This paper asks if powerful educational knowledge is possible, by examining the character and constitution of educational knowledge and its means of acquiring 'power'. In disciplines or fields that might be termed 'applied' or 'professionally orientated' the characteristics of powerful knowledge are constituted in ways that often differ from purer…

One natural application of Linda Zagzebski's exemplarist moral theory (EMT) is found in the context of moral and intellectual character education. Zagzebski discusses this application in her recent book, commenting that 'exemplars can serve as a guide for moral training' (p. 129) and endorsing 'the learning of virtue by imitation' (p. 129). This…

This article scrutinises one of the mainstream views of how one grows into responsible membership of society; the view based on Jürgen Habermas', Lawrence Kohlberg's and Jean Piaget's theories. Habermas praises Kohlberg's and Piaget's psychological theories and uses them as empirical sources crucial for his theoretical work. We argue that this…

In recent decades, philosophy has been identified as a general approach to enhance the maturity of higher education as a field of study by enriching theory and method. In this article, I offer a new set of philosophical recommendations to spur the disciplinary development of higher education, departing from previous work in several meaningful…

We propose a new relational direction in higher education that acknowledges external and internal images as integrated in thinking and learning. We expand educational theory and practice that commonly rely on discrete conceptual developments that exclude images. Our argument epistemologically relies on certain semiotic views that consider the role…

This paper harnesses the teachings of Paulo Freire in order to give a voice to Irish adult educators. The ontological aspects of Freire's theory are central to this task. Freire's ontological understanding of the human experience finds its fulfilment in his theory of conscientization. The two pillars of conscientization are personal and collective…

This is a response to "The Ethical Knower: Rethinking Our Pedagogy in the Age of Trump" by Elana Michelson. We appreciate Michelson's critical evaluation of the appropriateness of transformative learning and the use of personal narrative, as well as the frames and tools she offers to help us deal with current challenges such as…

What are the effects of teaching the dominant mathematics on the wholeness and integrity of the cultural, social and linguistic resources of diverse communities? In this text, I seek to capture the risks associated with utilising non-Western resources in the teaching of the dominant mathematics in order to elucidate possible types of harms that…

Empowered students have the ability to think and act reflectively as individual subjects of a society or a culture who have formed a conscious self-awareness of the meanings of their multiple affiliations and the significance of their worldly transactions with the other. Teaching should incorporate student ideas and experience actualized from acts…

The educational aims described by educational philosophers rarely embrace the full range of differences in intellectual ability, adaptive behavior, or communication that children exhibit. Because envisioned educational aims have significant consequences for how educational practices, pedagogy, and curricula are conceptualized, the failure to…

In the "Republic," Plato developed an educational program through which he trained young Athenians in desiring truth, without offering them any knowledge-education. This is not because he refused to pass on knowledge but because he considered knowledge of the Good as an ongoing research program. I show this by tracing the steps of the…

The main purpose of this paper is to articulate and defend an updated concept of liberal education. To achieve this purpose, the paper has attempted two things. First, to provide a meaning for the notion of liberal education by drawing upon, and discussing briefly, the ideas of three British philosophers, namely, Paul Hirst, Richard Stanley…

This article will discuss Paulo Freire's global influences on environmental pedagogies and argue that ecopedagogical reinventions are essential for 'quality' education, as touted in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #4, for global, all-inclusive 'development' that is planetarily sustainable. The politics of how 'development' is…

This essay seeks to contribute to the critical reception of "Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives" by tracing the Taxonomy's underlying philosophical assumptions. Identifying Bloom's work as consistent with the legacy of Cartesian thought, I argue that its hierarchy of behavioral objectives provides a framework for certainty and…

Since first published in English in 1970, "Pedagogy of the Oppressed" has inspired generations of scholars and social activists to examine the inherent potential of Paulo Freire's theories on grassroots intellectual emancipation and education in marginalized communities. The interpretive lineage of Freire's writings is vast, indeed. To…