Philosophy of Education Course

Lesson 1 • Core Philosophical Questions in Education

Identifies the recurring questions about aims, content, and authority in education. Students practice framing educational problems as philosophical problems.

Lesson 2 • Ethics and Values in Education

Surveys ethical frameworks relevant to educational practice and policy. Prepares students to evaluate moral claims made about schooling and teaching.

Lesson 3 • Historical Origins of Educational Thought

Traces educational philosophy from ancient Greece through early modernity. Provides the historical scaffolding needed to understand later systematic theories.

Lesson 4 • What Is Philosophy of Education?

Defines philosophy of education as a discipline distinct from psychology and policy. Anchors the chapter by clarifying the types of questions philosophers of education ask.

Lesson 1 • Existentialism and Humanistic Education

Examines existentialist themes of freedom, authenticity, and responsibility in education. Links these themes to humanistic and student-centered pedagogies.

Lesson 2 • Realism and Essentialism

Analyzes realist ontology and the essentialist emphasis on a core body of knowledge. Connects these views to standards-based and subject-centered schooling.

Lesson 3 • Analytic Philosophy of Education

Introduces the analytic tradition's focus on conceptual clarity and argument analysis. Equips students to evaluate educational claims with logical rigor.

Lesson 4 • Idealism and Perennialism

Explores idealist metaphysics and its perennialist application to curriculum. Shows how belief in timeless truths shapes content selection and teaching methods.

Lesson 1 • Education for Social Justice

Explores equity, liberation, and transformation as educational goals. Introduces critical frameworks that challenge dominant aims of schooling.

Lesson 2 • Education for Citizenship and Democracy

Analyzes civic aims of education and their philosophical justifications. Connects democratic theory to curriculum, deliberation, and school governance.

Lesson 3 • Reconciling Competing Educational Aims

Develops strategies for navigating conflicts among individual, civic, economic, and justice aims. Prepares students to construct coherent, defensible educational philosophies.

Lesson 4 • Education for Economic Participation

Critically examines human capital theory and vocational aims of schooling. Evaluates tensions between economic utility and broader educational purposes.

Lesson 1 • Curriculum as a Political Document

Analyzes power relations embedded in curriculum selection and exclusion. Prepares students to critique official knowledge from a philosophical standpoint.

Lesson 2 • Epistemological Bases of Curriculum

Maps how different theories of knowledge generate different curriculum structures. Establishes the link between epistemology and subject selection.

Lesson 3 • Multicultural and Inclusive Knowledge

Evaluates arguments for diversifying the knowledge base of formal curricula. Connects epistemological pluralism to equity and representation in schooling.

Lesson 4 • Forms of Knowledge and Disciplines

Examines philosophical accounts of distinct forms of human knowledge. Evaluates arguments for organizing curriculum around disciplinary structures.

Lesson 1 • Dialogue and Socratic Pedagogy

Explores dialogue as a philosophical and pedagogical tool. Evaluates Socratic questioning and its role in developing critical thinking.

Lesson 2 • What Is Teaching? Conceptual Analysis

Applies analytic methods to define teaching and distinguish it from related activities. Clarifies the logical structure of the teaching relationship.

Lesson 3 • Authority, Power, and the Classroom

Investigates the nature and legitimacy of teacher authority. Connects power dynamics to questions of autonomy, respect, and student agency.

Lesson 4 • Care Ethics and Relational Teaching

Introduces care ethics as a framework for understanding the teacher's moral role. Analyzes how relationships of care shape learning environments.

Lesson 1 • Critical Theory and Schooling

Applies Frankfurt School critical theory to the analysis of educational institutions. Reveals how schooling can reproduce or challenge social domination.

Lesson 2 • Postcolonial and Decolonial Education

Examines colonial legacies embedded in educational systems and knowledge hierarchies. Develops frameworks for decolonizing pedagogy and curriculum.

Lesson 3 • Paulo Freire and Pedagogy of Liberation

Examines Freire's critique of banking education and his dialogical alternative. Connects conscientization to transformative classroom practice.

Lesson 4 • Postmodern Challenges to Education

Introduces postmodern skepticism toward grand narratives and universal educational aims. Evaluates postmodern contributions and their practical limits.

Lesson 1 • Recognition, Identity, and Schooling

Examines politics of recognition as applied to marginalized student identities. Connects misrecognition to educational harm and institutional reform.

Lesson 2 • School Choice and Privatization

Evaluates philosophical arguments for and against market-based educational reforms. Connects choice debates to values of liberty, community, and equity.

Lesson 3 • Distributive Justice and Educational Resources

Applies theories of distributive justice to the allocation of educational resources. Evaluates competing principles of fairness in school funding and access.

Lesson 4 • Global Justice and Education Rights

Examines education as a human right and its implications for global policy. Applies cosmopolitan and communitarian frameworks to international education debates.

Lesson 1 • Writing and Presenting the Philosophy Statement

Provides genre conventions and rhetorical strategies for the philosophy of education statement. Students finalize, present, and receive peer critique of their statements.

Lesson 2 • Articulating Educational Aims and Values

Guides students in stating their core educational aims with philosophical precision. Connects personal values to defensible normative claims about schooling.

Lesson 3 • Engaging Objections and Counterarguments

Trains students to anticipate and respond to philosophical challenges to their views. Strengthens the argumentative quality of the personal philosophy statement.

Lesson 4 • Philosophical Stance on Curriculum and Pedagogy

Helps students articulate principled positions on knowledge selection and teaching methods. Ensures consistency between epistemological commitments and pedagogical choices.