In recent years in Sweden, preschools in so-called 'particularly vulnerable areas' close to large cities have experienced several crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath, shootings and car fires due to gang violence in the vicinity. Leading and maintaining the preschool as a safe place for the children in its care in a crisis has…

This article critically discusses the concept of future-ready learning by drawing on the educational thought of Confucius as recorded in the "Analects." Two main arguments are made in this paper. First, Confucius views future-readiness as the preparedness to broaden "dao" (Way), which is a vision of human excellence. Secondly,…

In recent years, many programs and manuals for 'norm criticism´ have been produced for schools in Sweden. In this article, I situate norm criticism and norm critical pedagogics within discourses of values and norms, legal rights and policies through a close reading of the material produced for the Swedish pre-school. I explore the targets, modes,…

Despite recent socioeconomic transformations, young adults in China construe local social norms as inhibiting their individualized selfhood. Based on a study of pedagogies of interpersonal "soft" skills, this article describes an apparatus of self-improvement where self- and social critique play a pivotal role. Through comparison with…

Making use of hermeneutic phenomenology and morality critique as methodological navigation points, this paper challenges the phantasmatic prestige and power of normative orders and the education systems that are designed to keep them alive. It is suggested that what education needs is not morals and ethics, but a pedagogy of discernment that will…

What is the core of pedagogical practice? Which qualities are primary to the student-teacher relationship? What is a suitable language for pedagogical practice? What might be the significance of an everyday presentational pedagogical act like for example the glance of a teacher? The pedagogical relation as lived relationality experientially…

Ever since eighth grade the author was deeply interested in his own education at a self-conscious level, wondering how he could find out educationally what human life was all about and how he should live his life. In this article, the author provides a self-portrait of his intellectual life. He contends that philosophy of education, as educational…

The letters Bishop Edward Synge (1691-1762) wrote to his daughter Alicia (1733-1807) in 1747-1752 are discussed to show how correspondence from a father to a daughter could be used to teach a teenage girl how to spell and write letters. Moreover, these letters are an excellent source to show how emotional behaviour was taught. Instructions on…

Bell-curve thinking, as a model of distribution of success and failure in society, enjoys a perennial (ahistorical, objective, and law-like) status in education. As such it provides a rationale for sorting (tracking or streaming) practices in education, which has led many educators to criticize both bell-curve thinking and associated sorting…

This article aims to contribute to the debate about the moral and ethical aspects of education for sustainable development by suggesting a clarification of ethics and morals through an investigation of how these aspects appear in educational practice. The ambition is both to point to the normative dangers of education for sustainable development…

What kind of equality among Europeans does equal citizenship require, especially regarding education? In particular, is there good reason to insist of equality of education among Europeans--and if so, equality of what? To what extent should the same knowledge base and citizenship norms be taught across state borders and religious and other…

We analyzed how philosophers of education received the antifoundationalist turn in epistemology, particularly with respect to its practical relevance. Our main conclusion is, that antifoundationalist philosophers of education discharge the primacy of epistemology, replacing it by a primacy of commitment. Consequently, they no longer understand…

Describes the school governance and student behavior policies at a private K-12 school in Massachusetts. Maintains that students, faculty, and staff have well-defined responsibilities. Provides recommendations for changes that would lead to enhanced student learning. (CFR)

In order for graduate programs to be considered genuine, four conditions need to be met: academic quality, time to fiddle, a baggy idea of truth, and a sense of community. (JN)

Few learning experiences give students immediate feedback on ethical and unethical behaviors and provide opportunities to repeatedly practice effective behaviors. This article describes how the authors have used challenge course activities to stimulate students to observe their own and others' ethical and unethical behaviors. Specifically, these…