What does it mean to say that someone is an educated person? How do we know what's worth including in a school curriculum? Is a good moral education about developing good habits, or critical thinking? What role does the development of knowledge and understanding play in living a good life? These are all questions that were robustly taken up by the philosopher of education, R.S. Peters. In an era of immense reform (and confusion) about the values, aims and purposes of education, Peters developed a clear and nuanced account of what education is really about and how educational policy and practice can make good on its promise. This text undertakes a careful and accessible reconstruction of the major themes of Peters' thought in order to demonstrate the continuing relevance of his project, both for educational researchers and teachers and student teachers seeking to better understand the nature and scope of their work and study.

A series of public lectures given at the Institute of Education, University of London provides the nucleus around which this collection, originally published in 1967, is gathered. This collection provides comprehensive coverage of a complex theme which will be of interest to those involved in the fields of philosophy and education alike. Topics covered include:the logical and psychological aspects of learning, the concept of play, rule and routines, teaching and training, philosophical models of teaching.

Reading R. S. Peters Today: Analysis, Ethics and the Aims of Education reassesses British philosopher Richard Stanley Peters' educational writings by examining them against the most recent developments in philosophy and practice. Critically reassesses R. S. Peters, a philosopher who had a profound influence on a generation of educationalists Brings clarity to a number of key educational questions Exposes mainstream, orthodox arguments to sympathetic critical scrutiny

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.

First published in 1981, this collection of essays was taken from Peters’ larger work, Psychology and Ethical Development (1974) in order to provide a more focused volume on moral education for students. Peters’ background in both psychology and philosophy makes the work distinctive, which is evident from the first two essays alone: ‘Freud’s theory of Moral Development in Relation to that of Piaget’ and ‘Moral Education and the Psychology of Character’. He also displays balance in his acceptance that reason and feeling are both of great importance where the subject of moral education is concerned. Although written some time ago, the book discusses issues which are still of considerable interest and importance today.

First published in 1959, Authority, Responsibility and Education focuses on the philosophy of education and is concerned with the question of moral education. It was originally based on talks delivered mainly on the Home Service and Third Programme of the BBC between April 1956 and January 1959 but, due to its wide appeal and popularity, it was revised to include work from a further 10 years of the author’s teaching and experience in the subject. The book is written in three parts on authority, responsibility, and education, and uses several theories, including those by Marx and Freud, to achieve his aims. Although originally published some time ago, the book considers many questions that are still relevant to us today.

R. S. Peters on Education and Ethics reissues seven titles from Peters' life's work. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, the books are concerned with the philosophy of education and ethics. Topics include moral education and learning, authority and responsibility, psychology and ethical development and ideas on motivation amongst others. The books discuss more traditional theories and philosophical thinkers as well as exploring later ideas in a way which makes the subjects they discuss still relevant today.

Reading R. S. Peters Today: Analysis, Ethics and the Aims of Education reassesses British philosopher Richard Stanley Peters’ educational writings by examining them against the most recent developments in philosophy and practice. Critically reassesses R. S. Peters, a philosopher who had a profound influence on a generation of educationalists Brings clarity to a number of key educational questions Exposes mainstream, orthodox arguments to sympathetic critical scrutiny

Liberal education has long been a fascination for scholars in a variety of disciplines and is closely associated with the idea of the educated person. Seen at one time as a matter for colleges and universities, over the years it has become central to the debate surrounding general education in high school and even the earlier grades. Yet so many and varied are the uses of the term 'liberal education' that the question arises of whether and how the idea is any longer a useful or helpful construct. In what way might it speak helpfully to educational challenges we face today? In what ways does it still speak helpfully to educational challenges we face today? In what ways might it be a guide as we search for a better way forward? These are the central questions that are addressed in this book. In doing so, the positions of three theorists--John Henry Newman, Mortimer J. Adler, and Jane Roland Martin--who have written about liberal education in a compelling way and from different perspectives are selected for close analysis. The analysis is built upon to fashion a new ideal of the educated person and a new theory of liberal education.

This volume critically and constructively discusses philosophical questions which have particular bearing on the formulation of educational aims. The book is divided into three major parts: the first deals with the nature of education, and discusses the various general aims, such as 'mental health', 'socialization' and 'creativity' which have been thought to characterize it; the second section is concerned with the nature of reason and its relationship to feeling, will and action; finally the development of different aspects of reason in an educational context is considered.