Empiricism is culturally defined in that culture shapes sensory knowledge. Hawaiians recognize senses beyond the five that Western culture recognizes. Hawaiians are not unempirical; they draw conclusions of their own from their empirical experiences. It is time to validate other ways of knowing, long suppressed in the U.S. educational system. (TD)

Explores the concepts and theories Dewey developed in the 1897 essay "The Significance of the Problem of Knowledge" and analyzes some current educational discussions of knowledge in the context of Dewey's thoughts. Cautions against casting different views of knowledge as dialectical oppositions. Agrees with Dewey on the importance of…

The following contribution expands the current discussion on the status and function of the history of education at the methodological, or epistemological, level by introducing the perspective of a history of educational knowledge. This opens up a theoretical option for educational historiography that avoids the identification of history of…

Recognizing the challenge of adequate evaluation in higher education, this essay introduces some of the critical, alternative-seeking conversation about educational measurement. The thesis is that knowledge, value, and meaning emerge in the relational dynamics of education, thus requiring complex approaches to evaluation, utilizing relational…

Many UK universities now recognise that artistic practice can constitute a form of research in its own right; increasingly, practising artists are sponsored or employed to work creatively within the academy, whilst the regulatory frameworks of research degree programmes have evolved to enable practical doctoral submissions. These developments have…

Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that seeks answers to two main questions: How do we know? and How do we know we know? This paper is concerned with how four major schools of thought have addressed these questions and the implications that their answers to these questions have for education. The paper begins by discussing how four major…

Michael Oakeshott, an English political philosopher, wrote extensively about education and how people learn political skills. Much of what he wrote may have interesting implications for instructional systems design. This paper is an explication of two aspects of Oakeshott's writings. The first deals with the nature of knowledge and its…

This paper explores the historical and philosophical basis of naturalistic education. The exploration focuses on prominent epistemological views of the relationship between sensation and thought. Three time periods of intellectual study were considered: (1) the classical period during which Plato established the model for philosophic inquiry and…

The introduction to the manual states that the purpose of this test is to determine a person's philosophy and measure the strength to which it is held. This is accomplished by quantifying and weighing responses to metaphysical, epistemological, and axiological statements taken from the philosophical systems of idealism, realism, pragmatism, and…

Professors of educational administration are being pressed to hold one of three conflicting viewpoints about knowledge and practice: "behavioral science,""symbolic," or "critical." Using Rein's notion of stories, the author urges professors to debate these viewpoints among themselves but use stories to study…

Addresses moral choices that lie behind practical proposals made by Joseph Schwab in "The Practical 4: Something for Curriculum Professors to Do" (Curriculum Inquiry 13:3, Fall 1983). Choices include (1) a problematic/inquiry approach to the theory/practice relationship; (2) a sense of community in planning groups; and (3) an operative,…

One of the main differences between the whole language position and the more traditional views lies in the epistemological base upon which whole language is rooted. Although whole language proponents may not have clearly put forth an epistemology upon which their views of reading acquisition and the reading process are based, still a careful…

Traces the origins of Friedrich Froebel's views on children, curriculum, pedagogics, and didactics; the underpinnings of his beliefs concerning the nature of knowledge; and the kinds of knowledge and dispositions he believed were appropriate for children to acquire. (MDM)

Distinguishes radical skepticism from everyday skepticism and positional pedagogical skepticism. Theorizes on the systematic importance of radical skepticism as a philosophical orientation in education. Reviews the infrequent appearance of skepticism as a concept in the history of educational theory. (CH)

Rebuts the arguments made by Suchting criticizing constructivism. (MDH)