Philosophy of Education

Course Description & Objectives

This course aims to provide a pluralistic introduction to philosophy and education though a broad survey of the diverse philosophical perspectives, problems, and approaches to education and educational research around the world. This survey will not primarily seek to evaluate the truthfulness of each philosophy, but rather to appreciate the vast diversity of thought, meaning, value, and perspective involved in the education of human beings.

Deliberation:

Participants will identify their own beliefs, desires, preconceptions, prejudices, etc.

Appreciation:

Participants will consider alternative points-of-view and how these problematize their own positions.

Reflection:

Participants will critically evaluate and adapt their own values and perspectives in light of the alternatives studied in this course.

Expression:

Participants will become familiarized with the main currents in world philosophies of education, past and present, and will therefore more effectively develop, articulate, and defend their own perspectives.

Problem Awareness:

Participants will develop their ability to recognize problematic conditions in their own experiences and inquiries by familiarizing themselves with the various problems addressed in the philosophy of education.

Course Format

This class will consist of a one-hour lecture period on Thursdays, and a two-hour discussion period on Tuesdays. Thursday lectures will provide an overview of the themes and readings that will be discussed on Tuesdays, and will occasionally consist of brief multimedia presentations.

Each week participants will read one or more chapters, articles, or essays from the list of suggested reading materials for the current week’s topic. Participants will share their questions, ideas, arguments, etc. either in-class or through an online wiki which the class will collaboratively produce and maintain. Contributions to the wiki will be pseudonymous, but the professor will be able to observe and evaluate the contributions of each participant. In addition to serving as a kind of open whiteboard for the course, the wiki will function as a knowledge base where participants can contribute to a glossary of key terms, elaborate on important ideas, and make connections to other sources, theories, etc.

Note: This course will not accommodate the discrimination of gender, race, or class, and will not tolerate any form of hate speech or harassment.

Writing Assignments

Over the course of the semester, participants will compose and revise a manifesto that expresses their own philosophical positions concerning education. By the second week of class participants will submit a very brief and rough sketch or outline of their current ideas about education. During midterms week, in lieu of an exam, participants will submit a revised version of this first draft. This second draft should develop the ideas originally expressed in the first draft in response to the various philosophical perspectives and issues discussed during the first half of the course. During finals week, in lieu of an exam, participants will submit the final draft of their manifesto which will be a further refinement of their ideas in response to the views examined in the second half of the class.

The format of the “manifesto” is to be decided by each participant. It can be an essay, a formal article, a succinct manifesto, a brief autobiographical narrative, an outline which details one’s interpretation of and response to the various ideas/themes discussed in the class, etc. No matter the format, the final draft should:

• be relatively brief (2-3 A4 pages, although longer pieces will be accepted),

• and demonstrate that the participant has considered their positions/ideas with respect to those examined in the class (even if it does not detail the participant’s response to each of these individually).

In addition to writing a “manifesto,” participants will be expected to regularly contribute to the wiki in the form of questions, comments, definitions, making links between related content, etc. These contributions should be in the participant’s own words, except direct quotations which should be cited (with a link to the source when possible). The English ability of each participant (grammar, etc.) will not be evaluated.

Exams

This course will not hold formal examinations.

Evaluation Policy (절대)

• Attendance: 20%
• Participation: 30% (discussion, wiki contribution, etc.)
• Manifesto: 50%

Evaluation Criteria

Participants will not be evaluated based on their English proficiency.

Attendance:

Participants will be considered late after 10 minutes, and absent after 30.

Participation:

Participants should regularly contribute to discussions either in-class or via the wiki in the form of questions, comments, etc. Other wiki activity and contributions also count as participation. Establishing links between thoughts/thinkers/problems is just as valuable as asking a good question or making a helpful comment

Constructive critcism of other participants’ perspectives and values is allowed, but disrespect and verbal abuse is not tolerated.

Manifestoes:

Should be clearly and neatly composed. While grammar is not evaluated, the presentation should be organized and consistent.

Each successive draft should demonstrate that the participant has reflected on the ideas and problems discussed throughout the class and the implications these have on their own views.

Should be the participant’s own work and not just a collage of citations or a summary of existing views. It is acceptable to adopt an existing philosophy as one’s own, however, participants will still be expected to demonstrate how and why they have adopted it, especially with respect to the other contending points-of-view examined in the course.

Course Materials

All reading materials will be provided in electronic formats via LearnUs.

Course Schedule

1. 03/02 - 03/28 Orientation

2. 03/09 - 03/15 Metaphilosophy

   • Noddings (2011, Ch. 7): Philosophy of Social Science and Educational Research

   • Midgley (2005, Ch. 10): Philosophical Plumbing

   • Alexander (2004): Dewey’s Denotative-Empirical Method: A Thread Through the Labrynth

   • Alexander (2013, Introduction)

   • Dewey (1929, Ch. 1): Experience and Philosophic Method

   • Dewey (1929, Ch. 10): Existence, Value and Criticism

   • Greene (2016): Liberalism and Beyond: Toward a Public Philosophy of Education

3. 03/16 - 03/22 Pre-Modern Philosophy

   • Noddings (2011, Ch. 1): Philosophy of Education Before the Twentieth Century

4. 03/23 - 03/29 John Dewey’s Philosophical Legacy

   • Noddings (2011, Ch. 2): The Philosophical and Educational Thought of John Dewey

5. 03/30 - 04/05 Analytic Philosophy

   • Noddings (2011, Ch. 3)

6. 04/06 - 04/12 Continental Philosophy

   • Noddings (2011, Ch. 4)

   • Freire (2000, Ch. 1)

   • Illich (2009, Ch. 2): Convivial Reconstruction

7. 04/13 - 04/19 East Asian Philosophies

   • K. Hwang (2013): Educational Modes of Thinking in Neo-Confucianism

   • Ni (2014): Rectify the Heart-Mind for the Art of Living

   • Woo (2018): Revisiting the Analects for a modern reading of the Confucian Dialogical Spirit in Education

   • Yang, Lin, and Culham (2019): From Intimidation to Love: Taoist Philosophy and Love-based Environmental Education

   • 황금중 (2014): 유교의 학론(學論), 그 전개와 건망

   • 황금중 (2005): 노자의 교육론과 그 사상사적 의미

8. 04/20 - 04/26 Midterms

   • Manifesto first revision due: 04/26

   • No class, no exam

9. 04/27 - 05/03 Logic, Thought & Inquiry

   • Noddings (2011, Ch. 5): Logic and Critical Thinking

   • Dewey (1998a, 1:195–205): Qualitative Thought

   • Dewey (1998a, 1:206–16): Context and Thought

   • Dewey (1938, Ch. 6): The Pattern of Inquiry

   • Dewey (1929, Ch. 1): Experience and Philosophic Method

   • Tan (2017): A Confucian Conception of Critical Thinking

   • Tan (2015): Beyond Rote Memorisation

   • Tan (2016): Beyond ‘Either-or’ Thinking

   • Burgh and Thornton (2016a): Lucid Education

   • Burgh and Thornton (2016b): Inoculation Against Wonder

10. 05/04 - 05/10 Knowledge & Truth

    • Noddings (2011, Ch. 6): Epistemology and Education

    • Dewey (1905): The Postulate of Immediate Empiricism

    • Dewey (1998b, 2:101–30): The Problem of Truth

    • 황금중 (2010a): 주자의 독서론

11. 05/11 - 05/17 Existence, Experience, and the Aesthetic

    • Meyer (2021, Ch. 6): Learning & Living as Art

    • Ames (2015): “Bodyheartminding” (Xin 心)

    • Ames (2014): Collaterality in Early Chinese Cosmology

    • Dewey (1929, Ch. 10): Existence, Value and Criticism

    • S. Y. Hwang (2017): Rethinking Creativity

    • M. Greene (1979): Toward Wide-Awakeness

    • 황금중 (2010b): 지속가능한 미래를 위한 마음교육

12. 05/18 - 05/24 Identity, Personhood, Community

    • Noddings (2011, Ch. 11): Multiculturalism and Cosmopolitanism

    • Noddings (2011, Ch. 12): Feminism, Philosophy, and Education

    • Dewey (1998a, 1:217–26): Time and Individuality

13. 05/25 - 05/31 Ethics, Morality & Schooling

    • Noddings (2011, Ch. 8): Ethics and Moral Education

    • Noddings (2011, Ch. 9): Social and Political Philosophy

    • Noddings (2011, Ch. 10): Problems of School Reform

    • Illich (2002, Ch. 1): Why We Must Disestablish School

    • Illich (2002, Ch. 2): Phenomenology of School

    • M. Greene (1987): Creating, Experiencing, Sense-Making: Art Worlds in Schools

14. 06/01 - 06/07 Ecology & Environmental Education

    • Yang, Lin, and Culham (2019): From Intimidation to Love: Taoist Philosophy and Love-based Environmental Education

    • Bonnett (2016): Environmental Consciousness, Sustainability, and the Character of Philosophy of Education

    • Meyer (2021, Ch. 9): Learning Just Because

    • R. Kahn (2008): From Education for Sustainable Development to Ecopedagogy

    • R. V. Kahn (2010): Critical Pedagogy, Ecoliteracy, and Planetary Crisis

    • Affifi (2017): The Metabolic Core of Environmental Education

15. 06/08 - 06/14

    • Manifesto final draft due: 06/14

    • No class

16. 06/15 - 05/21 Finals

    • No class, no exam