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Philosophy of Education
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25/12/2017 Philosophy of Education - Philosophy - Oxford Bibliographies
Philosophy of Education
Michael A. Peters, Marek Tesar, Kirsten Locke
LAST REVIEWED: 08 OCTOBER 2015
LAST MODIFIED: 25 FEBRUARY 2014
DOI: 10.1093/OBO/97801953965770168
Introduction
Philosophy of education is the philosophical study of education, often understood as a field of applied philosophy that draws from established branches of philosophy in epistemology, ethics,
axiology, and politics to raise and address questions of educational aims, methods, and problems, and of educational policy, pedagogy, and curriculum. Like any field, it has multiple histories,
approaches, and models of practice. It is a diverse intellectual enterprise with roots going back to the great philosophers of the Western tradition, most of whom engaged with educational issues in
some way. Western education and philosophy is “heliocentric,” stemming from Socrates, who conceived of education as inseparable from philosophy and politics, especially in the preparation of the
citizen, and as providing a foundation that is summarized in the Greek concept of paideia, denoting excellence and transmission of cultural norms. The field can be characterized by successive and
overlapping historical phases, taking a formal turn in the post–World War II era, with the socalled analytic “revolution” in philosophy and the institutionalization of the field with the adoption of
methods and approaches from analytic philosophy. In this article we have restricted ourselves to the Western tradition, beginning with the classification of classical to the early modern, even though
the term “classical” might be considered in relation to Chinese, Indian, and Arab classical texts. Since the 1980s, philosophy of education has been more diverse, with the development of socialized
fields and new areas of interest that are based around subject areas such as philosophy of arts education or around specific groups such as earlychildhood education, or around political orientations
such as feminism, multiculturalism, cosmopolitanism, citizenship education, and indigenous and intercultural education. The aim of this article is to acknowledge the histories and diversity of the field
of philosophy of education and to point to lines of its future development.
Anthologies and Collections
Anthologies and collections on philosophy of education tend to draw on the rich philosophical history and its connecting points with education. Education in the age of the Enlightenment became
based on scientific principles and was held responsible for embodying and transmitting various ideals, including universal access and literacy, individual liberty, and political unity. Rene Descartes
was one of the leading French representatives initiating a scientific revolution who helped to define modernity as the search for certainty and defined a philosophy of subjectivity. Major philosophers
in the Early Modern period included Francis Bacon and John Locke, who pioneered British empiricism, JeanJacques Rousseau, and such thinkers of the Scottish Enlightenment as David Hume,
who either wrote specific texts or made occasional observations on education. Notable among Enlightenment philosophers, Immanuel Kant’s moral and political philosophy bequeathed a tradition
that emphasized an ethics of autonomy as the basis of human freedom. In the early 20th century, John Dewey was a figure of major importance, both in the first period of “progressive education,”
when he wrote Democracy and Education in 1916 (see Dewey 2008, cited under Dewey, Democratic Education, and the Origins of American Pragmatism), and thereafter in the 1980s, when his
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work was revitalized, especially at the hands of Richard Rorty, who extended pragmatism through his treatment of naturalism, liberalism, and ethnocentrism. R. S. Peters was one architect of the
analytic revolution in philosophy, which was based on the “linguistic turn,” and he argued that it was the task of philosophers of education to clarify key concepts of familiar and theoretical discourse.
His work and that of his colleagues in the “London school” reinvented the tradition of liberal education. The following texts attempt to cover the mentioned streams in the form of anthologies and
collections that emphasize the breadth and depth of the philosophy of education. These collections deal with the nature and theory of the philosophy of education (Archambault 1972, Lucas 1969) or
provide important and useful handbooks of philosophy of education (Siegel 2009; Bailey, et al. 2010; Blake, et al. 2003). In the two anthologies included in this section, original texts of key thinkers
are included (Curren 2007, Cahn 2009), while Cahn 2009 follows each original text with an interpretative essay.
Archambault, Reginald D., ed. Philosophical Analysis and Education. International Library of the Philosophy of Education. New York: Humanities Press, 1972.
This is a seminal text in analytic philosophy of education, emphasizing the importance of conceptual analysis of educational language as a preliminary to theoretical clarification. The essays are
grouped into four major sections, including the nature and function of educational theory, the context of educational discussion, conceptions of teaching, and the essence of education. Originally
published in 1965.
Bailey, Richard, Robin Barrow, David Carr, and Christine McCarthy, eds. The SAGE Handbook of Philosophy of Education. London: SAGE, 2010.
A very clear and comprehensive overview of philosophy of education, featuring the work of Englishspeaking scholars. This handbook provides a clear overview of theory, practice, and key figures in
educational philosophy, through welledited essays. Very useful as an introductory text for students.
Blake, Nigel, Paul Smeyers, Richard Smith, and Paul Standish, eds. The Blackwell Guide to the Philosophy of Education. Blackwell Philosophy Guides. Oxford: Blackwell, 2003.
This edited volume provides an interesting overview of the development of the philosophy of education in the 20th century. In twenty chapters, various educational philosophers present their work on
such themes as social and cultural theories, politics and education, philosophy as education, teaching and curriculum, and ethics and upbringing. A useful volume both for students and current
researchers.
Cahn, Steven M., ed. Philosophy of Education: The Essential Texts. New York: Routledge, 2009.
Ten seminal texts that contributed to the philosophy of education, from such classic philosophers as Plato, Rousseau, Kant, Wollstonecraft, and Whitehead. Each section contains the original text
followed by a critical commentary. Well selected and edited, the essays and commentaries emphasize the historical and modern importance of these thinkers.
Curren, Randall, ed. Philosophy of Education: An Anthology. Blackwell Philosophy Anthologies 27. Oxford: Blackwell, 2007.
Intended to be a beginner’s guide to the philosophy of education, this anthology contains a wide range of works by philosophers from Antiquity to the present day, offering insight into the range of
complexity of the subject. A welledited book that highlights both traditional and current concerns in education.
Lucas, Christopher J., ed. What is Philosophy of Education? Toronto: Macmillan, 1969.
In this collection, more than fortyfive authors contribute to the question “what is philosophy of education?” This collaboration brings multiplicity and diversity of views on the subject to the forefront,
raising many questions pertinent to the philosophy of education.
Siegel, Harvey, ed. The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Education. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.
This excellent introductory text to the philosophy of education features key thinkers in the field and explores, in twentyeight essays, various topics relevant to the philosophy of education. While the
text features only Anglophone scholars, it provides a strong and wellorganized overview relevant both to students and scholars.
Encyclopedias
Encyclopedias are specific and very useful for students, emerging scholars, and philosophers of education. Encyclopedias of philosophy of education introduce readers to key concepts, authors, and
ideas in the field, rather than specific texts of the sort included in collections and anthologies. This use of entries enables efficient search by students or scholars for knowledge and ideas relevant to
the philosophy of education. A good encyclopedia also provides a useful bibliography (Chambliss 1996), which should not be too cumbersome (Winch and Gingell 2008), and some encyclopedias
make use of the online environment and are regularly updated (Peters and Ghiraldelli 1999–, Phillips 2008).
Chambliss, J. J., ed. Philosophy of Education: An Encyclopedia. Garland Reference Library of the Humanities 1671. New York: Garland, 1996.
An excellent work that provides clear entries and bibliographies. The entries are well researched and presented, and the breadth of knowledge is comprehensive. Each individual entry points to other
related entries and guides the reader to additional literary sources.
Peters, Michael A., and Paulo Ghiraldelli Jr., eds. The Encyclopedia of Educational Philosophy and Theory. 1999–.
The Encyclopedia of Educational Philosophy and Theory was founded in 1999 and explores the potential of the virtual online space and encyclopedias of philosophy of education. The entries are
scholarly and provide additional essays to explore subjects, without intending to substitute for published encyclopedias (yet).
Phillips, D. C. “Philosophy of Education.” In The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Edited by Edward N. Zalta. 2008.
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy presents multiple entries of relevance to the philosophy of education, including the excellent essay “Philosophy of Education.” Other entries (such as by
Michel Foucault and many others) are detailed and well referenced and include an outstanding bibliography. The work covers the whole range of philosophy, with many references to education.
Winch, Christopher, and John Gingell, eds. Philosophy of Education: The Key Concepts. 2d ed. Key Concepts. New York: Routledge, 2008.
Although relatively short compared to other encyclopedic books, this publication provides much basic knowledge but does not include a bibliography or further reading. The entries are
comprehensive but more explanatory, which those new to the discipline will appreciate. Originally published in 1999.
Societies and Journals
The key journals of philosophy of education have often been linked to institutions and societies. These relationships between societies and publications, reinforced by collaborations with top
publishers, have resulted over the years in highly ranked and soughtafter publication opportunities for academics. Modern philosophy of education has been linked to several learned societies,
mainly established during the heyday of analytic philosophy of education. One significant exception is the American philosophyofeducation society (PES) founded by the John Dewey Society. In the
United States the Philosophy of Education Society elected its first president in 1942 and has held annual meetings each year since 1947. Its house journal, Educational Theory, was established in
1951. On the other hand, philosophy of education was established at the London Institute of Education, with a foundation chair occupied by Richard Peters from 1962 to 1982. The Philosophy of
Education Society of Great Britain (PESGB) was formed in 1964, and the Journal of Philosophy of Education was established in 1967. Studies in Philosophy and Education was established in 1960
in association with the International Network of Philosophers of Education (INPE), founded in 1988 and continuing until 2008. INPE is now associated with the new journal Ethics and Education.
Educational Philosophy and Theory was established in 1969, and the associated Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia (PESA) elected its first president in 1972. Other societies with
associated journals are the Canadian Philosophy of Education Society, which was founded in 1972, and its journal, Paideusis, was established in 1987. The Nordic Society for the Philosophy of
Education is a network of Nordisk Förening för Pedagogisk Forskning / Nordic Educational Research Association (NFPF/NERA), an educational research association founded in 1972 that operates
the journal Nordic Studies in Education. In addition, there are flourishing societies in the philosophy of education in China and Japan, incorporating traditional Eastern philosophies of education as
well as modern Western movements.
Educational Philosophy and Theory.
This journal publishes a wide range of educational essays embracing a broad understanding of educational philosophy, theory, and practice, with a particular focus on topical special issues. The
journal is associated with the Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia.
Educational Theory.
The journal Educational Theory was first published in 1951 and aims to explore debates that arise from intersections of education and philosophy in its widest, interdisciplinary sense. The journal is
owned by the University of Illinois is and published by WileyBlackwell. Sponsors of the journal include the John Dewey Society and the (US) Philosophy of Education Society.
International Network of Philosophers of Education.
The International Network of Philosophers of Education was founded in 1988 and is known as INPE. INPE encourages collaboration, exchange, and interconnection among various philosophical and
educational schools of thought. INPE organizes biennial conferences to promote such exchange, with grants available for junior scholars. Until 2008 the journal associated with INPE was Studies in
Philosophy and Education, but it is now Ethics and Education.
Journal of Philosophy of Education.
Founded in 1967, the Journal of Philosophy of Education is the publication associated with the Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain. The journal is particularly concerned with the
connections and contradictions between education and philosophy, with a focus on examining policy and practice that emerge from this relationship.
Philosophy of Education Society.
The Philosophy of Education Society began in 1942 and is known under the acronym PES. PES serves as a wellestablished North American hub for the philosophy of education. However, it is now
an internationally attended forum for education and philosophy. The society is linked to an annual conference and sponsors the journal Educational Theory (included in subscription) and an annual
publication, Philosophy of Education Yearbook.
Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia.
The Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia (PESA) was founded in 1972, and its main objective is to advance scholarship on philosophy of education in the Australasian region. International
memberships are welcomed. All members receive the associated journal Educational Philosophy and Theory for free. The society has annual meetings and supports conferences and research
relevant to philosophy of education.
Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain.
This society, founded in 1964, originated in Great Britain and is concerned with the UK philosophy of education, but it welcomes international memberships. The society’s website is informative, with
affordable membership rates for academics and students. Particular information, support, and workshops are offered for graduate students. The society publishes the Journal of Philosophy of
Education (free with membership) as well as the IMPACT booklet series, and it hosts an annual conference.
Philosophy of Education Yearbook.
Published each year since 1996, these volumes, associated with the Philosophy of Education Society, contain papers that are presented at the annual PES conference. Every paper is accompanied
by an invited response. It is regarded as a prestigious publication showcasing PES conference proceedings.
Histories of Philosophy of Education
The fundamental question for philosophy of education is that of the nature or possibility of knowledge. What is the criterion for the constitution of knowledge? Who decides what knowledge is
important? Who should have access to knowledge? How should knowledge be judged, changed, or modified? Should everyone have access to all knowledges, or should there be limits placed on
who can be exposed to certain knowledge, and limits on when this exposure should take place? Questions of epistemology from the ancient Greeks onward have also involved questions about
ethics, and wider questions about the politics and discursive contours that shape different societies. Should knowledge be experienced though Dewey’s progressive blending of the disciplines? Have
we reached a state of postepistemology in the philosophy of education, as Peters and Burbules 2004 (cited under Postmodernism and PostStructuralism) suggests? Are we over Lyotard’s
legitimation crisis in knowledge, or have we reconciled the grand narratives of modernity in education with the small narratives of postmodernity? The classical tradition revered abstract, universal
forms of knowledge. The Enlightenment spoke to eternal truths about rational man as the fount of knowledge but separated experience from a priori forms of knowledge through Kant. Locke
considered access to knowledge as integral to the maintenance and sustenance of the social contract, whereas Rousseau considered the polluting effects of society to sully the power of knowledge.
The 20thcentury postwar context allowed a flourishing of the analytic tradition, in which a liberal philosophy that drew very heavily on certain aspects of classicism proposed to analyze education
through conceptual analyses. While Dewey’s progressive philosophy was established in the first decades of the 20th century, there was something of the post–World War II triumph that seemed to
heighten the American reception to education as experience and to encourage approaches that were more child centered. Freire’s exploration of trenchant and endemic inequality and Illich’s
deschooling approach brought into relief issues of knowledge and power, however different the intricacies of their respective approaches to education became. The philosophy of education, as we
know and understand it now, has interrogated every facet of educational existence through the linguist/philosophic turn to postmodernism and poststructuralist methodologies. Questions of power,
ethics, politics, epistemology, and ontology are regularly interrogated, questioned, and modified. As advanced capitalism continues to demand of its education systems an increasingly malleable and
flexible workforce, even when the purpose of education framed in terms of human capital is under threat by the vicissitudes and failures of the economic system post2008, we have moved to a
position of not attempting to provide answers but to ask of education what philosophic standpoint will best revitalize the educational system in ways that are the most democratic and egalitarian.
Classical and Early Modern
This section outlines key contributions to idealist (Plato), moral (Kant), realist (Locke), and naturalist (Rousseau) approaches to education in classical and early modern philosophies of education.
For all four of these masters of Western thought, the contributions made to conceptions of what education “ought” to be were both pivotal articulations and emblematic of their wider theoretical
perspectives on knowledge and the conditions of existence in Antiquity, for Plato, and during the Enlightenment, for Kant, Locke, and Rousseau. Importantly, while education might not have been
overtly prominent in their respective intellectual trajectories, Plato, Kant, Locke, and Rousseau recognized the importance of education to achieving some of their wider societal and theoretical aims,
and all conceived of education as the primary site for these to be developed. Plato, concerned primarily with the idea of justice and how to achieve a just society, considered knowledge to be
universal and eternal (such as mathematics and, most of all, philosophy). As modeled in the Republic, societal power is to be distributed in parallel with the hierarchy of knowledge (Allen 2006).
Plato’s model of education assumes that few are capable of attaining understanding of the highest forms of knowledge and, accordingly, of exercising political power responsibly (Plato 2008). While
closer in spirit to Aristotle, John Locke’s philosophy of education also related society to education (Locke 1968). As the father of liberalism, Locke’s main aim for education was to produce an
individual capable of making his own rational decisions as a citizen among others (Locke 1692). Locke has a similar approach to Rousseau, despite protestations from both to the contrary, regarding
the importance of acquiring knowledge through practical and sensorial experience. Like Locke, Kant believed in the importance of inculcating through education a cultivated and ethical sensibility
(Kant 1900). Surprisingly, Kant differed from Locke in holding that education was not to impose on the child the adult characteristics required for civil life, but rather it was to acknowledge the child as
distinct from the adult. Through his work Emile, Rousseau also celebrated the notion of childhood, while simultaneously lauding the natural morality of the child and blaming society for all its
deficiencies (Rousseau 1957). While it must be acknowledged that these four texts do not account for all classical and modern contributions to the philosophy of education, the four thinkers to which
these views belong provide seminal and farreaching interpretations of the history of the philosophy of education.
Allen, R. E, ed. and trans. Plato: The Republic. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2006.
A relatively recent addition to translations of Plato’s Republic, this edition by Allen is a highly regarded translation with a short introduction detailing points of difference to other translations. An
eminently readable rendition of the Republic that may be considered essential reading for those seeking to understand Plato’s theory of justice and its bearing on education.
Kant, Immanuel. Kant on Education. Translated by Annette Churton. Boston: D. C. Heath, 1900.
The definitive translation and edition of Kant’s lectures on education and “pædagogics” as the science of education, this text encapsulates Kant’s approach to education as an ethical pursuit in which
moral values are emphasized for the cultivation of good character. Importantly, the text underscores Kant’s debt to Rousseau. Originally published in 1803.
Locke, John. “Some Thoughts concerning Education, 1692.” In Modern History Sourcebook.
This text was published in Locke’s lifetime to serve as a guide to pedagogy. It emphasizes the importance Locke places on education in molding the individual citizen, in light of his familiar
conception of the mind as a tabula rasa on which ideas and knowledge may be imprinted. An easily accessible source that provides a brief biographical introduction to Locke and his main works.
Originally published in English Philosophers of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries (New York: P. F. Collier, 1910).
Locke, John. The Educational Writings of John Locke. Edited by James L. Axtell. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1968.
Considered a definitive edition of Locke’s thoughts on education, this text consists of Some Thoughts concerning Education, another essay titled Of the Conduct of the Understanding, and an
introduction by Axtell that serves as an excellent summary of Locke’s ideas on education as moral training. An essential read for those seeking to understand the complexities of this thinker’s
educational philosophy.
Locke, John. Some Thoughts concerning Education; and, Of the Conduct of the Understanding. Edited by Ruth W. Grant and Nathan Tarcov. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett, 1996.
This edited volume stands out as an excellent collection of Locke’s ideas on morality, education, and character development. The introduction is an outstanding summary of Locke’s thought, outlining
the foundations of modern liberalism with reference to Locke’s broader political writings. An essential companion for students and experienced scholars alike.
Plato. The Republic. Translated by Benjamin Jowett. Project Gutenberg Online Book Catalog. 2008.
This excellent and easily accessible online text from Project Gutenberg offers a clear and concise translation and is formatted as a free online ebook. There is also a very good introduction that
would benefit students who are unfamiliar with the original text, outlining Plato’s theory of knowledge in ways that easily apply to philosophical renderings of education. Originally digitally published in
1998 (New York: Tudor) from an 1892 edition.
Rousseau, Jean J. Emile. Translated by Barbara Foxley. London: Dent, 1957.
In a classic of education theory, Rousseau outlines his ideas about the natural goodness of man and the social origin of evil, explicitly in the context of education. This translation offers a very good, if
stylistically quaint, introduction by Andre Boutet de Monvel that focuses Rousseau’s contribution to the study of childhood and the implications this has on educational approaches. An essential
contribution to the philosophy of education. Originally published in this edition in 1911 (London: J. M. Dent).
Dewey, Democratic Education, and the Origins of American Pragmatism
In the early 21st century the figure of Dewey has loomed large, both in his first progressive period of Democracy and Education (1916) and thereafter in the 1980s, when his work was revitalized as
an alternative to the perceived restrictions and limitation of liberal approaches to education. Dewey’s educational theories were first presented in “My Pedagogic Creed” (Dewey 1897) and were
developed in The School and Society (originally 1900; Dewey 1907–1915) and most significantly in Democracy and Education (originally 1916; Dewey 2008), which are presented in this section as
easily accessible online sources. In these works, as in Art as Experience (originally 1934; Dewey 2005), Dewey argues that education and learning are social and interactive processes, and that the
school itself is a social institution where all students should have the opportunity to take part in their own learning to realize their own potential. The John Dewey Society promotes “critical
reconsiderations of Dewey’s influential ideas about democracy, education, and philosophy” and sponsors the journals Education and Culture and Educational Theory, the John Dewey lecture held in
conjunction with the American Educational Research Association (AERA), which goes back to 1958, and a series of sixteen yearbooks published during the period 1937 to 1962. The John Dewey
Society records, 1934–1987, are held at Southern Illinois University Special Collections Research Center. The revival of Dewey studies in education has led to a wider reappraisal of pragmatism in
educational philosophy (Garrison 2010). This section also presents two online texts from William James and C. S. Peirce (James 1907, Peirce 1878), in order to show the links among different
members of the pragmatist school of philosophy to which these theorists belong, and to Dewey’s conception of progressivism.
Dewey, John. “My Pedagogic Creed.” School Journal 54 (1897): 77–80.
Viewed as radical at the beginning of the 20th century, this is Dewey’s articulation of the aims and purposes of education, encompassing a childcentered approach to education in learning, regarded
as “a process of living and not a preparation for future living.” This website (John Dewey, American Pragmatist) presents this piece of writing, originally published in 1897, in a clear and easily
accessible manner.
Dewey, John. The School and Society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1907–1915.
Regarded as the first definitive statement of Dewey’s progressive approach to education, this text outlines the social importance of education as a preparation for working life. Dewey offers a
democratic vision of education that promotes cooperation toward a common end. This is an excellent website (Mead Project), on which it is easy to navigate to different sections of the text. This
version is based on the 1907 reprint and 1915 revised edition of the 1900 original.
Dewey, John. Art as Experience. New York: Perigee, 2005.
This text encapsulates Dewey’s notion of learning as essentially participatory and democratic. In this text the emphasis is on experience provided through art. This edition provides an excellent
introduction detailing Dewey’s wider intellectual trajectory, and the edition of this essay is helpful to students seeking to understand Dewey’s philosophy of education as encompassing artistic
experience as an essential dimension to education in general. Originally published in 1934 (London: Allen & Unwin).
Dewey, John. John Dewey: The Middle Works, 1899–1924. Vol. 9, 1916: Democracy and Education. Edited by Jo Ann Boydston. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2008.
Democracy and Education (1916) presents the most extended articulation of Dewey’s educational philosophy that was published in this edited series. This text presents Dewey’s ideas on education
and democracy as an alternative to traditional models of schooling and is essential reading because of the links made between participatory forms of democracy and cooperative and egalitarian
forms of learning in the classroom. Southern Illinois University Press edition originally published in 1980.
Garrison, James W. Dewey and Eros: Wisdom and Desire in the Art of Teaching. Charlotte, NC: Information Age, 2010.
An innovative and creative application of Dewey’s philosophy of education to current contexts, this text is important for its fresh and revitalizing perspective on democracy and education. Particularly
interesting is the emphasis placed on aesthetic experience as an integral element to Dewey’s inquiry process, and the incorporation of the notions of love and desire as integral to pedagogical
approaches. Originally published in 1997 (New York: Teachers College Press).
James, William. Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking. New York: Longman Green, 1907.
Written by one of the key thinkers in the pragmatist tradition, William James provides an important synopsis of the elements of pragmatist philosophy. The importance of this text is the links it
suggests between pragmatist philosophy in general and Dewey’s particular articulation of progressive education. An easytonavigate website (Mead Project) that lacks some information but
provides an excellent entry into reading James’s work.
Peirce, Charles S. How to Make Our Ideas Clear. Popular Science Monthly 12 (1878): 286–302.
A densely written work outlining the pragmatist philosophy of knowledge, the Mead Project website provides an essay by one of Dewey’s important influences, Charles S. Peirce. The importance of
this text is the link it provides between pragmatic philosophy and Dewey’s progressive philosophy of education, through emphasis placed on practical consequences of thought and action.
Analytic Philosophy of Education and the Liberal Tradition
Richard Stanley Peters, following the “ordinary language” approach, sought conceptual clarification of central educational terms and revival of the tradition of liberal education (Peters 1971). The
discipline itself has also gone through a number of changes that advertise themselves as “revolutionary,” yet the geopolitics and history of analytic philosophy of education demonstrate that it
developed mainly as an AngloAmerican activity that was largely derivative in applying forms of philosophical analysis, including ordinarylanguage analysis and conceptual analysis, to the field of
education, aiming at the clarification of educational concepts. Peters’s philosophical collaborator Paul Hirst expanded on the notion of liberal education, characterizing it as a “general education”
whereby an education curriculum would contain different forms of knowledge (Hirst 1965). This notion of a liberal education owed something to Aristotle’s distinction between education for “free”
citizens and servile training for work. Following Hardie 1962, both Peters and Hirst distinguish between exposure to an engagement with distinct forms of knowledge, and mere vocational “training”
(Hirst and Peters 1970). The key claim of analytical philosophers of education for a liberal philosophy of education is that education involves the promotion of rational autonomy through a broad
initiation into knowledge. However, while British analytic philosophers have done much to revive liberal education, American philosophers such as Israel Scheffler (Scheffler 1978) and Harvey Siegel
(Siegel 1988) have also contributed much to the field. Snook 1972 explores the distinction between indoctrination and education, and Carr 2003 provides a more recent application of philosophical
analysis to current educational contexts. Of importance to the field are the contradictory and oftencounterintuitive elements to the liberal tradition, particularly through convergences with the more
recent forms of neoliberalism and economic rationalism that deal with different notions of freedom, often seeming to pose challenges to the educative goals of these thinkers. In its final articulation,
liberal philosophy of education was positioned as a critique of the almost hegemonic dominance of progressive education in the 1960s and offered an alternative perspective of freedom that derives
explicitly from the pursuit of knowledge.
Carr, David. Making Sense of Education: An Introduction to the Philosophy and Theory of Education and Teaching. London: RoutledgeFalmer, 2003.
An intricately articulated presentation of different philosophies applied to education, Carr’s text offers an overview of some of the great philosophers and their continuing relevance to conceptions
about the aims and purposes of education. While Carr explores the “nonanalytical” or “postanalytical” philosophical traditions such as poststructuralism and progressivism, the strength of this text
is in its superbly executed defense of the liberal philosophical tradition of education.
Hardie, Charles D. Truth and Fallacy in Educational Theory. New York: Teachers College Bureau of Publications, Columbia University, 1962.
This seminal text on the analytic philosophy of education anticipates liberal educational themes later explored by R. S. Peters, Paul Hirst, and others. The value of reading this text is the rigorously
argued defense of rational attempts to define precisely what the philosophy of education “should” be. Students should find this interesting, even if they ultimately reject this rather rigid approach to
analytic philosophy. Originally published in 1942.
Hirst, Paul H. “Liberal Education and the Nature of Knowledge.” In Philosophical Analysis and Education. Edited by Reginald D. Archambault, 113–138. London: Routledge & Kegan
Paul, 1965.
The defining statement of Hirst’s liberal philosophy of education, this is an important exploration of Hirst’s forms of knowledge. Hirst’s view of liberal education draws on the ancient Greek conception
of the intrinsic value of educationally worthwhile knowledge. This essay maintains that a school curriculum should consist of separate subjects—something that is contrary to progressive philosophy
of education. Reprinted as recently as 2012 (London: Routledge).
Hirst, Paul H., and Richard Stanley Peters. The Logic of Education. Students Library of Education. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1970.
This text is emblematic of the British analytic school in the philosophy of education, incorporating Hirst’s theoretical analysis of the “forms of knowledge” deemed suitable for schooling with Peters’s
conceptual analysis of education. The stated aim is to explain what philosophy of education is, by exploring its central concepts, and in doing so the text stands as an interesting piece of analytic
philosophy in its own right.
Peters, Richard Stanley. Ethics and Education. 2d ed. London: Allen & Unwin, 1971.
The seminal articulation of the approach to the study of education that applied the assumptions and conceptions of analytic philosophy to the context of education. This work is essential reading for
students and scholars seeking to understand liberal philosophy of education, by one of its most prominent thinkers. Originally published in 1966; reprinted as recently as 1997.
Scheffler, Israel. The Language of Education. Edited by Marvin Farber. American Lectures in Philosophy. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas, 1978.
The American counterpart to the British analytic schools of education philosophy headed by Peters and Hirst, Scheffler’s contribution to the conceptual analysis of education is given full articulation
in this text. A strength of this text is the analysis of language discourses, and the uniqueness given to such educational metaphors of “growth” and “molding” that are common parlance in everyday
educational language. Originally published in 1960.
Siegel, Harvey. Educating Reason: Rationality, Critical Thinking, and Education. Philosophy of Education Research Library. New York: Routledge, 1988.
As the title suggests, Siegel regards critical thinking as a central educational goal. As part of a Kantianinspired transcendental approach to analyzing education, Siegel makes the case for a
justification of rationality as the central principle of critical thinking. A late20thcentury example based within the analytic tradition, this text provides an interesting and malleable perspective to a
philosophy of education that speaks of the rational, autonomous individual, in ways that are not altogether predictable.
Snook, Ivan A., ed. Indoctrination and Education. Students Library of Education. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1972.
Edited by one of the great analytic philosophers of education, this volume of essays deals with the links among indoctrination, ethics, and epistemology in education. Rational autonomy, for Snook,
should always require an ethical stance toward the eradication of indoctrinating students in educative contexts, and, as such, this group of essays provides an excellent overview of liberal
educational philosophy for students and scholars.
The Radical Tradition
In the late 20th century the major radical philosophers have been Paulo Freire, who articulated a humanist existential Marxism as the basis of critical pedagogy (Freire 2004, first published in 1992;
Freire 2012, first published in 1968), and Ivan Illich, who proposed a philosophy of deinstitutionalization and “deschooling” (Illich 2002, first published in 1970). Often considered sympathetic to each
other’s causes, there are, however, clear differences in purpose, intent, and scope between the two thinkers. Freire, while mounting a scathing critique of traditional models of education, never lost
faith in the transformative potential of education and the necessity for an element of organized state involvement. For Illich, as is well known, institutional public education was untenable to his ideas
of individualistic resilience and health. While in many ways the period since the early 1980s has proven Friere’s revolutionary approach to education to be popular among education revisionists,
Illich’s work seems to be undergoing resurgence in popularity and relevance. Illich envisioned individuals reclaiming responsibility for their own education, away from what he saw as consumerist
dependency on institutional learning in which the purpose of school revolved around the necessity to teach people how to consume more of everything. Continuing the radical tradition, Michael Apple
(Apple 2004), Peter McLaren and Colin Lankshear (McLaren and Lankshear 1994), Peter Roberts (Roberts 2000) critique the imposition of market values and principles into the very essence of the
educative endeavor. While Apple utilizes the Marxist/Gramscian notions of ideology and hegemony, McLaren and Roberts expand Freire’s revolutionary praxis into interesting and new directions.
Apple, Michael W. Ideology and Curriculum. 3d ed. New York: RoutledgeFalmer, 2004.
The emphatic articulation of Apple’s critique of schooling as an ideological pursuit in which certain hegemonic discourses are both propagated and given prominence in the field of teaching. Apple
mounts an argument against the increasing penetration of business and economic interests into the spaces of education, and the exploration into the ability of teachers to negotiate the curriculum in
ways that resist reproducing societal inequalities. Originally published in 1979 (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul).
Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of Hope: Reliving Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Translated by Robert R. Barr. New ed. New York: Continuum, 2004.
This book began as a new preface to his classic work, but it grew into a book. Its importance lies in Freire’s reflections on the text and its reception, and on subsequent development of policy and
practice. Written in a direct and engaging way. Originally published in 1992.
Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Translated by Myra Bergman Ramos. New York: Continuum, 2012.
An important exploration of dialogue and the possibilities for liberatory practice. Freire provides a pedagogy of the oppressed and introduces the highly influential notion of banking education.
Highlights the contrasts between education forms that treat people as objects rather than subjects; explores education as cultural action. Originally published in 1968.
Illich, Ivan. Deschooling Society. London: Marion Boyars, 2002.
Perhaps the most radical of the radicals, Illich mobilizes a devastating critique of the institution of schooling. Illich considers organized, massed public schooling to fail on its terms, both in
perpetuating inequality and failing to promote useful or worthwhile learning. This critique of schooling, while flawed in some respects, nonetheless provides a provocative and remarkably palatable
alternative to institutional education. Originally published in 1970 (New York: Harper & Row).
McLaren, Peter, and Colin Lankshear, eds. Politics of Liberation: Paths from Freire. New York: Routledge, 1994.
An edited collection of essays by widely published commentators on Freire, this volume poses the question of how applicable and how far Freire’s revolutionary praxis can be extended beyond the
Third World to the First World. Of importance in this collection is the critical dialogue that encompasses the construction of an educational subject at the intersection of a modernist ethics and critical
postmodernism.
Roberts, Peter. Education, Literacy, and Humanization: Exploring the Work of Paulo Freire. Critical Studies in Education and Culture. Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey, 2000.
A superbly detailed and thorough work that deals with the principles of Freire’s revolutionary pedagogy and the application of his work to contexts outside the Third World. The strength of this text
lies in its holistic and engaging approach to the main features of Freire’s revolutionary praxis, and its potential relevance to all contexts of educational opportunity.
Postmodernism and PostStructuralism
In the 1980s a strand of philosophy of education developed that paid close attention to Continental philosophy, including studies not only of Nietzsche and Heidegger but also of Hegel and the
Frankfurt School, especially the work of Habermas. More recently there has been an outpouring of interest and work in modern French philosophy after existentialism, phenomenology, and
structuralism—especially the thought of Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, JeanFrançois Lyotard, Gilles Deleuze, and others. The texts and authors selected in this section start with Lyotard’s
premise that the condition of knowledge in modern contexts has altered to the extent that any claims to legitimation and authority in education must be scrutinized. Lyotard’s diagnosis of
performativity as the allpervasive rule of optimal performance in advanced capitalist societies (Lyotard 1984) has proven a particularly generative and fertile tool for analysis, with Peters 1995 and
Blake, et al. 1998 utilizing this notion to great effect when analyzing the purpose, aims, and processes of modern education systems. Foucault has also proven helpful when analyzing the
connections between power and knowledge, and the disciplinary functions deployed in liberal education models. Popkewitz and Brennan 1998 presents an excellent application of Foucault to
education, in an edited volume, while Kincheloe 1993 and GurZe’ev 2007 provide useful insights into synthesizing eclectic and diverse approaches and methodologies in postmodern educational
research. There has also been an amalgamation of different schools of educational philosophy that can fit under the banner of poststructuralist approaches to education. Early21stcentury
applications of the postmodern and poststructuralist perspectives have become less monofocused, less narrowly concerned with technical questions, and also perhaps less interested in
epistemology and more interested in ethics. The bridging of the analytic and Continental traditions, to a large degree, has already taken place.
Blake, Nigel, Paul Smeyers, Richard Smith, and Paul Standish. Thinking Again: Education after Postmodernism. Critical Studies in Education and Culture. Westport, CT: Bergin &
Garvey, 1998.
Written by prominent modern educational theorists who have published widely on educational philosophy from postmodern and poststructuralist paradigms, this coauthored book places Lyotard’s
notion of performativity as the central and most corrosive influence to current figurations of education. The value of the text is in the generative aspect to the inquiry in which the authors ask where
educational philosophy from this point can lead.
GurZe’ev, Ilan. Beyond the ModernPostmodern Struggle in Education: Toward Countereducation and enduring Improvisation. Educational Futures 11. Rotterdam, The Netherlands:
Sense, 2007.
A unique contribution to the philosophy of education, GurZe’ev’s work presents an attempt to rearticulate and reformulate critical theory and its application to critical pedagogy and education more
broadly. This book is unique both for its breadth and scope, and while it is a difficult read, it offers a reinvigoration and revitalization of the aims and purposes of education in modern contexts.
Kincheloe, Joe L. Toward a Critical Politics of Teacher Thinking: Mapping the Postmodern. Critical Studies in Education and Culture. Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey, 1993.
In a synthesis of postmodern, critical, and cognitive theory, Kincheloe extends postmodern political theory to teacher thought, agency, and wider discourse. This text provides an interesting yet
damning investigation into the politics of teacher knowledge, and the types of truth claims to objectivity and neutrality that he exposes as undemocratic and oppressive.
Lyotard, JeanFrançois. The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge. Translated by Geoff Bennington and Brian Massumi. Theory and History of Literature 10. Minneapolis:
University of Minnesota Press, 1984.
Looks at the status of science, technology, and the arts; the significance of technocracy; and the way the flows of information are controlled in the Western world. Explores legitimation, language
games, modernism, the postmodern perspective, narrative and scientific knowledge, delegitimation, research and education, and postmodern science as the search for instabilities. An appendix
contains an essay on “What is Postmodernism?” Originally published in 1979.
Peters, Michael A., ed. Education and the Postmodern Condition. Critical Studies in Education and Culture. Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey, 1995.
Edited by one of the foremost scholars in the tradition of postmodern and poststructuralist accounts of educational theory, this text provides a collection of groundbreaking essays that apply
Lyotard’s diagnosis of the postmodern condition to education. Whilst most of the essays use Lyotard’s legitimation crisis as the central element of their critique, the strength of this collection is the
breadth of analysis that emerges from this starting point. A seminal articulation of the postmodern perspective and its implications for educational philosophy.
Peters, Michael A. Poststructuralism, Politics and Education. Critical Studies in Education and Culture. Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey, 1996.
This text provides a comprehensive engagement with the historical and epistemological assumptions from which the modern education system is built. The book effectively reappraises education in
light of the cultural genealogies of the Enlightenment, its notion of universal reason, and its application in liberal education systems. An important resource for poststructuralist philosophy and for
broadening the scope of the philosophy of education.
Peters, Michael A., and Nicholas C. Burbules. Poststructuralism and Educational Research. Philosophy, Theory, and Educational Research. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2004.
Peters and Burbules explore poststructuralist approaches to education. The authors adopt an anti or postepistemological methodology in which the centrality of meaning in language is translated
to new ways of “reading” the conditions of the educative endeavor that are highly relevant and significant for the study of education. The text provides an overview of major thinkers in this field, in an
accessible and relevant manner.
Popkewitz, Thomas S., and Marie Brennan, eds. Foucault’s Challenge: Discourse, Knowledge, and Power in Education. New York: Teachers College Press, 1998.
This edited volume is an early, but no less essential, collection of essays that deal with Foucault’s work in the context of education. Of particular importance is the emphasis placed in the collection
on the relationship between the will to truth and the potential for competing discourses and politics to emerge as spaces of resistance in education.
Contemporary Concerns of Philosophy of Education
Current concerns in the philosophy of education have tended to emphasize the challenges to equality and social justice that modern education systems continue to face. In many ways, these are a
continuation of the ethical, epistemological, and ontological interrogations inspired by the postmodern cultural turn and poststructuralist methods of analysis. This section includes a significant body
of research on feminism in education, and radical challenges to traditional discourses of power and control that feminist researchers identified as endemic to the site of education. Issues of gender
construction and access to power and knowledge provide much of the inspiration for feminist writers and complement other contemporaneous concerns that deal with issues of injustice and
oppression. Multiculturalism and intercultural forms of dialogue have changed the fundamental tenets of education in the increasingly globalized context of education, and issues of politics,
governance, culture, power, and pedagogy have become increasingly prominent.
Politics, Culture, Pedagogy
The selection of texts in this section has been chosen for its diversity of subject matter, differences in methodologies, and alternative renderings of wider philosophic discourses encompassing
political, cultural, and pedagogical concerns in education. McLaren 1997 contributes to the field of multiculturalism in education and the concomitant requirement for a revolutionary and radical
pedagogical praxis that celebrates difference but unites toward the struggle against oppression, inequality, and injustice toward those least empowered within modern education systems. Adeyemi
and Adeyinka 2003 provides an interesting contrast to McLaren’s rallying for radicalism, in the authors’ request to restore indigenous African elements to a traditional Western education model.
Besley and Peters 2012 expands the paradigm of multiculturalism in education to that of an intercultural dialogue between cultures from different nation states. Importantly, this section offers a range
of perspectives in the context of teaching and learning. Peters and Biesta 2009 draws on the work of Jacques Derrida to expand the notion of the teacher as a pedagogue and ethical educator, while
Peters 2012, a “best of” work, continues to explore political and current issues in the philosophy of education.
Adeyemi, Michael B., and Augustus A. Adeyinka. “The Principles and Content of African Traditional Education.” Educational Philosophy and Theory 35.4 (2003): 425–440.
Serving as a general overview of the education system in Africa, this article calls for an integration of certain aspects of an African–tradition, indigenousbased education with formal elements of the
Western tradition. An important text that presents a historical account of African education and the introduction of Western values and traditions.
Besley, Tina, and Michael A. Peters, eds. Interculturalism, Education and Dialogue. Global Studies in Education 13. New York: Peter Lang, 2012.
The volume offers a practical example of intercultural dialogue, with the incorporation of scholars from Europe, China, Canada, the United States, Africa, and New Zealand. An excellent overview is
provided on the application of intercultural education as a response to the management of cultural diversity relating to education in plural societies and fragmented times.
McLaren, Peter. Revolutionary Multiculturalism: Pedagogies of Dissent for the New Millennium. The Edge, Critical Studies in Educational Theory. Boulder, CO: Westview, 1997.
This text explores multiculturalism as a celebration of difference, in which people are united against oppression and injustice while maintaining, protecting, and nurturing different cultures, languages,
and perspectives. A poetic rendering of critical theory, this text explores a radical pedagogy infused with the ethical perspective of multiculturalism.
Peters, Michael A. Education, Philosophy and Politics: The Selected Works of Michael A. Peters. World Library of Educationalists. New York: Routledge, 2012.
Published within the prestigious World Library of Educationalists series, this book, in twelve chapters, highlights the educational and political interpretations of philosophers such as Wittgenstein,
Nietzsche, Heidegger, Foucault, Derrida, and Deleuze. Great as an introductory text that explores the way the discipline of philosophy is applicable to current political and educational concepts.
Peters, Michael A., and Gert Biesta. Derrida, Deconstruction, and Politics of Pedagogy. Counterpoints 323. New York: Peter Lang, 2009.
An excellent coauthored book that explores political pedagogy as emergent from the work of Jacques Derrida. Peters and Biesta deploy Derrida’s writing as a methodological play of difference
positioned within a wider critique of Western rationality and epistemology that interrogates the founding tenets of modern education systems. An acutely observed exploration of pedagogy as a
political act capable of making us see, do, write, and think differently.
Feminist Philosophy of Education
This section reflects the burgeoning literature on feminist critiques in education, dating from the 1970s, as explored in Stone 1994 (a feminist reader), to its flourishing in the AmericanAnglo
academy in the 1990s and beyond. The growing desire to challenge uneven power discourses and the endemic and ofteninvisible forms of oppression, violence, and inequality was aided and
abetted by the cultural turn in Western philosophical paradigms. The texts in this section are a response to this turn, and all have drawn inspiration from the discursive analysis provided particularly
by poststructuralist philosophers. Walkerdine 1990 presents a superb application of Foucault’s notion of sexual fictions and social constructions to the exploration of femininity in education.
Blackmore 1999 expands the scope further into higher education and explores the challenges posed to women seeking leadership positions in the institution. St. Pierre and Pillow 2000 agitates the
rigid structural formations in education, and St. Pierre 2000 further explores the juxtaposition of feminist theory with poststructuralist philosophy. Utilizing an explicitly postmodern theoretical
framework and methodology, Lather 1991 explores the emergence of feminist subjectivities, while Tamboukou 2003 utilizes a specifically genealogical methodology to chart the emergence of female
teacher subjectivities.
Blackmore, Jill. Troubling Women: Feminism, Leadership and Educational Change. Feminist Educational Thinking. Philadelphia: Open University Press, 1999.
Unique for its scope and juxtaposition of different fields of enquiry, Blackmore’s book explores leadership, educational administration, and feminism from a feminist, poststructuralist position.
Concepts of power, knowledge, and subjectivity serve as the methodological devices in order to interrogate the strategies, power relations, and discursive assemblages that allow or disallow women
to gain access to positions of leadership in academia.
Lather, Patti A. Getting Smart: Feminist Research and Pedagogy with/in the Postmodern. Critical Social Thought. New York: Routledge, 1991.
A feminist reworking of postmodern theory applied to education that investigates relations of power and their delineating and striating impact on gender construction. Lather’s book is a seminal
articulation of postmodern feminist theory that focuses specifically on the challenges posed to relations of dominance in education, through exploring methodological and pedagogical spaces of, and
for, resistance.
St. Pierre, Elizabeth Adams. “Poststructural Feminism in Education: An Overview.” International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education 13.5 (2000): 477–515.
A pivotal articulation of the convergences and syntheses between feminist theory and poststructuralism. The essay makes an important contribution to the understanding of how key concepts such
as language, discourse, rationality, power, resistance, and truth have been reinscribed from a humanist to a poststructuralist paradigm. An essential source for feminist and educational scholars.
St. Pierre, Elizabeth Adams, and Wanda S. Pillow. “Introduction: Inquiry among the Ruins.” In Working the Ruins: Feminist Poststructural Theory and Methods in Education. Edited by
Elizabeth Adams St. Pierre and Wanda S. Pillow, 1–24. New York: Routledge, 2000.
Framed as a “troubling” of foundational ontologies, epistemologies, and methodologies and their relation to feminist perspectives in education, this introduction provides an excellent and rigorously
executed overview of feminist poststructural theories applied to the area of feminism in education. A densely packed but sharply observed text that appeals to students and scholars.
Stone, Lynda, ed. The Education Feminism Reader. New York: Routledge, 1994.
This reader provides an overview of the political, educational, intellectual, and feminist contexts from the 1970s to the mid1990s and the various demands, challenges, and changes faced by women
in education. Important for the diversity of approaches and methodologies, which chart the significant events and transformations for the feminist project overall, and women in education specifically.
Tamboukou, Maria. Women, Education and the Self: A Foucauldian Perspective. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003.
Utilizing a Foucauldian genealogical analysis, Tamboukou explores the constitution of female teacher subjectivity within the fin de siècle in England. This text presents a superb application of
Foucault both to the philosophy of education and feminist theory. Of importance are the links made between the “technologies of the self” deployed by female teachers in their situated historical
realities and the gendered construction of teacher identities in modern contexts.
Walkerdine, Valerie. Schoolgirl Fictions. London: Verso, 1990.
This text is a collection of essays written predominantly in the 1980s, when poststructuralism was not prevalent in education discourse. As such, it stands as one of the seminal texts, challenging
radical educational thinking that viewed power as a possession to be wielded. Inspired by Foucault’s notion of discursive fictions, Walkerdine’s innovation was to explore femininities and
masculinities as social constructions open to interpretations and deviations.
Futures of Philosophy of Education
The linguistic turn represents an unassailable and wholesale sea change in 20th and early21stcentury philosophy, capturing two fundamental insights: the claim that all knowledge is dependent on
its expression in language (all thought is language dependent)—as Wittgenstein suggested, “what can be said can be said clearly” and “that we cannot speak of we must pass over in silence”—and
that the goal of philosophy is to provide an understanding of our conceptual schema in order to resolve problems that arise from the misuse of words. This is not an investigation of the world but
rather a step removed—a metaactivity that seeks agreement to resolve conceptual and epistemological confusions that arise in our use of concepts. After more than a half century of refinements,
resistances, and attacks, analytic philosophy now survives only as a “style” of philosophy. As Peters 2013 argues, the bridging of the analytic and Continental traditions to a large degree has already
taken place. This is not to suggest that the poststructuralist moment is “over” and completed—indeed, there is still excellent work being carried out by representatives of analytic and post
structuralist traditions. And yet, every discipline needs to creatively renew itself by contemplating the new. After the linguistic turn, and after the structuralist turn, what comes next—what new
possibilities are there for the field? After the linguistic turn, the cultural turn, and the historical turn, where do we turn? Does the future promise a digital turn with a greater return to connectionism,
biology, and biopolitics based on new understandings of systems theory and knowledge ecologies? Does it foreshadow a genuinely alternative radical global turn based on a new openness and
interconnectedness? How should philosophy of education reflect new forces of globalization? Burbules 2000 warns us that “the field of philosophy of education must stand today in awareness of its
roots in a particular conception of ‘philosophy of education’ that emerged from predominantly Englishspeaking countries; and recognise that in certain contexts its participants are still predominantly
male, and, even where more equally male and female, almost entirely white” (p. 16). This concern thus remains relevant today because defining “philosophy of education,” and what and who is
philosophical, could be answered through a turn to intercultural and comparative philosophy of education, with greater attention to nonWestern classical and indigenous forms.
Burbules, Nicholas C. “Philosophy of Education.” In Routledge International Companion to Education. Edited by Bob Moon, Miriam BenPeretz, and Sally Brown, 3–18. New York:
Routledge, 2000.
Burbules’s chapter acts as an investigation and consideration of the subject of philosophy of education, as well as a consideration of its future. This chapter can serve both as an introduction and
conclusion to this article, where the author creates, disciplines, challenges, and rethinks the philosophy of education.
Peters, Michael A. “The Last Post? Postpostmodernism and the Linguistic Uturn.” Linguistic and Philosophical Investigations 12 (2013): 34–46.
In his autobiographical article, Peters reviews the recent history of philosophy of education, playing with the idea of “what’s next?” In an engaging way, postpostmodernism is argued as leading
toward many potential directions, often governed by the notion of returning to prior knowledge and directions.
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