Philosophy of education as pluriversal: Opening the dialogues

At a time when both philosophy of education and the arts are under threat within education, this article inquires into interdisciplinarity as one way of approaching the disciplines of philosophy of education and aesthetics. The article offers a retrospective autobiographical intellectual history and phenomenology of the author's own learning and scholarship within Higher Education in three main areas—philosophy of literature education, women's studies, and philosophy of music education, areas paralleling the three periods of her academic career. One sub-theme of this narrative about the balancing act of working in literature and music through philosophy of education is the author's ongoing resistance to professionalization or disciplinary academic control—of literature, philosophy, and music—while being a critical student of educational theory and practice in these areas—philosophy, literature and music within philosophy of education—of thus being “betwixt and between.” Two other themes comprising the article's subtext are “praxis” and “embodiment.” The double entendre of the phrase “working through” entails, first, using the arts of literature and music to practise philosophy of education; and secondly, embracing the psychological, ethical, and spiritual introspection that comes with critical engagement of the arts and its discourses. In short, the article aims to reprise some burning philosophical educational questions that have preoccupied its author over the years, questions deemed especially pertinent to the current increasingly diverse membership in the discipline of educational studies.

This chapter proposes a conceptualisation of ubuntu philosophy of higher education as justice. A case is made for the necessity of a philosophy of higher education given the normative problems that the assumed aim, context, epistemologies, policies and practices of higher education raise. Meaningfully addressing and averting such problems inevitably requires a philosophical approach and a philosophy of education, respectively. At a minimum, education arguably aims at equipping people with certain universal knowledge and skills, irrespective of the social situatedness of the people. However, education conceptualisation and practice are indisputably context-embedded. This entails that the philosophical perspectives through which to imagine ideal education should be grounded in the metaphysical or ethical outlook of the social context without necessarily reproducing the society. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect philosophy of education to be relatable to people’s experiences. This chapter thus argues that an ubuntu philosophy of education demands that higher education should aim to achieve humanness or human well-being. Since the means to attain humanness in ubuntu is to act in accordance with the inseparable self-regarding and other-regarding virtues, higher education should promote self-actualisation and broader human well-being in its study programmes and research endeavours. Ultimately the chapter argues that an ubuntu philosophy of higher education is, in principle, a demand that all forms of higher education should conscientise its students and research endeavours to achieve social justice and ameliorate especially man-made human suffering. Furthermore, drawing from the deliberative feature of ubuntu, it is submitted in this chapter that ubuntu higher education should engage different epistemological traditions without being prejudiced against any other. Ubuntu higher education should not tolerate knowledge provincialism. The chapter also advances the argument that the deliberative feature of ubuntu, aimed at concretely engaging the other, entails that what constitutes a human community is no longer limited by geographical or ethnic boundedness. Thus, ubuntu education is global in outlook yet simultaneously recognises the differences that concretely particularise individuals and societies.

In this chapter, the cultivation of an African philosophy of higher education is addressed more conceptually concerning claims iterations, co-belonging, critique, reflexivity, and intellectual activism. Firstly, the notion of the African philosophy of education is examined along the afore-mentioned lines; secondly, it is elucidated how such a philosophy of education can advance higher pedagogy concerning teaching and learning. Thirdly, it is shown how an African philosophy of higher education is inextricably connected to the enhancement of intellectual, social and political activism, particularly how it intertwines with notions of equality, equity, freedom and justice within higher education. Thus, a philosophy of higher education is genuine and enframes higher education as a pedagogical space for resistance, critique, deliberative iterations, autonomy, and intellectual activism. Put differently, an African philosophy of higher education is not only concerned with thinking and justification but expands into notions of democratic engagement, citizenship, and activism. When the latter is present, African philosophy of higher education has a real chance of manifesting ubiquitously in higher pedagogical actions, mostly teaching and learning.

Philosophy and philosophy of education cannot be separated; both have a very close relationship. Moreover, the philosophy of Islamic education undeniably has a connection with Western educational philosophy as an initial inspirator of the philosophical movement in Islam. This research is a qualitative study with a literature review. The data is taken from various related literatures. The focus is on (1) the relationship between Philosophy and Philosophy of Education, (2) the historical development of Western philosophy of education, (3) the historical development of Islamic philosophy of education, and (4) the comparison of Western and Islamic philosophy of education. The results are: (1) philosophy of education is defined as a normative science in the domain of education, (2) philosophy of education focuses on two normative scientific functions: formulating the foundation, goals, and understanding of the nature of humans, as well as the essence of the realm of education, (3) Western philosophy of education tends to emphasize education oriented towards progress and prioritizes logic, (4) Islamic philosophy of education emerged due to the advancement of Islam during the Abbasid golden age, (5) the similarities between Western and Islamic philosophy of education lie in nativistic, empiricist, and convergence theories, while the differences are that Western philosophy is anthropocentric and Islamic philosophy is theocentric, Western philosophy is based on human thought, Islamic philosophy is based on revelation dialogued with reason, Western philosophy focuses on knowledge, Islamic philosophy bases itself as a religion, Western philosophy considers evaluation to be done by oneself and others, while Islamic philosophy it to be done by oneself, others, and God.

This chapter examines the relationship between the two fields of science education and philosophy of education to inquire how philosophy could better contribute to improving science curriculum, teaching, and learning, especially science teacher education. An inspection of respective research journals exhibits an almost complete neglect of each field for the other (barring exceptions).While it can be admitted that philosophy has been an area of limited and scattered interest for science education researchers for some time, the subfield of philosophy of education has been little canvassed and remains an underdeveloped area. To help bring science education closer into the fold of educational philosophy and theorizing, the historical development of science education and philosophy of education are sketched to reveal their common roots, interests, and concerns. Thereto, the contours of a new philosophy of science education are presented (as an integration of three academic fields). Arguments are provided which seek to illustrate why philosophy in general and philosophy of education in particular can make positive contributions to teacher education and the research field together with suggesting future directions and possible reform contributions (scientific literacy, educational aims, educational theory, pedagogical content knowledge, science teacher, and curricular epistemologies).

The philosophy of Islamic education covers a wide range of ideas and practices drawn from Islamic scripture, metaphysics, philosophy, and common piety, all of which accumulate to inform discourses of learning, pedagogy, and ethics. This provides a definition of Islamic education and yet also of Islam more generally. In other words, since metaphysics and ontology are related to questions of learning and pedagogy, a compendious and indigenous definition of “education” offers an insight into a wider spectrum of Islamic thought, culture, and weltanschauung. As such, there is no singular historical or contemporary philosophy of Islamic education which avails all of this complexity but rather there exists a number of ideas and practices which inform how education plays a role in the embodiment of knowledge and the self-actualization of the individual self to ultimately come to know God. Such an exposition may come to stand as a superordinate vision of learning framing Islamic educational ideals. Questions of how these ideas are made manifest and practiced are partly answered through scripture as well as the historical, and continuing, importance of Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam; as paragon and moral exemplar in Islamic thought. Having said “I was sent as a teacher,” his life and manner (sunnah) offer a wide-ranging source of pedagogic and intellectual value for his community (ummah) who have regarded the emulation of his character as among the highest of human virtues. In this theocentric cosmology a tripart conception of education emerges, beginning with the sacred nature of knowledge (ʿilm), the imperative for its coupling with action (ʿamal), in reference to the Prophet, and finally, these foundations supporting the flourishing of an etiquette and comportment (adab) defined by an equanimous state of being and wisdom (ḥikma). In this sense, the reason for there being not one identifiable philosophy of Islamic education, whether premodern or in the modern context, is due to the concatenations of thoughts and practices gravitating around superordinate, metaphysical ideals. The absence of a historical discipline, named “philosophy of education” in Islamic history, infers that education, learning, and the nurturing of young minds is an enterprise anchored by a cosmology which serves the common dominators of divine laudation and piety. Education, therefore, whether evolving from within formal institutional arenas (madrasas) or the setting of the craft guilds (futuwwa), help to enunciate a communality and consilience of how human beings may come to know themselves, their world, and ultimately God.

This research aims to analyse Paulo Freire's philosophy of education, especially the philosophy of problem-oriented education, and its relevance to the project of strengthening the student profile of Pancasila. This research seeks to find the meaning contained in Freire's philosophy of education through an in-depth interpretation of the implementation of an independent curriculum in Indonesia. The method used is library research with a hermeneutic approach. The results show that Freire's problem-based educational philosophy emerged as a response to bank-style education in Brazil. According to him, bank-style education is narrative, passive, oppresses society and has an impact on the culture of silence. Problem-based education focuses on teaching students to see the problems around them and to analyse them in order to find solutions. Freire's philosophy of problem-based education provides relevance for the implementation components of the Pancasila Learner Profile Strengthening Project, namely: the project must be problem-based, learner-centred, contextual, dialogical and exploratory.

Technologies of Reading and Writing: Transformation and Subjectivation in Digital Times

Educational TheoryVolume 45, Issue 2 p. 199-211 SUSTAINING AND RESPONDING TO CHARGES OF BIAS IN CRITICAL THINKING Stephen P. Morris, Stephen P. Morris Professor of Educational Research and Philosophy of Education, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada A1B 3X8. His primary areas of scholarship are critical thinking, philosophy of science education, and philosophy of reading.Search for more papers by this author Stephen P. Morris, Stephen P. Morris Professor of Educational Research and Philosophy of Education, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada A1B 3X8. His primary areas of scholarship are critical thinking, philosophy of science education, and philosophy of reading.Search for more papers by this author First published: June 1995 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-5446.1995.00199.xCitations: 10Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume45, Issue2June 1995Pages 199-211 RelatedInformation

Paulo Freire's philosophy of education, known as Pedagogy of the oppressed, is a conceptual narrative closely related to the philosophy of humanism. The education of the oppressed has a simple understanding, which is education that liberates or is anti-dehumanizing. One of the approaches used by Paulo Freire to address the problem of dehumanization in Brazilian society is literacy education, which, according to Freire, involves not only reading the word but also reading the world. Freire's literacy practice is not limited to formal learning in schools but is also carried out through social interaction and daily activities. This study is qualitative research with a literature review approach. Furthermore, the data sources in this study were obtained from primary, secondary, and preliminary sources, which were then analyzed by reducing all the collected data. Paulo Freire's philosophy of education is constructed upon ontology, epistemology, and axiology, which correlate with the philosophy of Islamic education. After analyzing, some weaknesses were also found in Paulo Freire's concept of education regarding its humanism as a perspective in understanding educational issues. The practice of Paulo Freire's philosophy of education also resembles normative guidance on education, and it tends to lack a final goal, relying solely on the critical consciousness of the learners in interpreting reality.

This paper explores relationships between environment and education after the Covid-19 pandemic through the lens of philosophy of education in a new key developed by Michael Peters and the Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia (PESA). The paper is collectively written by 15 authors who responded to the question: Who remembers Greta Thunberg? Their answers are classified into four main themes and corresponding sections. The first section, ‘As we bake the earth, let's try and bake it from scratch’, gathers wider philosophical considerations about the intersection between environment, education, and the pandemic. The second section, ‘Bump in the road or a catalyst for structural change?’, looks more closely into issues pertaining to education. The third section, ‘If you choose to fail us, we will never forgive you’, focuses to Greta Thunberg’s messages and their responses. The last section, ‘Towards a new (educational) normal’, explores future scenarios and develops recommendations for critical emancipatory action. The concluding part brings these insights together, showing that resulting synergy between the answers offers much more then the sum of articles’ parts. With its ethos of collectivity, interconnectedness, and solidarity, philosophy of education in a new key is a crucial tool for development of post-pandemic (philosophy of) education.

This collective article discusses the philosophy of modern higher education in Iran, which in this case, optimistically, its history dates back to the founding of Dār al-fonūn (1851)—if we consider Dār al-fonūn as a university. Otherwise, its origin can be traced back to the University of Tehran (established in 1934). Central to this article is the emphasis on the lack of philosophy of higher education in Iran. Therefore, most of the criticisms in front of us are related to the internal inconsistency in the Iranian higher education system due to the lack of a national-indigenized-official philosophy of higher education in Iran. Furthermore, The Islamic Revolution of 1979 brought about fundamental changes in higher education. Accordingly, several controversial issues including the rapid growth of higher education, the Islamization of universities, cultural narratives in higher education, the increase in students, especially women and the low-income class of the country were also explored. Therefore, in this collection, the political, economic, social, cultural, moral, technological and historical dimensions of Iranian higher education were examined.

The philosophy of Islamic education as a result of ideas with a distinctive Islamic pattern, is essentially a concept of thinking about education that is based on Islamic teachings. The whole thought process is based on deep and broad experiences about life's problems and realities in the universe and oneself. The purpose of this study is to explain the foundation of Islamic education in the perspective of Islamic education philosophy. The method in this study uses a qualitative method with the type of descriptive analytic research. The result of this research is that the philosophy of Islamic education can help educational designers and people who need it to form the right thinking towards the educational process. Besides, the philosophy of education can help determine the goals and functions of education and improve the quality of education, evaluation, guidance and counseling. This is in accordance with the objectives of the philosophy of Islamic education which is essentially identical to the goals of Islamic teachings. Both come from the same source, namely the Qur'an and al-Hadith.

The subject of this article is the ideas in the field of philosophy and practice of education, proposed by the founders of pragmatism: C. Pierce, W. James, J. Dewey, R. Rorty. The concepts of these authors gave rise to one of the most successful philosophies of education, which has been and is being subjected to considerable criticism, but is still in demand and demonstrating effectiveness. The article analyzes the initial axioms of the philosophy of pragmatism and the principles on which, according to the philosophers-authors, this educational model should work. The modern criticism of pragmatism in English-language literature is also touched upon. Attention to the philosophy of pragmatism in education seems justified due to the search for a better educational model that is taking place in Russia today. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the analysis of the key philosophical principles of the educational model of pragmatism along with practical recommendations, as well as in the attention paid to Ch. Pierce and the place, significance, of his ideas in the educational model of pragmatism. Traditionally Ch. Pierce is taken out of the brackets when writing about pragmatism in education. Much more attention is paid to the ideas of W. James, J. Dewey, R. Rorty, while Peirce's prolegomena seem fundamentally significant in understanding pragmatism as a philosophy of education. The author discusses the current controversy around the relevance of pragmatism as a philosophy of education, about its strengths and weaknesses. It is concluded that pragmatism as a philosophy of education carries useful principles associated with consensual practices, critical thinking, dialogue, increased attention to experience and an active cognitive position, and therefore can be used as a counterweight to destructive (commercialization, deprofessionalization) trends in education.

This paper aims to explore the philosophy that is embedded in the Philippine higher education system, and to locate the country’s philosophy of education within the global context. The Philippine higher education is marked by complexity in terms of governance and organization. More importantly, its origin and development are deeply implicated in the country’s colonial history, which in turn significantly impacted how the aims and purposes of higher education are defined and perceived by various stakeholders. Such a condition has resulted in specific social practices, and in a specific understanding of what higher education must contribute to the society. This paper thus examines a ‘distinct’ Filipino philosophy of higher education, the narratives that formed it, and the tensions that surround it. Moreover, it brings the field of Filipino philosophy in conversation with postcoloniality and the emerging field of philosophy of higher education. Analysis of the data shows consistency of the discourse topics, and the concept of nation-building as fundamental in understanding the mandate of higher education institutions.