3 Review(s)

This collection of important and significant papers examines a wide range of issues. One of the author's main concerns is to clarify the meaning of 'education' and 'quality in education' - a phrase often used in public debate but seldom scrutinized. Long-standing ambiguities latent in the concept of 'liberal education' are also exposed, and Herbert Spencer's question 'What knowledge is of most worth?', vital in the light of the recent vast development of knowledge, is considered. The first section of the collection clarifies different aspects of the concept of education and to reflect upon the difficulties and dilemmas facing teachers who strive to educate their pupils as distinct from just preparing them for examinations. This section concludes with a constructive re-examination of Plato's conception of education with a view to seeing what is acceptable in it instead of just concentrating on what is manifestly unacceptable. The second section is concerned with the role of edcuational theory in the education of teachers.