British Journal of Educational Studies | 2019
The global education race; taking the measure of PISA and international testing
Abstract
objections to homosexuality and so refrain from endorsing them’ (p. 110)). In the final chapter, Hand offers some thoughts about what he terms ‘the unloveliness of moral education’ (p. 112). The analysis in this section is directly concerned with responding to worries over the extent to which rule-based forms of moral education involve notions of guilt, blame and condemnation. In this chapter, Hand works to both engage with the problem of unloveliness, while also offering some suggestions regarding how rational moral education is lovelier than some critics may suggest. While the rational theory of moral education Hand develops is unlikely to fully convince those who, like myself, subscribe to some form of moral education based on virtue ethics, the arguments and contentions offered in A Theory of Moral Education are set out in a refreshing style, meaning that Hand’s position is both clear and accessible. This said I would have welcomed greater attention to how the author understands the emotional components of his rational theory of moral education. In several places Hand makes reference to emotions – not least when he states that ‘subscription to moral standards is conative, affective and behavioural’ (p. 16) – but the precise nature of emotions and their relationship with cognition and behaviour is not fully delineated. As I suggested at the outset of this review, Hand’s text is an interesting and expertly written account of a rational theory of moral education. A particular and notable strength is the consistency with which Hand draws out the practical implications and requirements of his philosophical arguments. For this reason, the book will be of as much interest to those practising in the field of moral education as it will be to those researching the field. This text makes a major contribution to moral education and to the wider field of philosophy of education. I wholeheartedly recommend it.