Continuum Childhood and the Philosophy of Education Book

Explore a deep critical examination of the foundations of compulsory education in this academic study. This book challenges the widespread belief that mandatory schooling is a necessary social good, offering a unique anti-Aristotelian perspective on how we view the development of young people. Traditional philosophical views from Plato and Aristotle often portrayed children as unreasonable or incomplete beings. This work looks beyond those historical frameworks and moves past the standard rhetoric of either sinfulness or purity found in Puritanism and Romanticism. Instead, it investigates the fundamental assumptions that shape our educational systems. Readers will encounter a rigorous analysis of whether adulthood should be viewed as a separate realm from childhood. By questioning the long-standing views on formal and final causes, this text provides a fresh way to think about the relationship between age, reasoning, and the purpose of learning. It is an essential resource for those studying educational research and the philosophy of childhood.