Ethics and History Education
Ethics is a matter of what is right and wrong, how we should act, and how things ought to be. It underpins and permeates everything we do. We can’t rise above ethics or [...]
Philosophy of education
Within the philosophy of education I am primarily concerned with the relationship between academic disciplines and school subjects.
Can we have shared professional meaning in teaching?
I have a longstanding interest in how teachers create meaning from the things that they teach. Indeed, this question was right at the heart of two papers I had published a [...]
Relevance, meaning and the myth of the empty vessel
We all should now know that Yeats never said that “education is not the filling of a pail”. The sentiment, however, is true. Various ‘constructivist’ theories of [...]
Critical thinking and domain specificity
As a consequence of a pleasant Twitter thread over the weekend, I am currently revisiting two papers that have heavily influenced how I think about the idea of ‘critical [...]
Why does pedagogy dominate curriculum?
In my previous blog post, I argued that one of the reasons we have ended up at the door of very prescriptive approaches to pedagogy – such as scripted lessons – has come [...]
The setting argument: a classic case of the poverty of genericism
During my summer holidays, I generally try to learn something new in a more structured way. For example, in the summer of 2016, I attended Cambridge University’s excellent [...]
The fundamental weakness of debate about generic pedagogy
Debates about pedagogy are particularly heated at the moment, and one does not need to look hard to find a point of view. Should children be taught via direct instruction? [...]
Should pupils be given choice over what they study?
Economic liberalism has long exalted the role played by markets, and the notion of consumer choice sits at the heart of this idea. If I want to buy a new computer, I can [...]
Can a curriculum ever be balanced?
One does not have to look too hard to find examples of where curriculum selection was designed to indoctrinate. The most obvious cases are the totalitarian states of the [...]
Teaching: a very natural act?
In 1971 the philosopher of education Paul Hirst published a paper titled “What is teaching?” in which he set out, in the style of RS Peters, to conduct an analysis of the [...]
Should teaching methods be prescribed?
Arendt’s observation that ‘the most radical revolutionary will become a conservative the day after the revolution’ is pertinent in a number of contexts, and we can see [...]
On curiosity
One of my aims as a teacher is to get my pupils to cultivate their curiosity. This stems from my belief that the reality we inhabit is full of wonder and beauty and that we, [...]
Reconsider and Compromise: real pragmatists do not ignore disagreement
I really do understand why people get so frustrated by the idea that there exists a never-ending conflict between two broad philosophies of education, namely [...]
Do I want a Victorian education?
Some of the more aggressive critics of this blog often make the case that I am arguing here for a ‘return’ to a ‘Victorian’ educational model, perhaps aspiring to [...]
Learning to learn: am I changing my mind?
A few years ago I chortled away at the idea of learning to learn. My colleagues and I sat sullenly through training sessions as we were taught how to get our pupils to [...]
How to challenge authority in schools: a beginner’s guide
There has been a bit of chatter on social media recently about whether or not the authority of a teacher or a school ought to be challenged. Words such as ‘fascist’ and [...]
Furnishing the abstract with the specific: teaching disciplinary practice
Curriculum theory is hard, for it asks us to take something very complex (such as an academic discipline) and to define it, give it structure and tease out its properties. [...]
