Terence H. McLaughlin

Citizenship Education in England: The Crick Report and Beyond

Citizenship education is being formally introduced into schools in England as a matter of national policy for the first time. This article offers a critical evaluation of the report of the Advisory Group on Education for Citizenship and the Teaching of Democracy in Schools which was chaired by Professor Bernard Crick, and which has been influential in shaping current educational policy in relation to these matters. An assessment is also offered of the challenges and prospects which confront citizenship education in England in the light of these developments.

Teaching as a Practice and a Community of Practice: the Limits of Commonality and the Demands of Diversity

This paper examines some neglected aspects of the conceptualisation of teaching as a ‘practice’ and as involving a ‘community of practice’. The concepts of a ‘practice’ and of a ‘community of practice’ are brought into focus by contrasting the differing senses of the notions employed in the work of Alasdair MacIntyre and Etienne Wenger respectively. Concepts of educational ‘practice’ and ‘communities of practice’ which embody a coherent overall holistic vision of education are contrasted with senses of educational ‘practice’ and ‘communities of practice’ which relate to lower level, specific and subordinate elements of the educational process which are detachable from such visions. The possibility of specifying a single, common, overall, holistic conception of an educational ‘practice’ or ‘community of practice’ in the context of a pluralistic, diverse, liberal democratic society is discussed. It is suggested that the demands of diversity in this context open up the possibility of, and the need for, diverse forms of teacher education and training based on differing and partly competing conceptions of educational ‘practice’ and ‘communities of practice’ involving contrasting, coherent, overall, holistic visions of education.

Values, Coherence and the School

Abstract This article offers a number of philosophical reflections on the task of making the educational values of the school coherent. The meaning of ‘coherence’ in this context is explored, and the requirements for its achievement are considered in relation to the inescapability and complexity of educational values, the process of planning in relation to educational values and a number of issues which require particular attention. It is concluded that a serious and informed debate on educational values is needed if schools are to be properly supported in their efforts to achieve coherence in relation to them.

Four Anxieties about Open‐mindedness: Reassuring Peter Gardner

In this article four anxieties expressed by Peter Gardner about our conception of open-mindedness and its educational implications are examined. It is argued that none of Gardners anxieties undermine our view that open-mindedness requires neither neutrality nor indecision with respect to a matter in question, but rather that open-mindedness is compatible with holding of beliefs and commitments about such matters provided that the beliefs and commitments are formed and held in such a way that they are open to revision in the light of evidence and argument.

Education for European Identity and European Citizenship

The concepts of ‘European identity’ and ‘European citizenship’ are prominent in the aims, commitments and policies of the European Union, and more specifically in its aims, commitments and policies in relation to education.

Four Philosophical Perspectives on School Inspection: An Introduction

This article offers an introduction to the four philosophical perspectives on school inspection that are presented in the articles which follow. Several aspects of practical contexts relating to school inspection are outlined (with particular reference to England) and major points made in the articles are outlined.

Return to the crossroads: Maritain fifty years on

Abstract: Writing a little over a decade ago of developments in educational philosophy, R. F. Dearden remarked on the dearth of alternative approaches to that of conceptual analysis which predominated, at least in Anglophone cultures, at that time. One possible avenue of enquiry which he identified as conspicuously absent in this respect was the development of a distinctively Catholic approach to problems of educational philosophy, observing that a work of the mid‐war years, Maritains Education at the Crossroads (1943), appeared to be well nigh the only modem effort in this direction. More than a decade on from this, in a climate no longer exclusively dominated by conceptual analysis – indeed, in which there is unprecedented interest in a wealth of different schools, traditions and approaches to philosophy of education – Deardens remarks about the absence of a distinctively Catholic perspective still apply. In the following essay, therefore, the authors have undertaken, via a critical analysis of Marita...

Wittgenstein, education and religion

ConclusionWittgensteins approach to religion is an important part of any assessment of the significance of his thought as a whole for educational thinking and practice. As we have seen, although his view of religion is elusive and stands in need of definitive evaluation, it offers a number of insights and challenges.Whilst Wittgensteins approach conflicts in important respects with the LR view of education in religion, because that view is based on important social and cultural realities which are significant for Wittgensteinian principles, it is not supplanted. The Wittgensteinian approach both supplies important perspectives which will enrich the LR view, whilst giving support to a greater pluralism in the way in which education in religion is conceived, including forms of substantial religious upbringing and schooling.

Kenneth Strike on Liberalism, Citizenship and the Private Interest in Schooling

After indicating a number of points of agreement with the argument 0eveloped by Kenneth Strike in his article ‘Liberalism, Citizenship and the Private Interest in Schooling’, this article identifies and explores a number of queries and criticisms which arise in relation to that argument. These queries and criticisms relate especially to the nature and extent of the ‘expansiveness’ involved in Strikes conception of ‘public’ or common educational influence, and to the implications and justification of the claim that ‘private’ educational interests enjoy a greater salience and recognition on Strikes view of ‘public’ or ‘common’ educational influence than on some alternative views.