Recent curriculum policy documents of the Scottish Education Department reflect an epistemological claim similar to Paul Hirst's that knowledge can be divided into distinct categories each with its own distinctive skills, concepts, logical structure and methodology. There are difficulties with these ideas in terms of the relationship between…

Examines Schon's idea of "reflective practice" in higher education through analysis of "reflectivity" -- its history, possible forms, interpretations, and underpinning values. Notes four underpinning epistemologies for reflective practice: technical rational, humanistic emancipatory, postmodern deconstructive, and radical phenomenological.…

This article discusses postmodern and cultural relativist ideas in special education. It offers examples of how the adoption of these doctrines is dangerous and destructive to students with special needs and explores possible resolutions. (Contains references.) (Author)

Explores the notion of practical wisdom as an alternative to current formulations of critical thinking. Concludes that practical wisdom, unlike critical thinking, allows one to address uncertainty and ambiguity, and recognize that thinking is much more than an intellectual cognitive act of an individual. (KS)

Discusses the concept of permeability as knowledge flow into and out of the classroom and applies it to three college courses taught by the author at Plymouth State College (New Hampshire). Experiential knowledge comes into the classroom through interviews, guest speakers, and panel presentations, and flows out through service-learning students…

Replies to Lerman, who presented Vygotsky as an irreconcilable opponent to Piaget's genetic epistemology and von Glasersfeld's radical constructivism. Argues that Lerman's stance does not reflect von Glasersfeld's opinion of Vygotsky's work, nor does it reflect Vygotsky's opinion of Piaget's work. Establishes compatibility between analytic units…

Spiritual epistemology is a learner-centered teaching approach that conceives of education as creative, critical action and adult educators as resource persons. Its principles include dialogue, respect, accountability, demand and support, and an invitation to learners to take a moral stance. (SK)

This unconventional essay is the (slightly modified) transcript of the question-and-answer period of an AERA conference session on the topic of paradigm proliferation. Through responses to the discussants prepared questions and audience members' comments and questions, each panelist extends and defends the ideas put forward in her or his paper and…

Pragmatism has been rediscovered in recent years and presented as emblematic of modern thinking. At the center of this worldwide interest in late-nineteenth century Pragmatism stood, first, a rejection of the traditional dualistic construction of the world in philosophy and psychology; second, a distinguishing of the findings of learning theory…

Australian higher education increasingly relies on flexible modes of delivery as a means of attracting and retaining students in a highly competitive global education market. While education is among those disciplines that have been most actively involved in the shift from face-to-face to online learning and teaching, the transition for many…

There is widespread acceptance that teaching from a constructivist paradigm requires a learning environment, a set of teaching-learning strategies, and a method of assessment that differs significantly from those usually found in classrooms that operate from a behaviorist theory or from an objectivist epistemology. There is, however, less…

In education, constructivist theories of knowledge have stimulated research, especially in the fields of mathematics and science education. Less attention has been given to the implications of constructivist epistemology for the overall concepts that guide education, such as the ideals of general or civic education or about the canon. This paper…

The critical examination of society's circumstances, institutions, and cultural predispositions and values can help detect problems and injustices and can suggest opportunities for improvement. Neo-Marxist critical theorists of the Frankfurt school are committed to work of this kind, but their perspective is informed by Marxian precepts, and their…

This paper approaches the concept of curriculum design from a philosophical perspective, arguing that the concept of "design" in curriculum is fundamentally misleading. The paper begins with a series of comments questioning the assumption that curriculum design involves a set of discrete skills or procedures in which one may attain expertise, like…

Suggests that neomarxism, the dominant form of radical reconstructionism, provides a less internally coherent concept of educational progress than do other major educational philosophies. Outlines epistemological differences between traditional Marxism and neomarxism. Includes 37 references. (SV)