Philosophers of education have had a longstanding interest in the nature and value of reason. Literature can provide an important source of insight in addressing questions in this area. One writer who is especially helpful in this regard is Fyodor Dostoevsky. In this essay Peter Roberts provides an educational reading of Dostoevsky's highly…

In this article, I attempt to describe how certain theoretical constructions of semiotics could be applied in educational theoretical work. First I introduce meaning as a basic concept of semiotics, thus also touching on concepts such as action, competence and causality. I am then able to define learning as a change of competences, and also refer…

This paper explores the situated nature of the epistemological values of a social science discipline as it finds expression in a particular department. Although it explores Becher and Trowler's anthropological conception of disciplinary "territories" and tribes ([1989]/2001) it finds deeper resonances in Trowler's more recent notion of "teaching…

A systemic theory of gifted education, and in particular the notion of the actiotope receives surprising support from an epistemology until recently largely unrecognized and undervalued--that of Australian Aborigines. As part of an ongoing transdisciplinary collaborative research practice, a group Yolngu (north east Arnhem Land Aboriginal) elders…

The aim of this article is to make a close case study of one teacher's teaching in relation to established traditions within science education in Sweden. The teacher's manner of teaching is analysed with the help of an epistemological move analysis. The moves made by the teacher are then compared in a context of educational philosophy and…

This paper addresses the unconscious dimension as articulated in Carl Jung's depth psychology and in Gilles Deleuze's philosophy. Jung's theory of the archetypes and Deleuze's pedagogy of the concept are two complementary resources that posit individuation as the goal of human development and self-education in practice. The paper asserts that…

This article proposes a model of presence in e-learning that is based on Garrison & Anderson's (2003) community of inquiry (COI) model. While the proposed model is similar to the COI model, there are some significant differences. It addresses the notion of presence from a different angle, and characterizes and specifies it differently. The article…

This book should be read by everyone who wants to understand special education today. "New Perspectives in Special Education" opens the door to the fascinating and vitally important world of theory that informs contemporary special education. It examines theoretical and philosophical orientations such as "positivism",…

In order for teacher education programs to act as significant scaffolds in supporting new teachers to become informed, creative and innovative members of a highly complex and valuable profession, we need to re-imagine ways in which teacher education programs operate. We need to re-imagine how courses are conceptualized and connected, how learning…

This article examines the significance of Jacques Ranciere's work on pedagogy, and argues that to make sense of Ranciere's "lesson on the lesson" one must do more but also less than merely explicate Ranciere's texts. It steadfastly refuses to draw out the lessons of Ranciere's writings in the manner of a series of morals, precepts or…

In this essay, I attempt to interpret the educational philosophy of John Dewey in a way that accomplishes two goals. The first of these is to avoid any reference to Dewey as a propagator of a particular scientific method or to any of the individualist and cognitivist ideas that is sometimes associated with him. Secondly, I want to overcome the…

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) was created in 1987 with the purpose of establishing standards for instruction for K-12 teachers within the U.S. The NBPTS was tasked with identifying and certifying teachers who met their standards. In the current article, we theorize on the potential avenues by which the NBPTS is…

In this article I explore some points of convergence between Habermas and Derrida that revolve around the intersection of ethical and epistemological issues in dialogue. After some preliminary remarks on how dialogue and language are viewed by Habermas and Derrida as standpoints for departing from the philosophy of consciousness and from…

Epistemologies of situated knowledges, advanced by scholars such as Donna Haraway, Lorraine Code, and Maureen Ford, challenge mainstream epistemology's claim to be the gold standard in determining what counts as knowledge. In this essay, James Lang uses the work of these and other feminist theorists to explicate the notion of situated knowledges…

This article analyzes the philosophy of French post-structuralist Gilles Deleuze in the context of post-formal education. The article specifically focuses on Deleuze's unorthodox approach to epistemology and ethics as future-oriented and creative, and lays down the foundations for a new ethics of integration in education derived from Deleuze's…