of view. In an
▶ Environment and Pedagogy age of professional training, they argue that
doing philosophy requires a pedagogy of the con-
cept (Deleuze and Guattari 1994[1991], p. 12). In
the second section, their philosophy will not be
Postfeminism regarded only as a tool of analysis but as way of
living and thinking in relation to the present. Their
▶ Critical Gender Studies as a Lens on Education stance toward philosophy will be illustrated by
and Schooling discussing how nonphilosophical aspects of
▶ Critical Perspectives on Postfeminist Discourses life – such as cinema, literature, science, and
art – are incorporated in their work. In the third
and final section, the relevance of philosophy as
conceived in the first two parts will be discussed
Postgraduate in relation to education.

▶ Phenomenology of Higher Education

From Disciplinary Societies Toward
Control Societies

Posthumanism In The Postmodern Condition: A Report on

Knowledge (1984[1979]), Lyotard shows that in
▶ Edusemiotics, Subjectivity, and New Material- the history of Western societies, there is a move-
ism ment from a modern relationship with knowledge
▶ Semiosis as Relational Becoming and truth toward a postmodern relationship. From
the Enlightenment period onward and until the
Second World War, knowledge predominantly
received its legitimization in relation to the truth
Postmodernism and Education: and subjective ideals recognized by a Western, P
Relevance of Deleuzian rational society. Lyotard discusses Humboldt’s
and Guattarian Perspective nineteenth-century idea of Bildung to exemplify
for Education how a modern relationship with knowledge trans-
lates itself into a general edification of the subject
Pieter-Jan Decoster (Lyotard 1984, p. 33). However, from the 1950s
KA Koekelberg, Brussel, Belgium onward, there is a delegitimation of this relation-
ship with knowledge. In the contemporary, post-
industrial society, and postmodern culture, the
Introduction grand narratives of the Aufklärung have lost
their credibility in favor of the principle of
This entry will elaborate on the philosophy of performativity, which translates itself into an
Gilles Deleuze, both alone and in collaboration almost exclusive obsession with efficiency and
with Félix Guattari. In the first section, their phi- effectivity (Lyotard 1984, p. 37, 47–53). Lyotard’s
losophy will be regarded as a tool of analysis in famous report on knowledge thus shows that the
relation to Western society. Deleuze’s concept of business model can be considered as the blueprint
Control Societies will be introduced to discuss for contemporary postmodern society.
what the French philosopher Jean-François In Postscript on Control Societies (1995
Lyotard conceives as the postmodern condition. [1990]), Deleuze takes a similar stance. Deleuze
1926 Postmodernism and Education

speaks of a transformation from Michel postponement in (constantly changing) control soci-

Foucault’s disciplinary societies toward control eties” (Deleuze 1995, p. 179).
societies: Nowadays, Western societies are already
[Disciplinary societies] initiate the organization of deeply transformed into control societies. With
vast spaces of enclosure. The individual never the business model at its core, it creates rivalry
ceases passing from one closed environment to and competition between individuals. Philosophy,
another, each having its own laws: first, the family, Deleuze and Guattari argue, has not remained
then the school (‘you are no longer in your family’);
then the barracks (‘you are no longer at school’); unaffected by “the general movement that
then the factory; from time to time the hospital; replaced Critique with sales promotion”
possibly the prison, the preeminent instance of the (Deleuze and Guattari 1994, p. 10). This is in
enclosed environment. line with Lyotard’s analysis, who argues that in
(Deleuze 1995, p. 177)
the postmodern society, knowledge has received a
Disciplinary institutions like the family, the specific role it functions as an economic resource.
school, the military, the hospital, and the prison In What is philosophy? Deleuze and Guattari
literally confine the individual to a specific place, describe an age of commercial professional train-
with specific rules to follow. Lyotard’s analysis of ing, where companies claim to be the friend of
modern education which edifies the subject creativity and the concept, the core of philosophy,
through Bildung can be situated within such a which has been shamefully picked up by informa-
disciplinary institution. These institutions, in Fou- tion services and engineering. For now the ques-
cauldian terms, enclosed the subject from the tion will be addressed how Deleuze and Guattari
eighteenth century onward and thrived in the conceive philosophy should respond to this state
first half of the twentieth century. of affairs. In the third section of this entry, the
Like Lyotard, Deleuze recognizes World War II relevance of this point of view will be discussed in
as a fundamental turning point, after which there is relation to education.
an acceleration of new forces which push the old Only a pedagogy of the concept can prevent us
institutions of the disciplinary societies into a crisis. from this “disaster for thought” (Deleuze and
Reform after reform is being announced, “but Guattari 1994, p. 12). However, philosophy should
everybody knows that these institutions are finished, not be conceived as the post-Kantian task of creat-
whatever the length of their expiration periods” ing a universal encyclopedia. In A thousand pla-
(Deleuze 1995, p. 178). The model of the corpora- teaus (1987[1980]) and in relation to their well-
tion or business has replaced the model of the fac- known concept of the rhizome, they clearly dis-
tory in every segment of society, including the field tance themselves from the position of the
of education. In the disciplinary society, you always all-knowing philosopher king. In this sense,
restarted from zero; “you went from school to bar- Deleuze and Guattari do not argue for a return
racks, from barracks to factory” (Deleuze 1995, toward a relationship with knowledge which char-
p. 179). The individual belonged to the masses, acterized the modern, disciplinary society. Deleuze
which were governed in the different enclosed envi- and Guattari do not see philosophy fundamentally
ronments like schools, factories, and prisons. In as a tool of analysis. In fact, doing philosophy
control societies, however, the business model dom- implies going beyond the inclination of the ana-
inates all these environments, and “you never really lyzed and compartmentalized and dividing struc-
finish anything” (Deleuze 1995, p. 179). For ture, to live and think differently. Therefore a
Deleuze and Guattari, Kafka’s novel The Trial is pedagogy of the concept should be conceived as
very important because it shows a society constantly an act which releases the subject from identities, in
shifting between discipline and control. The Trial favor of a movement in thought, this way releasing
stands in between discipline and control, illustrating the possibility of thought. However, the pitfall is
both modern and postmodern strategies. The novel that today doing philosophy is reduced to superfi-
is about “apparent acquittal (between two confine- cial, ready-made texts or activities. It is not difficult
ments) in disciplinary societies, and endless to use the concepts of Deleuze and Guattari to talk
Postmodernism and Education 1927

about brainstorming, the fragmentation of life, the In contrast to this, “to be rhizomorphous is to
connections that are possible, the networks, produce stems and filaments that seem to be roots,
etc. Therefore the second section of this entry will or better yet connect with them by penetrating the
elaborate what a pedagogy of the concept nowa- trunk, but put them to strange new uses” (Deleuze
days could consist of. What does it mean, from and Guattari 1987, p. 15). The pitfall consists of
the perspective of Deleuze and Guattari, to create interpreting the rhizome as a metaphor. As the
concepts and avoid both analytic, dogmatic intel- Dutch philosopher Henk Oosterling argues, for
lectualism on the one hand, and commercial, super- Deleuze and Guattari, the world should not be
fluous communication on the other? interpreted like a rhizome. The metaphor suggests
that a clearly identifiable reality exists, which the
rhizome would then represent (Oosterling 2012,
The Relevance of Nonphilosophy p. 188). In contrast, to write and to think is
for Doing Philosophy rhizomatic and results in a continuous becoming
(Oosterling 2012, p. 191). “That about which is
In What is philosophy? the post-Kantian focus on being written and how it is said are not juxtaposed
a universal encyclopedia of the concept is as substance and form, but interweave, as content
contrasted with a pedagogy of the concept. and expression” (Oosterling 2012, p. 197, my
Doing philosophy is not about having a just idea translation). Deleuze and Guattari are aiming at
but about just having an idea, which consists of the possibility of a different kind of thought, and
researching, time and again, under what condi- the nonphilosophy they use, such as literature,
tions, a new concept can be created. This can be mathematics, painting, cinema, or concepts such
exemplified by studying how Deleuze and as the rhizome, is to be interpreted as metonymic
Guattari interpret the importance of non- for this possibility.
philosophy for what doing philosophy is about. A clear example of the relevance of non-
Consider how they create a way of thinking in philosophy for doing philosophy is Deleuze’s cin-
relation to the concept of “the rhizome” in A ema theory in Cinema 1 (1986[1983]) and Cinema
thousand plateau (1987). To think rhizomatically, 2 (1989[1985]). Deleuze does not use cinematic
and more in general, to do philosophy by creating images to strengthen a particular point of view but
concepts, involves considering how a thought or rather researches what the implications are when
an event always can be approached through mul- the mind thinks “cinematographically.” For P
tiple ways. A rhizome is a stem of a plant, from Deleuze, cinema always shows the world;
which a new plant can arise at any time. Bulbs, watching cinema is a way of being connected to
tubers, rats, burrows, potatoes, and couch grass, the world. It shows aspects of the world “in the
however, are also examples of the rhizome. process of being formed or dissolving through the
Deleuze and Guattari interpret Kafka’s literature movement of lines and points taken at any-distant-
as rhizomatic. The Trial, for example, grows from whatevers of their course” (Deleuze 1986, p. 6).
bureaucracy and systems of justice. Deleuze and “Cinema” comes from the Greek word “kinetic,”
Guattari use this concept as a force to react against meaning “a motion.” As an art form, it has the
a way of thinking deeply rooted in Western reality. potential to offer an experience of the world in
To describe this Western way of thinking, they use which thinking does not think any more through a
the image of the tree or the root which “endlessly given method or a “presupposed image of thought
develops the law of the One that becomes two, which determines our goals and our methods when
then of the two that become four . . .” (Deleuze we try to think” (Deleuze 2004[1968], p. xv). Cin-
and Guattari 1987, p. 5). Deleuze and Guattari ema is a practice of images and signs, created by
describe accounting and bureaucracy as trees or great directors who think through moving images
roots but also psychoanalysis and linguistics such and create compositions of “images and of signs,
as Chomsky’s grammaticality (Deleuze and that is, a pre-verbal intelligible content” (Deleuze
Guattari 1987, p. 7). 1986, p. ix). Deleuze conceived cinema as an
1928 Postmodernism and Education

automaton. What is important is that in line with exemplified that their philosophy can be used as
Walter Benjamin, he believed that the task at hand a tool of analysis in relation to (aspects of) West-
is not to tame cinema but precisely to allow it to be ern societies. In what follows, this way of thinking
an automaton and to render it spiritual. Deleuze will be discussed in relation to the current state of
conceptualizes his spiritual automaton as always affairs in education. As we saw in the first section,
consisting of two contradicting states of mind Deleuze’s Postscript on control societies clearly
which nevertheless coincide. Cinematic movement refers to a cultural and economic shift where old
and time influence the spectator who is conscious institutions are crumbling down in favor of new
and unconscious, active but also passive, critical societal forms of organization. As a consequence,
yet at the same time surrendering completely to the knowledge and learning and education are legiti-
experience. Or as the French film director Robert mated differently as well. Vis-a-vis the economic
Bresson puts it, cinema allows the spectator not to productivity of society, knowledge has become a
see what one is already thinking, but to think about primary resource. In a postmodern society, indi-
what one sees (Bresson 1975). viduals select the knowledge they need “a la
carte” in their specific contexts (Lyotard 1984,
Heidegger said: ‘Man can think in the sense that he p. 49). This way, however, learning is not per-
possesses the possibility to do so. This possibility
alone, however, is no guarantee to us that we are ceived as merely learning facts or insights as
capable of thinking.’ It is this capacity, this power, opposed to the modern idea of Bildung, in which
and not the simple logical possibility, that cinema learning was directly related to shaping a person-
claims to give us in communicating the shock. It is ality. Indeed, it cannot be compared to the modern
as if cinema were telling us: with me, with the
movement-image, you can’t escape the shock which idea of edification anymore. However, it does
arouses the thinker in you. (Deleuze 1989, p. 156) have a purpose as we can relate it to the business
model Deleuze mentions or the performativity
Accordingly, in Deleuze’s work, both alone principle of Lyotard. Concretely this entails that
and in collaboration with Guattari, instead of a when relating to knowledge, the individual is
set of principles or a clearly delineated methodol- constantly preparing him or herself for the job
ogy, it seems rather that a philosophical attitude or market. Learning today does not simply imply
ethos is coming to the fore. In fact, doing philos- that time and again, as long as one lives, one
ophy seems to imply an ethos as methodology. merely has the capacity to access information.
Deleuze and Guattari introduce the question what Rather, it is “the capacity to actualize the relevant
philosophy is by referring to a “moment of quiet data for solving a problem “here and now” and to
restlessness, at midnight, when there is no longer organize that data into an efficient strategy”
anything to ask” (Deleuze and Guattari 1994, (Lyotard 1984, p. 51).
p. 1). Furthermore, “the friend who appears in In the light of both Deleuze’s and Lyotard’s
philosophy no longer stands for an extrinsic per- hypotheses, the language of the UNESCO World
sona, an example or empirical circumstance, but Report clearly shows what learning is about
rather for a presence that is intrinsic to thought, a nowadays:
condition of possibility of thought itself, a living
category, a transcendental lived reality” (Deleuze The ‘learning’ model has spread far beyond the
world of education, into every cranny of economic
and Guattari 1994, p. 3). and social life. It is now increasingly accepted that
any organization, profitmaking or not, needs to
strengthen its educational, ‘learning’ side; and here
The Significance of Deleuze and Guattari it is important to note that the rise of this pattern
coincides with that of innovation generally, in all
for Education areas of human activity. (UNESCO World Report
2005, p. 57)
The first and second sections of this entry accen-
tuated two different ways of looking at Deleuze This quote is indicative that the way education
and Guattari’s work. In the first section, it was is perceived nowadays, indeed, is transforming
Poststructural Discourse Analysis of Modern Parenting in Early Childhood Education 1929

from education as a means to edify the subject postmodern society. In other words, from a partic-
toward a focus on learning based on a business ular philosophical ethos, which is central in the
paradigm the way Deleuze conceived it: work of Deleuze and Guattari, the control societies’
[S]chool is being replaced by continuing education
perspective on learning is not accepted and applied
and exams by continuous assessment. It’s the surest anymore, but interrupted or short-circuited, so that
way of turning education into a business. (Deleuze the activity of learning becomes a question again.
1995, p. 179) Education then consists of creating a movement in
Factories formed individuals into a body of men for thought and disturbing conventions, rules, dog-
the joint convenience of a management that could matic thought and commercial, and superfluous
monitor each component in this mass, and trade
communication.
unions that could mobilize mass resistance; but
businesses are constantly introducing an inexorable
rivalry presented as healthy competition, a wonder-
ful motivation that sets individuals against one References
another and sets itself up in each of them, dividing
each within himself. (Deleuze 1995, p. 179) Bresson, R. (1975). Notes sur le cinématographe. Paris:
Gallimard.
In this quote, we read an important reference to Deleuze, G. (1986). Cinema 1: The movement-image
the individual, which should be taken into account (trans: Tomlinson H., & Habberjam B.). London: The
Athlone Press. (Original work published 1983).
when thinking about how in education nowadays
Deleuze, G. (1989). Cinema 2: The time-image, (trans:
the emphasis lies on individual, student-centered Tomlinson H., & Habberjam B.). London: The Athlone
learning. The individual is not enclosed anymore Press. (Original work published 1985).
like in the disciplinary society but rather exposed Deleuze, G. (1995). Negotiations (trans: Joughin, M.).
New York: Columbia University Press. (Original
to perpetual rivalry which “sets itself up in each of
work published 1990).
them, dividing each within himself.” According to Deleuze, G. (2004). Difference and repetition (trans: Pat-
this model of the corporation, “perpetual training ton, P.). New York: Continuum International Publish-
tends to replace the school, and continuous con- ing Group. (Original work published 1968).
Deleuze, G., & Guattari, F. (1987). A thousand plateaus.
trol to replace the examination” (Deleuze 1995,
Capitalism and schizophrenia (trans: Massumi, B.).
p. 179). If the factory and its workers are meto- Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
nymic for the economic life in the disciplinary (Original work published 1980).
society, the business corporation and its Deleuze, G., & Guattari, F. (1994). What is philosophy?
employers are metonymic for the conditions in (trans: Burchell, G., & Tomlinson, H.). London: Verso. P
(Original work published 1991).
which we find ourselves today. Education, instead Lyotard, J. F. (1984). The postmodern condition: A report
of shaping a character toward adulthood, would on knowledge (trans: Bennington, G. & Massumi, B.).
then organize the training of each individual to Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press.
(Original work published 1979).
become an active participant of society and to
Oosterling, H. (2012). Rizoom. In E. Romein,
relate to knowledge predominantly, if not solely, M. Schuilenburg, & S. Van Tuinen (Eds.), Deleuze
from an economical perspective. compendium. Amsterdam: Uitgeverij Boom.
This brings us to the relevance of what doing Unesco World Report. (2005). Towards knowledge socie-
ties. Paris: United Nations Educational, Scientific and
philosophy consists of as described in the second
Cultural Organization.
section of this entry. The significance of Deleuze
and Guattari could imply that at least to some
extent their method of doing philosophy is used
to put education in a different perspective. So apart Poststructural Discourse Analysis of
from using Deleuze and Guattari’s work as a tool of Modern Parenting in Early Childhood
analysis to contemplate on the current meaning of Education
knowledge and learning, the significance of their
philosophy could also consist of a more fundamen- ▶ Incredible Years as a Tool of Governmentality:
tal experimentation with the concepts and events A Foucauldian Analysis of an Early Years Parent-
related to learning as it is conceived in a ing Program
1930 Poststructuralism

critique of the very Enlightenment norms that

Poststructuralism “education research” today prides itself on
“truth,” “objectivity,” and “progress.” Post-
▶ Deleuze and Learning structuralism as a contemporary philosophical
▶ Derrida and the Ethics of Reading movement offers a range of theories (of the text),
▶ Poststructuralism, Postcolonialism, and critiques (of institutions), new concepts, and forms
Education of analysis (of power) which are relevant and sig-
nificant for the study of education, but also it offers
a range of writings explicitly devoted to education.
Poststructuralism is a difficult term to define. It
Poststructuralism and Education has often been confused with its kinship term,
postmodernism, and, indeed, some critics have
Michael A. Peters argued that the latter term, through patterns of
University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand established usage, has come to subsume post-
structuralism. We can distinguish between the
two terms by recognizing the difference between
Introduction their theoretical objects of study. Post-
structuralism takes as its theoretical object “struc-
Poststructuralism has its origins in European for- turalism,” whereas postmodernism takes as its
malism and has strong affinities and continuities theoretical object “modernism.” Poststructuralism
with its predecessor paradigm “structuralism” as can be characterized as a mode of thinking, a style
well as some critical theoretical differences. Both of philosophizing, and a kind of writing, yet the
movements have had a strong impact and continu- term should not be used to convey a sense of
ing on educational philosophy and theory espe- homogeneity, singularity, and unity. The very
cially in relation to questions of the text, criticism, term “poststructuralism” is not uncontested.
reading, writing and the philosophy of the subject. Mark Poster (1989, p. 6) remarks that the term
The twin movements have exercised deep influ- poststructuralism is American in origin and that
ence in most sub-fields of education. As a move- “poststructuralist theory” names a uniquely
ment of thought it has impacted widely in American practice, which is based upon an assim-
education – not only philosophy but also in policy, ilation of the work of a diverse range of theorists.
feminist thought and postcolonial studies. This More generally, we might say that the term is a
chapter charts some of the most significant of label used in English-speaking academic commu-
poststructuralist developments and their impacts nities to describe a distinctively philosophical
in education. It comments on its emergence and response to the structuralism characterizing the
traces its affinities and differences. works of Claude Lévi-Strauss (anthropology),
Poststructuralism will be resisted in the domain Louis Althusser (Marxism), Jacques Lacan
of educational theory and research for some time to (psychoanalysis), and Roland Barthes (literature)
come not only for the reason that this domain, at (see Gadet 1989). Manfred Frank (1988), a con-
least in the mainstream, is inherently conservative, temporary German philosopher, for his part pre-
being largely State or federally funded, and still fers the term “neo-structuralism” emphasizing a
strongly imbued with the positivist ethos it continuity with “structuralism,” as does John
inherited during its historical development and Sturrock (1986, p. 137), who focusing upon
professionalization as a legitimate field of study Jacques Derrida the “Post-Structuralist” – indeed,
but also because poststructuralism – if we can “the weightiest and most acute critic Structuralism
both risk and indulge a singularization – at the has had” – discusses the “post” in “post-
broadest level carries with its philosophical reac- Structuralism” in terms of “coming after and of
tion to the scientific pretensions of structuralism, a seeking to extend Structuralism in its rightful
Poststructuralism and Education 1931

direction.” He continues: “Post-Structuralism is a formalism, with explicit historical links to both

critique of Structuralism conducted from within: formalist and futurist linguistics and poetics and
that is, it turns certain of Structuralism’s argu- the European avant-garde.
ments against itself and points to certain funda- Decisive for the emergence of post-
mental inconsistencies in their method which structuralism was, undoubtedly, the rediscovery
Structuralists have ignored” (ibid.). Richard of Friedrich Nietzsche’s writings and Martin
Harland (1987), by contrast, coins the term Heidegger’s (1991) interpretation of them by a
“superstructuralism” as a single umbrella based group of French thinkers, along with the structur-
on an underlying framework of assumptions alist readings of both Freud and Marx. Where
common to “Structuralists, Poststructuralists, Marx was seen to play out the theme of power in
(European) Semioticians, Althusserian Marxists, his work, and Freud gave a conceptual priority to
Lacanians, Foucauldians, et al” (Harland 1993, the notion of desire, Nietzsche was read as a
pp. ix–x). All of these locutions “post- philosopher who did not prioritize or subordinate
structuralism,” “neo-structuralism,” and “super- the one concept over the other. His philosophy
structuralism” entertain as central the offered a way forward that combined both power
movement’s historical, institutional, and theoreti- and desire (see Schrift 1995; Peters 1998).
cal proximity to “structuralism.” Yet post- The American reception of deconstruction and
structuralism cannot be simply reduced to a set the influential formulation of “poststructuralism”
of shared assumptions, a method, a theory, or in the English-speaking world quickly became
even a school. It is best referred to as a movement institutionalized from the point at which Derrida
of thought – a complex skein of thought – embody- delivered his essay “Structure, Sign and Play in the
ing different forms of critical practice. It is decid- Discourse of the Human Sciences” to the Interna-
edly interdisciplinary and has many different but tional Colloquium on Critical Languages and the
related strands. Sciences of Man at Johns Hopkins University in
As a French and predominately Parisian affair, October 1966. Richard Macksey and Eugenio
first-generation poststructuralism is inseparable Donato (1970, p. x) described the conference as
from the immediate intellectual milieu which pre- “the first time in the United States that structuralist
vailed in postwar France, a history dominated by thought had been considered as a cross-disciplinary
diverse intellectual forces: the legacy of Alexan- phenomenon.” Even before the conclusion of the
der Kojéve’s and Jean Hyppolite’s “existentialist” conference, there were clear signs that the ruling P
interpretations of Hegel’s Phenomenology of transdisciplinary paradigm of structuralism had
Mind, Heidegger’s phenomenology of Being and been superseded, yet only a paragraph in
Jean-Paul Sartre’s existentialism, Jacques Lacan’s Macksey’s “Concluding Remarks” signaled the
rediscovery and structuralist “reading” of Freud, importance of Derrida’s “radical reappraisals of
the omnipresence of Georges Bataille and Mau- our [structuralist] assumptions” (p. 320).
rice Blanchot, Gaston Bachelard’s radical episte- The “decentering” of structure, of the transcen-
mology and Georges Canguilhem’s studies of dental signified, and of the sovereign subject, Der-
science, and, perhaps, most importantly, the rida suggests – naming his sources of
French reception of Nietzsche. It is also insepara- inspiration – can be found in the Nietzschean
ble from the structuralist tradition of linguistics critique of metaphysics and, especially, of the
based upon the work of Ferdinand de Saussure concepts of being and truth, in the Freudian cri-
and Roman Jakobson and the structuralist inter- tique of self-presence, as he says, “the critique of
pretations of Claude Lévi-Strauss, Roland consciousness, of the subject, of self-identity and
Barthes, Louis Althusser, and (early) Michel Fou- of self-proximity or self-possession” (Ibid., 280),
cault. Poststructuralism, considered in terms of and, more radically, in the Heideggerian destruc-
contemporary cultural history, can be understood tion of metaphysics, “of the determination of
as belonging to the broad movement of European Being as presence” (ibid.). In the body of the
1932 Poststructuralism and Education

essay, Derrida considers the theme of interpenetrations among the disciplines and to
“decentering” in relation to Lévi-Strauss’ ethnol- intellectual advances in newly configured fields
ogy and concludes by distinguishing two interpre- such as film theory, media studies, queer theory,
tations of structure. One, Hegelian in origin and postcolonial studies, and Afro-American and Hel-
exemplified in Lévi-Strauss’ work, he argues, lenistic studies. Outside France and especially in
“dreams of deciphering a truth or an origin the American academy, the influence of post-
which escapes play and the order of the sign” structuralism has been strongly felt in literary
and seeks the “inspiration of a new humanism.” studies (e.g., Jonathan Culler, Shoshana Felman,
The other, “which is no longer turned toward the Vincent Leitch) and is strongly evident in the
origin, affirms play and tries to pass beyond man work of the Harvard literary school (e.g., Paul de
and humanism” (Derrida 1978, p. 292). Man, Hillis Miller). Within the Western academy,
Gilles Deleuze’s (1983, orig. 1962) Nietzsche more generally it has influenced the traditional
and Philosophy, which interpreted Nietzsche’s disciplines of sociology (e.g., Zygmunt Bauman,
philosophy as an attack upon the Hegelian dialec- Barry Smart), philosophy (e.g., Cornel West, Paul
tic, helped to create the conditions for an accent Patton, Hubert Dreyfus), politics (e.g., Colin Gor-
upon pure difference – a “philosophy of don, William Connolly, Barry Hindess), anthro-
difference” – that emphasized difference not pology (e.g., James Clifford, Paul Rabinow),
only as a constant in linguistic and symbolic sys- history (e.g., Hayden White, Mark Poster, Domi-
tems but also as a necessary element in the process nick LaCapra), geography (e.g., Edward Soja,
of creating social and cultural identity (see Schrift David Harvey), as well as the newly emergent
1995; Peters 1996, 1998). fields of feminist and gender studies (e.g., Judith
In its first generation, poststructuralism is Butler, Chris Weedon), postcolonial studies (e.g.,
exemplified in the work and writing of Jacques Edward Said, Gayatri Spivak, Homi Bhabha), and
Derrida, Michel Foucault, Julia Kristeva, Jean- cultural studies (e.g., Stuart Hall, Simon During).
François Lyotard, Gilles Deleuze, Luce Irigaray, In part the significance of poststructuralism for
Jean Baudrillard, and many others. Historically, educational philosophy and theory lies in the fact
its early formation and institutional development that it can be construed as a philosophical reaction
can be charted in Philippe Sollers’ highly influen- against a scientistic social science. The theoretical
tial journal Tel Quel, and there are strong connec- development of French structuralism during the
tions with literary figures such as Maurice late 1950s and 1960s led to the institutionalization
Blanchot and Roland Barthes. In addition to of a transdisciplinary “mega-paradigm” which
work which engages directly with specific philos- helped to integrate the humanities and the social
ophers, poststructuralist thinkers have developed sciences but did so in an overly optimistic and
distinctive forms of analysis (grammatology, decon- scientistic conception of the social sciences. Its
struction, archeology, genealogy, semanalysis) and claim to the status of a “mega-paradigm” was
often developed these forms as critiques of specific based around the centrality of language and its
institutions (family, State, prison, clinic, school, scientific analysis in human social and cultural
factory, armed forces, university, even philosophy life, considered as self-reflexive signifying or
itself) and theorizations of a range of different semiotic systems or subsystems. It was, in this
media (“reading,” “writing,” teaching, television, sense, part of the broader “linguistic turn” taken
the visual arts, the plastic arts, film, and forms of by Western philosophy. The tradition of structur-
electronic communication). alist linguistics had its origins in the late
The influence of the first-generation post- nineteenth-century European formalism and
structuralists has been immense: inside France it under the combined influence of Ferdinand de
has led to exciting developments at the forefront Saussure (1959) and Roman Jakobson (e.g.,
of feminist research, psychoanalysis, literary the- 1973) developed into the dominant research pro-
ory, anthropology, sociology, and history. It has gram in linguistics. In the hands of Claude Lévi-
also led to important cross-fertilizations and Strauss, A.J. Greimas, Roland Barthes, Louis
Poststructuralism and Education 1933

Althusser, Jacques Lacan, Michel Foucault, and directly indebted to Freud’s study of the
many others, it made its way into anthropology, Unconscious and his clinical investigations
literary criticism, psychoanalysis, Marxism, his- which undermined the prevalent philosoph-
tory, esthetic theory, and studies of popular cul- ical view of the pure rationality and self-
ture, developing into a powerful overarching transparency of the subject, substituting a
framework for the semiotic and linguistic analysis greater complexity that called into question
of society, economy, and culture, considered as a traditional distinctions of reason/unreason
series of functionally interrelated sign systems. (madness).
Poststructuralism, then, can be interpreted as a (iv) A shared intellectual inheritance and tradition
specifically philosophical response to the alleged based upon Saussure, Jakobson, the Russian
scientific status of structuralism – to its status as a formalists, Freud, and Marx, among other
mega-paradigm for the social sciences – and as a thinkers. This shared intellectual history is
movement which, under the inspiration of Frie- like a complex skein that has many strands.
drich Nietzsche, Martin Heidegger, and others, We might call it European formalism, begin-
sought to decenter the “structures,” systematicity, ning in prerevolutionary Russia, in Geneva,
and scientific status of structuralism, to critique its and in Jena, with simultaneous and over-
underlying metaphysics, and to extend it to a lapping developments in linguistics, poetics,
number of different directions while at the same art, science, and literature.
time preserving central elements of structural-
ism’s critique of the humanist subject. Differences
Its main theoretical tendencies and innovations (v) The reintroduction of history. Where struc-
can be summarized in terms of its affinities and turalism sought to efface history through
differences with structuralism: synchronic analyses of structures, post-
structuralism brings about a renewed inter-
Affinities est in a critical history through a reemphasis
(i) The critique of Renaissance humanist phi- on diachronic analyses; on the mutation,
losophy and the rational, autonomous, self- transformation, and discontinuity of struc-
transparent subject of humanist thought. tures; and on serialization, repetition,
A shared suspicion of phenomenology’s “archeology,” and, perhaps most impor-
and existentialism’s privileging of human tantly, what Foucault, following Nietzsche, P
consciousness as autonomous, directly calls genealogy. Genealogical narratives are
accessible, and as the sole basis of historical seen to replace ontology, or to express the
interpretation, understanding, and action. same thought in a different way, questions
(ii) A general theoretical understanding of lan- of ontology become historized.
guage and culture in terms of linguistic and (vi) The challenge to scientism in the human
symbolic systems, where the interrelations of sciences, an anti-foundationalism in episte-
constituent elements are regarded as more mology, and a new emphasis upon
important than the elements considered in perspectivism in interpretation. Post-
isolation from one another. Both structural- structuralism challenges the rationalism
ism and poststructuralism take up the Saus- and realism that structuralism continues
surean belief – and innovative methodologies from positivism, with its promethium faith
based upon its insights – that linguistic signs in scientific method, in progress, and in the
act reflexively rather than referentially. capacity of the structuralist approach to
(iii) A general belief in the Unconscious and in discern and identify universal structures
hidden structures or sociohistorical forces of all cultures and the human mind.
that, to a large extent, constrain and govern (vii) The rediscovery of Nietzsche and
our behavior. Much of the innovation of Heidegger’s interpretation of Nietzsche as
structuralism and poststructuralism is the “last metaphysician.” Nietzsche’s work
1934 Poststructuralism and Education

provides a new way to theorize and con- (ix) A deepening of democracy and a political
ceive the discursive operation of power and critique of Enlightenment values. Post-
desire in the constitution and self- structuralism criticizes the ways that
overcoming of human subjects. Heidegger modern liberal democracies construct
in his two-volume Nietzsche first published political identity on the basis of a series
in 1961 focuses upon The Will to Power – a of binary oppositions (e.g., we/them, citi-
work assembled from notes and first zen/noncitizen, responsible/irresponsible,
published posthumously by his sister – legitimate/illegitimate) which has the effect
and interprets Nietzsche as the last meta- of excluding or “othering” some groups of
physician. Derrida, in particular, takes people. Western countries grant rights to
issue with Heidegger’s “reductive” inter- citizens – rights are dependent upon
pretation and translates Heidegger’s citizenship – and regard noncitizens, that
“destruction” of the history of Western is, immigrants, those seeking asylum, and
metaphysics as “deconstruction.” refugees, as “aliens.” Some strands of post-
(viii) A critical philosophy of technology. Much structuralist thought are interested in exam-
of the history of poststructuralism can be ining how these boundaries are socially
written as a series of innovative theoretical constructed and how they are maintained
developments of or about Heidegger’s and policed. In particular, the deconstruc-
notion of technology. Heidegger’s philoso- tion of political hierarchies of value com-
phy of technology is related to his critique prising binary oppositions and
of the history of Western metaphysics and philosophies of difference is seen as highly
the disclosure of being. The essence of significant for current debates on multicul-
technology is a poiesis or “bringing forth” turalism and feminism and as issuing from
which is grounded in disclosure (aletheia). the poststructuralist critique of representa-
He suggests that the essence of modern tion and consensus.
technology shows itself in what he calls (x) Foucault’s later work based on the notion
enframing and reveals itself as “standing of “governmentality” has initiated a sub-
reserve,” a concept that refers to resources stantial body of contemporary work in
that are stored in the anticipation of con- political philosophy which deals directly
sumption. As such modern technology with political reason. Foucault coins the
names the final stage in the history of meta- term “governmentality” in an analysis of
physics (nihilism) and the way in which liberalism and neoliberalism, viewing the
being is disclosed in this particular epoch: former as origination in a doctrine
a stockpiling in principle completely concerning the critique of state reason.
knowable and devoted entirely for human Foucault uses the term “governmentality”
use. He suggests that the essence of tech- to mean the art of government and to signal
nology is nothing technological; it is rather the emergence of a distinctive type of rule
a system (Gestell), an all-embracing view that became the basis for modern liberal
of technology, described as a mode of politics. He maintains that the “art of gov-
human existence that focuses upon the ernment” emerges in the sixteenth century,
way machinic technology can alter our motivated by diverse questions: the gov-
mode of being, distorting our actions and ernment of oneself (personal conduct), the
aspirations. Heidegger is careful not to government of souls (pastoral doctrine),
pose as an optimist or pessimist. He sees and the government of children
his own work as preparation for a new (pedagogy). It is around the same time
beginning that will enable one to rescue that “economy” is introduced into political
oneself from nihilism and allow the reso- practice as part of the governmentalization
lute individual to achieve an authenticity. of the State. What is distinctive of
Poststructuralism and Education 1935

Foucault’s approach is that he is interested he suggests establishes the very condition

in the question of how power is exercised, for the existence of discourse: “that a uni-
and, implicitly, he is providing a critique of versal rule of judgment between heteroge-
contemporary tendencies to overvalue neous genre is lacking in general” (p. xi), or
problems of the State, reducing it to a again, “there is no genre whose hegemony
unity or singularity based upon a certain over others would be just” (p. 158).
functionality. Both Foucault and Derrida, A différend, as Lyotard (1988) defines it,
returning to Kant’s cosmopolitical writ- “is a case of conflict, between (at least) two
ings, have addressed themselves of the parties, that cannot be equitably resolved
prospect for global governance, and Der- for lack of a rule of judgment applicable to
rida has talked about both deepening both arguments” (p. xi). Poststructuralist
democracy and – entertaining develop- notions of difference, pointing to an anti-
ments of new technologies – a “democracy essentialism, have been subsequently
to come.” developed in relation to gender and ethnic-
(xi) Philosophies of difference. If there is one ity: the American feminist philosopher, Iris
element that distinguishes post- Marion Young (1991), writes of Justice
structuralism, it is the notion of difference and the Politics of Difference, and the
which various thinkers use, develop, and Afro-American philosopher, Cornel West
apply in different ways. The notion of dif- (1992), speaks of “The New Cultural Pol-
ference comes from Nietzsche, from Saus- itics of Difference.”
sure, and from Heidegger. Gilles Deleuze (xii) Suspicion of metanarratives. Lyotard’s defi-
(1983, orig, 1962), in Nietzsche and Phi- nition of the “postmodern condition” charac-
losophy, interprets Nietzsche’s philosophy terizes a feature of poststructuralism that we
according to the principle of difference and can call the suspicion of transcendental argu-
advances this interpretation as an attack ments and viewpoints, combined with the
upon the Hegelian dialectic. Derrida’s rejection of canonical descriptions and final
notion of difference can be traced back to vocabularies. In particular, “suspicion
at least two sources: Saussure’s insight that toward metanarratives” refers to the question
linguistic systems are constituted through of legitimation with reference to the modern
difference and Heidegger’s notion of dif- age in which various grand narratives have P
ference. It took nearly a decade, from the been advanced as a legitimation of State
first mention of the notion of difference power. There is no synthesizing or neutral
(in 1959) to its development as différance. master discourse that can reproduce the spec-
Différance, as Derrida (1981, pp. 8–9) ulative unity of knowledge or adjudicate
remarks, as both the common root of all between competing views, claims, or dis-
the positional concepts marking our lan- courses. The “linguistic turn” of twentieth-
guage and the condition for all significa- century philosophy and social sciences does
tion, refers not only to the “movement that not warrant the assumption of a metalinguis-
consists in deferring by means of delay, tic neutrality or foundational epistemological
delegation, reprieve, referral, detour, post- privilege.
ponement, reserving” but also and finally (xiii) The diagnosis of “power/knowledge” and
to “the unfolding of difference,” of the the exposure of technologies of domination
ontico-ontological difference, which Hei- based upon Foucault’s analytics of power.
degger named as the difference between For Foucault, power is productive; it is
Being and beings. As such différance is dispersed throughout the social system,
seen as plotting the linguistic limits of the and it is intimately related to knowledge.
subject. Lyotard (1988), by contrast, It is productive because it is not only
invents the concept of the différend which repressive but also creates new knowledge
1936 Poststructuralism, Postcolonialism, and Education

(which may also liberate). It is dispersed Heidegger, M. (1991). Nietzsche (2 vols., trans: Krell, D.).
rather than located in any one center, like San Francisco, CA: Harper [original published in
1961].
the State, and it is part of the constellation Jakobson, R. (1973). Main trends in the science of lan-
“power/knowledge” which means that guage. London: Allen and Unwin.
knowledge, in the sense of discursive prac- Lyotard, J. -F. (1988). The differend: Phrases in dispute
tices, is generated through the exercise of (trans: Van Den Abbeele, G.). Minneapolis, MN: Uni-
versity of Minnesota Press.
power in the control of the body. Foucault Macksey, R., & Donato, E. (Eds.). (1970). The structuralist
develops this thesis through his genealogi- controversy: The languages of criticism and the sci-
cal study of the development of modern ences of man. Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins Press.
institutions like the prison and the school Peters, M. (1996). Poststructuralism, politics and educa-
tion. Westport/London: Bergin & Garvey.
and the corresponding emergence of the Peters, M. (1998). Introduction: Naming the multiple. In
social sciences that helped devised new M. Peters (Ed.), Naming the multiple: Post-
methods of social control. structuralism and education. Westport/London: Bergin
(xiv) The politics of the global knowledge/infor- & Garvey.
Poster, M. (1989). Critical theory and poststructuralism:
mation society/economy. Poststructuralism In search of a context. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University
provides intellectual resources to philoso- Press.
phers of education for unpicking the ruling Saussure, F. (1959). Course in general linguistics (eds.:
assumptions currently used to construct the Bally, C., & Sechehaye, A. (with Albert Reidlinger);
trans: Baskin, W.). New York: The Philosophical
dominant neoliberal paradigm of globaliza- Library, [1916].
tion as a global economy/society allegedly Schrift, A. (1995). Nietzsche’s French legacy: A genealogy
based upon a conception of knowledge of poststructuralism. New York/London: Routledge.
and “free trade.” The new production of Sturrock, J. (1986). Structuralism. London: Paladin.
West, C. (1992). The new cultural politics of difference. In
knowledge and the global knowledge econ- C. West (Ed.), Keeping faith: Philosophy and race in
omy, together with classical assumptions of America. New York/London: Routledge.
rationality, individuality, and self-interest, Young, I. M. (1991). Justice and the politics of difference.
are important construction sites for knowl- Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
edge deconstruction and critique. They
are also conceptual sites for alternative
conceptions.
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and Education
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Deleuze, G. (1983). Nietzsche and philosophy (trans:
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Derrida, J. (1978). Structure, sign and play in the dis-
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ence (trans: Bass, A., pp. 278–293). Chicago, IL:
University of Chicago Press.
Derrida, J. (1981). Positions (trans: Bass, A.). Chicago, IL: Colonialism; Empire; Humanism; Modern Edu-
University of Chicago Press. cation; Postcolonialism; Poststructuralism
Frank, M. (1988). What is neo-structuralism? (trans:
Wilke, S., & Gray, R., Foreword: Schwab, M.). Min-
neapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Gadet, F. (1989). Saussure and contemporary culture Introduction
(trans: Elliot, G.). London: Hutchinson.
Harland, R. (1987). Superstructuralism: The philosophy of Postcolonial theory coincides with radical disrup-
structuralism and post-structuralism. London/New
York: Methuen.
tions to colonial systems of thought brought about
Harland, R. (1993). Beyond superstructuralism: The syn- by civil rights movements in the ‘60s in France
tagmatic side of language. London: Routledge. and other Western nations. In the wake of the
Poststructuralism, Postcolonialism, and Education 1937

Shoah and liberation struggles in ex-colonial with poststructuralism, postcolonialism is an

nations, French poststructuralists began a system- enactment of thought that excavates, decon-
atic critique of Western metaphysics of being structs, and represents modernist forms of knowl-
and its attendant modernist operation. Post- edge, history, and social organization, but with
structuralists use various means and methods to explicit reference to a colonial frame and context.
destable the assumed primacy of modern struc- Acknowledging their debt to the decolonizing
tures of language, knowledge, governance, ethics, movements, Homi K. Bhabha (1994) suggests
and patriarchal social relations to unveil the hid- that postcolonialism examines blurred, broken,
den aims and catastrophic ends of Western onto- and antagonist social ties produced from violent
logical projects assuming a mythical superiority histories of colonial oppression and their after-
of European man over other beings (Derrida math. For Bhabha, fractured social bonds bind
1974). For Lévinas (1969), in particular, the contemporary and global geopolitical relations
ethno-superior subject and totalizing logics under- into a historical knot that is difficult but necessary
pinning Western ontologies of being greatly to untangle. In this regard, postcolonialism bears
inform devastating genocidal and colonial pro- the reparative impulse of poststructuralism to ima-
jects leading to the finite extermination of the gine, create, and enact just modes of thinking and
unique existence of others before, during, and being in the world with others. Postcolonial theo-
after the Second World War. rizing seeks to supplement, recuperate, narrate,
Given its emergence in a time of ultimate colo- and renew a wounded humanity from the more
nial failure, Robert J. Young argues that post- violating imperatives, actions, and events cast in
structuralist theory is already postcolonial. For the name of the human and humanism.
Young (1990) poststructuralism arises directly
from sustained philosophical examination of the
modernist imperatives of European ontologies of Key Postcolonial Thinkers in Education
the human and the nature of human being.
According to Young deconstruction is primarily Widely viewed as inaugurating the field, Edward
of the “concept, the authority, and assumed pri- Said’s seminal work Orientalism is the first full-
macy of, the category of ‘the West’” (19). The length study of its kind to examine the represen-
poststructural reveal of colonial ontology in the tation of the “Eastern Other” in Western meta-
Western episteme, in turn, generates a post- physical thought and the humanist tradition. If P
colonial vocabulary, framework of geopolitical widely critiqued for creating an “other” monolith
and historical analyses, and set of constructs that of the human, Said’s work is remarkable for its
challenge, contest, and “rethink the premises, detailed, Foucauldian excavation of figures of
assumptions and protocols of its centrist imperial foreignness as depicted in literary and colonial
culture” (Young 2001, p. 414). accounts. In contrast to Said’s macro-historicizing
Poststructuralism informs the most influential project, in the Location of Culture, Homi Bhabha
postcolonial theorists of our time, most notably, invents strategies of critique to investigate the
Edward Said, Homi K. Bhabha, and Gayatri micro-political dimensions of colonial operation.
Chakravorty Spivak. In its close association with Leaning on an eclectic array of poststructural and
poststructuralism, postcolonial scholarship is rou- anticolonial theories, Bhabha argues that colonial
tinely accused of being apolitical. If aligned with structures find their basis in fantastic self-other
the politics of anticolonial and/or decolonizing relations and formulates a psychosocial lens to
projects, leading postcolonial theorists are careful bring nuance to philosophical and social investi-
to resist a reformulation of oppositional, reduc- gations of colonial processes. In her groundbreak-
tive, ideological, or identarian logics that repeat ing article, “Can the Subaltern Speak,” Gayatri
the narcissistic and self-preserving violence of Spivak emphasizes the gendered quality of colo-
being underpinning the white mythology of West- nial relations, and the complex role of sexually
ern metaphysics (Derrida 1974; Bhabha 1994). As exploited, disappeared, and forgotten women in
1938 Poststructuralism, Postcolonialism, and Education

colonialism’s patronizing schematic. Using disciplines. Postcolonial thought is inherently

deconstruction, Spivak (1988) organizes the interdisciplinary and transgresses the fields of
unrepresentable qualities of subjectivity of the philosophy, history, geography, anthropology,
“other” using the Gramscian conception of subal- social science, economics, political science, liter-
tern. Subaltern stands in for the unrecognizable ature, cultural studies, education, and the helping
and abject (female) body subject to the devastat- professions. Still, postcolonial orientations and
ing effects of patriarchal and sexual violence methods of analysis have yet to significantly infil-
ricocheting off the uneven male colonial contest trate mainstream forms of compulsory, public
over family, language, politics, law, culture, edu- education systems across the world that continues
cation, and resources. Spivak relocates the logics to build upon colonial foundations and theories of
and enactments of patriarchal struggles for social knowledge, literacy, and learning. As John
control over territory, rule, and resources in the Willinsky (2000) demonstrates, public schooling
bodies of women caught in between warring fac- in nations worldwide remains stubbornly tethered
tions of colonial and “native” patriarchal to educational processes of subject formation in
governance. the European mold of the human as upheld by the
The poststructural destabilization of canons Commonwealth or ex-colonial State. For exam-
and institutions of Western knowledge continues ple, the impact of colonial English education is
to present a series of challenges, aporias, and felt in global times; to receive an exemplary edu-
generative opportunities for postcolonial theo- cation is to acquire an education in English. Con-
rists. Postcolonial scholars conceptually lean on sequently English is the global language of
and forge departures from modernist projects of commerce and trade, academic knowledge, tech-
enlightenment, history, and humanism informing nology, cosmopolitanism, and culture.
modernism’s metaphysics of being. The more Postcolonial scholars look to education as
notable of poststructuralist constructs taken up enabler, producer, and liberator of human subjec-
by postcolonial theories involve the qualification tivity from Western aesthetics, logics, operations,
and renewal of ideas of the “other,” the human, discourses, institutions, and the insidious reach of
difference, differend, discourse, subjectivity, nar- global capitalism. Said’s (1978) work contributes
ration, representation, and justice in diverse colo- an understanding of the role of knowledge pro-
nial contexts. Through various philosophical and duction in the making and remaking of societies
literary methods, postcolonial scholars experi- and worlds. For Said, knowledge, and thus edu-
ment with, supplement, and/or contest the opera- cation, is not ethno-culturally neutral or empiri-
tion of Western knowledge; culture with “other,” cally unmotivated. Said’s historicizing critique
hybrid, and indigenous aesthetics; social forms; investigates the colonizing operation of the edu-
cultural productions; and critical theories of cational enterprise in advancing Western forms of
humanity. Invented constructs such as subaltern, knowledge above and at the expense of others. For
native informant, hybridity, worlding, and the Said, true knowledge of the world lies somewhere
third space, seek to account for a persistently in an unrelenting archeological excavation of
deformed construction of the colonized subject human histories. Bhabha (1994) identifies knowl-
in philosophical thought, colonial records, and edge archived in colonial encounter as a third
contemporary cultural productions of “others” in space of possibility for a world reeling from colo-
a globalizing world. nial pasts. Returning to the colonial archive,
Bhabha reconstructs pedagogical strategies of
resistance used by colonial subjects, including
Education and Postcolonial Theory mimicry, misrecognition, and revolt, against colo-
nial role. He locates human agency in the sym-
Immense is the range of postcolonial scholarship bolic capacity of human beings to imagine and
and inquiry within and across academic produce different social organizations from forms
Poststructuralism, Postcolonialism, and Education 1939

of resistance to multiple and continually sidelining the ontological and epistemological

morphing forms of colonial violence and control. contribution of formerly colonized nations to
Spivak (1993) has theorized education as poststructural thought. Colonial legacies of vio-
pharmacon, as both a medicine and poison that lence and antagonism can be directly indicted in
enable and injure subject formation by particular the contemporary production of postcolonial ten-
means, for colonizing and liberating ends. Educa- sions arising between French citizens, French-
tion, Spivak suggests, remains an important site of Algerian citizens, and Algerian migrants seeking
postcolonial inquiry and intervention into the refuge in “multicultural” France. Excavating his-
ontological meanings and epistemological pro- torical and political context to the legacies of
ductions of being and not being human. As with colonialism framing new social and political for-
the “post” in structuralism and modernism, mations of global life, postcolonial theorists labor
Spivak insists that postcolonial studies are not to supplement, return, and challenge the primacy
simply what comes before and after colonialism of all forms of Western thought (including post-
but what is retrievable from within its enabling structural) “to disrupt the cultural hegemony of
and enduring anthropomorphic, patriarchal, and the West, challenging imperialism in its
ethnocentric violence continuing to form human various guises” (including multiculturalism)
thought, organization, and existence. (Ahluwalia 2010, p. 3). Although linked, the
ontological and epistemological “posts” guiding
poststructuralism, post-humanism, and post-
Poststructuralism and the (Post)colonial colonialism are “out of joint,” and, yet, this dis-
Roots of Modern Education jointedness is also a strength, giving rise to
generative points of dialogue, debate, and depar-
Across the world, in ex-colonial, settler colonial, ture for those working across these frameworks.
and colonial nation states, public schooling con- Educational systems and scholarship also suf-
tinues to impart, import, and exalt Western onto- fer from a foreclosure of education’s colonial
logical and epistemological molds and logics. roots. A glaring lack of inquiry into colonial foun-
Poststructuralism does offer educational scholars dations of “universal” public schooling advances
theoretical tools and methods for interrogating the study, enactment, and global circulation of
these continuities but without specific reference Western forms of education (Rizvi 2007). Colo-
to a historical or political context. Consequently, nial logics inform categories of difference, norma- P
poststructural critiques of modernity are often tive models of human development, and ideas of
unhinged from enduring material, geopolitical, national citizenship in public schools across the
and educational consequences for indigenous globe. Through the provision of English and
and formerly enslaved and colonized communi- French and the centering of Euro-colonial curric-
ties. In his book, Out of Africa, Pal Ahluwalia ula, public schools in ex-colonial nations continue
argues that poststructuralism carries a foreclosed to be beholden to Western colonial logics, curric-
debt to the particular and localized (post)colonial ulum, and practices of education. Specters of
contexts giving rise to poststructuralism’s incred- colonial logics justify State-sponsored forms of
ible movement of thought. Ahluwalia further sug- forced, residential, and segregated schooling
gests that poststructuralism arises from an structure and inform unequal relations between
unnamed postcolonial recognition of the violence students and students and teachers while advanc-
of modernism’s colonizing logic, one that has yet ing dominant misrepresentations of communities
to be fully mined by scholars working with these historically marginalized in and by school.
frames. For example, obscuring lines between Postcolonial scholars are committed to an
French poststructuralism and its Algerian (post) examination of the ongoing and persistent role of
colonial roots mute the violent historical and empire in the contemporary practice of education.
political context driving its movement while These scholars engage with the traumatic
1940 Poststructuralism, Postcolonialism, and Education

implication of colonial pasts in the present treat- public education, an institution of subject forma-
ment of students from communities affected by tion and social organization that has yet to be
injurious school experiences. As with post- shaken. Under global capitalism, ex-colonial
structural scholars, postcolonial scholars are nations continue to cling to colonial educational
concerned with the status of subjectivity and the systems to gain economic, political, and material
human in the organization of categories of advancement on the world stage. As human
difference-stratifying school. They contextualize rights-based movements of education are tied to
these categories in legacies of slave and/or colonial Western forms of education, initiatives put for-
institutions and demonstrate the influence of colo- ward by the UN such as “Education for All” are
nial pasts for perpetuating material, linguistic, and also tethered to colonial foundations and Western
social inequities in the classroom. Postcolonial ontological molds of the human. The global
scholars also stage reconstructions of race and acceptance of Western forms of universal access
other defaced social categories as an instrument to public schooling can make education impervi-
of colonial technology of subject formation sym- ous to postcolonial analyses.
bolically and materially delivered to children in the Still, postcolonial theory is powerful in
earliest experiences in school. They insist on post- rethinking the possibilities of education for new
colonial frameworks to support teacher training as forms of subjectivity, knowledge, and social orga-
a responsive education with communities impacted nization and institution in this century. Indeed, as
by violent histories of colonization. Fazal Rizvi (2007) suggests, education in a global
Postcolonial scholars in education are uniquely age necessitates a postcolonial approach as from
positioned to articulate challenges associated with the minute of the child’s entry into the world she is
working inside and against the colonial logic subject to an immense complex of colonizing
underpinning educational systems in ex-colonial forces, discourses, and histories that abstractly
nations and threatening to universalize “new” condition her being. As globalization rearticulates
visions of supposedly “global” and “best” educa- national boundaries and claims to citizenship, it is
tional practices. They view the constructing and critical that educators of the twenty-first century
enacting of particular forms of humanness as and adopt a postcolonial lens. Global movements of
in active psychosocial forms of praxis delivered people, knowledge, and ideas generate new forms
through tacit and insidious colonial educational of social connectivity, organization, and belong-
technologies. They share the poststructural con- ing informed and driven by a postcolonial past.
cern with and interrogation of the status of human New manifestations of these histories continue to
in education through postcolonial inquiries that affect the lived, multilingual, and cultural realities
persistently question the tight Western, ontologi- of migrant, immigrant, refugee, and diasporic
cal hold and normative value of the human in the populations and inform the educational experi-
formation of children through schooling. Post- ences, curricular knowledge, and social organiza-
colonial approaches to education not only include tion of students in schools. Without a postcolonial
an excavation of the role and activities of Western lens, rapidly globalizing forms of Western educa-
“normal school” in colonial projects; they gener- tion risk re-entrenching gross geopolitical and
ate and lift up forms of schooling that run counter, economic inequities and bitter antagonisms
alter, or resist those put forth by Western propo- between ex-colonial and newly formed and failing
nents of modern education. nations. Vanessa Andreotti (2011) further argues
Despite criticism against the largely discursive that, as an actionable form of social praxis, post-
and intellectualized take-up of postcolonial theory colonial theory alerts us to the dangers of
in the Western academy, in many ways the full foreclosing new and old colonial imperatives
social and pedagogical potential of postcolonial underlying any educational enterprise seeking to
thought is yet to be realized. Postcolonial theory humanize the child by particular means and/or for
threatens the colonial foundations of mandatory certain ends.
Postulates 1941

Postcolonial approaches to education seek to global community that can bear learning from the
interrupt normative, “scientific,” and Western excesses of empire’s terrible history to think,
frames of educational research and scholarship. speak, write, teach, and live with greater intention
Postcolonial constructs pose serious questions to with all beings sharing an existence, presence,
educational and social science researchers utiliz- time, and place in a dynamic world.
ing taken-for-granted and/or universalized social
categories that form their understanding of unique
bodies and complex learning processes of stu- References
dents in the classroom. Postcolonial scholars in
education argue that Western theories of develop- Ahluwalia, P. (2010). Out of Africa. Post-structuralism’s
colonial roots. New York: Routledge.
ment, literacy, and knowledge offer partial, parti-
Andreotti, V. (2011). Actionable postcolonial theory in
san, and thus distorted versions of how each child education. New York: Palgrave.
grows, learns, and participates in social life. When Bhabha, H. (1994). The location of culture. New York:
acknowledged that mandatory schooling and Routledge.
Derrida, J. (1974). White mythology: Metaphor in the text
modern education are complicit with particular
of philosophy. (trans: Moore, F.C.T.). New Literary
colonial aims of the adult, community, or society, History, 6(1), 5–74.
educational scholarship is faced with the demand Lévinas, E. (1969). Totality and infinity. An essay on exte-
to rethink some of its most cherished and exalted riority (trans. Lingis, A.). Pittsburg, PA: Duquesne
University Press.
conceptions of the child, language, care, knowl-
Rizvi, F. (2007). Postcolonialism and globalization in edu-
edge, experience, pedagogy, human participation, cation. Cultural Studies. Critical Methodologies, 7(2),
and education. Postcolonial scholarship in educa- 256–263.
tion identifies competing epistemologies, repre- Said, E. (1978). Orientalism. London: Penguin.
Spivak, G. (1993). The Burden of English. In
sentations of knowledge, and the pedagogical
C. A. Breckenridge & P. van der Veer (Eds.), Oriental-
relation as the symbolic and social means by ism and the postcolonial predicament: Perspectives on
which human beings might relearn a humanity South Asia (pp. 134–157). Philadelphia, PA: University
injured but not overdetermined by colonial pasts. of Pennsylvania Press.
Spivak. G. (1988) Can the Subaltern speak? In C. Nelson &
At its most radical, postcolonial theory makes
L. Grossberg (Eds.), Marxism and the interpretation of
an ethical and pedagogical commitment to creat- culture (pp. 271–313). Bassingstoke, UK: McMillan
ing a freedom seeking and just education for new- Books Chicago: University of Illinois Press.
comers in an old and globalizing world. Willinsky, J. (2000). Learning to divide the world: Educa- P
tion at empire’s end. Minneapolis, MN: University of
Postcolonial histories of oppression and mass vio-
Massachusetts Press.
lence behoove the adult community to consider Young, R. J. C. (1990). White mythologies. Writing, his-
and take care with the ontological molds, episte- tory, and the West. New York: Routledge.
mological virtues, and institutions of human Young, R. J. C. (2001). Postcolonialism: An historical
introduction. New York: Wiley and Blackwell.
becoming to which the child is necessarily and
violently subject. Postcolonial educators chal-
lenge the adult community with the demand of
supporting the symbolic, experiential, and exis-
tential entry of the child in social forms, events, Post-structuralist Thought
and organizations that acknowledge each child’s
whole existence, participation, and potential in ▶ Cavell and Postmodern Education
particular and shared worlds. Postcolonial
scholars in education acknowledge the pedagogi-
cal relation as critical to the renewal of violently
broken social bonds structuring possible futures Postulates
of a globally shared human community. Post-
colonial education as human praxis might form a ▶ Deleuze and Learning
1942 Poto

meanings that are closely related. Loto denotes

Poto the heart, soul, will, inner being, core, and depth.
Tokotaha lotopoto is a term used to describe a
Sione Tu’itahi person who makes wise decisions, based on the
Health Promotion Forum of New Zealand, promptings of his heart and spirit, for the better-
Auckland, New Zealand ment of the community. A person who is coura-
geous is called lotolahi or lototo’a/brave heart,
while a coward is called lotosi’i/fainthearted or
Central to the theory and practice of Tongan edu- lotofo’i/vanquished heart. A loving person is
cation is the notion of poto, the ultimate outcome referred to as loto’ofa, whereas a heart full of
of learning, from a Tongan perspective. So what is envy is called lotokovi. On an abstract level, the
poto? This entry describes poto and explores its concept of loto means interior such as lotofale/
many forms and uses in education and other fields interior of a house. When reduplicated, it means
within a Tongan context. The Tongan knowledge depth as in moana loloto/deep ocean. In all these
system, tala-e-fonua, is discussed to explicate examples, loto means the interior, the heart, and
further the notion of poto. the essence.
Poto means wise, discerning, intelligent, and To gain a fuller comprehension of the cognitive
clever (Schneider 1977; Rabone 1845). Churchward and intellectual element of poto, the concept of
(1959) refers to poto as “to be clever, skilful; to ‘atamai/mind is further explored. While it usually
understand what to do and be able to do it.” In her means the mind, the term ‘atamai literally means to
study of Tongan education, Helu-Thaman (2001) reflect or to project forward. It is made up of two
identified three basic educational ideas: ako, ‘ilo, morphemes, ‘ata/reflection and mai/to make some-
and poto. She elaborates: thing come to the fore. ‘Ata means reflection as
Ako is used to denote learning as well as searching,
seen in terms such as mafoa-‘a e-ata (the breaking
and in the early part of the nineteenth century it was of dawn), ‘ata/reflection in a mirror, and tauata and
also used to mean teaching. Later when schools ataata – the emergence of ideas in one’s mind or
were introduced, the term faiako (making learning) thinking. Mai means to bring forth.
was used to refer to a school teacher. ‘Ilo denotes
knowing, knowledge and information and implies
A metaphor that is used to describe the
learning and/or searching. Poto refers to one who is ‘atamai/cognitive intelligence is mata. Mata has
wise or learned and is used to describe a state of a number of meanings that include eyes, face,
being or mind, and implies the use of ‘ilo for the representative, surface, point, green, and unripe
benefit of the group and wider society. (Helu-
Thaman 2001, p. 53)
(Schneider 1977; Rabone 1845). The term
matapoto is often used to describe a person who
As indicated by the definitions above, poto has is intelligent and quick to observe potentials and
at least two major dimensions. The first one is the convert them to advantages and opportunities.
spiritual intelligence or the wisdom of the spirit. At the social level, mata not only means the
For example, when a learned person makes a wise eyes or face of human beings, but it also stands as
decision for the betterment of the community, she a symbol for the character of the individual.
or he is referred to as a tokotaha poto/wise person. A person who loves and cares, for instance, is
The second element is the cognitive intelligence. referred to as tokotaha mata’ofa/loving face,
For instance, a very knowledgeable person is while an uncaring person is regarded as
referred to as tokotaha poto/knowledgeable or mata’ita’e’ofa/unloving face. A person who
skilful person. The former is associated more cares for the well-being of her extended family
with the loto/heart, whereas the latter is more and community is known as matakāinga/
concomitant with the ‘atamai/mind. extended-family caring face. In the field of strate-
To understand poto in the Tongan educational gic leadership, a visionary and forward-thinking
context and at its spiritual level, the concept of leader is known as matalōloa/long-distance
loto is further explored. Loto has a range of vision.
Poto 1943

Exploring connections between mata/mind embedding Tongan core values and principles
and loto/heart can reveal the systemic coherence such as fe’ofa’aki/love one another, fetokoni’aki/
between them and their product of poto as cogni- reciprocity, faitotonu/integrity, and fakapotopoto/
tive intelligence and poto as spiritual intelligence. wise, prudent, and judicious. Therefore, Tongan
At the abstract level, mata means outside, exte- education is about educating both the mind and
rior, or surface, whereas loto is interior/depth. In heart, and its purpose is to attain poto in both
human and education terms, mata symbolizes the spheres. Additionally, lotopoto is of greater sig-
mind, while loto stands for the heart. Additionally, nificance to Tongan education because knowledge
from a spiritual dimension, mata symbolizes the is not only sought, but is also put to good use, thus
material, whereas loto refers to the spiritual. Fur- completing the educational process and its pur-
thermore, from a Tongan educational perspective, pose. This Tongan philosophy of education – the
the ongoing interaction between mata/mind and gaining of knowledge and translating it into action
loto/heart is central to the learning and develop- for the betterment of society and for the collective
ment of a person. Whereas mata refers to cogni- good – is aptly captured in the hymn number
tion and knowing, loto is the spiritual center and 510 of the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga. The
driving force of poto/wisdom and has a central hymn was composed in the early days of Chris-
role in a person’s decision-making, such as trans- tianity in Tonga, a period when Tongan education
lating knowledge into practical and positive and thinking were dominant:
outcomes. Loto mo e ‘atamai/Heart and mind
To motivate a Tongan person to learn or act, the ko Ho pule’anga ia/Thine kingdom
loto/heart or spirit is the key. This is best illus- Fokotu’u taloni ai/Establish therein Thy throne
trated by the old Tongan maxim of “Tonga Tala ai ho fatongia/Therewith Thine dominion
defined
mo’unga ki he loto”/the mountain of Tonga is
the heart. When the Tongan’s heart is motivated Poto as wisdom can be seen in other Tongan
and moved, it will demonstrate qualities such as contexts. For example, fuopotopoto/the poto
lototo’a/courage and lotolahi/determination, and shape is the Tongan term for the circle. This use
that person is self-driven to achieve goals at high of poto means that the shape of the circle repre-
standards. sents balance, whole, and complete. In other
Lotopoto literally means wise heart. It refers words, fuopotopoto is the shape of wisdom
not only to being intelligent and knowledgeable, because it represents being inclusive, equal, and P
but, more importantly, to using intelligence and fair to all parties. In traditional Tongan horticul-
knowledge under all conditions for the right pur- ture, the mature and best quality ‘ufi (yam) for
pose. Also, it points to a depth of wisdom that has seedlings is called ‘ufi poto or wise yam. As a third
intellectual and spiritual dimensions. Further, it example, made up of a reduplication of poto, the
indicates that a person who is lotopoto is one term fakapotopoto not only means wise and intel-
that acts wisely for the collective well-being ligent but also refers to being frugal, prudent, and
rather for his personal gain and individual judicious. In fakapotopoto, it can be observed that
advancement only. the intelligence of the mind and the wisdom of the
Through the social construction of matapoto heart are combined. A clever person with little
and lotopoto, it can be suggested that the use of experience who embarks on a project and makes
‘ilo/knowledge for the benefit of society – a hall- mistakes along the way is referred to as ko e
mark of being poto – is largely an outcome of potopoto-‘a-niu-mui (clever but inexperienced
educating the loto/heart rather than the mind person). When analyzed in greater details,
only. In other words, central to the notion of fakapotopoto has four major dimensions: taki
Tongan education is a clear and dynamic coher- fakapotopoto (strategic or wise and prudent lead-
ence between teaching the mind and educating the ership), pule fakapotopoto (effective/wise and
heart. While matapoto focuses on acquiring prudent management), ngāue fakapotopoto
knowledge and skills, lotopoto is more about (right/wise and prudent application of knowledge,
1944 Poto

skills, and experience), and anga fakapotopoto health perspective, Durie (2004) notes this sym-
(wise application of ethical or spiritual principles). biotic relationship. He writes:
As one of many applications in the Tongan All indigenous peoples have a tradition of unity
knowledge system of tala-e-fonua (wisdom and with the environment and the tradition is reflected
knowledge of the land or indigenous knowledge in song, custom, subsistence, approaches to healing,
system), the fakapotopoto leadership model is not birthing, and the rituals associated with death. The
relationship between people and the environment
only valuable for understanding the past but, more therefore forms an important foundation for the
importantly, can be useful in navigating the pre- organisation of indigenous knowledge, the
sent and future (Durie 2004; Tu’itahi 2009). categorisation of life experiences, and the shaping
A brief examination of fonua can provide of attitudes and patterns of thinking. Because
human identity is regarded as an extension of the
more understanding of poto and its many mean- environment, there is an element of inseparability
ings and uses such as matapoto, lotopoto, and between people and the natural world. The individ-
fakapotopoto. ual is a part of all creation and the idea that the world
Simply put, fonua means people and the land. or creation exists for the purpose of human domi-
nation and exploitation is absent from indigenous
More deeply, it is a socio-ecological philosophy world-views. (Durie 2004, p. 4)
that espouses and reflects the natural reality
of humanity being one and in unity with the As Durie observes above, much of indigenous
rest of the ecology. This interconnected and knowledge is derived from the relationship
interdependent relationship is evident in the mate- of indigenous peoples and their environment.
rial and spiritual dimensions of Tongan life. For The concepts of poto, matapoto, lotopoto,
instance, in the human life cycle, four significant fakapotopoto, and Tongan ako/education and
abodes of the human being are all referred to as learning, as briefly discussed in this entry, are
fonua. The baby is nurtured in the fonua/womb of examples of that process. Māhina (1992) points
the mother. Meanwhile, the mother is nourished out that tala-e-fonua/oral history, once regarded
by the physical fonua/environment. Similarly, the as mere prehistorical myths and legends, is, in
baby is embraced and sustained by the physical fact, history. But because it is coded in Tongan
fonua once it is born into it. The ceremony of cultural devices such as heliaki/symbolism,
burying the umbilical cord of the baby into the understanding tala-e-fonua can be challenging.
land symbolically, physically, and spiritually ties Tu’itahi (2009) maintains that in addition to
the human being with the fonua. When a human being Tongan history, tala-e-fonua is also the
being passes on from this natural fonua, her phys- Tongan knowledge system. Tala-e-fonua refers
ical remains are returned to her fonualoto/land not only to the distinct but related domains of
within the land, or grave, while her laumālie/spirit knowledge in the system, but it also refers to the
continues its journey to the fonua ta’engata/eter- methodological frameworks and processes
nal fonua or life hereafter (Māhina 1992; Tu’itahi through which Tongans over the ages have
2009). employed to search and try to understand their
In essence, Tongans, other Pacific peoples, and natural and social realities.
other indigenous peoples for that matter have While there is no scope in this entry to explore
evolved their history of existence and their knowl- them thoroughly, it should be noted that there are
edge systems largely from the symbiotic relation- at least two other Tongan terms that are related to
ship with Mother Nature (Māhina 1992; Tu’itahi loto in terms of describing the faculties and func-
2009). Further, they have evolved a value system tions of the heart and the behavior of a person.
that underpins their harmonious and sustainable These two terms are ongo/emotion, intuition, and
relationship with the ecology and with each other feelings and anga/behavior, character, attitude,
as fellow human beings. Through stories, song and attributes. Ongo ki he loto is an expression
and dance, and other such cultural activities, Ton- used to describe how one feels something deeply
gans preserve their history which is woven with in one’s heart. Ongo tonu means that a person’s
the ecology. Exploring fonua/whenua from a intuition is correct or right.
Power 1945

Language is a human invention, a social con- ethical application of knowledge with wisdom.
struct that is influenced and shaped by the capacity Poto is not only cognitive intelligence, but, more
of the human spirit, mind, and body, as well as the importantly, emotional and spiritual intelligence.
social and natural environment. In light of this Additionally, this entry suggests that translating
perspective, it is insightful and instructive to poto into action for the betterment of society is of
explore the phonemic and morphemic character- greater significance than being knowledgeable
istics of these three terms – poto, loto, and ongo. without practical application.
Firstly, they are of similar phonetical sound, Putting into the broader perspective, poto as a
especially the “o” sound. This suggests that the Tongan educational construct was derived from
“o” sound in Tongan phonetics is often used to and will continue to develop within the context of
form words and meanings that describe the inner tala-e-fonua, the Indigenous Tongan knowledge
realities – physical and metaphysical – of the system, that is based on the symbiotic and
human being. It can be added that the same linguis- dynamic relationship between human beings and
tic process/practice appears to be applied in other their environment. Tala-e-fonua is underpinned
areas of Tongan milieu, such as the terms toto, by the principle that humanity and its environment
blood; loloto or deep; moto, the inner essence of a are one and inseparable. In other words, humanity
flower that manifests in a bud that is ready to is part of the whole ecology as illustrated by the
bloom; and longo and longonoa which mean meaning of the Tongan socio-ecological concept:
silence, implying that the physical, mental, and fonua/land and people are one.
spiritual faculty of the human being is looking
inward rather than outward. Other set of examples
of how the “o” sound is instrumental for forming References
words that depict the mental, spiritual, and emo-
tional state are nonga/peaceful state of being, noa/ Churchward, C. M. (1959). Tongan dictionary. London:
OUP.
state of tranquility, fakanonoa/state of inner
Durie, M. (2004). Exploring the interface between science
solitude and sojourn, and faka’o’onoa/state of sol- and indigenous knowledge. Paper presented at 5th
itary meditative reflection as in the case of an APEC Research and Development Leaders Forum,
accomplished punake/composer-choreographer- March 11, 2004, Christchurch
Helu-Thaman, K. (2001). Towards culturally inclusive
musician seeking inspiration. In all these terms, it
teacher education with specific reference to Oceania.
can be observed that the phonemic and morphemic International Education Journal, 2(5), 53.
P
elements of the “o” sound and letter are present. Māhina, O. (1992). The Tongan traditional history Tala-e-
Similarly, the words for the mind and other Fonua. Unpublished Doctoral Thesis, Australian
National University, Canberra.
such mental faculties are constructed phonetically
Rabone, S. (1845). A vocabulary of the Tongan language.
and morphemically with the “a” vowel and sound, Neiafu, Tonga: Wesleyan Mission Press.
as seen in the following words: tau ata/dawn, Schneider, T. (1977). Functional Tongan-English, English-
‘ata/reflection, ‘atamai/mind, mata/face, and Tongan Dictionary. Suva: Oceania Printers.
Tu’itahi, S. (2009). Langa Fonua: How a Tongan Kāinga
anga/behavior.
strived for social and economic success,
In attempting to describe poto, this entry Pasifika@Massey. Auckland, New Zealand: Massey
explored and established that poto is a central University.
concept in Tongan educational philosophy, draw-
ing the conclusion that poto refers to a well-
trained ‘atamai/mind with practical skills and a
wise, educated loto/heart. Poto is not only about Power
knowing and doing with the mind and body, but is
also about discerning with the heart the right thing ▶ Education and Political Theory: Prospects and
to do and do it the right way for the right reasons, Points of View
such as utilizing knowledge for the common ▶ Gender, Postcolonialism, and Education
good. Poto is about practical knowledge and ▶ Managerialism and Education
1946 Practical Reasoning

Practical Reasoning Praxis

▶ On the Logical Form of Educational Philoso- Peter Mayo

phy and Theory: Herbart, Mill, Frankena, and University of Malta, Msida, Malta
Beyond

Synonyms

Practical Syllogism Critical Distance; Critical Reflection; Praxis

▶ Frankena’s Model for Analyzing Philosophies

of Education Introduction

Praxis is the central concept which Paulo Freire

adopts to capture the dialectical relationship
Practice between consciousness and the world, reflected in
the pedagogical approach for which he became
▶ Allegedly Conservative: Revisiting Wittgenstein’s famous. The concept of praxis dates back to the
Legacy for Philosophy of Education time of the ancient Greeks and as far back as Aris-
▶ Ethics and Significance: Insights from Welby totle. It connects with Socrates’ dictum, captured by
for Meaningful Education Plato in the Apologia, that the unexamined life is a
life not worth living. This entails reflection on the
process of living – an intellectual function. This is
connected with Gramsci’s later notion that all
Practice of Philosophical Dialogue in human beings are intellectuals but not all carry out
Educational Settings, The the function of intellectuals. The reference here is to
the thinking and reflecting processes that accom-
▶ Philosophical Inquiry in Education pany most activities and that one should help nur-
ture with political change in mind.
Praxis continued to be adopted in subsequent
writings in social theory. It entails action-
Practitioner reflection-transformative action. It gained revolu-
tionary prominence in Marxist thought and action.
▶ Allegedly Conservative: Revisiting Wittgenstein’s Gramsci rendered Praxis the central concept of his
Legacy for Philosophy of Education philosophy – “The Philosophy of Praxis” – in
keeping with the Marxist tradition and Marx him-
self: “revolutionizing practice” (Marx and Engels
1978, p. 144) entailing reflection on action to
Pragmatism change the world. This is captured in Marx’s
11th and final Thesis on Feuerbach where he
▶ Deleuze’s Philosophy for Education states: “The philosophers have only interpreted
▶ Dewey and Critical Pedagogy the world, in various ways, the point, however,
▶ Dewey and Philosophy of Disability is to change it.” (Marx and Engels 1978, p. 145).
▶ Dewey on Democracy Marx’s early notion of praxis centered on
▶ Social Imaginaries and Possibilism in State the world of practical activity and everyday life.
Schooling Later in Capital, it took on a decidedly
Praxis 1947

production-oriented turn, in that the area of labor Contradiction of Opposites

activity is given the greatest prominence as the
focus of critical reflection for revolutionary While gaining this critical distance, with a social
action. Paulo Freire, to whom this section is ded- justice intention, the people involved would be
icated, drew on Marx in his conception of praxis, contributing to “negating the negation.” (Allman
the central concept in his pedagogical politics: 1999) They would be negating the process of
the “pedagogy of praxis.” In Pedagogy of the thwarting the subaltern, the oppressed, and
Oppressed, Freire writes: disenfranchised in their process of becoming,
But human activity consists of action and reflection:
becoming more, in this case becoming “more
it is praxis, it is transformation of the world. (Freire fully human,” a notion that exposed Freire to
1970, 1993, p. 125) criticism, from a postmodernist and related per-
spectives, of essentializing the human condition.
In denying the necessary conditions for this
Reflection, Theory, and Transformation humanization to occur, one would be
dehumanizing oneself while, at the same time,
There is a transformative edge to Freire’s interpre- dehumanizing others. By the same token, in
tation of praxis which involves theory which is gaining further “humanization,” the oppressed
regarded as a codification of reflection on and humanize the oppressor. All this is related to solv-
rumination with regard to experience and there- ing the contradiction of opposites between
fore the world of action (Freire 1970, 1993). This oppressors and oppressed. This is genuine revo-
renders problematic common phrases such as lutionary activity, one which is intended to resolve
“from theory to praxis” – theory is embedded in the contradiction rather than maintain it by simply
praxis. Praxis is geared to transforming the world, replacing the personnel involved, the oppressed
that is to say, one intervenes in history to contrib- replacing the oppressor by acting on the internal-
ute towards its development. Put differently, edu- ized image of the latter, activating the “oppressor
cation based on “praxis” is one that allows people consciousness” –wanting to be like the oppressor.
to act on their material surroundings and reflect Praxis can play an important role in solving this
upon them with a view to transforming them. contradiction.
The process (action-reflection-transformative
action) involved is dialectical and not sequential P
as the late Paula Allman (1999), one of the key Pedagogy of Praxis
exponents of Marxian concepts in Freire and
Gramsci, emphasized time and time again. Paulo Freire’s pedagogical approach, developed
For Freire, action on its own, isolated from in the North-East of Brazil, and especially in
reflection, is tantamount to mindless activism. Angicos, can take us some way in this regard. It
Reflection, divorced from action, constitutes is an education based on praxis. It is in fact the
empty theorizing. “Pedagogy of Praxis,” something which some-
Praxis lies at the heart of different situations in how echoes, though not deliberately, Gramsci’s
Freire’s writings. One recurring aspect of his use “Pedagogy of Praxis.” It is a pedagogy which has
of the concept is that of standing aside, either “critical distancing” at its core. What is often
voluntarily or through forced circumstances, to problematically referred to, in Latin America, as
take a critical look at things which are familiar. the “Metodo Paulo Freire” is said to capture this
Frank Youngman (1986) aptly puts it thus: “. . . sense of critical distancing. What is important,
education must help people in the process of however, for one’s appreciation of Freire’s
objectifying the world, critically understanding approach, is the philosophy at the heart of it, rather
it, and acting to change it.” (p. 171). This serves than the “method” itself. As with all pedagogical
as a definition of the term praxis. approaches, the one advocated and exemplified by
1948 Praxis

Freire is bound by context. In fact, Freire time and through which they intervene in the history-
time again argued that one should not refer to his making process affecting their own community
approach as a “method.” What happened in say and possibly larger ones (Goulet 1973, p. 11).
Angicos cannot be transferred elsewhere cargo There are some important points to consider
style. Putting it differently, and echoing Freire’s regarding the use of Praxis by Freire especially
words, the experiment cannot be transplanted but through this pedagogical approach. The borrow-
must be reinvented. This having been said, a reca- ing from Marx is there for all to see. It is the
pitulation of the Freire approach at Angicos brings people’s material surroundings, and the social
to light the basic features of an education based on relations to which these give rise, that lie at the
praxis. Quite instructive here is Dennis Goulet’s heart of the raising of their critical consciousness.
succinct account of this approach, in his preface to In The German Ideology, Marx and Engels
the English version of Freire’s very early writings. posited:
Consciousness is, therefore, from the very begin-
ning a social product, and remains so as long as men
Generative Words and Themes [sic.] exist at all. (Marx and Engels 1978, p. 158)

There was a preliminary phase since any commu- Praxis constitutes the means of understanding
nity education project entails one’s getting to the social relationships involved and identifying
know the community involved, the people’s the possibilities of such awareness for the struggle
speech patterns, aspirations, preoccupations, and to generate a climate for radical social change. The
what captures their imagination, among other point of departure, for Freire, is human beings “in
things. Every community has its own characteris- the ‘here and now’.” (Freire 1970, 1993, p. 85).
tics. Educators were to spend time in the commu-
nity, probably as part of a team involving target
learners themselves who became coresearchers Conscientização
and coeducators in the project, just as the educa-
tors became colearners. The collective work Secondly, this pedagogical approach involves
involved searching for “generative words” with a conscientização (Roberts 2000), a concept that is
focus on their “syllabic richness” and intimate closely linked to that of praxis. Conscientização
connection to the people’s quotidian experience has its prominent place in Latin American social
(Goulet 1973, p. 11). The next stage involved thought, including radical religious thinking.
codifying the material gathered into different Freire acknowledges that it had been employed
forms of cultural products, including dramatic by Brazilian radicals in the 1960s and identifies
representations, photos, drawings, etc. This was Dom Helder Camara, then Bishop of Recife, as
meant to enable people, who form part of this the person who helped popularize it. Freire later
culture, to gain critical distance from things stopped adopting the term because of its loose
that are familiar to them, “extraordinarily usage, devoid of any sense of praxis (Freire
re-experiencing the ordinary” as Ira Shor puts it 1993, p. 110). He later began to reuse it describing
in his Critical Teaching in Everyday Life. The it as the process “of the coming of consciousness”
ensuing discussion, prompted by “hinge themes,” (Freire 1993, p. 110).
introduced by the official educator, involved a Third, there is a connection between praxis,
process of decodification. The group members conscientização, and literacy. However, the kind
were helped to recognize the situation as the one of literacy involved is one that transcends that of
in which they live. They were helped to hopefully simply functional literacy. The latter kind of liter-
begin to view it in a different, more critical light, acy, though sufficiently political in the sense that it
unveiling, in the process, the underlying contra- allowed subaltern groups, in Brazil at the time, the
dictions of this reality. They were then involved in right to vote, did not allow for praxis. Functional
developing alternative futures, a new codification literacy of that type would involve a mechanical
Praxis 1949

process of learning – devoid of the political act of There is the recognition here that revolutionary
reflection. It was divorced from the context for transformation of the world implies a collective,
radical social change. The kind of politicizing and not a single, effort. Revolutionary praxis is
literacy Freire introduced, a literacy-entailing collective in nature. Freire argued that one engages
praxis, was called “critical literacy.” The quest in the task of social-justice-oriented transformation
for critical literacy, that is, to read and write the in concert with others (Freire 1970, 1993, pp.
word and the world, applies to both the conven- 85–86). Taking a purely individualistic approach
tionally illiterate and conventionally literate alike. to becoming “human” is mistaken in that it can
One can read the word but not necessarily read the entail denying others possibilities for reaching the
world while doing so. Others have argued, same state. It would entail the dehumanizing pro-
going beyond Freire, that critical literacy also cess of “having more” (pp. 85–86), all part and
involves reading and writing the world and its parcel of “having” rather than “being.”
construction through various media in a process
of critical literacy. The terms critical literacy,
conscientização, and praxis therefore become Different Contexts for Praxis
inextricably intertwined. Critical literacy, involv-
ing praxis, is the process whereby one reads the The process of praxis in his early and most cele-
word and the world with a view, in the revolution- brated works, namely, Pedagogy of the Oppressed
ary praxis sense, to transforming it. Parallels with and Cultural Action for Freedom, centered
the work of Italian critical educator, don Lorenzo around political and communal life in general. In
Milani, have been made in this context. later work, however, when confronted by
impoverished communities such as those of
Guinea Bissau, then just liberated from Portuguese
colonialism, his formulations around praxis took
Authentic Dialogue and the Collective
on a slant that echoes Capital Vol. 1. It also echoes
Dimension of Learning
Karl Marx’s advocacy of a “polytechnic education”
in the “Geneva Resolution of 1866.” The site of
Fourth, the process throughout is based on authen-
reflection for Freire, in this specific African con-
tic dialogue. The educator, while not being on an
text, was the world of economic production. Freire
equal footing because of his/her authority as edu-
argued extensively and prescriptively (at odds with P
cator and in the subject matter being investigated,
his general philosophy), in Letter 11, that there
an authority that, however, does not degenerate
should be no dichotomy between productive labor
into authoritarianism, would be disposed to
relearn what she or he knows through interaction and education (Freire 1978).
He even went so far as to argue that educational
with the learners. The latter, while learning, also
institutions should not be “distinguished, essen-
teach, through the insights, often based on their
own cultural background experience, they bring tially, from the factory or from the productive
activity in the agricultural field” (p. 105), thus
to bear on the object of coinvestigation. Freire
echoing Mao, Nyerere (the school-shamba as a
wrote, in this regard, of “teacher-student” and
“students-teachers” (Freire 1970, 1993, p. 80). site for “self-reliance” education), and others who
wrote from a “Third World” perspective in this
Liberatory education is fundamentally a situation context. This position, which provoked severe
where the teacher and the students both have to be
learners, both have to be cognitive subjects, in spite criticism, posits a version of praxis characterized
of their being different. This for me is the first test of by reflection on the world of production. It some-
liberating education, for teachers and students both how echoes Ernesto “Che” Guevara’s belief that
to be critical agents in the act of knowing. (Freire, in “praxis (critical, creative, human life-activity) can
Shor and Freire 1987, p. 33)
radically transform men and women into different
Fifth, what emerges from this process is an kinds of being through labor” (von Vacano 2013,
affirmation of the collective dimension of learning. p. 484).
1950 Praxis

Exile as Praxis “relearn Brazil” since the context in which he was

born and bred had changed considerably through-
Finally, reference was made earlier to Freire’s out the 16-year period of exile. Otherwise, the
different uses of Praxis for an understanding of implication would be that, as a hero welcomed
different situations. Reflecting on his experience home, he ran the risk of being another agent of
of exile in “talking books” with people who were “cultural invasion,” generating imported ideas
banished externally (Antonio Faundez) or which cannot be transplanted in the new, albeit
“exiled” internally (imprisoned in Brazil – Frei home, context. Engaging in praxis involved con-
Betto), Freire even used praxis to define these stant refection and relearning on the world of
moments. These situations allowed Freire and action. In Freire’s case, this must have culminated
the two coauthors in question the chance to gain in his having sufficiently relearned Brazil to the
critical distance from the context they knew. They extent that he acquired the confidence to assume
were cut off from action in countries (Chile under the post of Education Secretary in the Municipal
Allende, Brazil before the 1964 coup) where a PT government of São Paulo, when invited to do
potential social transformation was halted by so by Mayor Erundina. There he reintroduced
repressive military takeovers. Freire makes state- “praxis” in a manner that allowed the concept to
ments to this effect in the 1989 book with lie at the heart of the “popular public schools” he
Faundez, translated into English as Learning to helped develop, targeted at such children as the
Question, and also in the hitherto nontranslated “menino/a popular” (popular child). He encour-
into English exchange with Ricardo Kotscho and aged the “school community” to develop
Frei Betto (Carlos Alberto Libanio Cristo). This curricula on the basis of “thematic complexes”
exchange appears under the book title Essa Escola that arose from investigations of the surrounding
Chamada Vida (The School called Life). environment.
The period of exile constituted a profoundly
pedagogical experience for Freire. The same
applied to Betto who engaged in drama and Conclusion
other projects within the Brazilian cells; he was
twice imprisoned (Betto was a student leader dur- It would be fair to state, by way of conclusion, that
ing the military dictatorship period). Conversa- Freire’s earlier and broader conceptualization of
tions with other exiles or prisoners of praxis is the most enduring interpretation of this
conscience, or otherwise, served as a form of term in critical education circles. Ira Shor, Antonia
praxis since they had the potential to generate Darder, Henry Giroux, Peter Roberts, Paula
the knowledge, emotional responses, and Allman, and Peter McLaren frequently use
reinvigoration necessary to seek to transform Bra- it. The concept also lies at the heart of the radical
zilian society once the stressful situation was to liberation theology movement in Latin America
come to an end. This was to occur with the that inspired and is inspired by Freire. Leonardo
abertura (opening) in the early 1980s and the and Clodovis Boff described faith as a “liberating
promise of democracy, a very fragile democracy praxis,” the term Freire himself uses in Pedagogy
at first (Freire was at first skeptical of returning of the Oppressed.
from exile and was persuaded to do so by such There are those who distinguish between
friends as Cardinal Paulo Evaristo Arns). “praxis” or, in some cases, “intellectual praxis”
and “revolutionary praxis.” The former is said to
constitute a case where people might change
Relearning Changed Context of Origin but the structure of oppression is left intact. This
has been a standard critique of Freire.
For Freire, however, praxis of this type entailed Conscientisation does not necessarily lead to
further dialogue and learning on return to the transformation. It might simply lead to adopting
country from which he was banished. He had to an attitude based on critical awareness but this
Primary School Curriculum to Foster Thinking About Mathematics 1951

does not bring about change. Revolutionary Shor, I., & Freire, P. (1987). Pedagogy for liberation.
praxis entails building on one’s continuous critical Dialogues on transforming education. South Hadley,
MA: Bergin & Garvey.
engagement and awareness to act on the world, von Vacano, D. A. (2013). Latin American political thought.
possibly even through militant action and vio- In G. Claeys (Ed.), Encyclopedia of modern political
lence (as with guerilla warfare in Latin America thought (pp. 481–487). Berlin: Sage/CQ Press.
and elsewhere) to bring about change. One does Youngman, F. (1986). Adult education and socialist peda-
gogy. Kent, UK: Croom Helm.
not preclude the other. Praxis, involving
conscientisation, can help create the climate for
revolutionary change. In Gramsci’s words, every
revolution is preceded by an “intense labor of Pre-disposed Understanding
criticism.” Otherwise, the material change
involved would be simply a top-down develop- ▶ Hermeneutics and Educational Experience
ment rather than an ongoing revolutionary demo-
cratic one; hence the “prefigurative” educational
work. Freire’s pedagogy of praxis serves this pre-
figurative work well. As Gramsci postulated, rev- Predisposition
olutions of different kind, sudden or of very long
duration, the latter involving the gradual renego- ▶ Gadamer and the Philosophy of Education
tiation and transformation of relations of hege-
mony, require a long process of educational and
cultural work. The “pedagogy/philosophy of
praxis,” in the Freirean and Gramscian sense, Presence
can potentially play a decisive role in this process.
▶ Phenomenology in Education
Cross-References

▶ Dewey on Educational Research and the Sci-

Pre-verbal
ence of Education
▶ Freire’s Philosophy and Pedagogy: Humaniza-
▶ Phenomenology, Language, and the Unspoken:
P
tion and Education
The Preverbal Dimension of Children’s
Experience
References

Allman, P. (1999). Revolutionary social transformation:

Democratic hopes, political possibilities and critical Primary School Curriculum to Foster
education. Westport: Bergin and Garvey. Thinking About Mathematics
Freire, P. (1970/1993). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New
York: Continuum.
Freire, P. (1978). Pedagogy in process: The letters to Marie-France Daniel
Guinea Bissau. New York: Continuum. Département de kinésiologie, Université de
Freire, P. (1993). Pedagogy of the city. New York: Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
Continuum.
Goulet, D. (1973). Introduction. In P. Freire (Ed.), Educa-
tion for critical consciousness (pp. vii–xiv). New York:
Continuum. Introduction
Marx, K., & Engels, F. (1978). In R. Tucker (Ed.), The
Marx-Engels reader. New York: W. W Norton Co.
Since the Fall of l993, at the Centre Inter-
Roberts, P. (2000). Education, literacy and humanization:
Exploring the work of Paulo Freire. Westport, MD: disciplinaire de Recherche sur l’Apprentissage
Praeger. et le Développement en Éducation (CIRADE) of
1952 Primary School Curriculum to Foster Thinking About Mathematics

the Université du Québec at Montréal (UQAM), Throughout history there have also been
two mathematicians (Louise Lafortune and Rich- myths and prejudices about philosophy. Let us
ard Pallascio) and two philosophers (Marie- remember that in Plato’s Republic, philosophy
France Daniel and Pierre Sykes) have collabo- was a discipline reserved for a male elite, the
rated to design and develop a research project rest of the community not being wise enough to
involving philosophy, mathematics, and sciences. deal appropriately with this double edge weapon
Previous observations in the classroom had led the (Book V). In the following 2000 years, philo-
researchers to realize that, within the school cur- sophical thinking and philosophical discussions
riculum, children like some subject matters and have often not been an expression of liberation
dislike others. Most of them usually succeed in which reveals the self, but a means of domina-
arts, physical education, and language arts but tion by language which shows to those who do
many have difficulties in succeeding in mathemat- not correspond to certain models, that they have
ics. Why? On the one hand, as Matthew Lipman good reasons to feel guilt, shame, and fear. In
advocate and colleagues, the school curricula are this way, philosophy like mathematics has been
not sufficiently “meaningful” for children (1980). a means of domination of certain individuals
On the other hand, some studies in the field of over others, often of men over women and chil-
mathematics suggest that there are myths and dren. Even today, at the end of the twentieth
prejudices about mathematics in primary schools century, philosophy is mostly restricted to higher
and that the school system is partly responsible for education (college and university).
this. Indeed, the school system does not invite Some of the myths and prejudices which
children to express emotions in class about math- concern philosophy are: philosophy deals only
ematics nor does it favor creativity. It does not with abstract concepts; philosophy uses partic-
allow dialogue among peers about mathematical ular idioms; philosophy is far from daily con-
concepts and problems nor the construction of cerns; philosophy is dialectic and involves only
mathematical knowledge by the students them- logical and rational thinking; philosophy
selves (Lafortune 1992). excludes intuition and feelings; philosophy
For quite some time, myths and prejudices always includes debates with effective rhetoric;
about teaching and learning mathematics have philosophy is for those who possess mature
taken root. Some of these myths and prejudices thinking; and philosophy is not for children
are as follows: students have to toil and suffer to (Daniel 1996).
learn mathematics; every mathematical problem In the face of all these myths and prejudices
has only one correct answer; there exists one about mathematics and philosophy, the question
right way to solve a mathematical problem; arises as to whether there is anything university
inherent objectives of teaching and learning researchers and curricula designers can do about
mathematics are found in speed and accuracy how students perceive and experience mathemat-
with computational skills; speed and accuracy ics. We believe there is: based on a different way
are more readily achieved with competition of thinking about mathematics, as well as a
than cooperation; there is no place for discussion new way of doing philosophy, we seek to
in mathematics; logical and rational thinking are invite primary school students to participate in
the main skills to foster in mathematics – not philosophico-mathematical communities of
creativity and intuition; mathematics is very dif- inquiry that will help them tame mathematics,
ficult and can be better understood by a few understand better, like them better, and have
talented students; men and boys are more more pleasure in doing mathematics. In the fol-
inclined to succeed in mathematics than women lowing pages, we will present the philosophical
and girls, for males are rational and females are foundations and epistemological principles inher-
more intuitive and sensitive (Davidson 1980; ent to the philosophico-mathematical curriculum
Lafortune 1990). we are designing and using in class. We will also
Primary School Curriculum to Foster Thinking About Mathematics 1953

include some excerpts of the material so far writ- in its intransitive form, it involves an objective act
ten. Finally, we will present some qualitative (to become informed of, or about something by
results of experimentations held in three different someone). Nevertheless, the Latin etymology of
primary schools. the verb “to learn” (apprehendere) reveals its
essence, that is, to take with, to assimilate, to
become able, to transform the self. Thus, to learn
The Philosophical Foundations implies a voluntary and conscious act by a person
and the Epistemological Principles to take the risk to get involved in the development
Inherent to the Philosophico- of his or her capabilities (to do, to feel, to think,
Mathematical Curriculum and to be) in order to improve his or her compre-
hension of data, of self, of others, and of life.
We know that all educative activities, including If to teach and to learn refer to two different
mathematics, are processes which involve the aspects of education, we nevertheless believe that
aptitude to learn as well as the aptitude to teach. these two concepts are not conflicting because, in
Children construct their ideas and attitudes the classroom context, these concepts are comple-
towards mathematics and other subject matters mentary in nature. In the apprenticeship of math-
by the means of ideas and attitudes that have ematics for instance, we believe that there must be
been taught to them. This leads us to question a part of teaching as well as a part of learning. Yet,
various aspects of teaching and learning and we believe that learning has a predominant role
to distinguish their roles in the process of to play.
apprenticeship.
The First Basic Principle of Learning: Learning
To Teach Versus to Learn: A Conceptual Is a Process Based on the Reconstruction
Distinction of Knowledge by the Self
In the constructivist and pragmatist points of view, What are the fundamental principles of significant
to learn has to be differentiated from to teach. learning? Pragmatists such as John Dewey would
According to Latin etymology, to teach comes answer that a person learns through doubt and
from “insignere” (to signal, to let others know) uncertainty. As Dewey points out, uncertainty
and to learn comes from “apprehendere” (to take brings about a process of discovery and learning
with). The first term implies that the teachers are (1916/1983, 1967). Ernest Bayles (1980), P
the subjects of the educative act, while the second recapturing the Deweyan vision of learning,
implies that the students themselves are the sub- talks about the process of formulation of insights
jects of the educative act. by the self as well as logical organization by the
To teach carries an ambiguous status: it is self. Constructivists for their part state that the
situated at the frontier of education and instruction learning process starts with the self-appropriation
(education being understood as an act from inside of knowledge and with the construction of prob-
and instruction as having an outside cause). In the lems and their possible solutions by the students
classroom, teaching is too often related to trans- themselves (Bednarz and Garnier 1989; St-Onge
mitting, which presupposes that students’ role 1992). Following the pragmatist and constructiv-
consist in receiving, memorizing, and understand- ist perspectives and inspired by the pedagogy of
ing rather than creating, inferring, and evaluating Lipman et al. (1980), we have come to believe,
(see Gilford in Paré 1977). concerning the learning of mathematics, that the
To learn might also be ambiguous. In daily teachers’ role should focus on getting children
language, to learn might be used in its transitive involved in an active process of reconstruction
form, and it then involves a subjective act (to gain of knowledge rather than giving a problem to
knowledge of something or acquire skill in some students and ask them for the right answer. Indeed,
art and to become transformed by it). When used to educate in mathematics should not merely
1954 Primary School Curriculum to Foster Thinking About Mathematics

involve enticing children to give final answers to has no relationships with the rest of the curricu-
problems. To educate in mathematics should lum; to succeed in mathematics, one has to find
privilege guidance of children involved in the “tricks” and to think fast; mathematics is boring
process of mathematical inquiry (transformation, and hard; to succeed in mathematics, one has to be
readjustment, reconstruction, and improvement) brilliant; the students who succeed well in math-
(Daniel 1996). ematics are boring; students are not allowed to
Some traditional pedagogists could ask: make mistakes in mathematics; it is a waste of
“What is there to inquire about by students in time to try to understand mathematics; girls have
mathematics?” We answer that in this model, to study more than boys to succeed in mathemat-
each step of the problem-solving process could ics; and mathematics teachers know everything
lead to an inquiry or to a construction: construc- (Lafortune 1993).
tion of the problems inherent to the mathematics In the face of such comments on mathematics,
problem; construction of the meaning of concepts we believe it is about time to act towards changing
inherent to a given problem; construction of the attitudes towards mathematics and suggest the
possible solutions to a problem; construction of application of new pedagogical models in teach-
the possibility of transferring the solutions to a ing mathematics. The model we have come to
problem to other problems and to various life privilege is a constructive model (or some may
experiences; and construction of one’s strength say an inquiry model).
and character.
The regular application of this pedagogy The Second Basic Principle of Learning: The
should have a positive impact on children’s moti- Intrinsic Motivation to Get Involved
vation in doing mathematics and also on chil- The second principle of significant learning in
dren’s self-development, because construction mathematics is called intrinsic motivation and is
by the self can foster, in time, self-development referred to in every book by John Dewey on
(Davidson 1980; Sharp 1992). Indeed, to learn education. For Dewey (1967), there exist two
mathematics does not only mean to acquire kinds of interests in an activity. The first kind is
knowledge and skills in mathematics but to learn an interest that is generated by a person towards an
how to improve one’s ways of thinking, feeling, activity (intrinsic) and is conducive to having the
acting, and being (Vincent, quoted by Brossard person succeed in the activity. The second kind of
and Marsolais 1992). This is confirmed by more interest stems from an interest proposed by
and more researchers that show that learning another person towards an activity (extrinsic)
mathematics is strongly related to attitudes and and is less conducive to success in the activity.
emotions (among others: Lafortune 1992). Other With regard to the intrinsic interest and motivation
researchers are trying to find ways to help teachers to learn mathematics, Dewey states (1967) that as
foster students’ metacognition (Lafortune and soon as studies in mathematics are dissociated
St-Pierre 1994). from personal interest and their social utility, that
Many mathematics teachers and program is, when mathematics are presented as a mass of
designers contend, when it comes to teaching technical relationships and formulas, they become
mathematics to students, that the teacher must abstract and vain for students. It is only when
privilege the cognitive aspects of learning rather children become intrinsically interested and con-
than the affective or social dimensions (Baruk scious of mathematics as a means of solving daily
1994). We believe that such pedagogical and epis- problems (as opposed to ends in themselves) that
temological points of view lead to the persistence they enjoy playing with numbers, symbols, and
of many myths and prejudices about mathematics formulas. Dewey recognizes the pedagogical and
in primary school classrooms. Some of these epistemological necessity to take into account the
myths and prejudices may be related to comments experience of students along with the role played
made by primary school children on mathematics: by the self. He recognizes the affective aspect of
mathematics is useless in daily life; mathematics learning.
Primary School Curriculum to Foster Thinking About Mathematics 1955

Jean Piaget (1962) also lets us recognizes the Also, it is fundamental that children come to
importance of personal interest in learning, by realize that talent and success in mathematics do
supporting the point of view that students who not proceed from innate dispositions but rather
are interested in learning and are positively from making good judgments. And children can-
encouraged in the classroom, will have more not succeed in making good mathematical judg-
enthusiasm to study and will learn more easily. ments unless they continually practice making
He states that, for more than half of students, judgments (Lipman 1991; St-Onge 1992).
weakness in mathematics is due to affective It follows then, that children should have the
blocks. Piaget contends that affectivity intervenes opportunity to communicate and to work with
in the structures of intelligence, as a source of each other in order to understand mathematical
knowledge and of original cognitive acts (see problems; that they should have the opportunity
also Daniel 1992c). to identify the possible solutions to a problem and
For Mumme and Shepherd (1990), effective attempt to submit these solutions to concrete tests.
communication about mathematics enhances It is through such dynamics that students will
students’ comprehension and empowers them become responsible for their learning, that they
as learners. In this sense, and considering the will realize that they can learn according to
importance of “reflexive dialogue” in class, we their motivation to make efforts at participating
believe that each and every student should to the elaboration of their own instruments of
have the opportunity, within the mathematics mathematical thinking (Daniel 1992b; Daniel
class, to share with the rest of the group, ele- and Lebuis 1993).
ments of his or her constructions regarding
various problems. Indeed, there is no need for
students to make efforts to answer the teacher’s The Role of Philosophy
questions if there exists only one good answer in the Development of Mathematical
and if everyone in the classroom has previously Learning
been asked to memorize it (Dewey 1916/1983).
Children will be motivated to make efforts to Usually, students view mathematics as a demand-
solve mathematical problems, only if they ing discipline, where only one right answer is
know that their answers can make a difference correct (McKnight et al. 1987). Discussions in
and be useful to their peers (Bayles 1980; mathematics class often lack the diversity of P
Daniel 1992c). (One can also read: Lefebvre- thought and originality we strive to develop
Pinard 1989; Gilly 1989; Bauersfeld 1980; (English 1993). If learning as involvement of the
Blaye 1989a,b). whole self means anything in learning mathemat-
In order to respect the second principle of ics, we should privilege the development of rea-
learning and foster students’ interest in quality soning, conceptualization, translating, and
dialogue, the novels we are writing are researching in the mathematics class.
philosophico-mathematical. The stories revolve This brings us to the role of philosophy
around open-ended mathematical concepts and within the process of learning mathematics.
problems (such as truth, proof, success, the infin- First, let us specify what kind of philosophy
ity, figure versus shape) which call for discussion is involved here. It is not the philosophy stud-
among children. We assume that if children real- ied in traditional academic settings but rather a
ize that they have the right to propose different practice of philosophy, a “doing” of philosophy
answers to such concepts and problems, they will which refers to Socrates’ maïeutic (Lipman
quickly learn to enjoy doing mathematics. They 1988). Doing philosophy to learn about mathe-
will dissolve affective blocks towards mathemat- matics involves the creation of a philosophico-
ics and replace them by self-confidence and real mathematical community of inquiry where chil-
interest and eventually produce better results in dren practice at thinking about mathematics in
mathematics. an autonomous, critical, and creative fashion.
1956 Primary School Curriculum to Foster Thinking About Mathematics

This community of inquiry is a locus where mathematical curriculum adopts this starting
children can search for the meaning of point by proposing to children stories that depict
philosophico-mathematical concepts; a locus daily situations. These stories address concepts
where they can share their results with their such as truth, proof, infinite, too much, not
peers in order to construct thinking about math- enough, part of, and set the stage for children to
ematics and contribute to their learning of dif- talk about concepts in a community of inquiry. We
ferent ways to deal with mathematics. believe that if children start to work with concepts
that are meaningful to them, they will be inter-
Conceptualizing ested and motivated to go further in their intellec-
Most children in primary schools use and under- tual exploration and become authentic explorers
stand a limited form of language and address in philosophico-mathematical language. As
concepts in a limited fashion. For instance, if Lipman asserts (1991), if students work with con-
they often talk about truth, they rarely question cepts, they observe similarities and differences
mathematical truth; if they often ask for proof, between two or more concepts, clarify ambigui-
they seldom ask for mathematical demonstration; ties inherent to these concepts, establish and for-
if they often compare the number of stars to the mulate relationships between them, explore their
infinite, they rarely talk about infinite numbers; if implications, and imagine new contexts they
they often use the word number, they have diffi- might be applied to. In other words, in working
culties understanding the distinction between with philosophico-mathematical concepts, chil-
number and numeral; if they know what a cube dren learn to think for themselves in the language
is, they do not know the difference between the of mathematics.
shape of a cube and its sketch, and so on. This is to To think for oneself in the languages of the
say that mathematical language is formed of par- different subject matters involves critical and cre-
ticular words whose meanings do not always cor- ative thinking, for autonomous thinking implies
respond to those in daily language. We agree with that a person is able to reflect impartially and
Stella Baruk (Xerox copy) that we should not objectively about others’ discourse – as well as
eliminate these words from students’ books but, her’s or his’ (critical). It also implies that a person
rather, help children understand the different is able to enrich this same discourse with fresh
meanings of these words, according to the differ- knowledge, new relationships, and pertinent con-
ent contexts they are used in. In this regard, Baruk cepts (creative).
wrote a dictionary of mathematics (1992) to guide The fostering of critical mathematical thinking
students in their search for meanings. We believe could have children realize they are not thinking
that a good way to stimulate this search is to form by themselves when they are merely repeating a
a philosophico-mathematical community of series of exercises. It could also have children
inquiry in class where students are invited to clar- become less prone to naive scientific creeds and
ify, together, the meaning of the mathematical less gullible in the face of pseudoscientific author-
words and concepts they are using very often ity claiming discourses of absolute truth. They
without understanding them well. The community could be less inclined to forget that most scientific
of inquiry enables students to practice at concep- discourses reflect hypotheses which have to be
tualizing and at relating concepts to their different criticized, revised, and modified (one can look
meanings, while at the same time, to practice at at: Bednarz et al. 1992). The fostering of creative
developing language skills through communica- mathematical thinking may help children create
tion with peers. new useful concepts to better understand a theory;
Training in concept-formation skills is mean- to discover a formerly unnoticed relation between
ingful for primary school students whenever it two elements; to construct useful ordering; to
uses, as a starting point, the concepts usually organize the parts of a whole in a different fash-
used and understood by children in their daily ion; and so on. According to David Tall (1991),
language (Austin 1962). Our philosophico- some of the fundamental ingredients of
Primary School Curriculum to Foster Thinking About Mathematics 1957

mathematical creativity are relational understand- basic element of translation skills is found in
ing, intuition, imagination, and inspiration. In relationships – in mathematics as well as in other
short, because the fostering of concept-formation disciplines. As Luis Radford (1992) states, a
skills concerns philosophico-mathematical con- mathematics problem is never set down in
cepts, it represents more than a mere development vacuo: it always means a relationship to some-
of intellectual abilities. It is a global and funda- thing. In this sense, to translate implies to estab-
mental education, which encourages students to lish meaningful relationships between one
think critically and creatively about mathematics problem and another, between one solution and
and which gives them the possibility to articulate another, between one context and another, and
the expression of their opinions and contentions between one language and another.
concerning personal as well as social or moral Moreover, we are convinced that mathematical
problems. knowledge remains useless for students, unless they
are able to transfer it to daily experience in order to
Reasoning improve its quality. Indeed, just as translating skills
Reasoning and conceptualizing are strongly inter- are fostered through philosophico-mathematical
related. Reasoning is the capacity of organizing discussion, children will be able to construct their
different ideas into coherent systems often by knowledge in other disciplines, to construct their
means of human language. To do mathematics vision of the world, and to construct their own self.
does not merely mean to get acquainted with the In this context, mathematics becomes a way of
procedures of calculation (Baruk 1994). To do thinking and a means of communication.
mathematics is a way to imagine the world, to As Michel St-Onge notices (1992), if the
deal with reality, and to reason about problems teachers first explain to children the solution to
which are meaningful. When children, within a problems and then give them exercises related to
philosophical community of inquiry about math- the solution, children will never exercise transla-
ematics, sit down and search together for the tion skills and, consequently, when a real problem
meanings of a mathematical problem, they occurs, they will not know how to resolve
develop their reasoning skills because, in order it. Philosophico-mathematical discussions in the
to succeed in their discursive activity, they have classroom exercise translation skills, for it gives
to extend the knowledge they already have students the opportunity to observe, test, con-
(in regard with mathematics or with personal struct, and revise mathematical relationships. In P
experience) through reasoning (Daniel 1994). this sense, translation is not only an intellectual act
When students search for meaning, they have to but a global behavior: it recognizes the existence
go through different proficiencies in such areas as of a plurality of modes of reaching truth as well as
classification, definition, question-formulation, the necessity to submit any truth to examination.
giving examples and counter- examples,
constructing and criticizing analogies, comparing, Inquiring
contrasting, and so on (Lipman 1991) – all pro- The last set of cognitive skills do not merely
ficiencies which are related to the development of involve the articulation of questions but, also
reasoning. and mainly, the inquiring attitude which implies
activities such as: observing, doubting,
Translating or Generalizing questioning, seeking reasons, and searching for
To do philosophy about mathematics also meaning (Daniel 1992a).
involves and fosters translation skills. This is a Very young children like to explore and always
high value skill, for to translate means to deal with ask “Why?” But when they grow up they tend to
human language. And as the reality of language is look for clear-cut answers. They tend to put lim-
characterized by diversity and plurality, to trans- itations to their inquiry by accepting (receiving)
late means to deal with ambiguity. As with ambi- ready-made answers. And schools participate to
guity, so with relationships. Actually, the most this process by stressing the importance of clear-
1958 Primary School Curriculum to Foster Thinking About Mathematics

cut answers in addition to the accumulation and mathematical concepts and problems. The manual
memorization of information. As Pallascio con- is essentially composed of discussion plans about
tends (1992), average teachers of mathematics mathematical concepts and myths, philosophico-
will rarely put themselves in a situation of inquiry. mathematical exercises, and mathematical activi-
If they do, they tend to avoid sharing the difficul- ties. This material will be used in mathematics
ties they encounter in inquiry with their students. classes from fourth to sixth grade. The main
They tend to hide the process of inquiry and only objective of the curriculum is to foster philosoph-
show the final term (see also Daniel 1992b). Par- ical discussions among children with regard to
allel to, it is rare that teachers propose to their mathematical concepts, problems, myths, and
students, real mathematical problems whose solu- prejudices.
tions are really unknown, a problem which is
meaningful to students and which allows them to Main Ideas
inquire, to invent, and to reconstruct (see also Some of the philosophico-mathematical ideas
St-Onge 1992). Of course, stored knowledge is included in the material are:
indispensable to question the results of research,
to continue the exploration, and to inquiry in • Can a room be a cube or does it only look like a
general (Tall 1991). Yet, to be fully educated in cube?
mathematics means to remain thirsty for new • Do teachers know everything about geometry?
ideas and new questioning through the inquiry • Mathematics are useless, boring, difficult, and
process. call for too much work.
In the philosophico-mathematical curriculum • What is a problem?
we are developing, students have to identify • The fear of failing.
causes and effects, parts and wholes, means and • Usefulness and uselessness.
ends, and means and consequences just as they • Too much and not enough.
have to suggest hypothesis, to formulate prob- • Abstract versus concrete.
lems, to find solutions, and so on. All these mental • Is beauty in arts equivalent to beauty in
acts maintain and foster the inquiry attitude. mathematics?
• The necessity of proof and demonstration.
Summary • Can animals think mathematically?
In working with a philosophico-mathematical cur- • Is geometry part of mathematics?
riculum, primary school students should train in • Those who are good in mathematics rarely
the four varieties of cognitive skills (reasoning understand those who have difficulties in it.
skills, concept-formation skills, translation skills, • Where does success come from?
and inquiry skills). They should learn to commu- • The role of the community of inquiry in the
nicate within a community of inquiry, develop finding of a solution to a problem of
affective and social skills, and eliminate, to one mathematics.
degree or another, some of the myths and preju- • Relationships.
dices related to mathematics. • To guess and to reason.
• To believe.
• To understand mathematical operations and to
The Philosophico-Mathematical memorize them.
Curriculum • The role of intuition in mathematics.
• How can mathematics be useful in the resolu-
The curriculum we are designing includes a tion of daily problems?
philosophico-mathematical novel and a teacher’s • Infinite and indefinite.
manual, in keeping with the tradition of Philoso- • Does zero equal nothing?
phy for Children. The novel depicts children’s • Rules, respect of the rules, exceptions to the
daily life experiences in relation to philosophico- rules.
Primary School Curriculum to Foster Thinking About Mathematics 1959

• Does truth exist? Does mathematical truth

ideas; she becomes impatient and, finally,
exist?
says to herself:
• Do mathematics exist as an absolute, in the
universe, or do they have to be created by
• Tomorrow, I will ask Isabelle to clarify
human beings to exist?
this for me. After all, SHE is the teacher!
• Far from; near of.
She probably knows everything about
• Are mathematics a universal language?
geometry.
• Number and numeral.
• To be a genius in mathematics.
Matilde’s thoughts fly away, released
from their mathematical problem. She starts
Following the methodology of Philosophy for
to daydream about her new boyfriend,
Children, students read one chapter of the novel
Mathieu:
by taking turns reading one sentence each. Then
they are invited to ask meaningful questions
• Ah! Mathieu, what a guy!
brought about by reading the novel. Discussions
on these questions take place within a
Everything is now calm and pleasant in
philosophico-mathematical community of
Mathilde’s room when, suddenly, she sees a
inquiry.
big red sphere passing in front of her. Her
heart still beating, she recognizes her
brother entering her bedroom and who has
Extracts from the Novel just thrown his basketball against the wall.
Matilde enters her bedroom and slams the What a pest!
door behind her. She takes off her shoes,
puts her packsack in a corner and throws • I have a problem, Matilde.
herself onto her bed. Ah! How GOOD she • Really? Well, me too David, and it’s
feels! YOU!
Matilde enjoys her bedroom. It is a very • No, please, listen to me. I really have a
small green room, with a square floor. problem. I believe I’ve failed, once
more, a mathematics exam this P
• Hum! it almost looks like a cube! afternoon.
Isabelle taught us something about the • Why do you say that, David?
cube this morning, in the geometry class. • Because this is what I think, that’s all!
What was she saying, exactly? • You said: “I BELIEVE I’ve failed, once
more, a mathematics exam.” What
Isabelle’s words come gradually to makes you believe you’ve failed? Is it
Matilde’s mind. While she looks vaguely your fear to fail or a prediction of failure?
around her, Matilde wonders: Maybe it is something else altogether.
• I don’t really know. It is merely an
• Can a room really be a cube or can it only impression.
look like a cube? Isabelle told us that it • But, David, do you at least have good
was not possible to see, on earth, a PER- reasons to believe what you say? It is
FECT cube. This surprises me! not because you have failed some tests
last year, that you will fail them all
Matilde tries to think about this problem, this year.
but she is tired. She gets bogged down in her • I know, but I hate mathematics!
(continued) (continued)
1960 Primary School Curriculum to Foster Thinking About Mathematics

• David, you always repeat to yourself: “I • So?

am not good in mathematics; students • So what tells you we won’t believe the
who are not good in mathematics fail earth is oval, a few hundred years from
their tests, so I will fail my tests.” With now?
this negative attitude, it is not surprising • What’s your point Mathieu?
that you have failures. • What I’m trying to tell you is that
• Mathematics are useless. The only thing what you say is true, that is, “The
they really do is provoke stress. And earth is round” may not be true. In
mathematics are so boring; they are dif- the Middle Ages, the people saying
ficult and call for too much work at “The earth is flat” were not saying
home. I prefer to play ball or to draw. something true.
I am excellent in drawing! • Matilde, you’re saying the same thing as
I am ! You’re saying that something can
After a moment of silence, David adds: be true for certain people and false for
others. Like me, you’re saying that truth
• And that is what I am going to do. I will doesn’t exist.
draw my “Frustrations” in my room. • I’ll give you another example. Let me
This will be useful. think. Here we are: 2 + 2 = 4. This is
always true and everyone agrees
• Hi! Mathieu. Are you here for David? about it.
• Yeah. Isn’t he ready yet? • I’m not so sure Matilde that 2 and 2 have
• No. He has to clean his room before always been equal to 4 or will always be
leaving. Did you have a good time at equal to 4.
your party last weekend? • You’re kidding!
• It was not bad, answers Mathieu. You • No I’m not. Close your eyes and imagine
should have come with your brother! he for a moment, that we’re in year 2897.
adds, blushing. • O.K. Go on.
• What do you think? I heard you when • Picture it: strange beings are dressed dif-
you said you were embarrassed to invite ferently and even look quite different
me because I’m a “brain” in when compared to us.
mathematics. • What else?
• It’s not true! You’re all making this up. • Keep thinking about these strange beings
• I heard you perfectly well Mathieu! And and try to get into their thoughts, now.
if I heard you, it’s true. Aren’t they different from ours?
• Tell me, what is truth anyway? I think it’s • Yes, probably.
just a word that doesn’t mean anything. • Continue your voyage in their brain,
Truth doesn’t exist. Matilde. Wouldn’t you say their way of
• How can you say such a thing Mathieu? calculating is also different from ours?
There are many things that are true and • Maybe, I don’t know.
on which we rely every day. • Well, I’m sure it is, Matilde. These
• Like what? Give me an example. beings are so different from us that
• Well like “The earth is round.” Or “the they must have the need to invent a
earth revolves around the sun.” new way of calculating for them to
• But Matilde, don’t you know that a few evolve. I think that it’s quite probable
hundred years ago, everyone believed that in year 2897, 2 + 2 will equal l 0 0
that the earth was flat? or something.
(continued) (continued)
Primary School Curriculum to Foster Thinking About Mathematics 1961

• I think mathematics are truths that can’t baby would, at birth, possess the ability
change. to calculate? Wouldn’t it be strange?
• Why? What makes you say that?
• I can’t explain it to you, but I know it. I Mathieu was surprised by his friends’
think mathematics exist regardless of mother’s question and since he’s shy, he
what we may think of them. chooses to run off:
• I don’t get it, Matilde.
• Well, I think that mathematics are truths • I’m sorry Mam, but we have to go. It’s
that already exist in the universe and that already late. Right David?
humans just need to discover them.
• I think quite the opposite: mathemati- Back in her room, Matilde whispers:
cians have invented mathematics and
since they are human beings, they can • I still wonder if truth exists.
make mistakes or change their minds.
So for me, there is no mathematical
truth.
Some Reactions from
At this point, David, who was listening an Experimentation in Three Classrooms
in, asks:
Since February l994, a qualitative experimenta-
• Tell me Mathieu, how and why would tion of the philosophico-mathematical material is
humans invent something like carried out in classrooms of three different pri-
mathematics? mary schools. After each class, teachers have to
• To progress! replies Mathieu. fill out an evaluation form (concerning the novel,
• Nah, says David. I think that mathematics the manual, and the discussion). Moreover, each
exist in the universe the same way the stars discussion is recorded on audio tape. To this date,
out there exist. It’s the astronomer’s or the we cannot provide an analysis of the discussions.
mathematician’s job to discover them. Nevertheless, based on the evaluation forms filled
by teachers, we can share the following
At this point, Matilde’s and David’s P
comments:
mother comes in the kitchen intrigued by
the conversation she was overhearing from
the living-room. • The students are glad to see that David does not
Looking at Matilde and David she says: like mathematics.
• The students find the novel more interesting
• Let’s say that mathematics already exist and easier to read than what they trained on in
in the universe. Would that mean that Philosophy for Children.
mathematicians have never created or • Children are very helpful in suggesting ways to
invented a mathematics formula? To me make discussions more interesting.
that would be impossible. • There is a high participation of children to
discussions, although relating discussion con-
Before Matilde and David could react, tents to mathematics is not always fun for some
she turned to Mathieu: of them. Sometimes they do not want to hear
about mathematics.
• Let’s say that mathematics exist in the • Exercises and activities proposed by the man-
minds of humans, would that mean that a ual are useful.
(continued) • Sometimes, it is difficult to establish a direct
link between the topic of the discussion
1962 Primary School Curriculum to Foster Thinking About Mathematics

proposed by the students and the choice of Bednarz, N., et Garnier, C. (dir.) (1989). Construction des
exercise or activity proposed in the manual. savoirs. Obstacles and conflits. Montréal: Agence
d’ARC.
Sometimes, the teachers mention, we are left Bednarz, N., Poirier, L., & Bacon, L. (1992). Apprendre ŕ
to adapt or invent, on the spot, an exercise or an penser en mathématiques. Un exemple d’intervention
activity clearly related to the discussion. It is pédagogique auprčs des jeunes enfants. Vie
difficult to succeed at this. pédagogique, 79, 36–37.
Blaye, A. (1989a). Interactions sociales et constructions
• We should get into more practical activities cognitives: présentation critique de la thčse du conflit
related to mathematics to help us talk socio-cognitif. dans Bednarz et Garnier (dir.), Con-
about them. struction des savoirs (pp. 183–195). Montréal: Agence
d’ARC.
Blaye, A. (1989b). Nature et effets des oppositions dans
Conclusion des situations de co-résolution de problčmes entre
pairs. dans Bednarz et Garnier (dir.), Construction des
savoirs (pp. 206–215). Montréal: Agence d’ARC.
We believe that to design and apply a curriculum Brossard, L., & Marsolais, A. (1992). Un tournant
which would foster the philosophical dialogue américain dans l’enseignement des mathématiques.
about mathematics is a significant way to start to Entrevue avec Richard Pallascio et Suzanne Vincent.
Vie pédagogique, 79, 18–22.
tame and to like to learn mathematics. Indeed, we
Daniel, M.-F. (1992a). La philosophie et les enfants.
believe that if children do not like mathematics it L’enfant philosophe. Le programme de Lipman et
is because they hardly see their relationship to the l’influence de Dewey. Montréal: Logiques.
daily world or to their own personal problems. Daniel, M.-F. (1992b). Reflections on teacher formation:
When school and university enter together in a process
A philosophical curriculum has the power to
of continuous thinking. Analytic Teaching, 12(2),
help children establish this relationship, for it is: 39–45.
Daniel, M.-F. (1992c). La philosophie au primaire: un
1. A tool adapted to children, which talks to them moyen pour prévenir le décrochage scolaire? Rapport
des actes du colloque sur la prévention de l’abandon
in their own language and about their own
scolaire, Terrebonne, pp. 203–213.
difficulties and interests in regard with Daniel, M.-F. (1994). Women, philosophical community of
mathematics inquiry and the liberation of the self. Thinking, 11(3–4),
2. A tool that can foster thinking about mathe- 63–71.
Daniel, M.-F. (1996). The search for meaning:
matics, because philosophy contains universal
A significant pedagogy. In dans Sharp, A.-M. et Reed,
concepts which can be dealt with by children as R. F. (dir), Studies in Philosophy for children. Pixie (pp.
well as by adults 261–280). Madrid, Spain: Edition de la Torre.
Daniel, M.-F., & Lebuis, P. (1993). Apprendre à penser en
communauté de recherche philosophique. In R.
Pallascio, & D. Leblanc (Eds.), Apprendre
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Stella Baruk. Propos recueillis par Richard Pallascio. Delachaux et Niestlé.
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Baruk, S. (Xerox copy). Stella Baruk: pour une culture Introducation ŕ la philosophie de l’éducation.
mathématique. Propos recueillis par Jean-Pierre Artigues-prčs-Bordeaux: L’^age d’Homme.
Issenhuth. English, L. (1993). Using philosophical inquiry to enhance
Bauersfeld, H. (1980). Hidden dimensions in the so called mathematical communication. Critical and Creative
reality of a mathematics classroom. Educational Stud- Thinking, 1(2), 57–61.
ies in Mathematics, 11, 23–41. Gilly, M. (1989). A propos de la théorie du conflit socio-
Bayles, E. (1980). Pragmatism in education. New York: cognitif et des mécanismes psycho-sociaux des con-
Harper & Row. structions cognitives: perspectives actuelles et modčles
Private and Public in European Higher Education 1963

explicatifs. dans Bednarz et Garnier (dir), Construction

des savoirs (pp. 162–183). Montréal: Agence d’ARC. Private and Public in European
Lafortune, L. (1990). Démythification de la mathématique.
Matériel didactique. Opération boules ŕ mythes. Higher Education
Québec: MESS, DGCC, SFA.
Lafortune, L. (1992). Dimension affective en Mikael Börjesson
mathématiques. Montréal: Modulo. Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
Lafortune, L. (1993). Affectivité et démythification des
mathématiques pour les enfants du primaire. Docu-
ment photocopié.
Lafortune, L., & St-Pierre, L. (1994). La pensée et les Synonyms
émotions en mathématiques: Métacognition et
affectivité. Montréal, Canada: Éditions Logiques.
Lefebvre-Pinard, M. (1989). Le conflit socio-cognitif en Control; Funding; Goods; Ownership
psychologie du développement: est-ce toujours un con-
cept heuristiquement valable? dans Bednarz et Garnier
(dir). Construction des savoirs (pp. 151–156). Mon- Introduction
tréal: Agence d’ARC.
Lipman, M. (1988). Philosophy goes to school. Philadelphia,
PA: Temple University Press. The dichotomy public/private has become
Lipman, M. (1991). Thinking in education. Cambridge, increasingly crucial in higher education. More
MA: Cambridge University Press. precisely, there is a growing pressure to make
Lipman, M., Sharp, A.-M., & Oscanyan, F. S. (1980).
Philosophy in the classroom. Philadelphia, PA: Temple
higher education more private and less public. In
University Press. many countries, this is also currently the dominant
McKnight et al. (1987). The underachieving curriculum trend.
assessing US school mathematics from an international This aim to increase the level of privatization
perspective. Champain, IL: Stipes.
Mumme, J., & Shepherd, N. (1990). Communication in
must be understood in light of the traditional
mathematics. The Arithmetic Teacher, 38(1), 18–22. perception of higher education as a public good.
Pallascio, R. (1992). Une démarche de résolution de pro- The original idea of the university as in terms of
blčmes inscrite dans une conception de l’apprentissage. universality, i.e., as a community of teachers or
Vie pédagogique, 77, 25–29.
Paré, A. (1977). Créativité et pédagogie ouverte. Montréal:
students, bears similarities with the notion of
NHP. higher education as a public good, something
Piaget, J. (1962). Les cours de Sorbone. Paris: Centre de held in common to which all contribute and from
documentation universitaire. which all profit. In the Middle Ages, universities P
Radford, L. (1992). Le raisonnement algébrique: une
réflexion épistémologique. In Actes du colloque.
formed a trans local community, a network of
Elčve, école, société: pour une approche seats of learning, sanctioned by the Catholic
interdisciplinaire de l’apprentissage (pp. 33–47). Church. Higher education thus enjoyed a certain
CIRADE/Montréal, Canada: Université du Québec à degree of independence from local authorities.
Montréal.
Sharp, A. M. (1992). Discovering yourself a person. dans
With the rise of nation states, religious authorities
Sharp, A. M. et Reed, R. F. (dir.), Studies in Philosophy lost most of their power over higher education.
for children. Harry Stottlemeier’s Discovery From the seventeenth century, and especially from
(pp. 56–64). Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press. the nineteenth century and onwards, universities
St-Onge, M. (1992). L’enseignement des mathématiques et
la résolution de problčmes. Vie pédagogique, 79, 22–26.
became important pillars in the process of nation
Tall, D. (1991). Advanced mathematical thinking. building and were crucial, not only for forming a
Dordrecht: Kluwer. national State bureaucracy but also for supplying
national literary canons and national histories.
Higher education as a private good is of a more
recent date, having arisen in conjunction with the
Principles of Beauty expansion of capitalism as an economic system
and invoking such concepts as markets, supply
▶ Issues in the Aesthetics of Educational and demand, commodities, and profits. The fervor
Administration for higher education as a private good has
1964 Private and Public in European Higher Education

accelerated greatly during the last three to four research, where decreased public direct funding
decades and is related to the rise of the global and increased private and external funding have
knowledge economy. In this new economy, higher created a higher education system that can be
education and research are perceived as crucial described as academic capitalism (Slaughter and
assets and a necessary infrastructure for national Leslie 1997).
economies and businesses to be competitive on a Yet another aspect of privatization is the intro-
global market. duction of new public management (NPM) in
There are a number of processes that aim at higher education. In very general terms, this
supporting and increasing the private dimensions means that management and steering models
of higher education. At a policy level, the general from the private sector have been implemented
introduction of neoliberal policy from the late in the (traditionally) public sector, including
1970s and early 1980s has had large impact on higher education. This implies a focus on account-
higher education. This includes a movement ability, efficiency, transparency, decentralization,
toward the privatization of higher education, and deregulation. It is clear that the market model
increasing the number of private institutions and is presupposed.
strengthening their position, and augmenting the
private funding of higher education, mainly by
introducing or raising tuition fees. The latter has Three Dimensions of the Private/Public
become more urgent since the costs for higher Divide
education has increased rapidly with the second
phase of the massification of higher education The public/private divide of higher education is,
(Verger and Charle 2012). of course, manifold and complex (see also
The privatization wave is also closely related to Marginson 2007). At least three basic dimen-
the internationalization of higher education. The sions can be identified. A first dimension relates
influx of international students has increased to the funding of higher education. Should it be
steadily, and foreign students today account for a funded by public or private means? The funding
substantial section of the enrollments in a number can also be mixed and could differ between stu-
of the most prominent host countries, including dent categories, such as national or international
the USA, the UK, Australia, Germany, and students. The control of higher education forms a
France. An important vehicle here is the inclusion second dimension. Control includes different
of higher education in the General Agreement on levels, from the supranational to the national,
Trade in Services (GATS) by the World Trade the regional down to the local, including the
Organization (WTO), which includes cross- individual higher education institutions. The
border supply (provision of a service at a distance, State often functions as the controlling stake-
distance learning, e-learning, etc.), consumption holder but can subsidize a system of higher edu-
abroad (studies in other countries), commercial cation including privately controlled seats of
presence (branch campuses set up in other coun- learning. A third and more diffuse dimension
tries), and the presence of natural persons (staff relates to the organization of higher education,
teaching abroad) (Robertson et al. 2002). In some which can be more or less inspired by private
countries, such as Denmark and Sweden, interna- corporate models and market-driven principles.
tional students from outside the EES area are The three dimensions can go hand in hand.
charged full cover tuitions fees, while European A higher education system with a substantial
and domestic students pay no fees at all. In the share of private funding might also have a large
UK, the limit of 3000 £ for tuitions fees does not private institutional sector and a high degree of
apply to non-European students, making it more market-oriented offerings. Naturally, even other
profitable to recruit these full fee paying interna- combinations are possible. In the following,
tional students rather than other categories of stu- European countries will be analyzed according
dents. A similar development has occurred in to the three different dimensions.
Private and Public in European Higher Education 1965

A Differentiated Public/Private National countries, such as the USA (62%), Australia

Landscape in Europe (55%), and New Zeeland (48%), and Asian coun-
tries, such as Japan (66%) and Korea (71%), have
Starting with the financial dimension, European higher levels of private funding than the most
countries differ greatly regarding the extent to extreme cases in Europe. It should also be noticed
which higher education is financed by public that the UK constitutes an exception in the Euro-
means or by private resources. According to fig- pean context. The OECD data for the UK in 2012
ures from OECD for 2012 (see Diagram 1 below), is lower than for the years 2007–2011, when the
it is clear that, in a European context, public country had levels of approximately 70%, which
funding dominates, and it is the most crucial is of the same magnitude as the non-European
source of financing in all countries. There are, countries mentioned above.
however, important differences. Three countries A further differentiation of private funding
reached over 40% private funding (Portugal, Hun- can be made. Within the category of private
gary, and the United Kingdom), and an additional sources, household expenditure dominates.
three countries (Russian Federation, Latvia, and There is, however, no clear connection to the
Italy) exceed 30%. These can be contrasted to level of private funding. Among the countries
those with 10% and below – implying almost with a high degree of overall private funding,
complete public funding – including the five Nor- some, such as Italy, Portugal, and Latvia, have a
dic countries, as well as Austria, Belgium, and large proportion of household funding, while the
Luxembourg. Thus, there seems to be a geograph- UK and the Netherlands have lower levels of
ical pattern in the privatization of funding. East- household funding. At the other end of the spec-
ern, Mediterranean countries, and the UK are trum, where the total private funding constitutes
more dependent upon private funding, while Cen- a low share, the relative weight of the household
tral, Western, and Northern European countries funding also differs greatly. Within the Nordic
tend to be more publicly funded. countries, household funding stands for almost
From a global perspective, the level of private all the private funding in Iceland and in Norway
funding of higher education in Europe stands out but is nonexistent in Finland and very low in
as low. Both non-European Anglo-Saxon Sweden.

100.0
P
90.0 Total private
80.0 Household expenditure
70.0 Enrolled in private institutions

60.0

50.0

40.0

30.0

20.0

10.0

0.0

Private and Public in European Higher Education, Diagram 1 Higher education in European countries 2012. Total
private expenditure, household expenditure and rate of students enrolled in private institutions (Source: OECD 2015)
1966 Private and Public in European Higher Education

The second dimension, the control of higher average for first category was 37% compared to
education, based on student enrollment rates in 25% for the latter (OECD 2015).
private institutions, adds to the complexity (see Also, the typical pattern is that educational
Diagram 1 above). The UK and Latvia, two coun- institutions primarily oriented towards the private
tries with the highest level of private funding, sector, such as business schools or technical col-
have 100% and 92% of the students studying at leges, are more often private. In France, for
private institutions, whereas the four other coun- instance, the vast majority of the business schools
tries with the highest level of private funding, are private, as compared with 30% of the engi-
Portugal, Hungary, the Russian Federation, and neering schools. In Sweden, a country with a low
Italy, have only between 9% and 18% of their level of privatization in higher education, only
students in private institutions. Belgium, with three institutions are private: one business school,
58% of the students in private institutions, has a one technical university, and one regional univer-
low level of private funding (10%). There is also a sity college with an international business school.
set of countries with a very low level of private When analyzing the more precise positions of
funding and relatively high rates of students the institutions within a global field of higher
in private institutions (Iceland, Finland, and education, European countries differ from the
Norway). USA, where private institutions dominate the
The evidence thus suggests that there are at least upper echelons. While 22 among the 39 US uni-
six typical combinations of private funding/private versities ranked top-hundred by the Times Higher
enrollment: high/high (the UK), high/low (Italy), Education World University Rankings 2015–2016
medium-high/high (Estonia), medium-high/low are private, the vast majority of European univer-
(Ireland), low/high (Finland), and low/low sities in this exclusive group are public. The fig-
(Denmark). The conclusion to be drawn is that ures for the Shanghai ranking (Academic Ranking
funding and control are two separate dimensions of World Universities 2015) are similar: 22 out of
of the public/private relationship in higher educa- 51 US universities among the 100 highest ranked
tion in Europe. In non-European countries, there are private, as compared to handful out of 34 Euro-
tends to be a stronger link between a high level of pean universities. The private dominance in the
private funding, large share of household expendi- American context becomes even more obvious
ture, and a large private sector in these countries in when only the top-20 universities are considered:
comparison to the European countries. Once again, 11 out of 16 are private in the Shanghai ranking,
the European countries stand out as less privatized and 12 out of 14 are private in the Times Higher
and with greater variation. Education ranking.
There is one area of European higher education
where private institutions are competitive with
Internal National Differentiations public ones: business schools. While the Ameri-
can business schools are often part of larger uni-
In addition, there is often a differentiation of pub- versities, the European business schools are often
lic and private enrollment within each national institutions in their own right and frequently pri-
context. In most countries, shorter programs with vately controlled. This is true for the leading
a focus on practical, technical, or occupational French business schools, INSEAD, École des
skills for direct entry into the labor market hautes études commerciales de Paris (HEC), and
(so-called type B higher education in the OECD École Supérieure des Sciences Économiques et
statistics) have a larger share of students enrolled Commerciales (ESSEC), the leading European
in private institutions than largely theoretical pro- school, according to Financial Times ranking,
grams designed to provide sufficient qualifica- the London School of Economics, the highest
tions for entry into advanced research programs ranked Italian business school, Bocconi, and the
and professions with high skill requirements (type most prestigious Swedish institution, the Stock-
A higher education). For 2012, the national holm School of Economics.
Private and Public in European Higher Education 1967

Increasing Privatization and Expansion themselves – is becoming increasingly important”

(2015, p. 238).
The increase in privatization of higher education The last 15 years (1998–2012, see Diagram 2
should be understood in different contexts. First, it below) also indicate a general growth of private
is related to the expansion of higher education, funding in higher education in European coun-
which generally came in two phases. The first tries. Some countries have increased very radi-
occurred after the Second World War and the cally. Portugal has raised its share of private
booming economies of the 1950s and 1960s, funding from 8% to 46%; Hungary from 23 to
when higher education in many countries, in the 46; the Netherlands from 13 to 29, and the UK
terminology of Martin Trow (1974), was trans- from 37 to 70 (in 2011, falling back to 43 in 2012).
formed from elite systems to systems of mass Many countries have seen moderate expansion:
higher education. In the second phase, which Germany from 8% to 14%; France from 15 to 20;
stretches from the 1990s and onward, many West- Poland from 17 to 22; and Finland from 3 to
ern countries entered a system of universal access. 4. Only four countries have negative figures:
Especially this second phase of expansion has Spain, Ireland, Belgium, and Norway.
been associated with increasing demands for But the link between expansion and privatiza-
more private financing of higher education. In tion is not direct. While the expansion poses ques-
the OECD’s Education at a Glance, for instance, tions concerning how to fund higher education,
it is stated that “More people are participating in a different solutions can be considered. It is possi-
wider range of educational programs offered by ble, for instance, to increase enrollment without
increasing numbers of providers than ever raising the funding at the same rate, creating an
before. As a result, the question of who should erosion of resources. Expansion can also occur by
support an individual’s efforts to acquire more the exportation of students. Due to underinvest-
education – governments or the individuals ment in Mediterranean countries such as Greece,

50

45
P
40 Portugal
United Kingdom
35
Italy

30 Netherlands
Spain
25
France

20 Germany
Sweden
15 Belgium

10 Austria
Denmark
5

0
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Private and Public in European Higher Education, Diagram 2 Higher education in some European countries. Total
private expenditure, 1998–2012 (Source: OECD: Education at a Glance, 2000–2015)
1968 Private and Public in European Higher Education

Italy, and Spain, many young people from have extent it is tied to efficiency, has been a matter
enrolled in higher education abroad. of some controversy (Rider and Waluszewski
2015).
Another issue related to the influence of private
Shifting Organizational Patterns business models is the deterioration of collegial
decision-making and increased concentration of
In order to fully comprehend the privatization power to management in chain of command struc-
of higher education, the third dimension relating tures. This also implies increasing power of external
to the organization of higher learning, which stakeholders in boards of higher education institu-
can be more or less inspired by private corporate tions. While these processes are often portrayed as
models and market-driven principles, has to enhancing the autonomy of higher education insti-
be taken into account. Here, profound changes tutions, by decentralizing central decisions on
in systems of higher education have occurred funding distribution, employment structures, work-
which cannot be captured by the statistics ing conditions, etc., from the national level to the
referred to above. Many of these changes are local level, a substantial reregulation is occurring. It
orchestrated by supranational organizations is far from obvious that this leads to increased
(Laval and Weber 2002). autonomy of the professionals, the teachers and
One obvious and far-reaching such transforma- the researchers, who seems better protected by
tion is the implementation of the Bologna process national regulation than local feudalism.
in European higher education. The crucial aims of
the process are to enhance mobility and employ-
ability. This implies the creation of an interna- Conclusion
tional market of higher education where it is
possible to transfer from one national system to Since the 1980s, a general shifting of power rela-
another facilitated by two pillars of the process, tions between public and private dimensions of
the standardization of the educational system in higher education in Europe has occurred, where
three cycles and the standardization of the credit the latter has gained momentum at the cost of the
system. The stress on employability shifts the former. There has been an increase in funding
focus of the higher education system from the stemming from private sources, including house-
cultivation of academic knowledge to the produc- holds, enrollment in private institutions has
tion of manpower for the labor markets. increased, and organizational models originating
Yet another crucial change is the introduction from companies and private business have
of new modes of management in higher educa- become more widespread in higher education.
tion, often referred to as new public management. If the development is seen in light of Burton
Guided by principles such as accountability, trans- Clark’s famous tri-polar structure of the coordina-
parency, efficiency, and decentralization, the goal tion of higher education (1983), it is not only the
has been to transform public rule-based bureau- case that many countries have glided from the State-
cracies to private company-like administrations. dominated pole towards the market pole, but also
A precondition is the market model. Administra- that there has been a movement from the profes-
tive units compete on a market and are compared sional pole towards the market one, implying that
with each other according to key elements. The privatization implies loss of professional power.
model for public administration is transparency,
so that clients and customers (students, patients,
etc.) can make informed choices. Since funding is
often tied to these choices, the system works in the References
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Academic Ranking of World Universities. (2015).
efficient and goal-fulfilling units. The issue of Retrieved from https://www.timeshighereducation.
how to measure quality, and how and to what com/world-university-rankings/2015/world-ranking
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Clark, B. C. (1983). The higher education system: Aca-

demic organization in cross-national perspective. Process
Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Laval, C., & Weber, L. (Eds.). (2002). Le nouvel ordre
éducatif mondial. OMC, Banque Mondiale, OCDE, ▶ Semiosis as Relational Becoming
Commission européenne. Paris: Éditions Nouveaux
Regards/Syllepse.
Marginson, S. (2007). The public/private divide in higher
education: A global revision. Higher Education, 53, Professional Dialogue
307–333.
OECD. (2015). Education at a Glance. 2000–2015.
Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/edu/education-at- ▶ Moderation and Assessment
a-glance-2015.htm
Rider, S., & Waluszewski, A. (2015). Crowding out knowl-
edge: Efficiency, innovation and higher education. In
M. Peters, J. M. Paraskeva, & T. Besley (Eds.), The Professional Judgement in Ethics
global financial crisis and educational restructuring
(pp. 235–248). New York: Peter Lang.
▶ Ethics and Education
Robertson, S. L., Bonal, X., & Dale, R. (2002). GATS and
the education service industry. Comparative Education
Review, 46(4), 472–497.
Slaughter, S., & Leslie, L. L. (1997). Academic capitalism.
Politics, policies and the entrepreneurial university. Professionalization
Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
The Times Higher Education World University Rankings. ▶ Leadership Research and Practice: Competing
(2017). Retrieved from https://www.
Conceptions of Theory
timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/
2016/world-ranking#!/page/0/length/25/sort_by/rank/
sort_order/asc/cols/stats
Trow, M. (1974). Problems in the transition from elite to
mass higher education. In General report on the con- Profit
ference on future structures of post-secondary educa-
tion (pp. 55–101). Paris: OECD. ▶ Political Economy of Charter Schools
Verger, J., & Charle, C. (2012). Histoire des universités.
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Progressive Education P

▶ Dewey and Critical Pedagogy

Privatization ▶ Dewey on Public Education and Democracy
▶ Longing for Innocence and Purity: Nature and
▶ Managerialism and Education Child-Centered Education

Progressive Education Association

Problematics (PEA)
▶ Deleuze, Ontology, and Mathematics ▶ Social Imaginaries and the New Education
Fellowship

Problem-Centered View Progressive School

▶ Neo-pragmatist Philosophy of Education ▶ New School in Brazil

1970 Proxy Variables

independently of one another. In this section we

Proxy Variables will follow this assumption. There are several
traditional but opposed justifications of punish-
▶ Social Imaginaries and Econometrics for Edu- ment, but, it will be argued*, none fit easily with
cation Policy the punishment of children (Marshall 1984). Here
we will look at these traditional justifications,
irrespective of whether or not they apply to
children.
Psycho-Emotional Dimensions of The retributive theory can be traced at least to
Disability the Old Testament adage of “an eye for an eye and
a tooth for a tooth.” As the term “retributive”
▶ Disability as Psycho-Emotional Disablism: A suggests, this involves a demand that punishment
Theoretical and Philosophical Review of Educa- involves a paying back by the offender for his
tion Theory and Practice offense, and this notion of retribution is part of
the justification of punishment. If the payment
demanded by the Old Testament adage appears
harsh and vindictive, the payment demanded by
Psychological Approach modern retributivists may not need to be as strong
as that demanded by that adage. But, as the
▶ Emotions and Educational Leadership theory’s detractors often adduce, it is a “paying”
back and is not concerned about the future behav-
ior of the offender. In modern times, however, the
recipient of any retribution has shifted from the
Public victim to the State, though recent discussions on
crime and punishment have centered on the plight
▶ Dewey on Democracy of the victims of crime and how they personally
are to be recompensed. Retribution then is back-
ward looking, to the offense, and not forward
looking and does little for the victim.
Publicity It is almost as if there is a moral accounts book,
in which good and evil are entered on each side of
▶ Rankings and Mediatization of University the book in credit and debit pages. To keep the
moral accounts balanced, the amount of evil
brought into the world by a crime can only be
alleviated by some credit of good, i.e., retribution
Punishment or paying back by the offender. The moral
accounts book must be kept balanced.
James D. Marshall In less stern terms, we can see the retributive
The University of Auckland, Auckland, theory as holding that offenders need punishment
New Zealand and that justice is served on this account. Some
retributivists however hold a stronger position
that punishment is intrinsically good, i.e., that it
The Justifications of Punishment is a good in itself and therefore in need of no
further justification.
Analytic philosophy tends to separate the two The deterrent theory (sometimes referred to as
main philosophical questions concerning a utilitarian theory) is the major alternative to
punishment – those of meaning and justification. retribution as a justification for punishment. Its
They tend to be separated and treated almost strengths are to be found in the differences
Punishment 1971

which it has from retributive theories. While Sometimes punishment is said to be justified
admitting that punishment is essentially an evil, because it reforms people, but usually this puta-
the deterrent theory claims that it is justified tive justification of punishment receives short
because its purpose is to deter the offender, and shrift in the philosophical literature; reform is
others, from committing the same or similar reform and punishment is punishment. In other
offenses in the future. Thus it is forward looking words the concepts of punishment and reform are
and in opposition to the retributive theory which is claimed to be logically distinct. Reform implies a
backward looking. In its forward-looking aspect, serious straying from the path and the need to be
it is concerned with the behavior of the offender redirected, or to redirect oneself considerably. But
and with changing that behavior in the future. This at first sight this justification of punishment has its
is deterrence’s strength in my view. At first sight attractions.
then, this forward-looking aspect may have some But if it is meant to be a general justification for
attraction for a search for the justification of punishment, the way in which the legal institution
punishing children. of punishment works, especially in prisons, is
There are a number of problems associated hardly conducive to reform. Furthermore reform,
with the deterrent theory (see, e.g., Acton as a justification, does not seem to work very well.
1963). First a deterrent theory of justification In order to justify punishment because it reforms,
may also justify the punishment of innocent peo- there would need to be greater success with pun-
ple so that others might be deterred. Here the ishment as a reform than seems to be the case in
objection might be that it is only the guilty who actual fact.
can be punished and that the innocent should not Usually then reform receives short shrift as a
be punished. If this is part of the definition of justification for punishment. It would be nice if
punishment*, then it would appear that the inflic- punishment did reform but it doesn’t. At best
tion of pain should be described in some other reform is a contingent bonus. Philosophically,
way, as murder say, or as some other form of reform is reform and is not identical with
unlawful killing. Hence the “punishment” of the punishment.
innocent cannot be justified as punishment Finally, A. C. Ewing (1929) talks about an
because it is not punishment at all. educative function of punishment. He argues that
But perhaps it is the threat of punishment punishment helps “din the words in,” i.e., that if
which deters and not merely punishment per the rational explanations of why something P
se. First, there is a presupposition that people involves a crime or an intolerable state of affairs
want to, or are likely to, or are disposed to do X. are accompanied by some form of punishment,
But for many people, the thought, desire, and any then this may assist in the explanations being
plan to do X just do not arise. X is not the sort of understood or accepted. But as Ewing’s examples
thing in which they engage. Second, in the notion seem to involve the young and their moral educa-
of deterrence, there is an implied threat – if you do tion, this account will be discussed elsewhere
X, then Y will follow. Furthermore the deterrent (consult other section on punishment).
theory is concerned not just with past offenders
but with all people; for the punishment of one
offender is meant to be a deterrent to others in The Legal Model of Punishment
that there is a threat for all others which accom-
panies the actual punishment of a particular In this section I discuss the legal model of pun-
offender. But why do we wish or need to threaten ishment, sometimes known as the Flew-Benn-
people in this manner, at all, especially for those to Hart model after three of its proponents. However
whom the thought of X-ing does not occur? Why there are conceptual problems in the Flew-Benn-
do we treat the offender (who may be truly con- Hart model which make its application to children
trite and determined to change his/her ways) and problematic (Marshall 1972, 1975), and the tradi-
the innocent others in this manner? tional justifications of punishment do not seem to
1972 Punishment

apply to children either (Marshall 1984). Why Hart (1968) says that he is merely drawing
there are problems over the meaning of “punish- upon “recent admirable work scattered through
ment” and its justification in the case of children . . . philosophical journals.” That Hart specifically
will be discussed in another section. added the qualifier “English” to his list of journals
In Anglo-American philosophy of education, need not be of too much concern. If this does
the analytic approach dominated for nearly two represent a certain insularity or philosophical
decades from the early 1960s. The account of pun- myopia, Hart was probably correct at that time
ishment offered by philosopher of education that there was little need to go beyond this litera-
R. S. Peters in Ethics and Education (1966) is ture in English-speaking philosophy (see, in par-
analytic, follows the Flew-Benn-Hart model, and ticular, the edited collection by Acton). However,
has been accepted, essentially, by a substantial it should be added that he is also writing from
number of analytic philosophers of education. It within an established legal tradition and with
results however in a number of philosophical par- more than merely an analytic methodology as he
adoxes for talk of the punishment of children. relates his approach to that of Locke’s discussion
These are caused by taking from general philoso- of property.
phy analytic models of the meaning and justifica- Drawing upon Flew (1954) and Benn (1958),
tion of punishment in legal and adult cases and he says that he will define the standard case of the
applying them to young people. Peters’ work is concept of punishment as containing five neces-
used to illustrate this general analytic position on sary elements or conditions for the correct appli-
punishment, because it is readily available, and has cation of the concept “punishment.” Hart argued
set an important general framework for discussion that (1968, p. 4 f.):
and debate on the meaning of “punishment” and its
legitimization in philosophy of education. 1. It must involve pain or other consequences
Those philosophers who have been interested normally considered unpleasant.
in punishment have tended to concentrate upon 2. It must be for an offense against legal rules.
two major questions, concerned with meaning and 3. It must be of an actual or supposed offender for
justification. The following questions have almost his offense.
come to dominate philosophical literature: “what 4. It must be intentionally administered by human
is the meaning of ‘punishment’?” and “how is beings other than the offender.
punishment to be justified?” The selection of 5. It must be imposed and administered by an
papers edited by H. B. Acton in his important authority constituted by a legal system against
collection, The Philosophy of Punishment which the offense is committed.
(1963), illustrates this point well. Our concern
here is with the first question. Hart then drew a distinction between standard
The Anglo-American philosophical literature cases and substandard or secondary cases. For the
generally concerns itself with a particular model accolade of standard to be applied, all five condi-
of punishment. This (legal) model is presented, tions listed above had to be met. Substandard
e.g., by H. L. A. Hart in Punishment and Respon- cases were illustrated by the following cases, or
sibility (1968), as an answer to these questions of possibilities: pain or consequences for breaching
meaning and justification. As Hart’s work draws other than legal rules – here he gives as specific
upon earlier work of Antony Flew and Stanley examples, the family and the school; by other than
Benn, the model is sometimes referred to as the authoritative officials; and unpleasantness or pain
Flew-Benn-Hart model of punishment. And as it imposed deliberately by authorities but upon
was essentially to be adopted by R. S. Peters in his non-offenders. Hence the paradox for educators
enormously influential writings on philosophy of over the meaning of “punishment” for how can we
education (1966), it might also be referred to here talk meaningfully, in more than a substandard
as the Flew-Benn-Hart-Peters model of sense of the term “punishment” and more than
punishment. metaphorically, about the punishment of children?
Pute 1973

If we accept Hart’s position, then the use of “pun- Ewing, A. C. (1929). The morality of punishment. London:
ishment” in relation to young people in home or Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner.
Flew, A. (1954). The justification of punishment. Philoso-
school is a substandard case of the use of the phy, 29, 291–307.
concept. Hart, H. L. A. (1968). Punishment and responsibility.
This standard account is to be found, essen- Oxford, UK: Clarendon.
tially, in R. S. Peters’ Ethics and Education Marshall, J. D. (1972). On why we don’t punish children.
Educational Philosophy and Theory, 4(1), 57–68.
(1966). Peters also adopts Hart’s fourfold division Marshall, J. (1975). Punishment and education. Educa-
of meaningful questions about punishment. These tional Theory, 24, 148–157.
are said to be (Hart 1968, p. 4) questions of defi- Marshall, J. (1984). Punishment and moral education.
nition, justification, and distribution, with the lat- Journal of Moral Education, 13, 79–85.
Peters, R. S. (1966). Ethics and education. London: Allen &
ter divided into questions of who should be Unwin.
punished, i.e., entitlement, and the form and sever- Wilson, P. S. (1971). Interest and discipline in education.
ity. Peters, however, sees the first two questions Henley: Routledge/Kegan Paul.
only as being philosophical questions, with the Wilson, J. (1977). Philosophy and practical education.
London: Routledge/Kegan Paul.
remaining two being the province of jurists and
administrators. In effect then, in Peter’s account,
we have a philosophical division of labor, with the
efforts of philosophers directed at the first two
questions about punishment – definition and Purity
justification – and the relegation of the last two
▶ Longing for Innocence and Purity: Nature and
questions to the status of administrative, juridical,
or, in Peters’ case, educational questions. If Child-Centered Education
Peters’ particular account of punishment did not
meet with universal approval (see, e.g., Wilson
1971; John Wilson 1977), nevertheless, the
model sets the form of the debates that ensued in Purpose of Education
philosophy of education.
▶ Dewey on Educational Aims

References P

Acton, H. B. (Ed.). (1963). The philosophy of punishment.

London: Macmillan.
Pute
Benn, S. F. (1958). An approach to the problems of pun-
ishment. Philosophy, 33, 325–341. ▶ Fonua