What might a non-confessional theory of Catholic education look like?

This article emulates the new stance of Professor Michael Hand on faith schools. He illustrates how theological criteria could be used to inform and guide curriculum aims in a way that avoids indoctrination and the perils of faith-based education. This approach is adopted vis-à-vis Catholic education in order to sketch out what a non-confessional theory of Catholic education might look like. It is argued that a central feature of Catholic theology, as presented by the leading theologian Karl Rahner, is a recognition of the centrality of mystery in human existence. This theological insight is applied to the curriculum and it is used to provide a theological justification for a non-confessional account of Catholic education.     

What is education? The inhibiting effect of three agendas in schooling

The article seeks to further debate on what we mean by education and how it is to be distinguished from incipient indoctrination. Starting from the politicisation of education, it draws attention to three powerful agendas impacting on the education systems of the West: positivism, utilitarianism, and inclusivism. Intertwined in various ways, these agendas have had the effect of silently restricting understanding of education, moving it closer to a form of control and policing. Some discussion of their impact on music education is given to help clarify what is at stake. A substantial critique of these agendas is then offered before concluding with a brief indication of a way forward.     

What remains on your mind after you are done?: Flexible regulation of knowledge accessibility

The accessibility of stored knowledge has been found to decline over time after activation without further stimulation. A special case is goal pursuit; goal-related knowledge remains accessible until goal completion, and then its accessibility declines rapidly. We hypothesized that after goal completion the decline in accessibility of goal-related knowledge would be especially rapid for strong promotion-focused individuals because their motivation to eagerly advance beyond the status quo would make accessibility of this knowledge an irrelevant detriment. We hypothesized an opposite effect for strongly prevention-predominant individuals because their motivation to vigilantly maintain a satisfactory state would make accessibility of this knowledge continually relevant. The results of two studies supported both these predicted moderators of accessibility change. Indeed, we found that for strongly prevention-predominant participants, knowledge accessibility actually increased over time after goal completion. We discuss how even basic cognitive mechanisms, like changes in accessibility, can be affected by general motivational concerns.     

What is the appropriate level of redundancy in federally sponsored education dissemination programs?

Educational policy is often based on the assumption that redundancy is a negative factor in dissemination and should be eliminated in order to achieve cost effectiveness. This article examines issues of redundancy in three dissemination contexts: knowledge acquisition and storage; knowledge synthesis; and knowledge utilization. Knowledge utilization and implementation, ultimately the goals of federally supported dissemination efforts, should rely on processes of planned and targeted redundancy of knowledge syntheses to various users. Barbara Lieb is research director, Research Applications Division of the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, where she formerly managed the the Regional Educational Laboratory Program. Having published and taught extensively in the areas of interpersonal, organizational, and instructional communication, she brings a communication perspective to issues of knowledge utilization. In addition to managing other federally supported dissemination programs for the National Institute of Education, she has served in executive capacities for both the Speech Communication Association and the American Society for Medical Technology, dealing with issues of professional development and knowledge use.     

What are the possibilities for coordinating education information databases?

ERIC is the closest thing to a national database covering the field of education and yet ERIC's coverage is not comprehensive and responsibility for providing information concerning educational resources of all types is fragmented. Given that ERIC cannot obtain the resources to increase its coverage, this article outlines what can be done to coordinate the various existing education information databases. Coordination is seen as possible both during database generation and the later search and retrieval phase. Specific recommendations are provided for four defined stages: (1) Coverage/Acquisitions/Selection; (2) Processing (Cataloging/Indexing/Abstracting); (3) Finding the Right Database to Search (Referral); (4) Retrieval. Ted Brandhorst is the director of the ERIC Processing and reference Facility, the centralized editorial, computerized processing, and database management facility for the ERIC network. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1955 and obtained his M.L.S. there in 1957. He came to the Library of Congress in 1959 as a Special Intern and has worked in virtually every division of that library. From 1962–1969 he served as the Assistant Director of the NASA Scientific and Technical Information Facility. He joined ERIC as Director of the ERIC Facility in 1970.     

Research in education: What influence on policy and practice?

This paper is set in a context where increased emphasis is being placed on the “consumer’s” role in research. It discusses the limitations of “knowledge base” approaches, which aim to deliver the findings of educational research to practitioners and policymakers. The tensions between what these consumers expect of research and what it can, in fact, offer are explored, and the conditions under which effective communication can be established are outlined and exemplified. It is argued, however, that the processes of such communication, if they are to establish the necessary engagement of consumers with researchers, will have to take account of the ways in which consumers are motivated and able to acquire new knowledge. In conclusion, it is argued that if the engagement is unsuccessful and the consumers are unconvinced of the value and validity of research findings for policy and practice, then researchers’ ideas will take a back seat in the debate about what is to count as high-quality work that should be funded. The function of research as the critical extension of knowledge may then be replaced by enquiry that comes up with the results the customer wants. Her current research interests are in the relationships among policy, practice and research, teachers’ thinking, provision for children with special educational needs and gender in education. Her best known recent book, with Donald McIntyre, isMaking Sense of Teaching (Open University Press).     

What are we frightened of?

I am concerned to understand that relation to a situation which we call fearing it. Some say this cannot be done: it is a brute fact about us that we fear certain things and we understand another's fear when we see that he confronts a situation of this sort (a basic fear object) or one which he understandably associates with this sort. In Section I, I argue that being associated with a basic fear object will not usefully explain a current fear. In Section II, I argue that the obvious candidates for being basic fears will not do the required work. The notion should be rejected. I then argue that to fear an object is to take it as exhibiting one's lack of control and I proceed to describe the nature and content of this notion.     

What Are Degrees of Belief?

Probabilism is committed to two theses:

Liberal reformers or militant radicals: What are the effects of education in the social sciences?

The assertion by Baer and Lambert (1990) that social science training does not promote radicalism, is tested in two studies. The first, using a sample of politically active students from Montréal (N=68) and measures of radical ideology and political convictions, shows social science students are over-represented among politically active students, and more likely to espouse radical ideology and label themselves members of groups aiming to restructure society, than students from other fields. The second study compares first and third-year social science students from Toronto (N=99) on measures of radical ideology, attitudes toward groups favouring change or the status quo, and causal attributions regarding poverty and unemployment. Results suggest social science training fosters positive evaluations of groups seeking change, espousal of radical ideology, tendency to fault the system for social problems, decrease in tendency to fault individuals, and development of a coherent ideological framework. Implications for academic socialization theories and methodological issues are discussed. Université Blaise Pascal This research was supported in part by grants from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council and from the Academic Research Program of the Department of National Defence of Canada awarded to the first author. The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the institutions with which they are affiliated. The authors would like to thank Dr. Stuart Lawson, at the Psychology Department at Queen's University, Kingston, for the use of his program comparing correlation matrices. We would also like to acknowledge the helpful comments of Editor Bruce J. Biddle.     

What is wrong with religious education? A response to Philip Barnes

This article reviews Philip Barnes’ account of problems with religious eEducation (RE), and explores the practical implications of his position. Acknowledging his compelling logic – that RE is premised on an acceptance of all religions as equally theologically true – this article argues for optimism: with controversy and ambiguity moving to centre stage, a re‐orientation of RE’s attainment targets could focus RE curricula and provide a measure of direction for future progress. Equally, a focus on developing individual values for life in a plural democracy – where personal destinies often conflict both culturally and existentially – would likewise give RE a more potent purpose and the foundations for a normative agenda. Inspired by J.S. Mill, this article concludes that such RE may have to move beyond the classroom to achieve its potential as a critical, inclusive, relevant and progressive subject with coherent social and educational aims.     

What is the point of helping?

Philosophical Studies - In some cases, a group of people can bring about a morally bad outcome despite each person’s individual act making no difference with respect to bringing that outcome...     

What kind of discipline is psychoanalysis?

Current controversies involving clinical, conceptual and empirical research shed light on how psychoanalysis confronts its nature and its future. Some relevant debates in which Wallerstein, Green, Hoffman, Eagle and Wolitzky, Safran, Stern, Blass and Carmeli, and Panksepp have participated are examined regarding the characteristics of their argumentation. Agreements and disagreements are explored to find ways that could have allowed the discussion to progress. Two foci are highlighted in these debates: (a) whether a clinical common ground exists in psychoanalysis and what kind of procedure could contribute to further clarification; (b) complementation of in‐clinical and extra‐clinical evidence. Both aspects are scrutinized: the possibility of complementing diverse methodologies, and the nature of the shared clinical evidence examined in clinical discussion groups such as those promoted by the IPA Clinical Observation Committee. The importance of triangulation and consilience is brought to bear regarding their contribution to the robustness of psychoanalysis. So as to strengthen a critical perspective that enhances the discipline's argumentative field, psychoanalysis should take into account arguments from different sources according to their specific merits. By doing this, psychoanalysis increases its relevance within the current interdisciplinary dialogue.     

What is the Point of Sufficiency?

Telic sufficientarians hold that there is something special about a certain threshold level such that benefiting people below it, or raising them above it, makes an outcome better in at least one respect. The article investigates what fundamental value might ground that view. The aim is to demonstrate that sufficientarianism, at least on this telic version, is groundless and as such indefensible. The argument is advanced in three steps: first, it is shown that sufficientarianism cannot be grounded in a personal value. Neither, secondly, is it committed to the person‐affecting view, the view that says that nothing can be better (worse) if there is no one for whom it is better (worse). This, in itself, is of interest because some sufficientarians reject egalitarianism precisely for its alleged incompatibility with the person‐affecting view. Sufficientarians' disavowal of the person‐affecting view implies that their view, similarly to egalitarianism (and, perhaps less famously, prioritarianism), must be anchored in some impersonal value. But crucially, and this is the third step of the argument, there is no apparent value that can fit that role. We must conclude, then, that telic sufficientarianism is groundless.     

What is the Problem of Non-Existence?

It is widely held that there is a problem of talking about or otherwise representing things that not exist. But what exactly is this problem? This paper presents a formulation of the problem in terms of the conflict between the fact that there are truths about non-existent things and the fact that truths must be answerable to reality, how things are. Given this, the problem of singular negative existential statements is no longer the central or most difficult aspect of the problem of non-existence, despite what some philosophers say.