Studies in the Philosophy of Education

Connecting philosophy and its intellectual tools to education is a step in the process of developing a philosophy of education that addresses a number of questions that we should all, not just philosophers, think deeply about. What are the purposes of education?  What should we teach in schools? How should we teach it? Why should we teach it? To whom should we teach it? As Plato demonstrated, such questions reach across the field to questions of political philosophy, epistemology, ontology, ethics, etc. In these polarizing times of increasing diversity, sustained, deep, cultured reflection -- the way of the philosopher -- is crucial to understanding and even making normative claims about how our societies (should) function and the role of schools toward the transformations we need. Toward this end, this series promotes the application of the skills of the philosophers in analyzing arguments, assessing the status of knowledge claims, exposing assumptions, and making syntheses of ideas from disparate fields, to throw light on all manner of educational challenges and on the validity of the very things they themselves are trying to argue as philosophers.  

Although proposals for all appropriate, philosophic projects as related to K‐16 education and research are encouraged, books in this series generally seek to:

• advance philosophic treatments of educational concerns; 

• explore points of agreement and difference among different philosophies/philosophers of education; 

• examine the work of specific philosophies/philosophers and their importance to the advancement of education; 

• explore the relationships between the philosophy of education and other areas/branches of philosophy (e.g., ethics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, political philosophy, and social philosophy);  

• consider the relationship among specific branches of philosophy and education; and, 

• explore and inform through philosophic analyses central concepts in educational policies, pedagogic methods, curricula, and specific practices of schooling.