John White
UCL Institute of Education, E P S, Emeritus
- John White Contact: john.white@ucl.ac.uk John White is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy of Education at the UCL Inst... moreJohn White
Contact: john.white@ucl.ac.uk
John White is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy of Education at the UCL Institute of Education, where he has worked since 1965 after teaching in secondary schools and colleges in Britain and France. His interests are in the mind of the learner, and in educational aims and curricula. Recent books include Intelligence, Destiny and Education: the ideological origins of intelligence testing (2006), What schools are for and why (2007), Exploring Well-being in Schools (2011), The Invention of the Secondary Curriculum (2011), An Aims-based Curriculum (with Michael Reiss) (2013), Who needs examinations? Climbing ladders and dodging snakes (2014), and What’s wrong with private education? (2015).
Over 200 of his publications, most of them freely downloadable, are viewable at https://www.researchgate.net/profile/John_White53edit
The online, accepted version of a summary and critical review of Philip Kitcher's important new book on education, its aims and their application to school curricula.
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Andrew Stables’s essay review of our Rethinking the School Curriculum: Values, Aims and Purposes (White 2004) in JCS (37, 1) deserves a response. He sees the book as a useful, accessible, and timely volume and has many appreciative things... more
Andrew Stables’s essay review of our Rethinking the School Curriculum: Values, Aims and Purposes (White 2004) in JCS (37, 1) deserves a response. He sees the book as a useful, accessible, and timely volume and has many appreciative things to say about the chapters on specific subjects. Beyond this, however, his expectations for a collection of this kind are unrealistic. Stables expects a kind of comprehensive treatment of the subject that no single volume could possibly accommodate. The springboard for the book was the set of values, aims, and purposes for the English school curriculum which the Qualifications and Curriculum
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This is the Accepted Version of the paper as published by OUP at https://academic.oup.com/jope?login=false There might be slight changes in the final version forthcoming. Although Paul Hirst was no longer working in the educational... more
This is the Accepted Version of the paper as published by OUP at https://academic.oup.com/jope?login=false There might be slight changes in the final version forthcoming. Although Paul Hirst was no longer working in the educational field between 2010 and 2020, echoes of his ideas resonate through the decade. I look at three examples. [1] The National Curriculum. In the 1990s Hirst had been critical of the newly introduced National Curriculum of 1988, built as it was around ten foundation subjects rather than practices of everyday life. While curricular reforms under the Labour governments of 1997-2010 came somewhat closer to his ideas, there has been a reversion since then to a subject-centred curriculum, with tests and examinations based on it much to the fore. But calls for more attention to social issues like climate change and ethnic diversity have Hirstian resonances, as have critical comments on the status quo from leading figures in politics and the inspectorate. [2] ‘Powerful knowledge.’ This notion, closely associated with the sociologist Michael Young, has been widely influential in educational circles since 2010. Its original definition in terms of bodies of knowledge with their own systems of concepts, is reminiscent of Hirst’s celebrated and later abandoned ‘forms of knowledge’ theory. The paper speculates on possible biographical explanations of this commonality. [3] Teacher education. In 2017 HMCI Amanda Spielman commented on the need to improve teachers’ poor understanding of curriculum theory and notes that in the past it was better. This chimes with comments of Paul Hirst in 1994, although it is not clear how far Spielman would support his view that this work should first be rooted in practical teaching experience.
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This brief paper welcomes the notion of local pockets of resistance while raising two problems about it. One of these concerns teachers' values and leads into wider considerations about what the underlying aims of education should be.... more
This brief paper welcomes the notion of local pockets of resistance while raising two problems about it. One of these concerns teachers' values and leads into wider considerations about what the underlying aims of education should be. This prepares the ground for the 'deeper pocket' of the title. This has to do with challenging the lack of official-ie. public, not hidden-aims informing English school curricula. In this England will soon be at odds with the three other UK nations, all of which, as from September 2022, will have aims-based curricula. A many-sided national campaign is recommended to target this weakness in the English system, working closely with more local pockets of resistance.
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ABSTRACT We begin by arguing that curriculum development should start with aims rather than, as is typically the case, with subjects. We therefore ask what might be the fundamental aims of school education. We conclude that they are... more
ABSTRACT We begin by arguing that curriculum development should start with aims rather than, as is typically the case, with subjects. We therefore ask what might be the fundamental aims of school education. We conclude that they are two-fold, namely to enable each learner to lead a life that is personally flourishing and to help others to do so too. These high level aims can be translated into more specific ones by considering how human flourishing requires, for most people, such things as the acquisition of a broad background understanding, moral education, a life of imagination and reflection, and preparation for work. To illustrate our argument more specifically we then turn to the teaching of science. We show how our position relates to and simplifies present writing about the aims of science education and conclude that our proposals would result in a school science education that had similarities with much current school education, which is desirable as it suggests that our proposals are not completely unrealistic, but some non-trivial differences too, which is encouraging as it suggests that our approach has practical worth rather than simply replicating existing approaches.
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Richard Peters’s contribution to teaching and research in philosophy of education after 1962 until the mid-1970s was immense, as this piece by two of his colleagues from that period shows. He brought the prevailing emphasis on conceptual... more
Richard Peters’s contribution to teaching and research in philosophy of education after 1962 until the mid-1970s was immense, as this piece by two of his colleagues from that period shows. He brought the prevailing emphasis on conceptual analysis in general philosophy to bear on creating a new way of philosophising about education. He worked tirelessly both to expand the teaching of the subject at Postgraduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) and especially at in-service levels, and to reform teacher education at the University of London Institute of Education and its associated colleges more generally. He also founded the Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain and its journal. Despite health difficulties, problems in his analysis of the concept of education, objections to the academic overloading of the PGCE, and the later decline of government funding of in-service courses in the 1980s, much of Peters’s original vision for philosophy of education thrives to this day.
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This is the submitted version of a piece on the Australian philosopher of education, Kevin Harris, author of Education and Knowledge (1979), showing its prescient critique of school education, especially relevant to a time, as now, of... more
This is the submitted version of a piece on the Australian philosopher of education, Kevin Harris, author of Education and Knowledge (1979), showing its prescient critique of school education, especially relevant to a time, as now, of Neo-Liberal dominance in the UK as well as elsewhere. The piece is part of a series of tributes to Kevin Harris, published in Educational Philosophy and Theory on-line in April 2022 and collectively entitled 'A tribute to Kevin Harris, philosopher of education'.
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ABSTRACT
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This is a UCL IOE blog that notes the detailed work that philosophers of education in USA and UK have published on the aims of education and contrasts this with the scanty official aims that direct the school curriculum in England, given... more
This is a UCL IOE blog that notes the detailed work that philosophers of education in USA and UK have published on the aims of education and contrasts this with the scanty official aims that direct the school curriculum in England, given that actual rather than publicly announced aims may differ from these. A possible solution is proposed to problems connected with this.
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John White argues in Questa (1) 2010 that the Tories’desire to wind back the clock will mean the end of hopes for a curriculum based on aims relevant to all children
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This is a blog post on the Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain 's home page https://www.philosophy-of-education.org/on-the-origins-of-pesgb/ about its origins in the 1960s, including the origins of its journal, now the... more
This is a blog post on the Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain 's home page
https://www.philosophy-of-education.org/on-the-origins-of-pesgb/
about its origins in the 1960s, including the origins of its journal, now the Journal of Philosophy of Education. The piece argues that in its early days, PESGB's raison d'être was teacher education. Its early journal articles also reflect this. More recently its focus has become more many-sided, but the blog post argues that teacher education should become a more prominent concern than it is now. An audio recording accompanies the written text.
https://www.philosophy-of-education.org/on-the-origins-of-pesgb/
about its origins in the 1960s, including the origins of its journal, now the Journal of Philosophy of Education. The piece argues that in its early days, PESGB's raison d'être was teacher education. Its early journal articles also reflect this. More recently its focus has become more many-sided, but the blog post argues that teacher education should become a more prominent concern than it is now. An audio recording accompanies the written text.
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This paper is about the place that love of the activities they engage in has in a student's school education. After examining what it is to love an activity, the discussion turns to its place in school education as it might be. Given the... more
This paper is about the place that love of the activities they engage in has in a student's school education. After examining what it is to love an activity, the discussion turns to its place in school education as it might be. Given the role of human flourishing in the school's overall aims, the paper looks first at how this is related to love. It then argues that one task of the school should be to reveal to students the many forms of activities they may choose to love and to encourage them in the choices they make. A final section contrasts this account with a snapshot of the place of love in the work-oriented schools that we have today, and makes some final suggestions about possibilities, at a time when paid work is about to get harder to find, for pursuing activities that one loves.
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Overview Written during and partly in the light of the Covid pandemic, this article presents a picture of how education especially in England but also elsewhere needs to be transformed to meet the challenges and opportunities presented by... more
Overview Written during and partly in the light of the Covid pandemic, this article presents a picture of how education especially in England but also elsewhere needs to be transformed to meet the challenges and opportunities presented by five current and ongoing global events. This involves changed perceptions not only of the aims of school education and the curriculum, but also of work and school work; examinations and assessment; successful learning; equality in education; moral and civic education; the role of the teacher; links with higher education; teacher education. See
http://newvisionsforeducation.org.uk
http://newvisionsforeducation.org.uk
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Paul Hirst, who died peacefully on October 25 2020 at the age of 92, was one of the most eminent figures in teacher education from the 1960s until after the end of the century. He was jointly responsible with Richard Peters for the... more
Paul Hirst, who died peacefully on October 25 2020 at the age of 92, was one of the most eminent figures in teacher education from the 1960s until after the end of the century. He was jointly responsible with Richard Peters for the massive expansion of philosophy of education in Britain in the wake of the Robbins Report in 1963 with its call for an all-graduate teaching profession.
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A UCLIOE London Blog about teacher education, contrasting the plan for a new Institute for Teaching with HMCI Amanda Spielman's plea that teachers in England should have a fuller understanding of curriculum theory
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This is a Q and A session with Oli Belas on my inaugural blog to launch the new website of the Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain in December 2020. In the 600 word blog I look at the many faces of frugal living and ask... more
This is a Q and A session with Oli Belas on my inaugural blog to launch the new website of the Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain in December 2020. In the 600 word blog I look at the many faces of frugal living and ask whether educators should steer children towards it.
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This is an inaugural blog to launch the new website of the Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain in December 2020. In this 600 word piece, I look at the many faces of frugal living and ask whether educators should steer... more
This is an inaugural blog to launch the new website of the Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain in December 2020. In this 600 word piece, I look at the many faces of frugal living and ask whether educators should steer children towards it.
The online version plus a Q and A with Oli Belas and a spoken version can be found at
http://pesgb.publicagency.co.uk/inaugural-blog-post-education-for-a-simpler-more-frugal-life/
The online version plus a Q and A with Oli Belas and a spoken version can be found at
http://pesgb.publicagency.co.uk/inaugural-blog-post-education-for-a-simpler-more-frugal-life/
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This is a contribution as an Expert Witness to the RE Council of England and Wales Subject Review of RE in England Phase 1 Nov 2012 In this complex argument, I have made a major distinction between religious education as a school subject... more
This is a contribution as an Expert Witness to the RE Council of England and Wales Subject Review of RE in England Phase 1 Nov 2012
In this complex argument, I have made a major distinction between religious education as a school subject and religious education more broadly conceived. As a school subject with a protected place in the curriculum, RE faces a number of difficulties over its aims. These raise doubts whether its present position in the curriculum can be justified. On the broader view of religious education that begins from educational aims without commitment to separate subjects, there is no doubt that the study of religion should have a place in everyone’s school education.
In this complex argument, I have made a major distinction between religious education as a school subject and religious education more broadly conceived. As a school subject with a protected place in the curriculum, RE faces a number of difficulties over its aims. These raise doubts whether its present position in the curriculum can be justified. On the broader view of religious education that begins from educational aims without commitment to separate subjects, there is no doubt that the study of religion should have a place in everyone’s school education.
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[[This is an early pre-submission draft . It differs in its title and other ways from the published version now in Early View 29.8.2020 and due to be in the print version by the end of 2020] Education in frugality is less important for... more
[[This is an early pre-submission draft . It differs in its title and other ways from the published version now in Early View 29.8.2020 and due to be in the print version by the end of 2020]
Education in frugality is less important for young people in the climate emergency than pressurising governments to act. Schools can help in this directly, as well as indirectly by passing on the necessary understanding. This understanding is interdisciplinary as well as disciplinary, but schools in England at least have always been too attached to the latter – as shown by the meagre attention given to climate change in the National Curriculum. A wider problem has been the teaching profession’s attachment to traditional ways, a problem shared by other professions. Internet learning, for instance, is challenging the traditional assumption, also found mutatis mutandis in law and medicine, that teaching is face-to-face. The urgency of climate change means that significant changes in traditional professional attitudes may first occur in education. One way young people in England can act, is by campaigning to take the National Curriculum out of ministers’ hands and setting up a National Curriculum Commission. On climate change, we might expect it to favour a mix of [1] disciplinary and interdisciplinary, [2] face-to-face and internet-based, [3] top-down and collaborative learning, and [4] whole-class and personalised learning.
Education in frugality is less important for young people in the climate emergency than pressurising governments to act. Schools can help in this directly, as well as indirectly by passing on the necessary understanding. This understanding is interdisciplinary as well as disciplinary, but schools in England at least have always been too attached to the latter – as shown by the meagre attention given to climate change in the National Curriculum. A wider problem has been the teaching profession’s attachment to traditional ways, a problem shared by other professions. Internet learning, for instance, is challenging the traditional assumption, also found mutatis mutandis in law and medicine, that teaching is face-to-face. The urgency of climate change means that significant changes in traditional professional attitudes may first occur in education. One way young people in England can act, is by campaigning to take the National Curriculum out of ministers’ hands and setting up a National Curriculum Commission. On climate change, we might expect it to favour a mix of [1] disciplinary and interdisciplinary, [2] face-to-face and internet-based, [3] top-down and collaborative learning, and [4] whole-class and personalised learning.
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The paper begins with a fictional example of a life that has been spent frugally in several different ways and for different reasons over time: in wartime, through many decades of simple living, through a period marked by anxiety over the... more
The paper begins with a fictional example of a life that has been spent frugally in several different ways and for different reasons over time: in wartime, through many decades of simple living, through a period marked by anxiety over the threat to future generations from the depletion of global resources and the climate crisis, to the Covid 19 emergency. The mini-biography serves as an introduction to a more systematic account of these various perspectives on frugality and reasons for adopting a frugal way of living. This provides the framework for a discussion of different aspects of education for frugality in the main body of the paper. There are two brief sections at the end dealing first with a caveat about the climate change argument for education in frugality, and secondly with wider issues that the topic raises.
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This article examines two scenarios for the future of education over the coming decades, mainly in England but also in comparable countries. It does so against the background of six large-scale historical processes now in progress:... more
This article examines two scenarios for the future of education over the coming decades, mainly in England but also in comparable countries. It does so against the background of six large-scale historical processes now in progress: increasing longevity, the expansion of the internet, changes in work patterns, climate change, the rise in inequality, and the coming of populism. Scenario 1 continues current patterns in general politics and education, while Scenario 2 radically diverges from them. Over half the article is devoted to the future of education in Scenario 2.
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This is a response to two discussions of my article ‘The Weakness of Powerful Knowledge’ in London Review of.Education (2018), the first by Johan Muller and Michael Young and the second by Jim Hordern, also in LRE. It also makes brief... more
This is a response to two discussions of my article ‘The Weakness of Powerful Knowledge’ in London Review of.Education (2018), the first by Johan Muller and Michael Young and the second by Jim Hordern, also in LRE. It also makes brief comments on pieces on powerful knowledge in a recent LRE Special Issue (2018). The question I focus on here, as in 2018, is ‘What is powerful knowledge?’ I raise doubts about Muller and Young’s new answer to this question as well as about Hordern’s defence of Young’s position more generally. I suggest in conclusion that it would be helpful to abandon the term ‘powerful knowledge’ and use language more suitable to impartial scholarly investigations.
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Please activate this link for a critique of private schools in GB for the think tank Private School Policy Reform, supporting their integration into a national system of education.... more
Please activate this link for a critique of private schools in GB for the think tank Private School Policy Reform, supporting their integration into a national system of education.
file:///Users/johnwhite/Desktop/John%20White%20%20Private%20School%20Policy%20Reform.webarchive
file:///Users/johnwhite/Desktop/John%20White%20%20Private%20School%20Policy%20Reform.webarchive
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Please activate this link to open my Home Page and access academic publications, video presentations and interviews, published short stories, published poetry, autobiographical material. Information on this site will be updated when... more
Please activate this link to open my Home Page and access academic publications, video presentations and interviews, published short stories, published poetry, autobiographical material. Information on this site will be updated when necessary.
https://sites.google.com/view/johnwhitespage/home
https://sites.google.com/view/johnwhitespage/home
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This is the version submitted to Forum and published with revisions in Vol 61, Number 2, 2019. http://dx.doi.org/10.15730/forum.2019.61.2.175. This is an argument for a new public education for England, but not for a new public... more
This is the version submitted to Forum and published with revisions in Vol 61, Number 2, 2019. http://dx.doi.org/10.15730/forum.2019.61.2.175.
This is an argument for a new public education for England, but not for a new public school. The focus should be on aims, not structures. We should ensure that all schools (community schools, private schools, academies and religious schools) are working to realise the same nationally determined aims. The national set of aims should be determined not by ministers but by a Curriculum Commission. Its starting point should be the protection and nurturing of a liberal democratic community. This generates a number of major aims from which the Commission will also lay down more specific ones . Schools should be free to employ their own curricular vehicles (eg subjects, projects, whole school processes) and other policies in pursuing these aims.
This is an argument for a new public education for England, but not for a new public school. The focus should be on aims, not structures. We should ensure that all schools (community schools, private schools, academies and religious schools) are working to realise the same nationally determined aims. The national set of aims should be determined not by ministers but by a Curriculum Commission. Its starting point should be the protection and nurturing of a liberal democratic community. This generates a number of major aims from which the Commission will also lay down more specific ones . Schools should be free to employ their own curricular vehicles (eg subjects, projects, whole school processes) and other policies in pursuing these aims.
Research Interests: Applied Philosophy, Education, Teacher Education, Philosophy of Education, Curriculum Studies, and 12 moreWell-Being, Curriculum Theory, Democracy, Secondary Education, England, Curriculum and Instruction, Happiness and Well Being, Curriculum, Primary Education, School, Private Education, and Private Schools
Published in Journal of Philosophy of Education online early The distinguished US philosopher Elizabeth Anderson, who teaches at the University of Michigan, answers questions put to her by John White about educational aspects of her... more
Published in Journal of Philosophy of Education online early
The distinguished US philosopher Elizabeth Anderson, who teaches at the University of Michigan, answers questions put to her by John White about educational aspects of her work in moral and political philosophy. She begins by describing her indebtedness to Dewey in his views on developing students’ capacities for intelligent enquiry and as citizens in a democracy. She elaborates on this in her emphasis on children learning fraternally together with others of diverse class, racial and ethnic backgrounds. She also discusses the control of education, looking at the role of the state and other political authorities in education, the charter school movement and home schooling. Well-known for her views on democratic equality (as distinct from equality of fortune) and on an adequacy criterion of fairness, she shows how these ideas apply to education for a democratic society. This takes her into critical discussions of equality of educational opportunity, education as a positional good, and the rich variety of educational aims fitting a democracy of equals. Anderson has also written about the errors of theistic religion as well as two award-winning recent books on the imperative of social integration and on the authoritarian powers of employers. Developing these thoughts in an educational direction, she writes here about religious and moral education, problems with assimilationist and multicultural approaches to schooling, and preparation for work as an educational aim.
The distinguished US philosopher Elizabeth Anderson, who teaches at the University of Michigan, answers questions put to her by John White about educational aspects of her work in moral and political philosophy. She begins by describing her indebtedness to Dewey in his views on developing students’ capacities for intelligent enquiry and as citizens in a democracy. She elaborates on this in her emphasis on children learning fraternally together with others of diverse class, racial and ethnic backgrounds. She also discusses the control of education, looking at the role of the state and other political authorities in education, the charter school movement and home schooling. Well-known for her views on democratic equality (as distinct from equality of fortune) and on an adequacy criterion of fairness, she shows how these ideas apply to education for a democratic society. This takes her into critical discussions of equality of educational opportunity, education as a positional good, and the rich variety of educational aims fitting a democracy of equals. Anderson has also written about the errors of theistic religion as well as two award-winning recent books on the imperative of social integration and on the authoritarian powers of employers. Developing these thoughts in an educational direction, she writes here about religious and moral education, problems with assimilationist and multicultural approaches to schooling, and preparation for work as an educational aim.
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Article published in Mandarin in Journal of Teacher Education (China) Vol. 6 No 1 (2019). It answers the questions: How do you define/understand moral education? What do you think are the aims of moral education in schools? What is... more
Article published in Mandarin in Journal of Teacher Education (China) Vol. 6 No 1 (2019). It answers the questions:
How do you define/understand moral education?
What do you think are the aims of moral education in schools?
What is the base for moral education? Reason or sentiment or other things?
In a previous answer, you briefly mentioned that teachers can see part of their role as acting as good moral exemplars – in being good-humoured, respectful and encouraging, for example, to the children. I wonder what the teacher's roles are in school moral education? Could you explain it in detail?
In your opinion, what are the key component parts of the teacher’s morality? How should we cultivate/foster them in teacher education?
What do you think is the relationship between moral education in class and out of class? How should we bridge the two?
How do you define/understand moral education?
What do you think are the aims of moral education in schools?
What is the base for moral education? Reason or sentiment or other things?
In a previous answer, you briefly mentioned that teachers can see part of their role as acting as good moral exemplars – in being good-humoured, respectful and encouraging, for example, to the children. I wonder what the teacher's roles are in school moral education? Could you explain it in detail?
In your opinion, what are the key component parts of the teacher’s morality? How should we cultivate/foster them in teacher education?
What do you think is the relationship between moral education in class and out of class? How should we bridge the two?
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English version of article published in Mandarin in Journal of Teacher Education (China) Vol. 6 No 1 (2019). It answers the questions: How do you define/understand moral education? What do you think are the aims of moral education in... more
English version of article published in Mandarin in Journal of Teacher Education (China) Vol. 6 No 1 (2019). It answers the questions:
How do you define/understand moral education?
What do you think are the aims of moral education in schools?
What is the base for moral education? Reason or sentiment or other things?
In a previous answer, you briefly mentioned that teachers can see part of their role as acting as good moral exemplars – in being good-humoured, respectful and encouraging, for example, to the children. I wonder what the teacher's roles are in school moral education? Could you explain it in detail?
In your opinion, what are the key component parts of the teacher’s morality? How should we cultivate/foster them in teacher education?
What do you think is the relationship between moral education in class and out of class? How should we bridge the two?
How do you define/understand moral education?
What do you think are the aims of moral education in schools?
What is the base for moral education? Reason or sentiment or other things?
In a previous answer, you briefly mentioned that teachers can see part of their role as acting as good moral exemplars – in being good-humoured, respectful and encouraging, for example, to the children. I wonder what the teacher's roles are in school moral education? Could you explain it in detail?
In your opinion, what are the key component parts of the teacher’s morality? How should we cultivate/foster them in teacher education?
What do you think is the relationship between moral education in class and out of class? How should we bridge the two?
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A critique of OFSTED's views on the school curriculum
A much longer version of the IOE London Blog and presentation to the New Visions for Education Group
A much longer version of the IOE London Blog and presentation to the New Visions for Education Group
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IOE London Blog critique of OFSTED's views on the curriculum as expressed in its new consultation paper
A close version presented to New Visions for Education seminar 17.1.19
A close version presented to New Visions for Education seminar 17.1.19
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This is an interview by Richard Marshall of 3am Magazine in his series of interviews with philosophers. I answer questions about the school curriculum and aims of education, how best to think about subjects and their historical place in... more
This is an interview by Richard Marshall of 3am Magazine in his series of interviews with philosophers. I answer questions about the school curriculum and aims of education, how best to think about subjects and their historical place in the educational system, the aims-based curriculum model, the importance of autonomy and human flourishing, Richard Peters’s idea of education based largely on the study of truth-seeking activities for its own sake, the science and ideology of IQ testing and multiple intelligences, whether schools should survive, objections to private schools, whether I self-identify as an analytic philosopher of education, and how I would describe the aims and objectives of philosophy of education.
Research Interests: Philosophy, Education, Teacher Education, Curriculum Design, Philosophy of Education, and 11 moreIntelligence, Educational Research, Curriculum Studies, Multiple Intelligences, Curriculum Theory, Teacher Training, Curriculum Development, Educational Theory, Curriculum and Instruction, Curriculum, and Aims of education
We cope with the personal distress caused by bullying, physical and sexual abuse, depression etc by trying to remove its causes. School exam distress is different. If we removed its cause we would dispense with exams. But we take exams to... more
We cope with the personal distress caused by bullying, physical and sexual abuse, depression etc by trying to remove its causes. School exam distress is different. If we removed its cause we would dispense with exams. But we take exams to be an irremovable part of the social fabric. We don’t remove the distress but teach students resilience so they can face it. Exams are not irreplaceable, as the widespread enthusiasm for records of achievement in the 70s and 80s bears out.
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This is the original, pre-peer-review, version of the paper. The published version in Ethics and Education online is somewhat different, especially in its removal of misleading references to the work of Doret de Ruyter. Please use the... more
This is the original, pre-peer-review, version of the paper. The published version in Ethics and Education online is somewhat different, especially in its removal of misleading references to the work of Doret de Ruyter. Please use the public version for citation, reference etc. The paper picks up from the widespread use by politicians and some educational theorists of maximising (including optimising) notions about those being educated such as ‘reach their full potential’ or ‘make the best of themselves’ or ‘develop their talents to the full’. The paper discusses then puts some of these ideas on one side to focus on the injunction that school students should be encouraged to do their best, especially in Doret de Ruyter’s treatment of this. It puts forward a number of objections to this injunction as well as answers to possible counter-arguments. Its final two main sections discuss links with maximising ideas in moral theory, especially utilitarianism; and Michael Slote’s case for satisficing rather than maximising as a guide to personal flourishing, together with de Ruyter’s doubts about this.
Research Interests: Philosophy, Applied Philosophy, Ethics, Applied Ethics, Education, and 11 moreTeacher Education, Philosophy of Education, Student Achievement Motivation, Student Motivation And Engagement, Well-Being, Secondary Education, Elementary Education, High School, Primary Education, School, and Educational Policy Studies
English version of a text published in Chinese in <Global Education> 47.1 (2018). pp. 3-10 The interview with Zhao Xiantong looks at the notion of teacher education; at the place of philosophy of education in teacher education both... more
English version of a text published in Chinese in <Global Education> 47.1 (2018). pp. 3-10
The interview with Zhao Xiantong looks at the notion of teacher education; at the place of philosophy of education in teacher education both generally and in Britain; and at how to teach philosophy of education ion teacher education.
The interview with Zhao Xiantong looks at the notion of teacher education; at the place of philosophy of education in teacher education both generally and in Britain; and at how to teach philosophy of education ion teacher education.
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This is a philosophical critique of Michael Young’s notion of ‘powerful knowledge’, as found largely in his own but also in others’ writings since 2009. The first part of the article focuses on the definitional connection that Young makes... more
This is a philosophical critique of Michael Young’s notion of ‘powerful knowledge’, as found largely in his own but also in others’ writings since 2009. The first part of the article focuses on the definitional connection that Young makes between ‘powerful knowledge’ and systematic relationships between concepts. It argues that most of the school subjects that Young sees as providing ‘powerful knowledge’ fall short on this requirement. It also comments on the place of educational aims and of everyday concepts in Young’s thinking. The second part of the article draws attention to similarities and differences between Young’s notion and the philosopher Paul Hirst’s notion of ‘forms of knowledge’, claiming that Young’s position is vulnerable to many of the critiques of Hirst’s notion formulated between the 1960s and the 1990s.
Research Interests: Philosophy, Applied Philosophy, Epistemology, Education, Sociology of Education, and 13 moreTeacher Education, Curriculum Design, Philosophy of Education, Sociology of Knowledge, Curriculum Studies, Curriculum Theory, Curriculum Development, Curriculum and Instruction, Curriculum, Knowledge, Theory of Knowledge, Educational Policy Studies, and Educational Policy
This is a submitted version of the accepted article now available online as from 24 January 2018 in the British Journal of Educational Studies. The published article has benefitted from reviewers' comments and differs substantially from... more
This is a submitted version of the accepted article now available online as from 24 January 2018 in the British Journal of Educational Studies. The published article has benefitted from reviewers' comments and differs substantially from this submitted version, especially in placing the argument about philosophy of education against a wider background of educational studies. Please refer to the published article for all quotations, referencing, pagination etc.
Until recently teacher education in England has always contained a ‘philosophical’ element – to do with what education is for in the light of human nature. The paper traces its history since 1839, through inspirational approaches – based first on religion and later on psychology – to the critical approach of R S Peters and his colleagues in the 1960s. It then looks at the existential crisis faced by this kind of philosophy of education after changes in education policy in the 1980s; and at ways it has found of overcoming it – at the expense, however, of partially turning away from its earlier raison d’être in teacher education. The paper concludes with a discussion of what would be needed for it to resume its old role.
Until recently teacher education in England has always contained a ‘philosophical’ element – to do with what education is for in the light of human nature. The paper traces its history since 1839, through inspirational approaches – based first on religion and later on psychology – to the critical approach of R S Peters and his colleagues in the 1960s. It then looks at the existential crisis faced by this kind of philosophy of education after changes in education policy in the 1980s; and at ways it has found of overcoming it – at the expense, however, of partially turning away from its earlier raison d’être in teacher education. The paper concludes with a discussion of what would be needed for it to resume its old role.
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This article has been accepted for publication in The Journal of Philosophy of Education (perhaps in 2018?) and the pre-submission version will be available here once the article is published. It is a reply to another article in JOPE... more
This article has been accepted for publication in The Journal of Philosophy of Education (perhaps in 2018?) and the pre-submission version will be available here once the article is published. It is a reply to another article in JOPE (50.3, 2016) by Anders Schinkel, Doret de Ruyter and Aharon Aviram, entitled ‘Education and Life’s Meaning’. The reply corrects some perceived misperceptions of my own ‘banal’ or ‘deflationary’ position on the meaningfulness or meaninglessness of a human life; and it also critiques what is seen as the richer ‘inflationary’ view of the three authors.
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This is the submitted version of ‘Education and the adequacy of options: An interview with John White’ Mitja Sardoc´and John White, published with slight changes in Theory and Research in Education 16.1 in March 2018. Mitja... more
This is the submitted version of ‘Education and the adequacy of options: An interview with John White’ Mitja Sardoc´and John White, published with slight changes in
Theory and Research in Education 16.1 in March 2018.
Mitja Sardoč’s interview with John White discusses a neglected aspect of the educational goal of equipping learners to lead a life of autonomous well-being – trying to ensure that they have adequate options from which to choose worthwhile activities and relationships. Following a brief account of the nature of autonomous well-being, White outlines and critiques Joseph Raz’s views on the adequacy of options in general as well as an earlier inadequate approach of his own to this topic in relation to the school curriculum. He then picks up and critically discusses Eamonn Callan’s curricular suggestions about how to open up a range of options. Drawing on both these discussions, the interview then leads to a threefold proposal about how schools and other agencies could go about providing the adequate range required. The last two short sections underline the wider changes needed in society if the work of these educational institutions is to bear fruit.
Theory and Research in Education 16.1 in March 2018.
Mitja Sardoč’s interview with John White discusses a neglected aspect of the educational goal of equipping learners to lead a life of autonomous well-being – trying to ensure that they have adequate options from which to choose worthwhile activities and relationships. Following a brief account of the nature of autonomous well-being, White outlines and critiques Joseph Raz’s views on the adequacy of options in general as well as an earlier inadequate approach of his own to this topic in relation to the school curriculum. He then picks up and critically discusses Eamonn Callan’s curricular suggestions about how to open up a range of options. Drawing on both these discussions, the interview then leads to a threefold proposal about how schools and other agencies could go about providing the adequate range required. The last two short sections underline the wider changes needed in society if the work of these educational institutions is to bear fruit.
Research Interests: Philosophy, Applied Philosophy, Ethics, Applied Ethics, Education, and 16 moreTeacher Education, Curriculum Design, Philosophy of Education, Curriculum Studies, Personal and Moral Autonomy, Well-Being, Curriculum Theory, Autonomy, Curriculum Development, Secondary Education, Curriculum and Instruction, Elementary Education, Curriculum, High School, Primary Education, and School
This is a reply to Rebecca Taylor’s 2016 JOPE article ‘Indoctrination and Social Context: A System-based Approach to Identifying the Threat of Indoctrination and the Responsibilities of Educators’. It agrees with her in going beyond the... more
This is a reply to Rebecca Taylor’s 2016 JOPE article ‘Indoctrination and Social Context: A System-based Approach to Identifying the Threat of Indoctrination and the Responsibilities of Educators’. It agrees with her in going beyond the indoctrinatory role of the individual teacher to include that of whole educational systems, but differs in emphasizing indoctrinatory intention rather than outcome; and in allowing the possibility of indoctrination without individual teachers being indoctrinators at all.
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An IOE London Blog providing a short philosophical critique of the much used notion of helping children to 'reach their full potential'.
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A contribution to 'The Journal 1966-2016' This is a Virtual Special Issue of the Journal of Philosophy of Education. My contribution focuses on changes in the Journal over the previous half century as well as asking Judith Suissa about... more
A contribution to 'The Journal 1966-2016'
This is a Virtual Special Issue of the Journal of Philosophy of Education. My contribution focuses on changes in the Journal over the previous half century as well as asking Judith Suissa about its future direction.
This is a Virtual Special Issue of the Journal of Philosophy of Education. My contribution focuses on changes in the Journal over the previous half century as well as asking Judith Suissa about its future direction.
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A wide-angled argument for the importance of philosophy of education in teacher education. IOE London Blog 4 August 2017... more
A wide-angled argument for the importance of philosophy of education in teacher education.
IOE London Blog 4 August 2017
https://ioelondonblog.wordpress.com/2017/08/04/back-to-teacher-developments-big-questions-what-is-education-for/#more-7870
IOE London Blog 4 August 2017
https://ioelondonblog.wordpress.com/2017/08/04/back-to-teacher-developments-big-questions-what-is-education-for/#more-7870
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This is a complete list of my academic publications from 1967 to August 2017. Some have links to complete versions of the item. I hope in time (as far as possible) to put all my academic publications including future ones on open access.
Research Interests: Religion, History, Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind, Applied Philosophy, and 20 moreEducation, Teacher Education, Assessment, Curriculum Design, History of Religion, History of Education, Philosophy of Education, Higher Education, Curriculum Studies, Well-Being, Curriculum Theory, Secondary Education, Educational Theory, Curriculum and Instruction, Elementary Education, Happiness and Well Being, Curriculum, Primary Education, School, and Educational Policy Studies
This is the submitted version of a paper now (Aug 21 2017) published online early in Theory and Research in Education. Please refer to the published paper for pagination, quotation and referencing. The paper began as a way of putting the... more
This is the submitted version of a paper now (Aug 21 2017) published online early in Theory and Research in Education. Please refer to the published paper for pagination, quotation and referencing.
The paper began as a way of putting the record straight about a mistake that John Tillson made about my views on moral education in his recent ‘The Problem of Rational Moral Enlistment’ (TRE 2017). I have now added to this some more general comments on Tillson’s approach.
The paper began as a way of putting the record straight about a mistake that John Tillson made about my views on moral education in his recent ‘The Problem of Rational Moral Enlistment’ (TRE 2017). I have now added to this some more general comments on Tillson’s approach.
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Published in Journal of Teacher Education (China). 5.2017 The paper begins by investigating the concepts of examining, testing, grading and marking and relations between them. It shows [a] how far removed the conventional picture we have... more
Published in Journal of Teacher Education (China). 5.2017
The paper begins by investigating the concepts of examining, testing, grading and marking and relations between them. It shows [a] how far removed the conventional picture we have of a school examination can be from an examination as a systematic and thorough investigation; and [b] how the notion of marking became central to how we think of examinations. The paper then looks at self-examination, its rootedness in religious concerns and links that have been made between examination success and possessing moral virtues. A section on a range of problems with conventional examinations is followed by a final section that looks at a positive alternative. This brings examining in school closer to the notion of systematic and thorough investigation.
The paper begins by investigating the concepts of examining, testing, grading and marking and relations between them. It shows [a] how far removed the conventional picture we have of a school examination can be from an examination as a systematic and thorough investigation; and [b] how the notion of marking became central to how we think of examinations. The paper then looks at self-examination, its rootedness in religious concerns and links that have been made between examination success and possessing moral virtues. A section on a range of problems with conventional examinations is followed by a final section that looks at a positive alternative. This brings examining in school closer to the notion of systematic and thorough investigation.
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English version of article published in Journal of Teacher Education (China). 5.2017 The paper begins by investigating the concepts of examining, testing, grading and marking and relations between them. It shows [a] how far removed the... more
English version of article published in Journal of Teacher Education (China). 5.2017
The paper begins by investigating the concepts of examining, testing, grading and marking and relations between them. It shows [a] how far removed the conventional picture we have of a school examination can be from an examination as a systematic and thorough investigation; and [b] how the notion of marking became central to how we think of examinations. The paper then looks at self-examination, its rootedness in religious concerns and links that have been made between examination success and possessing moral virtues. A section on a range of problems with conventional examinations is followed by a final section that looks at a positive alternative.
The paper begins by investigating the concepts of examining, testing, grading and marking and relations between them. It shows [a] how far removed the conventional picture we have of a school examination can be from an examination as a systematic and thorough investigation; and [b] how the notion of marking became central to how we think of examinations. The paper then looks at self-examination, its rootedness in religious concerns and links that have been made between examination success and possessing moral virtues. A section on a range of problems with conventional examinations is followed by a final section that looks at a positive alternative.
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A brief reply to Anders Schinkel’s) ‘Education and ultimate meaning’ Oxford Review of Education 41: 6 (2015). In that paper Schinkel critically discusses my ‘Education and a meaningful life’ Oxford Review of Education, 35, 423–435 (2009).
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NOTE In March 2016 an improved version of this paper was published in the Journal of Philosophy of Education on Early View. The improved version discusses the views of Elizabeth Anderson and Debra Satz on equality and sufficiency.... more
NOTE In March 2016 an improved version of this paper was published in the Journal of Philosophy of Education on Early View. The improved version discusses the views of Elizabeth Anderson and Debra Satz on equality and sufficiency. Please consult the published version if you wish to cite this paper.
This unimproved version was also presented to the PESGB Annual Conference at Oxford in 2015. It appears here in its formatting as this Conference paper.
The paper looks at arguments for and against private schools, first in general and then, at greater length, in their British form. Here it looks first at defences against the charge that private schooling is unfair, discussing on the way problems with equality as an intrinsic value and with instrumental appeals to greater equality, especially in access to university and better jobs. It turns next to charges of social exclusiveness, before looking in more detail at claims about the dangers private schools pose for democratic government. It then examines complications arising from shifts in the notion of ‘private’ education since the 1980s, before concluding, in the light of recent articles in JOPE about criteria for admission to university, with a discussion of Brighouse's proposal for the reform of private schooling. There are also shorter discussions of other suggestions for such reform.
This unimproved version was also presented to the PESGB Annual Conference at Oxford in 2015. It appears here in its formatting as this Conference paper.
The paper looks at arguments for and against private schools, first in general and then, at greater length, in their British form. Here it looks first at defences against the charge that private schooling is unfair, discussing on the way problems with equality as an intrinsic value and with instrumental appeals to greater equality, especially in access to university and better jobs. It turns next to charges of social exclusiveness, before looking in more detail at claims about the dangers private schools pose for democratic government. It then examines complications arising from shifts in the notion of ‘private’ education since the 1980s, before concluding, in the light of recent articles in JOPE about criteria for admission to university, with a discussion of Brighouse's proposal for the reform of private schooling. There are also shorter discussions of other suggestions for such reform.
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The paper focuses on ‘objective list’ accounts of personal well-being and the related view that schools should aim at inducting students into a wide range of objective goods. It reviews various objective lists, notes that very many of... more
The paper focuses on ‘objective list’ accounts of personal well-being and the related view that schools should aim at inducting students into a wide range of objective goods. It reviews various objective lists, notes that very many of them include knowledge, a love of beauty and close personal relationships. It then seeks to explain why this might be so and cautions against narrowness in specifying intrinsic goods, before exploring the role of extensive personal time in engaging in them. The paper links all this to the current UK government’s advocacy of knowledge and other cultural goods in English school aims, seeing this as an instance of a more global tendency. It argues that this approach both assumes a too restricted notion of intrinsic goods and – especially – is unrealistic in the light of wide-spread time-poverty. It suggests, finally, that if more personal time is to be sought, school reform must go hand-in-hand with wider social changes.
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An introduction to the whole argument
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The chapter is about aims of education in the democratic state
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This chapter has to do with personal well-being as an aim of education. It explores what personal well-being is and its relation with personal autonomy. The chapter argues that personal well-being should be seen in terms of the... more
This chapter has to do with personal well-being as an aim of education. It explores what personal well-being is and its relation with personal autonomy. The chapter argues that personal well-being should be seen in terms of the satisfaction of one's informed desires . (NB in more recent writings I have abandoned this account).
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This chapter is called 'Beyond Moral Education'. It looks at different accounts of moral education, arguing that we should transcend law-based accounts. It looks at maximalist and minimalist accounts of this last topic. It argues that the... more
This chapter is called 'Beyond Moral Education'. It looks at different accounts of moral education, arguing that we should transcend law-based accounts. It looks at maximalist and minimalist accounts of this last topic. It argues that the focus should be on the cultivation of altruistic dispositions.
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This chapter is about a unified upbringing that brings together the learner's personal well-being and their becoming an altruistic person. It examines activities with shared ends that brings the two together.
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This chapter is about education for personal autonomy, with sections on the education of a radical chooser, taking responsibility for the shape of one's life, on doubts about life planning, and on self-knowledge and its acquisition.
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This is about justifying personal autonomy as an educational aim. It looks at the views of Eamonn Callan and Joseph Raz and at the education of children from minorities not valuing autonomy.
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This is on the place of knowledge in education. It criticises the knowledge-centred tradition, both in philosophy of education and in recent politics and argues for selecting knowledge content in the light of ethical values, both... more
This is on the place of knowledge in education. It criticises the knowledge-centred tradition, both in philosophy of education and in recent politics and argues for selecting knowledge content in the light of ethical values, both intrinsic and extrinsic, eg to do with people's basic needs.
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An examination of the newly introduced National Curriculum for England, pointing out its lack of emphasis on aims, personal well-being, autonomy and its focus on knowledge partly for reasons to do with the economy. All this is related to... more
An examination of the newly introduced National Curriculum for England, pointing out its lack of emphasis on aims, personal well-being, autonomy and its focus on knowledge partly for reasons to do with the economy. All this is related to wider UK government policy
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This chapter is about an alternative national curriculum set within a democratic framework. It examines the content of the curriculum and who should decide what it is. There are also sections on art in the curriculum, pedagogy and... more
This chapter is about an alternative national curriculum set within a democratic framework. It examines the content of the curriculum and who should decide what it is. There are also sections on art in the curriculum, pedagogy and assessment, school ethos and organisation
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An introductory chapter - about the concept of education and whether aims of education are necessary
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This chapter is about the intrinsic aims of education
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This is the first part of the chapter on aims to do with the good of the child
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Second part of chapter on aims to do with the good of the child
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Third part of chapter on aims to do with the good of the child
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First part of chapter on aims to do with the good of society: economic, pupil-centred and moral aims
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Second part of chapter on aims to do with the good of society: economic, pupil-centred and moral aims
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Third part of chapter on aims to do with the good of society: economic, pupil-centred and moral aims
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Fourth part of chapter on aims to do with the good of society: economic, pupil-centred and moral aims
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Chapter on aims to do with the good of society: moral aims in their economic and political aspects
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Overall view of the educated person
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First part of chapter on the realisation of educational aims
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Second part of chapter on the realisation of educational aims
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Although the main focus of this chapter is on how modern democracies across the world can construct aims for school education reflecting democratic ideals, it begins by looking at data from England and Wales. Drawing on recent historical... more
Although the main focus of this chapter is on how modern democracies across the world can construct aims for school education reflecting democratic ideals, it begins by looking at data from England and Wales. Drawing on recent historical material, it suggests that aims to do with living together within a democratic society have been rarely highlighted, unlike those personally favoured by various education ministers. Since any democracy has to protect itself on such a vital matter against the dominance of sectional interests, the chapter recommends that in England and Wales, and indeed more broadly, a framework of school aims appropriate to living in a democracy should be determined by a broadly-based national body insulated against political interference, leaving schools themselves great freedom in implementing the national framework. The last part of the chapter, applicable to educational aims in any democratic society, has to do with creating this framework. It outlines a method of proceeding from very general aims, to do with the promotion of fundamental democratic values, towards aims of increasing specificity.
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'Richard Peters' in ed J. Palmer-Cooper 50 Modern Thinkers on Education: From Piaget to the Present Routledge
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ODNB Biography of R S Peters
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in Crook, D. and McCulloch, G. (eds) The Routledge International Encyclopedia of Education London: Routledge. (2008)
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This essay is divided into two parts. Section 1 looks at official accounts over the last century of what primary aims should be; while Section 2 surveys accounts by educational theorists across the same time span. In each case, there is... more
This essay is divided into two parts. Section 1 looks at official accounts over the last century of what primary aims should be; while Section 2 surveys accounts by educational theorists across the same time span. In each case, there is more emphasis on recent developments. The two sections are not wholly discrete, since educational theory has influenced policy and vice-versa.
entitled Aims as Policy in Primary Education’ Research Survey 1/1 in Alexander, R. (ed) The Primary Review University of Cambridge
entitled Aims as Policy in Primary Education’ Research Survey 1/1 in Alexander, R. (ed) The Primary Review University of Cambridge
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A revised version of this paper was published in Crook, D. and McCulloch, G. (eds) The Routledge International Encyclopedia of Education London: Routledge [2008] Issues about the meaning of the term 'education' should be distinguished... more
A revised version of this paper was published in Crook, D. and McCulloch, G. (eds) The Routledge International Encyclopedia of Education London: Routledge [2008]
Issues about the meaning of the term 'education' should be distinguished from issues about what the aims of education should be. The latter are much more interesting than the former. Radical child-centred notions that adults should not impose their own aims on children are deeply problematic: education cannot but be a kind of socialisation. Liberal democratic societies may be expected to have educational aims not shared more universally. These go beyond the traditional notion of inculcating a love of knowledge for its own sake to embrace equipping young people with the understanding and dispositions to lead autonomous lives within a framework of civic virtues and responsibilities. This account still leaves unresolved various philosophical and practical problems. A lot has been written about the nature of education (Peters 1966, chs 1,2,):
Issues about the meaning of the term 'education' should be distinguished from issues about what the aims of education should be. The latter are much more interesting than the former. Radical child-centred notions that adults should not impose their own aims on children are deeply problematic: education cannot but be a kind of socialisation. Liberal democratic societies may be expected to have educational aims not shared more universally. These go beyond the traditional notion of inculcating a love of knowledge for its own sake to embrace equipping young people with the understanding and dispositions to lead autonomous lives within a framework of civic virtues and responsibilities. This account still leaves unresolved various philosophical and practical problems. A lot has been written about the nature of education (Peters 1966, chs 1,2,):
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A revised version of this paper was published in Waks, L. (ed) Leaders in Philosophy of Education: Intellectual Self Portraits Sense Press (USA) [2008]
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Multiple invalidities?’ in Schaler, J. A. (ed) Gardner Under Fire: A Rebel Psychologist Faces His Critics Chicago, Ill.: Open Court Publishing Company (2006) The theory of multiple intelligences has been influential in school reform... more
Multiple invalidities?’ in Schaler, J. A. (ed) Gardner Under Fire: A Rebel Psychologist Faces His Critics Chicago, Ill.: Open Court Publishing Company (2006)
The theory of multiple intelligences has been influential in school reform across the world. In England, for instance, it is widely used to back the idea that pupils have preferred 'learning styles': some make better progress if they can involve their musical or interpersonal or other strengths in their learning than if they have to be dependent on language ability alone. But does MI theory hold water? Everything turns on the claim that there are a few relatively discrete intelligences: linguistic, musical, logico-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinaesthetic, intrapersonal and interpersonal, to which have now been added naturalist and possibly existential intelligences. One reason for the popularity of MI theory is its rejection of the unitary general intelligence associated with IQ testing. Children who have been seen, or have seen themselves, as dim are recognized to have other strengths. This is an important thought. But it could be true and MI theory false. Long ago the philosopher Gilbert Ryle (1949:48) reminded us that 'the boxer, the surgeon, the poet and the salesman' engage in their own kinds of intelligent operation, applying 'their special criteria to the performance of their special tasks'. On his view, intelligent action has to do with flexible adaptation of means in pursuit of one's goals. This means that there are as many types of human intelligence as there are types of human goal. Gardner has corralled this variousness into a small number of categories. Is this justified? Everything turns on how the intelligences are identified. The basic text here is Gardner 1983, ch 4. He writes First of all, what are the prerequisites for an intelligence: that is, what are the general desiderata to which a set of intellectual skills ought to conform before that set is worth consideration in the master list of intellectual competences? Second, what are the actual criteria by which we can judge whether a candidate competence, which has passed the " first cut " , ought to be invited to join our charmed circle of intelligences? (p60)
The theory of multiple intelligences has been influential in school reform across the world. In England, for instance, it is widely used to back the idea that pupils have preferred 'learning styles': some make better progress if they can involve their musical or interpersonal or other strengths in their learning than if they have to be dependent on language ability alone. But does MI theory hold water? Everything turns on the claim that there are a few relatively discrete intelligences: linguistic, musical, logico-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinaesthetic, intrapersonal and interpersonal, to which have now been added naturalist and possibly existential intelligences. One reason for the popularity of MI theory is its rejection of the unitary general intelligence associated with IQ testing. Children who have been seen, or have seen themselves, as dim are recognized to have other strengths. This is an important thought. But it could be true and MI theory false. Long ago the philosopher Gilbert Ryle (1949:48) reminded us that 'the boxer, the surgeon, the poet and the salesman' engage in their own kinds of intelligent operation, applying 'their special criteria to the performance of their special tasks'. On his view, intelligent action has to do with flexible adaptation of means in pursuit of one's goals. This means that there are as many types of human intelligence as there are types of human goal. Gardner has corralled this variousness into a small number of categories. Is this justified? Everything turns on how the intelligences are identified. The basic text here is Gardner 1983, ch 4. He writes First of all, what are the prerequisites for an intelligence: that is, what are the general desiderata to which a set of intellectual skills ought to conform before that set is worth consideration in the master list of intellectual competences? Second, what are the actual criteria by which we can judge whether a candidate competence, which has passed the " first cut " , ought to be invited to join our charmed circle of intelligences? (p60)
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* ‘The puritan origins of the 1988 curriculum in England’
in Moore. A. (ed) Schooling, Society and Curriculum London: Routledge
in Moore. A. (ed) Schooling, Society and Curriculum London: Routledge
Research Interests: Religion, Education, Teacher Education, Curriculum Design, History of Religion, and 12 moreHistory of Education, History of Christianity, Curriculum Studies, Curriculum Theory, Protestantism, Curriculum Development, Secondary Education, Curriculum and Instruction, Curriculum, School, Puritanism, and History of Architecture and Cultural Heritage Protection Policies and Management
‘Educating for success’ in de Ruyter, D., Bertram-Troost, G., and Sieckelinck S. (eds) Idealen, idolen en iconen van de pedagogiek Amsterdam: SWP
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'Education, well-being and the market' Mangold, M. and Oelkers, J (ed) in Demokratie, Bildung und Markt Bern: Peter Lang
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* 'Liberalism and communitarianism' (co-authored with Eamonn Callan) in Blake N., Smeyers P., Smith R., and Standish P. (eds) The Blackwell Guide to the Philosophy of Education Oxford: Blackwell Chinese translation forthcoming... more
* 'Liberalism and communitarianism' (co-authored with Eamonn Callan) in Blake N., Smeyers P., Smith R., and Standish P. (eds) The Blackwell Guide to the Philosophy of Education Oxford: Blackwell
Chinese translation forthcoming (Renmin University Press)
Chinese translation forthcoming (Renmin University Press)
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'Analytic Philosophy of Education and Children's Rights' (with P.White) in F.Heyting, D. Lenzen and J.White (eds) Methods of Philosophy in Education Routledge
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'In defence of liberal aims in education' in Marples, R. (ed) The Aims of Education London: Routledge
A critical commentary on essays on the aims of education written by other contributors to Marples's book
A critical commentary on essays on the aims of education written by other contributors to Marples's book
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This paper originates from and engages with QCA's current drive to collect opinion from different constituencies about what the aims of a revised national curriculum should be after 2000. h asks the methodological question: how should one... more
This paper originates from and engages with QCA's current drive to collect opinion from different constituencies about what the aims of a revised national curriculum should be after 2000. h asks the methodological question: how should one go about determining what curricular aims should be? Its critical section looks at various answers, inciuding the appeal to consensus which QCA is adopting, none of which, however, avoids the problem of sectionalism. The positive :ection argues that aims should be rooted in the democratic constitution of our polity itself, showing in more detail what the substance of such aims should be and how such general aims might be realized in more determinate curriculum objectives.
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'Moral Education' in E. Craig (ed) Routledge Encyclopaedia of Philosophy (London: Routledge)
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'What is a national curriculum for?' in S Dainton (ed) Take Care, Mr Blunkett London: ATL
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A discussion of whether education for democracy is compatible or not with national sentiment.
'National myths, democracy and education' in D Bridges (ed) Education, Autonomy and Democratic Citizenship London: Routledge 1997
'National myths, democracy and education' in D Bridges (ed) Education, Autonomy and Democratic Citizenship London: Routledge 1997
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This is No 6 in the IMPACT Series., edited by Steve Bramall and John White. It focuses on the reforms to the 1988 National Curriculum introduced by the Labour Government of 2000 vis the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. These... more
This is No 6 in the IMPACT Series., edited by Steve Bramall and John White. It focuses on the reforms to the 1988 National Curriculum introduced by the Labour Government of 2000 vis the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. These reforms introduced an aims-based approach to the National Curriculum. The book asks how far the new approach is likely to succeed.
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An edited collection by Steve Bramall and John White about why maths should be learnt in school.s This excerpt contains Title, Contents, Introduction and contribution by J White: 'Should mathematics be compulsory for all until the age of... more
An edited collection by Steve Bramall and John White about why maths should be learnt in school.s This excerpt contains Title, Contents, Introduction and contribution by J White: 'Should mathematics be compulsory for all until the age of 16?'
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John White’s new interdisciplinary study of private schools in Britain asks if there are good reasons for their continued existence. Drawing on philosophical, historical and recent policy data, it questions well-known objections to them.... more
John White’s new interdisciplinary study of private schools in Britain asks if there are good reasons for their continued existence. Drawing on philosophical, historical and recent policy data, it questions well-known objections to them. Its central concern is the danger they pose to a democratic society: their traditional dominion over leadership positions in sphere after sphere still continues. In recent years they have benefited from a deliberate blurring of the divide between the concepts of private and public education – most notably via the academies programme in England. Their growing strength has to be seen against the wider background of a single hierarchical system. Private schools and top state schools are at the apex of a new pyramid created by examination-focused curricula, league tables and parent choice.The book ends with proposals for abolishing private schools or curbing their power.
Research Interests: Applied Philosophy, Education, Teacher Education, History of Education, Philosophy of Education, and 14 moreLeadership, Social Justice, Education Policy, Equality, Politics Of Education, Democracy, Secondary Education, Social Class, Social Classes, Primary Education, Educational Policy Studies, Public Education, Private Education, and Private Schools
This short book is an interdisciplinary critique of conventional school examinations for older secondary students. Chapter 1 is about their multiple shortcomings. Chapter 2 asks why they have existed for so long, given that their... more
This short book is an interdisciplinary critique of conventional school examinations for older secondary students.
Chapter 1 is about their multiple shortcomings.
Chapter 2 asks why they have existed for so long, given that their deficiencies have been well-known for a century and more. It suggests that one factor in the UK has been their value to upper echelons of society as stepping stones to interesting careers; and documents attempts since 1900 to prevent other parts of society from using them for the same purpose, except children allowed as a safety valve to climb the ‘ladder’. The chapter attempts to show continuities between the Coalition’s schools policies and these earlier developments, bearing in mind today’s greater need to attend to democratic legitimation.
This chapter continues the theme of social advantage and the protection of privilege concludes by looking at how nineteenth-century enthusiasm for exams was exported from the West to South and East Asia, leading to the so-called ‘examination hells’ that blight schooling there today.
Chapter 3 looks at suggestions for replacing school exams with something more educationally defensible.
Chapter 1 is about their multiple shortcomings.
Chapter 2 asks why they have existed for so long, given that their deficiencies have been well-known for a century and more. It suggests that one factor in the UK has been their value to upper echelons of society as stepping stones to interesting careers; and documents attempts since 1900 to prevent other parts of society from using them for the same purpose, except children allowed as a safety valve to climb the ‘ladder’. The chapter attempts to show continuities between the Coalition’s schools policies and these earlier developments, bearing in mind today’s greater need to attend to democratic legitimation.
This chapter continues the theme of social advantage and the protection of privilege concludes by looking at how nineteenth-century enthusiasm for exams was exported from the West to South and East Asia, leading to the so-called ‘examination hells’ that blight schooling there today.
Chapter 3 looks at suggestions for replacing school exams with something more educationally defensible.
Research Interests: Applied Philosophy, Education, Teacher Education, Assessment, Curriculum Design, and 13 moreHistory of Education, Philosophy of Education, Educational Research, Curriculum Studies, Curriculum Theory, Secondary Education, Educational Theory, Elementary Education, Curriculum, High School, Primary Education, School, and Examination
The almost universal practice when designing school curricula is to start with subjects – mathematics, science, music and so on. In this book we argue that this approach starts too far in. If a subject like geography or English is to be... more
The almost universal practice when designing school curricula is to start with subjects – mathematics, science, music and so on. In this book we argue that this approach starts too far in. If a subject like geography or English is to be included, we need to ask why. What larger educational aims does it help to promote? An aims-based curriculum can take different forms. Ours starts with general aims that we hope are broadly acceptable – to do with equipping students for a fulfilling life and for helping others, e.g. as citizens and workers, to lead one too. We spell out how we see these aims and the complexities in them that need to be unravelled. Then we see what further, more specific, aims these very general ones generate. For instance, the fulfilling life for which students are being prepared has a lot to do with wholehearted engagement in worthwhile activities and relationships. Since students will make their own autonomous choices among these, they will need understanding and experience of them across a wide range. We explore this at some length, drawing attention to, among other things, the role that imagination and student choice can play, the especial importance of the arts, cooperative activity and discussion; and what can be achieved through what we call the ‘taster-option model’, whereby, as with more recondite parts of mathematics, for instance, students are able to take up an activity on an optional basis after a preliminary introduction to it.
Research Interests:
Pre-publication version of The Invention of the Secondary Curriculum New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Please use the published version for pagination, referencing and quoting. Awarded second prize by Society for Educational Studies in... more
Pre-publication version of The Invention of the Secondary Curriculum New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Please use the published version for pagination, referencing and quoting.
Awarded second prize by Society for Educational Studies in November 2012 for best book published in 2011.
To be published in Korean (with a Preface by JW) by Hakjisa Publishers 2016
Across much of the world there is now a standard secondary school curriculum based, with variations, on a traditional array of academic subjects. This book’s originality lies in its being the first work to tell the story of its invention, tracing this from the sixteenth century until the present day and highlighting its links, until recent times, with radical protestantism. The central focus is on British history, but international, not least American, perspectives also appear throughout. There are two more original features of the book. Its historical account is supplemented by a critical commentary on the shifting arguments given across the centuries for favouring such a curriculum. – And the book concludes with a philosophically-rooted sketch of a more acceptable alternative: a curriculum based on a well-argued set of fundamental aims rather than one taking traditional school subjects as its starting point.
Awarded second prize by Society for Educational Studies in November 2012 for best book published in 2011.
To be published in Korean (with a Preface by JW) by Hakjisa Publishers 2016
Across much of the world there is now a standard secondary school curriculum based, with variations, on a traditional array of academic subjects. This book’s originality lies in its being the first work to tell the story of its invention, tracing this from the sixteenth century until the present day and highlighting its links, until recent times, with radical protestantism. The central focus is on British history, but international, not least American, perspectives also appear throughout. There are two more original features of the book. Its historical account is supplemented by a critical commentary on the shifting arguments given across the centuries for favouring such a curriculum. – And the book concludes with a philosophically-rooted sketch of a more acceptable alternative: a curriculum based on a well-argued set of fundamental aims rather than one taking traditional school subjects as its starting point.
Research Interests: Religion, History, Philosophy, Applied Philosophy, Education, and 13 moreTeacher Education, Curriculum Design, History of Religion, History of Education, Philosophy of Education, Educational Research, Curriculum Studies, Curriculum Theory, Protestantism, Educational Theory, Curriculum and Instruction, Curriculum, and Puritanism
A pre-submission version of
Exploring well-being in schools: a guide to making children’s lives more fulfilling London: Routledge
Please refer to the published work when quoting or referring.
Exploring well-being in schools: a guide to making children’s lives more fulfilling London: Routledge
Please refer to the published work when quoting or referring.
Research Interests:
This IMPACT pamphlet presents its own view of what the aims of school education should be. Just as with most government documents on aims, this involves a list of items. But unlike most government documents, it goes further. A list of... more
This IMPACT pamphlet presents its own view of what the aims of school education should be. Just as with most government documents on aims, this involves a list of items. But unlike most government documents, it goes further. A list of aims is of little use without a rationale. Teachers, parents, pupils, administrators, inspectors and others with an interest in what schools are for need to know why items in a list have been chosen. They need to understand what values lie behind them – how the items fit together in a unified vision. The core of this pamphlet is a rationale of this sort.
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A partly philosophical but largely historical account of the origins of intelligence testing in the UK and North America, suggesting a link with earlier radical protestant thinking .
Research Interests: Religion, Psychology, Education, Teacher Education, Assessment, and 14 moreIntelligence, Educational Psychology, Educational Research, Protestantism, Secondary Education, Educational Theory, Intelligence Testing, Elementary Education, Eugenics, High School, Primary Education, School, Puritanism, and IQ tests
A discussion of the aims of education in a liberal democratic society, looking at equipping students for a life of personal well-being, personal autonomy and altruism.The chapter on a unified upbringing shows the complex interconnections... more
A discussion of the aims of education in a liberal democratic society, looking at equipping students for a life of personal well-being, personal autonomy and altruism.The chapter on a unified upbringing shows the complex interconnections between personal and altruistic concerns. There are also chapters on the justification of autonomy and on knowledge aims in education. The argument is brought to bear on a critical review of the new National Curriculum of 1988 and on a sketch of an alternative National Curriculum that might replace it.
Research Interests:
This is a talk given at UCL IOE in 2017 The paper takes its inspiration from Ray Elliott’s great essay of 1974 called ‘Education, Love of One’s Subject, and the Love of Truth’. It begins with a wider focus than Elliott’s, looking at love... more
This is a talk given at UCL IOE in 2017
The paper takes its inspiration from Ray Elliott’s great essay of 1974 called ‘Education, Love of One’s Subject, and the Love of Truth’. It begins with a wider focus than Elliott’s, looking at love not just in the education of those who become scholars and future teachers of their subject, but in the education of all children. After an attempt to say what love is, the paper gradually builds up a case for the centrality of love in an ideal school education. A final section looks at love’s very different role in schools as they often are today in the UK and elsewhere.
The paper takes its inspiration from Ray Elliott’s great essay of 1974 called ‘Education, Love of One’s Subject, and the Love of Truth’. It begins with a wider focus than Elliott’s, looking at love not just in the education of those who become scholars and future teachers of their subject, but in the education of all children. After an attempt to say what love is, the paper gradually builds up a case for the centrality of love in an ideal school education. A final section looks at love’s very different role in schools as they often are today in the UK and elsewhere.
Research Interests:
A telescoped version of this paper was delivered to a seminar organised by the New Visions for Education Group January 17 2019. As from 16 January 2019, Ofsted is consulting on a revised draft inspection framework. Problems raised by... more
A telescoped version of this paper was delivered to a seminar organised by the New Visions for Education Group January 17 2019.
As from 16 January 2019, Ofsted is consulting on a revised draft inspection framework. Problems raised by Ofsted's new-look inspection plans have their roots partly in the incoherence and inadequacy of the National Curriculum and its aims that we have been stuck with now for over 30 years and were made even worse under Michael Gove. Ofsted’s problems may cause people to look again at the whole structure and replace it by something more coherent and acceptable.
As from 16 January 2019, Ofsted is consulting on a revised draft inspection framework. Problems raised by Ofsted's new-look inspection plans have their roots partly in the incoherence and inadequacy of the National Curriculum and its aims that we have been stuck with now for over 30 years and were made even worse under Michael Gove. Ofsted’s problems may cause people to look again at the whole structure and replace it by something more coherent and acceptable.
Research Interests:
This is a talk given to the MA in Assessment at UCL Institute of Education 5 June 2018. It is a much revised version of earlier talks to the same MA
Research Interests:
This is the video of a presentation and follow-up discussion at UCL Institute of Education on March 8 2016. The meeting was with my colleague Mary Richardson’s students on the MA in Education or MA in Quantitative Methods.
Research Interests:
Most of this interdisciplinary talk closely follows the first chapter of a book, now on the stocks, to be called Who needs examinations? A story of climbing ladders and dodging snakes The talk asks whether there are good arguments for... more
Most of this interdisciplinary talk closely follows the first chapter of a book, now on the stocks, to be called Who needs examinations? A story of climbing ladders and dodging snakes The talk asks whether there are good arguments for keeping external school examinations. The discussion includes conceptual, moral and empirical considerations, looking at the nature of examining and testing, personal distress, constraints on the curriculum, access to university and employment, the role of accountability. The talk then briefly looks at the move from justification to explanation made in Chapter 2 of the book. It asks, in the light of English educational history since 1850 (and especially since 1980) why the examination system has remained as powerful as it has despite frequent telling attacks on it. The place of school exams in South and East Asia is also just touched on, as is the question, pursued in Chapter 3, whether there are worthwhile alternatives to the examination system. This paper is mainly based on the first part of a book in preparation called Who needs examinations? A story of climbing ladders and dodging snakes. I will say a little about its other two parts at the end, but this first part asks the question Are there good arguments for keeping the examination system? My topic is not examinations as such. I am not looking at graded music exams, for instance, but at the system of school exams set by outside boards. Why do we have school examinations? The standard answer falls into two parts: their immediate objective; and further objectives. The most obvious thing they are said to do is provide a public record of how well an entrant understands a subject. In Britain, a student with a good grade in A-level geography has a better grasp of the field, in breadth and in depth, than someone with a lower mark. Why is this public record important? Most of all, it helps successful entrants to go further in their education, not least at university; and beyond that, to gain desirable employment. Examination results are also important for other purposes, not least to compare the educational performance of different schools or different countries. The last two paragraphs encapsulate our everyday understanding of what school examinations are for. At first sight, there does not seem to be anything worth
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The paper picks up from the widespread use by politicians and some educational theorists of maximising (including optimising) notions about those being educated such as ‘reach their full potential’ or ‘make the best of themselves’ or... more
The paper picks up from the widespread use by politicians and some educational theorists of maximising (including optimising) notions about those being educated such as ‘reach their full potential’ or ‘make the best of themselves’ or ‘develop their talents to the full’. The paper discusses then puts some of these ideas on one side to focus on the injunction that school students should be encouraged to do their best. It puts forward a number of objections to this injunction as well as answers to possible counter-arguments. Its final two main sections discuss links with maximising ideas in moral theory, especially utilitarianism; and Michael Slote’s case for satisficing rather than maximising as a guide to personal flourishing.