Philosophy of Education - Aims, Theory, Common Sense and Research

Oct 22, 2026

Richard Pring’s Philosophy of Education examines the aims and values that guide educational practice, contrasting competing orientations and clarifying what counts as sound standards and quality. The work connects everyday “common sense” reasoning with educational theory and curriculum analysis, while also scrutinizing evidence-based policy and educational research. Through lectures and scholarly arguments, it addresses moral education, the education of persons, and the role of knowledge, power, and virtues in research communities.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages289

Reading Time12 h 8 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Part I Aims, Values and Standards

CHAPTER 1 Education as a moral practice

CHAPTER 2 Educating persons

CHAPTER 3 The aim of education: liberal or vocational?

CHAPTER 4 The context of education: monastery or marketplace?

CHAPTER 5 Subject-centred versus child-centred education—a false dualism

CHAPTER 6 Standards and quality in education

CHAPTER 7 Political education: relevance of the humanities

Part II Common Sense and Educational Theory

CHAPTER 8 Common sense and education

CHAPTER 9 The language of curriculum analysis

Part III Educational Research

CHAPTER 11 Evidence-based policy and practice

CHAPTER 12 Truth, knowledge and power

CHAPTER 13 The 'false dualism' of educational research

CHAPTER 14 The virtues and vices of an educational researcher

CHAPTER 15 The future of educational research

Notes

Further reading

Index

Richard Pring Philosophy of Education Aims,Theory,Common Sense and Research Philosophy of Education This page intentionally lefi blank PHILOSOPHY OFEDUCATION Aims,Theory,Common Senseand Research Richard Pring continuumLON DON ·NE W YOR K lst published 2004This paperback edition published 2005 ◎ Richard Pring 2004 All rights reserved.No part of this publication may be reproduced ortransmitted in any form or by any means,electronic or mechanical,including photocopying,recording,or any information storage or retrievalsystem,without prior permission in writing from the publishers British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from The British Library ISBN 0826472397(hardback)0826487084(paperback) Typeset by BookEns Ltd,Royston,Herts.Printed and bound in Great Britain byCPI Bath # Introduction Part l Aims,Values and Standards ## CHAPTER 1 Education as a moral practice 13th Lawrence Kohlberg Memorial Lecture,given at the 26th Annual Conference of theAssociation of Moral Education,Universityof Glasgow,July 2000.Published in Joumalof Moral Education,30(2),(2001)101-12 ## CHAPTER 2 Educating persons Lecture given in the series 'Affirming theComprehensive Ideal’,University of Oxford,February 1996.Published in Pring,R.andWalford,G.(eds)Affirming the Comprehensive Ideal,London:Falmer,(1997)83-96 ## CHAPTER 3The aim of education:liberal orvocational? The Victor Cook Memorial Lecture,given atthe Universities of St Andrews,Aberdeenand Cambridge,1993.Published in Haldane, J.(ed)Education,Values and the HumanWorld,Centre for Philosophy and PublicAffairs,University of St Andrews,(1994)1-18 ## CHAPTER 4The context of education:monasteryor marketplace? The Victor Cook Memorial Lecture,given atthe Universities of St Andrews,Aberdeenand Cambridge,1993.Published in Haldane, J.(ed)Education,Values and the Human 1 vi CONTENTS World,Centre for Philosophy and PublicAffairs,University of St Andrews,(1994),pp.19-35,and in The Cambridge Review,115,(232),(1994)55-62 ## CHAPTER 5Subject-centred versus child-centred # education-a false dualism Paper given at the Annual Conference of theSociety for Applied Philosophy,May 1988.Published in Journal of Applied Philosophy,6 (2),(1989)181-94 ## CHAPTER 6 Standards and quality in education Paper given at the Annual General Conference of the Standing Conference forthe Study of Education.Published in BritishJournal of Educational Studies,40(1),(1992)4-22 ## CHAPTER 7 Political education:relevance of the humanities 119 Published in Oxford Review of Education,25,(1&2)(1999)71-87 # Part IⅡ Common Sense and Educational Theory ## CHAPTER 8 Common sense and education 145 Published in Proceedings of the Philosophy ofEducation Society of Great Britain,XI,(July1977)57-77 ## CHAPTER 9 The language of curriculum analysis 163 Doris Lee Memorial Lecture,delivered at theInstitute of Education,University of London,February 1975.Published in Hirst,P.et alThe Doris Lee Lectures,(1975)54-69 # Part II Educational Research ## CHAPTER 11 Evidence-based policy and practice Published in Thomas,G.and Pring,R.(eds)(2004)Evidence-Based Practice in Education,Buckingham:Open UniversityPress ## CHAPTER 12 Truth,knowledge and power Paper given at the British EducationalResearch Association Annual Conference,September 2000.Incorporated,withmodifications,in Pring,R.Philosophy ofEducational Research,London:Continuum,(2000) ## CHAPTER 13The 'false dualism'of educational research Published in the Journal of Philosophy ofEducation,34(2),(2000)247-60 ## CHAPTER 14The virtues and vices of an educationalresearcher 244 Published in the Jounal of Philosophy ofEducation,35(3),(2001)407-21 ## CHAPTER 15 The future of educational research 262 Paper given at British Educational ResearchAssociation,2002,published in a revisedform in the Times Higher EducationalSupplement,October 2002 Notes 268 Further r

FAQs

What issues does the book address about the aims and values of education?

It develops arguments around education as a moral practice, the education of persons, and the aims of education, including liberal versus vocational purposes. It also discusses standards, quality, and political education.

How does the book relate common sense to educational theory?

It includes a dedicated discussion of common sense and education and examines how the language of curriculum analysis works. The approach connects everyday reasoning with theoretical treatment of schooling and curriculum.

What does the book say about educational research and evidence-based policy?

It focuses on evidence-based policy and practice, and critically examines truth, knowledge, and power in research. It also addresses a “false dualism” in educational research and the virtues and vices of educational researchers.

Oct 22, 2026

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