When Paul Hirst and Wilfred Carr squared up to each other a few years ago on the issue of the role of philosophical theory in educational practice, it became clear that theory itself had become a troubled term. The very fact that Wilfred Carr could argue for the end of educational theory recalls Paul Feyerabend's fiery argument for the end of theory in natural science and simply deepened the attack that had already appeared in Carr and Kemmis's book, Becoming Critical (...) (1986). In response, Hirst insisted that theory, and particularly the philosophical theory of education, should be defined as a discrete area of study in itself, governed and structured by the axioms of logic. In this way, he argued, the philosophy of education would be no different from philosophy in general (at least in its analytic formulation). Carr, on the other hand, preferred to consider educational theory as a flexible event that took its shape from the landscape explored, and hence precisely not the kind of study that Hirst supported, but one based in action research and reflective practitioner experience. This debate is as yet unresolved. In this piece I begin by making several remarks about the current context for raising the question Hirst and Carr address, and I go on to consider other possible understandings of theoria in a Greek sense before developing this idea through a reading of Aristotle. I eventually conclude that each of the protagonists in the debate has taken a step too far. (shrink)

This article examines the relevance of post-criticality as a research stance across various traditions in educational research. After problematizing the dominance of critical approaches centred on deconstruction and denunciation, the authors advocate instead for an empirical philosophy of education. This article sets the stage for a suite of articles, published in this issue, which explore affirmative, engaged methodologies that prioritize proximity to educational practices over detached critique. Collectively, the articles investigate how post-critical methodologies can produce richer understandings of educational realities (...) and foster meaningful connections between theory and practice. (shrink)

The purpose of the work at hand is to address philosophically and critically the issue of how Saudi citizenship education is currently incoherent because it seeks to foster civic loyalty to two distinct and competing doctrines while not recognizing or addressing the tension itself. The conflict in question is between loyalty to the Saudi nation, on the one hand, and the broader Islamic community, on the other. The question which this study attempts to answer is how Saudi Arabia's handling of (...) teaching civic solidarity within national school curriculums poses an identity crisis. I address such complex question primarily through including various literatures in the field of Western political theory, particularly communitarian nationalism. In addition, I examine the 'nationalism' subject taught within Saudi educational settings so as to solidify my claim that there reside two competing forms of civic loyalty in Saudi educational settings. The hope is to shed light on the apparent identity crisis of Saudi citizens and conclude that remedying such incoherent form of belonging is partly possible through acknowledging and addressing the process of civic inculcation taught within educational settings. (shrink)