{"title":"Phenomenological Arguments for Teaching about Religions in Public Schools Beyond Civic Purpose","authors":"Carmelo Galioto","doi":"10.1111/edth.70019","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/edth.70019","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This paper develops the following thesis: teaching about religions in public school holds meaning and value beyond civic purpose, aiming also to educate the existential and spiritual dimensions of students. In developing this thesis, Carmelo Galioto employs a phenomenological approach in considering the place and role of religion in public schools. First, he reconstructs the prevailing liberal arguments regarding the purpose of teaching religion in public schools. Second, drawing on some of Edith Stein's claims, he proposes that public schools contribute not only to the development of civic friendship and critical thinking, but also to existential purposes. Third, he presents how Simone Weil's reflections help us to see the connection between teaching religion in public schools and accomplishing important existential and spiritual purposes. Finally, Galioto details how teaching religion serves as a key element in the existential and spiritual development of students, taking into account various issues related to this educational aim. The phenomenological approach, he concludes, contributes to a specific conception of religion as an educational subject in the public school system, one focused on teaching about and from religions.</p>","PeriodicalId":47134,"journal":{"name":"EDUCATIONAL THEORY","volume":"75 3","pages":"558-576"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144117904","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Aristotle's Theoria in Contemplative Education","authors":"Tomas de Rezende Rocha","doi":"10.1111/edth.70020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/edth.70020","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This essay analyzes Pierre Hadot's reading of Aristotelian <i>theoria</i> in order to evaluate <i>theoria'</i>s relevancy for the contemporary field of Contemplative Education. It emphasizes the limited engagement with <i>theoria</i> against a backdrop of heightened attention to mindfulness-based practices. The essay critiques the conflation of Plato and Aristotle's appropriations of diplomatic <i>theoria</i> and reveals shortcomings in Hadot's attempt to characterize <i>theoria</i> as a spiritual exercise of self-cultivation at the core of an Aristotelian way of life. The critique underscores the need for a clearer delineation of Plato and Aristotle's contribution to contemporary Contemplative Education and points to the possibility of a richer exploration of <i>theoria</i> beyond Hadot's interpretation.</p>","PeriodicalId":47134,"journal":{"name":"EDUCATIONAL THEORY","volume":"75 3","pages":"439-459"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144118149","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Habits of Tolerance: The Reformative Power of Pragmatism","authors":"Katariina Holma, Hanna-Maija Huhtala","doi":"10.1111/edth.70024","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/edth.70024","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Tolerance, a key characteristic in contemporary societies, is particularly urgent in the wake of globalization and its associated challenges. This study critiques the mainstream concept of tolerance and its educational implications, proposing an approach to education for tolerance based on the epistemological framework of philosophical pragmatism and pragmatist interpretation of the concept of habit. The mainstream definition of tolerance relies on two problematic dichotomies — reason versus emotion and individual versus social — leading to a definition of tolerance that entails the suffering of tolerant individuals. Pragmatist epistemology perceives reason and emotion as integral aspects of the holistic apparatus by which humans cultivate habits of thought and action through interactions with the material and social worlds. Habits develop only in appropriate social and emotional contexts; therefore, education for tolerance should construct pedagogical communities in which tolerance is cultivated alongside the emotionally rewarding experiences of membership and belonging.</p>","PeriodicalId":47134,"journal":{"name":"EDUCATIONAL THEORY","volume":"75 3","pages":"460-477"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144118184","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Distinctions Between Soul and Spirit in Dewey's Philosophy: Growth Toward an Aesthetic Ideal in Learning","authors":"Becky L. Noël Smith, Randy Hewitt","doi":"10.1111/edth.70021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/edth.70021","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The differences between soul and spirit can be quite difficult to understand throughout the works of John Dewey. What are they, how do they differ, and how do they relate to meaningful growth? Drawing from his personal correspondence and an analysis of the work in the later part of his life, Becky Noël Smith and Randy Hewitt conclude that, in reference to growth and flourishing specifically, Dewey's writings contain three nuanced meanings of soul. First, Noël Smith and Hewitt provide a framework for understanding his naturalized conception of soul and spirit. Then, they explore how these can help reframe how we think and talk about learning experience, relationships, and processes. The aim is to recover an inspired view of education, one grounded in a fuller sense of human becoming and rich in democratic and aesthetic dimensions.</p>","PeriodicalId":47134,"journal":{"name":"EDUCATIONAL THEORY","volume":"75 3","pages":"478-500"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144118185","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Touchy Subject: The History and Philosophy of Sex Education, Lauren Bialystok and Lisa M. F. Andersen, The University of Chicago Press, 2022, 232 pp.","authors":"Cris Mayo","doi":"10.1111/edth.70022","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/edth.70022","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47134,"journal":{"name":"EDUCATIONAL THEORY","volume":"75 3","pages":"585-590"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144118009","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Why Boredom Matters: Education, Leisure, and the Quest for a Meaningful Life,, by Kevin Hood Gary, ,Cambridge University Press, 2022, 146 pp.","authors":"Dini Metro-Roland","doi":"10.1111/edth.70023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/edth.70023","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47134,"journal":{"name":"EDUCATIONAL THEORY","volume":"75 3","pages":"577-584"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144118084","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Duty of Impartiality in Teaching and the Criteria of “Controversial Issues”","authors":"Bruce Maxwell","doi":"10.1111/edth.70018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/edth.70018","url":null,"abstract":"<p>When do teachers need to deal with sociopolitical issues impartially and when are they justified in taking a stand? In the academic literature, attempts to answer this question have centered on the relative merits of four criteria of <i>controversial issues</i>: the epistemic criterion, the behavioral criterion, the politically authentic criterion, and the political criterion. In this paper, Bruce Maxwell first presents a critical survey that details the limitations of these criteria as heuristic methods for reliably distinguishing <i>controversial</i> from <i>uncontroversial</i> issues for pedagogical purposes, and then advances and defends a more promising approach. This approach prioritizes students' rights and teachers' responsibilities at stake and hence aligns with the standard decision procedure that professionals gravitate toward when faced with a problem of professional ethics. The paper concludes with a discussion of the practical value for educators of focusing on teachers' responsibilities and students' rights in the context of professional decision-making about impartiality, rather than referring to the descriptive criteria of controversial issues.</p>","PeriodicalId":47134,"journal":{"name":"EDUCATIONAL THEORY","volume":"75 3","pages":"421-438"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/edth.70018","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144117895","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Syllabus as Curriculum: A Reconceptualist Approach; by Samuel D. Rocha, ,Routledge, 2022, 234 pp.","authors":"Barbara S. Stengel","doi":"10.1111/edth.70014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/edth.70014","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47134,"journal":{"name":"EDUCATIONAL THEORY","volume":"75 2","pages":"399-405"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143770659","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Education through Argument in Plato's Protagoras","authors":"Mason Marshall","doi":"10.1111/edth.70017","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/edth.70017","url":null,"abstract":"<p>More and more lately, commentators who have defended Socrates have emphasized the extent to which he uses non-rational means of educating his interlocutors, and commentators have downplayed the extent to which he means to offer arguments that provide justification or are rationally persuasive. The trend is refreshing since students of Socrates have often read him as Gregory Vlastos and Lawrence Kohlberg did — namely, as someone who, like Kohlberg, thinks that arguments are all-sufficient. In this paper, though, Mason Marshall suggests that there is a danger of overcorrecting. He points to Plato's <i>Protagoras</i> as a case where, on the one hand, Socrates makes an attempt at rational persuasion, and on the other hand, he does so sensibly. Marshall contends that Socrates's strategy is worth considering for what it reveals about his approach to education and for how it might inform ours.</p>","PeriodicalId":47134,"journal":{"name":"EDUCATIONAL THEORY","volume":"75 3","pages":"501-513"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144118004","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}