The skills of ‘critical thinking’ occupy a contentious place in debates on education. It is of course widely recognised that education must consist of more than an unreasoning accumulation of facts and skills, and that modern society demands a highly-developed critical awareness to cope with its ever-increasing complexities. Yet the very term ‘critical thinking’ threatens to become a vague and unexamined slogan, displayed more in party tricks than in useful knowledge. In this book, first published in 1981, Professor McPeck offers a critique of the major ideas and important work in the field, including those of Ennis and de Bono, while at the same time presenting his own rigorous ideas on the proper place in critical thinking in the philosophy of education. The book aims to establish a sound basis on which the role of critical thinking in schools can be evaluated and the author makes a strong case for the contribution it can make to resolving current dilemmas of the curriculum.

This set of 21 volumes, originally published between 1955 and 1997, amalgamates several topics on the philosophy of education, with a particular focus on religious education, curriculum studies, and critical thinking. This collection of books from some of the leading scholars in the field provides a comprehensive overview of the subject and will be of particular interest to students of philosophy, education and those undertaking teaching qualifications.

This set of 21 volumes, originally published between 1955 and 1997, amalgamates several topics on the philosophy of education, with a particular focus on religious education, curriculum studies, and critical thinking. This collection of books from some of the leading scholars in the field provides a comprehensive overview of the subject and will be of particular interest to students of philosophy, education and those undertaking teaching qualifications.

The Uses of Schooling, first published in 1988, proposes a radically different approach to the evaluation of education. Professor Broudy shows that the common criteria of school effectiveness – that is the ability to replicate the end-of-course performance on examinations or to apply such results – clearly demonstrates the ‘uselessness’ of much of the investment made in schooling. This is so because, unless constantly reinforced by repetition the ability to replace test performance is rapidly diminished after formal school ends. This study will be of interest to students of education.

A series of public lectures given at the Institute of Education, University of London provides the nucleus around which this collection, originally published in 1967, is gathered. This collection provides comprehensive coverage of a complex theme which will be of interest to those involved in the fields of philosophy and education alike. Topics covered include:the logical and psychological aspects of learning, the concept of play, rule and routines, teaching and training, philosophical models of teaching.

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.

There are many students who find philosophy of education difficult, because they have never received teaching in the basic essentials of general philosophy. This book begins by asking the basic question ‘what is philosophy?’ and examines a number of possible answers. Step by step the reader is introduced to the modern techniques of linguistic and concept analysis. Whenever a technical term is used it is explained and illustrated by reference to familiar situations in everyday life.