Wheels in the Head: Educational Philosophies of Authority, Freedom, and Culture from Confucianism to Human Rights

by Spring; Joel

• ISBN13: 9780805861327
• ISBN10: 0805861327
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-09-11
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

In this popular text, Joel Spring provocatively analyzes the ideas of traditional and non-traditional philosophers, from Plato to Paulo Freire, regarding the contribution of education to the creation of a democratic society. Each section focuses on an important theme: Autocratic and Democratic Forms of Education; Dissenting Traditions in Education; The Politics of Culture; The Politics of Gender; and Education and Human Rights. This edition features a special emphasis on human rights education. Spring advocates a legally binding right to an education that includes an education in human rights. His argument is that until schools are required to fulfill a duty to protect human rights and teach others to protect human rights, government-operated schools will remain authoritarian rather than democratic institutions. Wheels in the Head, a critically original work, is widely used as a text for courses across the fields of philosophical, social, political, and historical foundations of education, and critical issues in education. Reflecting its global relevance, a Chinese translation was published by the University of Peking Press in 2005.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Autocratic and Democratic Forms of Education
Education and the Authoritarian State	p. 3
Education and the Modern Authoritarian State: The Soviet Union and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea)	p. 27
Authority and Education in a Democratic State	p. 45
Dissenting Traditions in Education
Traditions of Dissent to Government Education	p. 67
Free Schools	p. 85
Free Space and No Schools	p. 105
The Politics of Culture
Cultural Unity and Cultural Literacy	p. 121
National or World Cultures?	p. 141
The Politics of Gender
Classical Liberalism and the Politics of Gender	p. 159
Reason and Motherhood	p. 183
Education and Human Rights
Liberation Education: Pedagogy of the Oppressed	p. 205
Human Rights Education	p. 223
About the Author	p. 241
Index	p. 243
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