An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education

This is the fourth edition of the classic best-selling textbook that guides students through the elementals of the philosophy of education, exploring key concepts and encouraging the development of philosophical thinking. Looking at issues surrounding our notions of culture, creativity, autonomy, indoctrination, needs, interests and learning by discovery, the text also tackles a number of probing questions on the nature of education and the ways in which it is practised today.

Education, like every other important branch of knowledge, has its underlying philosophical problems. It is these problems and the attempts to solve them which together make up the philosophy of education. This book, first published in 1957, provides a simple explanation and illustration of what philosophy can (and cannot) do for educational thinking. This title will be of interest to students of the philosophy of education.