In this essay, Steven Burik discusses Jacques Derrida's position with regard to the place of education in philosophy within the university system, and then relates these thoughts to comparative philosophy. Philosophers find themselves constantly having to defend philosophy and the importance of teaching philosophy against pressure from the powers…

In this review essay, Kathleen Knight Abowitz discusses three recent books related to democratic public life and schooling: Susan H. Fuhrman and Marvin Lazerson's "The Public Schools," Walter C. Parker's "Teaching Democracy: Unity and Diversity in Public Life," and Kevin McDonough and Walter Feinberg's "Education and Citizenship in…

In this essay, Scott Ellison examines a line of critical thought in educational theory that has unapologetically sought transcendence in the face contemporary social and political conditions. Under the banner of critical pedagogy, Peter McLaren sees this current period of globalization as representing a worldwide historical crisis requiring a…

Bell-curve thinking, as a model of distribution of success and failure in society, enjoys a perennial (ahistorical, objective, and law-like) status in education. As such it provides a rationale for sorting (tracking or streaming) practices in education, which has led many educators to criticize both bell-curve thinking and associated sorting…

In this essay, Peter Trifonas tries to show that there is no overcoming of the techno-philosophical grounding of intellectual freedom and academic responsibility or research action within the speculum of an all-seeing, all-knowing university. Instead, he argues that through Derrida's notion of an open "community of the question," deconstruction…

In this essay Christiane Thompson discusses the systematic outcomes of Theodor Adorno's philosophical work for a reworked theory of "Bildung" (an important term in the German tradition of philosophy and history of education). In his essay "Theory of 'Halbbildung,'" Adorno revealed the inevitable failure of "Bildung,"…

In this essay David Bridges argues that since most families choose to realize their responsibility for the major part of their children's education through state schools, then the way in which the state constructs parents' relation with these schools is one of its primary levers on parenting itself. Bridges then examines the way in which…

The ambiguity of the slogan "back to basics" is examined. (JD)

The cult of efficiency, comprised of leading lights in education early in this century, stressed the necessity of bringing more efficient industrial practices into schools. This article describes the efficiency movement and Ella Flagg Young's dissent. Young's career as teacher, professor, and superintendent of the Chicago schools is highlighted.…

Author discusses Schleiermacher the man, and the range of his scholarly activities with a bird's eye view on his educational system. (Author/CB)

Describes the brief but educationally significant communitarian social experiment at New Harmony, Indiana, from 1825 to 1828. (Author/MB)

In this review essay, Harvey Kantor and Robert Lowe explore the history of the culture wars in public education in the United States. Drawing on three books--David Tyack's "Seeking Common Ground," Jonathan Zimmerman's "Whose America?" and Amy Binder's "Contentious Curricula"--Kantor and Lowe review the history of…

The educational philosophies of J. Dewey, I. Berkson, and H. Kallen are examined for influences each had on the others' ideas about cultural pluralism. (GW)

In tracing two of the lesser know links, author's purpose is to show that the socialist educational pedigree extends further back than many Socialists realize. (MB)

The holistic paradigm in education views other paradigms as integral parts of a more inclusive whole or system. The nature of this paradigm, its historical sources, and its special bearing on contemporary educational research and practice are outlined and discussed. (JMF)