Springer Philosophical Perspectives on Compulsory Education

This book recasts the debate about compulsory schooling in the light of current philosophical educational debates. In the process, it opens valuable, new paths in the relevant educational discourse. From the Back Cover Contributions to this volume from diverse perspectives explore pedagogical practices of the contemporary world, namely the school. Themes of autonomy, authority and liberalism are surfaced in the debates and highly innovative insights presented in this book where philosophical perspectives shed light on the theoretical underpinnings of formal education and schooling. How we interpret the self, humanity and the world connects to perspectives on compulsory education. General theoretical issues surrounding compulsory education are often tested through more concrete aspects of schooling, some of which have a specific origin in, or particular bearing on, the current socio-political conditions of schooling. For this reason, this book is sensitive to context and to empirical and concrete dimensions of the educational venture, and takes into account current concerns about neo-liberal policies and their effects on schooling.As a philosophical-educational intervention in the topic of compulsory education, these chapters draw connections between older philosophical debates on compulsoriness and new developments and emphases in schooling.  About the Author Marianna Papastephanou has studied and taught at the University of Cardiff, UK. She has also studied and researched in Berlin, Germany. She is currently teaching Philosophy of Education in the Department of Education at the University of Cyprus. Her research interests include political philosophy, the 'modern vs postmodern' divide, utopia, the Frankfurt School and epistemological, linguistic and ethical issues in education. She has written articles on the above topics, she is the editor of K-O Apel: From a Transcendental-Semiotic Point of View (Manchester: MUP, 1997), and the author of: Educated Fear and Educated Hope (Rotterdam, Sense Publishers, 2009); and Eccentric Cosmopolitanism and a Globalized World (Boulder, Paradigm, 2012).