Explores the apparent conflict in writing instruction between an emphasis on general versus local (specific) knowledge. Explains that the general knowledge focus is based upon cognitive rhetoric, whereas the local knowledge perspective comes from social theories of knowledge. Argues for a pluralistic theory of expertise which incorporates both…

This article describes an approach to examining an expository work which explores and reveals the work's structure of thought by examining it from three perspectives: interpretation, method and principle. This approach is applied to the works of Durkheim and Rousseau. (IAH)

Set against instructional practices that promote competition and individual performance, Dynamic Assessment, in our view, offers a more appropriate form of pedagogy for learners from cultural backgrounds that favour cooperation during joint activity. Indeed, these learners appear to be disadvantaged when negotiating the contrasting values and…

A philosophical analysis of play and games is undertaken in this paper. Playful gaming, which is shown to be a synthesis of play and games, is utilized as a category for undertaking the examination of play and games. The significance of playful gaming to education is demonstrated through analyses of Plato's, Dewey's, Sartre's, and Marcuse's…

The paper examines the notion that Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have affordances that epitomize the features of our late modern age (Giddens, 1991) and explores whether these affordances (Salomon, 1993, p. 51) can be used to facilitate particular approaches to educational practice. It argues that a clear articulation of these…

The growing social phenomenon of grandparents caring for their grandchildren has implications for educational psychology practice, since children who are wards of their grandparents frequently experience problematic school functioning. In this paper, the literature regarding children cared for by grandparents is reviewed. Issues concerning…

Social struggles that turn on race, gender, and sexuality are struggles for recognition. At least, this has been a widespread assumption for decades. Yet this assumption has come under critique of late. In this essay, Charles Bingham looks into the debate that surrounds the recognitive paradigm. He looks both at the general (noneducational)…

The purpose of this article is to explore how the descriptive processes developed by the Prospect School (1965-1990), in North Bennington, Vermont, and used in the Prospect School Teacher Education Program (1968-1990) managed to grasp to art in everyday experience and serve as a way of revealing, supporting, and celebrating the emerging humanness…

Discusses John Stuart Mill's belief in the development of character as a solution to social problems and a worthy educational ideal. Concludes that Mill's belief in education's power to perfect human nature through character development could not be realized within the framework of his anthropological views of human kind. (DMM)

Willard Waller fused social theory and field observation techniques. In work still relevant 55 years after its appearance, he viewed school in its societal context. This study develops a theory of schooling based on his work and that of his successors. (LHW)

Examines the social philosophy of John Stuart Mill, emphasizing his views on freedom, education, and social reform. Considers Mill's individualism and reformism, the conflict between freedom and control that characterizes his work, and the importance of freedom and education. Suggests caution in drawing educational implications from his work. (DAB)

Analyzes and considers two problems in Bertrand Russell's account of growth. Examines the principles of freedom and reverence which Russell believed best enhanced free growth. Shows that, while Russell's theory of growth is imprecise compared to those of Dewey and Whitehead, it incorporates a humanistic conception of the individual. (DAB)

For historians who seek to engage the educational past primarily as a record of the actions of individuals and groups within particular historical contexts, rather than primarily as a series of linguistic or discursive effects, research convention offers two principal alternatives. The first, and far older, tradition settles its sights upon the…

This paper examines similarities and differences between structuration theory, habitus and complexity theory, as theories of social change. The paper suggests that structuration theory and habitus can theorize change, but that complexity theory offers a more complete theory of change because it focuses on social production rather than…

Bourdieu's social theory offers a way of understanding some of the most important features of the field of educational research, while also providing educational researchers with a rich conceptual apparatus for their practice. This article addresses both of these methodological themes and the connections between them. We begin by outlining some…