Teaching Convictions: Critical Ethical Issues and Education explores ethical issues in schools and society from the vantage-point of critical theory, democratic community, aesthetics, ecology, hermeneutics, and constructive postmodernism. This text discusses social constructions of reality and the contribution of postmodern theories to justice, compassion, and ecological sustainability in the challenging and difficult context of today's global society. The authors present life experiences and personal convictions in a narrative, autobiographical style without positioning themselves as passive observers of education or ethics nor as dispassionate investigators of ethical systems. Rather, they actively promote vision and aesthetic sensibilities as they examine their understanding of schools and society using examples from their life experiences. By referring to the arts, ecology, identity politics, theology, race and gender theories in their story of critical ethical issues and education, the authors weave a narrative of their teaching convictions in relation to moral issues.

Peace education is now well recognized within international legal instruments and within critical educational literature as an important aspect of education. Despite this, little attention has been given in the critical literature to the philosophical foundations for peace education and the rationale for peace education thus remains substantially an assumed one. This investigation explores some possible ethico-philosophical foundations for peace education, through an examination of five specific ethical traditions: 1) virtue ethics, whereby peace may be interpreted as a virtue, and/or virtue is interpreted as peacefulness, and peace education as education in that virtue; 2) consequentialist ethics, whereby peace education may be interpreted as education regarding the consequences of our action and inaction, both as individuals and collectivities; 3) conservative political ethics, whereby peace education may be interpreted as emphasizing the importance of the evolution of social institutions and the importance of ordered and lawful social change; 4) aesthetic ethics, whereby peace may be interpreted as something beautiful and valuable in itself, and peace education as emphasizing the importance of that beauty and value; and 5) the ethics of care, whereby care may be interpreted as a core element in peace, and peace education as encouraging trust and engagement with the other. The study addresses major contributions to each of these ethical traditions, the strengths and weaknesses of the tradition, and the ways in which the tradition provides support for peace education. It is argued in the thesis that each tradition provides only a partial basis for peace education, and that ultimately a holistic and integrative understanding is required, one that encourages a culture of peace. " ... an important addition to the emerging literature on peace education and the culture of peace" (From the Foreword by Koichiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO).

This book provides an introduction to the general landscape of group counseling by way of the idea that learning to be an effective group member is essential to becoming a group leader. Interactive scenarios place the reader right into the group, providing insights into the challenges and opportunities of participation. Each chapter explores a different stage of group work and concludes with useful suggestions and tips for having a successful experience. Throughout the book, an emphasis is placed on member development and personal growth being achieved through self-awareness, interpersonal.

Christopher Hodgkinson is one of the most important contributors to the field of educational administration. This collection of essays open up the philosophical foundations of ethical educational administration by reviewing his writings and exploring the ethical theories of major philosophers, as they apply to administration and leadership. Ethical Foundations of Educational Administration is published in honour of the work of Christopher Hodgkinson. It is divided into two sections. The first comprises biographical essays and a critical evaluation of Professor Hodgkinson's work, focusing on his personal and intellectual contributions to a moral theory of educational administration and leadership. The second section looks at how his moral philosophy can inform administrative practice. The work of a broad range of philosophers is discussed, from the pre-20th century theories of Aquinas, Adam Smith and Kant to the pragmatists Peirce, James and Dewey, Heidegger, MacIntyre, Bourdieu, Churchland and Thagard. Christopher Hodgkinson's definition of administration as 'philosophy-in-action' is now famous within the field. This collection illustrates the essential truth of that maxim, showing that moral philosophy, approached in the spirit promoted by Hodgkinson has both practical and critical purpose when brought to bear upon educational administration and leadership.

This book considers what is distinctive about educational research in comparison with other research in the social sciences. As the contributors all agree that education is always an essentially moral enterprise, discussion about methodology starts, not with the widely endorsed claim that educational research should be 'useful' and 'relevant', but with the attempt to justify and elaborate that claim with reference to its moral foundations.

Updated to include changes in the field, this new edition addresses ethical issues that are most pressing to special education teachers and administrators. Using a case-based approach, students are encouraged to reason and collaborate about due process, the distribution of educational resources, institutional unresponsiveness, professional relationships, conflicts among parents and teachers, and confidentiality.

First published in 1966, this book was written to serve as an introductory textbook in the philosophy of education, focusing on ethics and social philosophy. It presents a distinctive point of view both about education and ethical theory and arrived at a time when education was a matter of great public concern. It looks at questions such as ‘What do we actually mean by education?’ and provides a proper ethical foundation for education in a democratic society. The book will appeal to both teachers and students of philosophy as well as education.