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EQ208-15 Philosophy in Education

Department
Education Studies
Level
Undergraduate Level 2
Module leader
Emma Williams
Credit value
15
Module duration
10 weeks
Assessment
100% coursework
Study location
University of Warwick main campus, Coventry
Introductory description

This module will develop your knowledge of the subject of philosophy and extend your understanding of philosophy’s role within education. You will examine different accounts of the methods and purposes of philosophy, and engage with different traditions of thought, in a way that will enable you to think critically and reflectively about the educational value of philosophy. The module is interdisciplinary, and it includes both theoretical and practical components. It explores the way an understanding of philosophical debates can help address problems in education, teaching and learning. You will also have the opportunity to design, run and reflect on your own practical teaching activity on this module. This will enable you to develop teaching skills, and skills in communicating philosophical ideas to non-specialist and wider audiences.

Module web page

Module aims
  1. To critically investigate different methods of enquiry used in philosophy and different traditions of philosophical thinking.
  2. To critically analyse contemporary approaches to philosophy in schools and consider alternatives.
  3. To explore how practical issues and experience in education can shed new light on philosophical concepts and debates.
  4. To examine how an understanding of philosophical assumptions about thinking, learning and teaching can assist in teaching subjects
  5. To examine how an understanding of the philosophical assumptions behind school curricula can assist and enhance pupil learning.
Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

  1. The relationship between education and philosophy
  2. The nature of philosophical thinking
  3. Philosophical methods
  4. 'Analytic' and 'continental' approaches to philosophy
  5. The role of experience, imagination and creativity in philosophy
  6. Philosophy’s relationship to art and literature
  7. Philosophy in schools and the educational value of philosophy
Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

  • Critically understand a variety of approaches to philosophy and philosophical thinking, including knowledge of their underlying assumptions
  • Effectively communicate philosophical ideas to specialist and non-specialist audiences, using established disciplinary techniques.
  • Use established methods and techniques proficiently, to review and consolidate literature, formulate arguments, and create examples and illustrations.
  • Apply theoretical and conceptual arguments to practical educational problems and issues in a competent manner
  • Demonstrate skills and competence in applying practical issues and experience to the critique of theoretical and conceptual arguments.
Indicative reading list

Bakhurst, D (2011). The Formation of Reason. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
Bakhurst, David and Fairfield, Paul, (eds.) (2016). Education and Conversation: Exploring Oakeshott's Legacy. London: Bloomsbury.
Bonnett, M. (1994). Children's Thinking. London: Cassell.
Dunne, J. (1993). Back to the Rough Ground. Notre Dame Press.
Gendler, Tamar Szabo (2014). Thought Experiment: On the Powers and Limits of Imaginary Cases. Routledge.
Gendler, Tamar Szabo (2010). Intuition, Imagination, and Philosophical Methodology. Oxford University Press Uk.
Glendinning, Simon (2010) Argument all the way down: the demanding discipline of non-argumento-centric modes of philosophy. In: Reynolds, J. and Chase, J. and Williams, J., (eds.)
Postanalytic and Metacontinental Crossing Philosophical Divides. London: Continuum.
Hand, M. & Winstanley, C. (2008). Philosophy in Schools. London: Continuum
Lipman, M. (1977). Philosophy in the Classroom. Montclair State College: Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children.
Lipman, M. (2003). Thinking in Education. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Peters, M. (2007). Kinds of Thinking, Styles of Reasoning. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 350-363.
Siegel, H. (1988). Educating Reason. Worcester: Routledge.
Siegel, H. (1997). Rationality Redeemed? Further Dialogues on an Educational Ideal. New York: Routledge.
Smith, R.D. (2008). To school with the poets: philosophy, method and clarity. Paedogogica Historica: International Journal of the History of Education 44(6): 635-645.
Vansieleghem, N., & Kennedy, D. (2012). Philosophy for Children in Transition: Problems and Prospects. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell Warner, M. (1989). Philosophical Finesse: Studies in the art of rational persuasion. Oxford: Clarendon.
Winch, Christopher (2006). Education, Autonomy and Critical Thinking. Routledge.
Wiliams, E. (2016). The Ways We Think. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
Zamir, Tzachi. (2007). Double Vision: Moral Philosophy and Shakespearean Drama. Oxford: Princeton University Press.

View reading list on Talis Aspire

Interdisciplinary

This module applies historical and contemporary debates in the field of philosophy to the solution of educational problems and issues. It also explores how thinking about education and its nature and purpose can shed new light on traditions and debates within philosophy.

Subject specific skills

Students should demonstrate a critical understanding of -

  • the underlying values, theories and concepts relevant to education
  • the diversity of learners and the complexities of the education process
  • the complexity of the interaction between learning and local and global contexts, and the extent to which participants (including learners and teachers) can influence the learning process
  • the societal and organisational structures and purposes of educational systems, and the possible implications for learners and the learning process
  • theories, practice and research in the area of education
Transferable skills
  • Active listening
  • Cognitive flexibility
  • Communication skills
  • Complex problem solving
  • Coordinating with others
  • Creativity
  • Critical thinking
  • Interpersonal and communication
  • Personal development skills
  • Persuading/influencing
  • Reasoning
  • Team working

Study time

Type Required Optional
Lectures 9 sessions of 1 hour (6%)
Seminars 9 sessions of 2 hours (12%)
Tutorials (0%) 1 session of 15 minutes
Practical classes 1 session of 3 hours (2%)
Private study 120 hours (80%)
Total 150 hours
Private study description

Independent study hours include background reading, completing reading/other tasks in preparation for timetabled teaching sessions, undertaking research using the library resources, follow-up reading work, working on individual and group projects, the completion of formative and summative assignments, revision.

Costs

No further costs have been identified for this module.

You do not need to pass all assessment components to pass the module.

Assessment group A1
Weighting Study time
Reflective Assignment 15%

A 1,000-word reflective assignment.

Assessed Essay 85%

A 2,000-word essay.

Feedback on assessment

Tutorials \r\nPeer feedback on reflective pieces and whole group feedback during seminar \r\nWritten feedback on all assessed pieces

Courses

This module is Core optional for:

  • Year 2 of UEQA-X35C Undergraduate Education Studies (Intercalated Year)

This module is Optional for:

  • Year 2 of UPHA-VL78 BA in Philosophy with Psychology
  • Year 2 of UEQA-X35B Undergraduate Education Studies
  • Year 2 of UIPA-XL39 Undergraduate Education Studies and Global Sustainable Development (with Intercalated Year)
  • UPHA-V700 Undergraduate Philosophy
    • Year 2 of V700 Philosophy
    • Year 2 of V700 Philosophy
  • Year 2 of UPHA-VQ72 Undergraduate Philosophy and Literature
  • Year 2 of UPHA-V7Q8 Undergraduate Philosophy with Classical Civilisation
  • Year 2 of UPSA-C804 Undergraduate Psychology with Education Studies
  • Any Warwick undergraduate with the permission of the Course Leader