Abstract
This article offers a philosophical critique of Michael Young's notion of 'powerful knowledge', as found largely in his own but also in others' writings since 2009. The first part of the article focuses on the definitional connection that Young makes between 'powerful knowledge' and systematic relationships between concepts. It argues that most of the school subjects that Young sees as providing 'powerful knowledge' fall short on this requirement. It also comments on the place of educational aims and of everyday concepts in Young's thinking. The second part of the article draws attention to similarities and differences between Young's notion and the philosopher Paul Hirst's notion of 'forms of knowledge', claiming that Young's position is vulnerable to many of the critiques of Hirst's notion formulated between the 1960s and the 1990s.
Highlights
This article offers a philosophical critique of Michael Young’s notion of ‘powerful knowledge’, as found largely in his own and in others’ writings since 2009
It has been developed by clearly distinguishable groups with a well-defined focus and relatively fixed boundaries, separating different forms of expertise (Young, 2015: n.p.). This quotation well articulates the two main features of PK, epistemological and social: (1) it has to do with bodies of knowledge built around their own, sui generis systems of interrelated concepts; and (2) it is the province of distinct specialized groups
In which school subjects do we find systems of sui generis interrelated concepts?
Summary
The points just made about the arts reveal the shakiness of Young’s assumption that the pursuit of theoretical knowledge is the first priority in school education. This is not the place to unravel their complexities, but a longer treatment can be found, for instance, in Reiss and White (2013): their work makes clear that curriculum planning has first to ask what schools should be for. It should start from a judicious examination of candidate aims, since only is one in a position to think about what priorities among acceptable ones should be. Practical know-how of many sorts, the world of the arts, personal development, and learning to become a citizen of a democracy are examples. Young provides no argument for the centrality of theoretical or subject knowledge
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
