Introductory description

This module will extend your knowledge of the subject of philosophy, and develop your understanding of philosophy’s role within education. You will critically examine arguments about the methods and purposes of philosophy, and broader traditions of philosophical thought. This will enable you to think critically and reflectively about the educational value of philosophy and the centrality of education to the practice of philosophy more broadly. The module is interdisciplinary, and it includes both theoretical and practical components. It explores the way an understanding of philosophical debates can help address complex 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

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:

• Demonstrate systematic, critical and coherent understanding of established and state-of-the-art conceptions of philosophy and philosophical thinking, including detailed knowledge of their underlying assumptions
• Effectively communicate philosophical ideas to specialist and non-specialist audiences, using established and state of the art disciplinary, and interdisciplinary, techniques.
• Deploy a range of established methods and techniques to review, consolidate and critically analyse literature, extend arguments, and create and examples and illustrations
• Show initiative in applying theoretical and conceptual arguments to practical educational problems and issues, in a way that takes into account complex and unpredictable educational contexts
• Show initiative in applying practical issues and insights to the critique of, and extension 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.
Williams, 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 draws heavily on the discipline of 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