Department of Education, Unit Catalogue 2009/10 |
ED10350: Philosophy of education 1 |
 Credits:
| 6 |
| Level:
| Certificate |
| Period: | Semester 2 |
| Assessment:
| CW 100% |
| Supplementary Assessment: | Like-for-like reassessment (where allowed by programme regulations) |
| Requisites:
| |
| Description: | Aims: The intention of this unit is to: * develop students' awareness of philosophical influences on educational policy and practice. Learning Outcomes: In completing this unit students would be expected to: * explain how the work of seminal philosophers has influenced current assumptions about education; * recognise and develop a philosophical argument in relation to education; * have an increased awareness of current issues and problems in education; * appreciate the value of philosophical thinking as educational practice in itself. Skills: * Comprehensive and scholarly written communication (assessed essay) [T/F/A] * Effective oral communication (seminar presentations) [F] * Ability to select, summarise and synthesis written information from multiple sources [T/F/A] * Ability to develop rigorous arguments through precise use of concepts and models [T/F/A] * Ability to select and use appropriate ideas to produce a coherent response to a pre-set question [T/F/A] * Ability to formulate a research question, then develop and present an original & coherent answer [T/F] * Ability to produce work to agreed specifications and deadlines [F/A] * Ability to work independently, without close supervision or guidance [F/A] Content: * The contributions of the following philosophers to current understandings of, and assumptions about education, drawn from teaching and engagement with key extracts from original texts: Plato (especially Republic), Aristotle (Nicomachean Ethics), Locke (Essay Concerning Human Understanding), Rousseau (Emile), Kant (Critique of Pure Reason), Dewey (Democracy and Education). * Philosophical underpinnings of current educational practices, including compulsory schooling, the role of the state, the duties of teachers, the nature of knowledge and the curriculum. * Characteristics of philosophical argument and debate, including premises and conclusion; warrants; deduction, induction and abduction; dialectic; fallacies - and their educational potentials. |