1st Edition

Education, Philosophy and the Ethical Environment

By Graham Haydon Copyright 2007
    170 Pages
    by Routledge

    176 Pages
    by Routledge

    How much can we reasonably expect from education? This book, written by a philosopher of education, casts new light on this question by seeing values education, not as a separate activity within schools, but as an aspect of education that both reflects the surrounding climate of values and can help to change it. Graham Haydon argues that all of us – whether as teachers, parents, students or citizens – share in a responsibility for the quality of that ethical environment. He argues that we must ensure that what happens in schools will:

    • enable young people to appreciate the diversity of our ethical environment
    • help them find their way through its complexities
    • contribute to developing a climate of values that is desirable for all.

    This book shows that values education is too demanding to be left to parents and too important to be entrusted to government initiatives. For teachers engaged in values education, this book brings a fresh perspective to what they are doing, within a realistic view of their responsibilities. For students of education, it shows that practical issues can be illuminated by insights from philosophy.

    1. The Ethical Environment  2. The Diversity of the Ethical Environment  3. Conceptions of Values Education  4. Taking Responsibility for the Ethical Environment  5. Intervening in the Ethical Environment  6. The Responsibilities of Values Education

    Biography

    Graham Haydon is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy of Education, Institute of Education, University of London, UK.