Summary
Contents
Subject index
This book provides an authoritative, yet accessible guide to the philosophy of education, its scope, its key thinkers and movements, and its potential contribution to a range of educational concerns. The text offers a balanced view of three key dimensions: first, in giving an equal weight to different styles and modes of philosophy; second, by including past and present perspectives on philosophy of education; and third, in covering both the general “perennial” issues in philosophy and issues of more contemporary concern.
Learning
Learning
Introduction
When we think about learning we tend to use sets of interconnected metaphors. In this chapter I explore a number of philosophical issues that are raised by the most influential of these metaphors.83
One cluster of metaphors contrasts transmission and construction. The transmission account runs as follows: When I learn some history I ‘take in’ an item of knowledge. After I learn that the Battle of Hastings occurred in 1066 there is a fact ‘in’ my head that was not there previously. The teacher may have transmitted this fact to me. This thought in turn is associated with more metaphors. The learner is an empty rucksack to be ‘filled’ with knowledge, or even an empty vessel into which knowledge is to be poured. (The Maths ...
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