The main concern of the volume is the relation of theory to practice in education but the book also reviews the state of educational theory, and its relation to politics. Beginning with a group of papers on specific areas of the relation between theory and practice, the book goes on to discuss aspects of the curriculum, such as curricular principles in recent official reports, the newly emerging theme of general abilities, and controversial material in the curriculum. The theme of the third group of articles is personal autonomy, one of the very few generally supported educational aims of recent years, and a final group presents a retrospective view of the Plowden Report.

At the time this book was first published the disciplines of philosophy of education, educational psychology, sociology of education and the history of education had developed rapidly. The papers in this volume outline the developments that took place. The first paper analyses the nature of a theory concerned with determining practice and the place of academic disciplines within that. What emerges is the crucial role of these disciplines, but also the need to develop much more adequately a domain of practical principles, assessed and critically reformulated in the light of those disciplines. The following papers are concerned with the contributions four of those disciplines are now making.

Teachers and students are frequently confused as to the relevance of abstract philosophical theorising to the reality of the classroom and this book is distinctive for the attention it devotes to philosophy and its potential contribution to practical matters, and education in particular. The author is critical of many current views of the philosophy of education and argues the validity of philosophy as an integral part of education in its own right, against the creation of a ‘new’ branch of philosophy, the ‘philosophy of education’. The book stresses that relativist ethical theories are no more ‘known’ to be valid than the absolutist theories they have replaced, and in the second section the author argues for a modified utilitarian position. The final section enables the reader to relate the general argument of the second part to several specific issues.

This volume provides a rigorous examination of theoretical concepts such as need, interest, growth, play, experience, activity and self-expression. It also makes an important contribution towards getting a closely argued educational theory. In the first part of the book the author establishes general aims and ends with suggestions as to what the curriculum ought to be. The second part is concerned with the procedures of learning and teaching appropriate to such a curriculum.

This book comes strongly to the defence of educational theory and shows that it has a structure and integrity of its own. The author argues that the validity of educational theory may best be judged in terms of the various assumptions made in it. His argument is illustrated by a review and critique of some particularly influential theories of education: those of Plato, Rousseau, James Mill and John Dewey. He stresses the need for an on-going, contemporary, general theory of education and examines the ways in which the disciplines of psychology, sociology and philosophy can contribute to a general theory of this kind.

This volume is a comprehensive critique of the radical tradition in educational theory. It traces the development of the key ideas in radical literature from Rousseau to the present day. Two opening chapters set Rousseau’s educational views and arguments in their political perspective, and subject them to an extended critical treatment. Subsequent chapters provide detailed analyses and examination of the ideas of A S Neill, Paul Goodman, Ivan Illich and Everett Reimer, Charles Weingartner and Neil Postman. Each author is treated separately but certain common themes and ideas are extracted and considered without reference to any particular author. Amongst others, the concepts of nature, learning, hidden curriculum and the relativity of knowledge are examined; at the same time broader arguments about the degree and nature of freedom that should be provided to children, deschooling and assessment are pursued.

Contributing to early debates on nature versus nurture, schools and the social environment, town planning and a free comprehensive education, the author discusses key educational issues against the background of a distintegrating Europe in the midst of war.

This introduction to Plato’s philosophical and educational thought examines Plato’s views and relates them to issues and questions that occupy philosophers of education. Robin Barrow stresses the relevance of Plato today, while introducing the student both to Plato’s philosophy and to contemporary educational debate. In the first part of the book the author examines Plato’s historical background and summarizes the Republic. Successive chapters are concerned with the critical discussion of specific educational issues. He deals with questions relating to the impartial distribution of education, taking as a starting point Plato’s celebrated dictum that unequals should be treated unequally. He examines certain methodological concepts such as ‘discovery-learning’ and ‘play’ and also raises the wider question of children’s freedom. He looks critically at the content of the curriculum and discusses Plato’s theory of knowledge and attitude to art. Finally Robin Barrow discusses Plato’s view of moral education and the related problem of what constitutes moral indoctrination

This volume provides a rigorous examination of theoretical concepts such as need, interest, growth, play, experience, activity and self-expression. It also makes an important contribution towards getting a closely argued educational theory. In the first part of the book the author establishes general aims and ends with suggestions as to what the curriculum ought to be. The second part is concerned with the procedures of learning and teaching appropriate to such a curriculum.

This book explores the implications for the curriculum, for teaching and for the authority structure of schools and colleges of an analysis of ‘education’ in which the development of knowledge and understanding is accorded a central position. The book explains what philosophy of education is, and by concentrating on its central concepts, initiates readers into exploring it for themselves. It also serves as a succinct introduction to the growing literature on philosophy of education in the UK.