Some psychologists (e.g., Bergin, 1997) have contended that if individuals neglect the world of the spirit, they ignore a foundational aspect of themselves. This must especially be true for language educators, who come from all corners of the globe and thus bring into their classrooms many spiritual views. I define spirituality, following Palmer (2003) as “the eternal human yearning to be connected with something larger than our own egos” (p. 377). Spirituality need not, then, entail belief in a supernatural being or force. The main thrust of Palmer’s definition was that educators should seek to forge meaningful and lasting connections with their learners. Although such thinking is common in general education, it has been little addressed in Second Language Education (SLE). Hence, I felt that this inquiry was timely. I undertook this qualitative case study by analyzing narratives about the turning points in the spiritual journeys of nine language teachers of varying creeds (or who professed no overt spirituality), as well as their stories of how they felt that they applied their spiritual beliefs to classroom teaching. To this end, I interviewed each participant at least twice. After analyzing their interview transcript data, I triangulated the common themes emerging from these data with, where appropriate, the informants’ classroom syllabuses, lesson plans, and academic publications. I also attempted to validate the results of this study through member checking. Three participants felt that their journeys into religious pluralism had strongly influenced their efforts to teach social responsibility and challenging moral dilemmas in their classrooms. Another three held that their tribulations, as well as the resulting comfort they found in spiritual practices, helped them to be nurturing teachers who could understand clearly the pain faced by some of their young charges. Still another three, despite their divergent spiritual paths, all insisted that they sought to teach in an ethical, caring manner. Finally, most of the informants, regardless of their spiritual backgrounds or views, spoke of the importance of transformation, ethics, and connection (nurturing) to their pedagogy. I conclude the study by positing implications of the aforementioned findings for research and practice. / CITE/Language Arts

Late 18th Britain was experiencing the beginnings of social unrest fueled in part by the American and French Revolutions. The established two class social system was being challenged by the emergence of a middle class seeking something more than traditional agricultural work. While they subscribed to very different philosophies of mind, both Stewart and Mill saw the solution to potential social chaos in a revised educational system that would open the doors to a peaceful development of that middle class. What the new educational system should look like was a direct function of the theory of mind held by the two protagonists. Employing an enlarged Foucaultian framework, this dissertation examines the various forces at work in transforming British society as it prepares for the unanticipated forthcoming industrial revolution. / Ph. D.

Change all but defines the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in American history. In the midst of these tumultuous times, America experienced a revolution of reform meant to develop and enhance all areas of life from politics to society, which led historians to call this time period the Progressive Era. However, the progress of the nation was not always the winning ideology. At times, the backlash against progressive ideas restrained innovators and caused them to disappear into the mires of history. One reformer who experienced this backlash was Fred Morrow Fling. Although he was an internationally-known historian, he remained a rather invisible history education reformer because his ideas were overshadowed by the enormous human events of his lifetime, including the work of other reformers and his unexpected death in 1934. As a trained scientific historian, Fling was a pioneer of historical method and the application of what became known as “source method” in the classroom and he espoused a radical approach to critical education that sought to embed a scientific approach into the teaching of history that has clear parallels with best teaching practices today. Thus, using traditional historical research methods and archival records from both Bowdoin College and the University of Nebraska, the author presents in this dissertation a biographical portrait of Fling’s life. Through the analysis of these historical documents and the evidence of his life recorded in publications and the public press, this portrait will serve to uncover both how Fred Morrow Fling’s conception of history education influenced his practice as a history professor and researcher and how Fred Morrow Fling’s philosophy of education formed and developed over his lifetime. Specifically, this author will consider: how can the philosophy of history education created by Fred Morrow Fling inform our current history education practices today? By investigating Fling’s life, researchers will finally be able to acknowledge Fling’s myriad contributions to history education, which are vital to composing a fuller picture of the history of social studies education.

Notre thèse a pour but de proposer un modèle d’intelligibilité de la pensée éthique des éducateurs scolaires, obtenu par la mobilisation de concepts issus de la philosophie morale. Pour cela, nous nous appuyons en particulier sur la notion de minimalisme moral qui permet de prendre en compte le fait que certaines postures professionnelles, compatibles avec l’action institutionnelle, relèvent de principes moraux habituellement non reconnus comme valides dans un cadre scolaire, comme par exemple le principe de non-nuisance.Nos réflexions reposent sur une définition de l’acte d’éducation en contexte scolaire conçu comme contribution à une imputation partagée des responsabilités pour permettre l’accès au savoir des élèves. Ces responsabilités relèvent en effet à la fois et de façon toujours située, de l’acteur institutionnel, mais aussi de l’élève lui-même ainsi que des autres personnes qui assurent son éducation et en particulier ses parents. La compétence de l’éducateur scolaire dépend donc de sa capacité à comprendre et utiliser les apports de chaque acteur en fonction des moments éducatifs. Cette conception nous permet de saisir l’intensité de la porosité entre l’école et un monde où le pluralisme axiologique n’est pas l’exception mais la règle.De l’analyse d’entretiens avec des professionnels et à l’aide d’un cadre théorique permettant d’envisager la possibilité d’un recours au minimalisme pour éduquer scolairement dans un mode pluraliste, nous déduisons plusieurs résultats permettant de proposer un modèle de compréhension des repères moraux mobilisés par les éducateurs. Ce modèle permet en particulier de faire apparaître que les positionnements éthiques n’ont pas vocation à être fondés sur une liste finie de principes ou de valeurs, mais sont le produit d’une imagination morale s’attachant à prendre en compte les spécificités des situations. S'impose alors une philosophie du courage, défini comme capacité à l’exercice du jugement dans des situations limites sur le plan éthique, philosophie qui permet de penser l’action dans un environnement éthique complexe et toujours changeant. Le courage d’éduquer est donc pour nous ce qui permet le dépassement, dans des conditions que l’éducateur reconnait comme spécifiques, d’une morale scolaire de sens commun pour laquelle les solutions éthiques préexisteraient aux problèmes. / Our thesis aims at proposing a scheme of understanding of the ethical thought of educators in a school environment, built on the use of concepts originally used to speak of moral philosophy. Hence we base our analysis more specifically on the notion of moral minimalism, a theory which allows to take into account the fact that some professional positions, acceptable as regards the institutional action, arise from moral principle which are normally not considered valid in a school context, like for example, the “no harm done” principle. Our reflexion is based on a definition of the educational action in a school context, thought as a contribution to a sharing of responsibilities aiming at allowing students to have access to knowledge. These responsibilities both –and in a very precise way-arise from the institutional actor and the student, together with the people who are in charge of his education, namely his parents. The school educator’s ability hence depends on his capacity to understand and use the contribution of each actor according to the different educational moments. This belief allows us to understand the importance of the interaction between school and a world in which axiological pluralism is the law. From the discussions we had with professionals and with the help of a theoretical framework allowing the possibility to base education on minimalism in our pluralist world, we came to several conclusions allowing to propose a model of the moral points of reference used by educators. This model shows, in particular, that ethical positioning are not naturally set on a list of principles or values, but on the contrary are the result of a moral imagination which takes into account the specificities of every situation. Then a philosophy of courage is born, which can be defined as a capacity to judge in situations which are borderline in terms of ethics and which allows to think the action in a changing and complex ethical environment. The courage to educate thus permits, in situations which the educator identifies as specific, to push the limits of common sense school ethics, according to which ethical solutions would preceed the occurrence of problems

There is great interest in testimonies, both in society at large and as a theoretical concept. Within educational research testimony is used to understand and develop epistemological, political or ethical thinking. In this thesis I investigate what testimonies and the act of witnessing can do in relation to education. More specifically, I investigate what kind of pedagogical possibilities there are in witnessing and testimony, in relation to teaching as well as outside schools. Focusing on three different aspects (of these phenomena), namely representation, subjectivity and emotion I discuss different examples of testimonies. These are Collateral Murder, The Living History Forum’s book Tell Ye Your Children…, Gruva by Sara Lidman and Odd Uhrbom, and pictures with Alan Kurdi from 2015 taken by Nilüfer Demir. I examine the pedagogical possibilities of testimony and witnessing based on the idea that such possibilities are situated in human imperfection and lack of ability, where the knowledge is placed in the impossibility, in our not-knowing. This dialectical understanding, drawing on Giorgio Agamben, implies a different formulation than previous research, by highlighting the impossibility of witnessing and of testimony, for example by how the testimony does not stand outside the political, and in Western society more specifically, the capitalist system. Through the analyses of the different aspects (representation, subjectivity, emotions) I show how testimonies can serve as a way to control the students' emotions and perceptions (drawing on Sara Ahmed), and influence the perception of the society in which the students live. I have also shown how the act of witnessing can be done at the witness’ own expense (by drawing on The Latina Feminist Group). It can mean that testimonies work as a way to reproduce various stereotypes of different people's suffering and thus consolidate existing power structures and identities. The conditions surrounding witnessing and testimonies make witnessing an act that can be perceived as a poetic testimony, as well as an exploitation or expropriation of already vulnerable people. With this said, I also argue for the value of bringing into teaching testimonies that testify of suffering. Testimonies stand between the past and the future and have important things to speak of. If testimonies are not heard in teaching, there is a possibility of silencing and forgetting the wounds in history. It is in teaching where the repetitive work of a literary reading (Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak) can take place. A literary reading that emphasizes the difficulties in testimonies and one’s own part of and relation to it. It is the effort of the repetitive work in teaching that can lead to pedagogical possibility, and through that, enter the future.

Tendo como objeto a perda progressiva da autoridade do professor, esta pesquisa foca-se sobre suas condições de possibilidade e emergência no discurso pedagógico brasileiro. Por meio da análise de artigos da Revista Brasileira de Estudos Pedagógicos, publicados entre as décadas de 1940 e 1960, investiga-se o tecido discursivo que deu suporte às teorias da Escola Nova no Brasil, e suas contribuições para que uma nova imagem docente se instaurasse. A peculiaridade do contexto brasileiro, carente de um sistema nacional de educação consolidado, fez com que se aliasse aqui o velho prestígio do ofício docente, com as novas exigências da escola renovada. Progressivamente, teorias e procedimentos de cunho psicológico foram incorporadas ao discurso, transferindo a centralidade do ensino para os alunos, e reclamando ao professor uma atitude investigativa capaz de perscrutar suas personalidades. O papel docente foi então reformulado, calcado em atributos mais íntimos e pessoais, a serem cultivados via formação contínua e por uma atitude reflexiva própria. A dimensão pessoal adentrou então o coração do ensino, fazendo da interioridade a força motriz do trabalho ali realizado. Tanto o professor, como seus alunos, deveriam submeter-se às novas regulações e controles de um governo da interioridade; capaz de transferir ao domínio de si e ao auto-governo a autoridade institucional que outrora reconhecíamos por sua externalidade e intermédio do professor. / This research studies the progressive loss of the teacher´s authority, focusing on its manifestations throughout the Brazilian educational discourse. Based on the analyses of the articles from the journal Revista Brasileira de Estudos Pedagógicos, published between 1940 and 1960, we investigate the discursive scenario that supported the theories of The New School in Brazil, as well as its contributions to the rise of a new image of the teachers. In this unique context, that lacked a consolidated national education system, the reputation of the old teachers was made compatible with the new demands of the reformed school. Progressively, theories and psychological procedures were incorporated to the discourse, transferring the aim of the studies to the students, proclaiming that teachers should investigate their personalities. The teacher´s role was then reformulated, based on intimate and personal attributes, cultivated by continuous educational training as well as a reflexive attitude towards life. This personal dimension became the heart of education, transforming interiority into the driving force of the work that is carried out. Both the teacher and the students are submitted to new regulations and restraints of a government of interiority, which is capable of transferring to self-control and self-government the institutional authority that was once recognized by its exterior form and had the teacher as its mediator.

A presente pesquisa, de natureza teórico-filosófica, argumenta descritivamente a teoria estética do filósofo americano John Dewey, em função do seu chamado \"princípio de continuidade\", próprio do sistema filosófico deweyano como um todo. Nessa empreitada, privilegiou-se o recorte da continuidade entre o estético e o científico, ou entre valor e investigação enquanto característica essencial de tal teoria estética. Na observação dos pressupostos filosóficos gerais do filósofo, verificou-se que sua estética se estabelece, necessariamente, em continuidade ao método experimental das ciências naturais, consolidando proposições características essenciais de sua teoria da arte: Dewey crê na supremacia da contingência do processo que é a própria natureza, contínua, cumulativa, em sentido amplo, o que justifica que o ideal deva deixar de ser contemplativo para se converter num instrumental operativo, ou seja, um método experimental em virtude do meio; assim sendo, a estética deweyana deve ser compreendida, principalmente, em seu caráter investigativo, ou seja, em continuidade à ciência; Dewey rejeita os dualismos filosóficos, a metafísica e a epistemologia tradicionais; logo, sua estética desconsidera igualmente qualquer \"transcendental\" ou \"transcendente\" em termos clássicos; portanto, a arte ou estética, seja ela ato expressivo ou cultura, se daria entre diversos ritmos contínuos, nunca dualistas ou hierárquicos, no sentido da busca de um ideal Absoluto. Segundo a estética de Dewey, o valor reside precisamente no ritmo próprio do processo por exemplo: entre tensão e harmonia, comum e extraordinário, real e ideal etc. Dessa articulação ativa entre os vários aspectos em continuidade é que surgiria o ato expressivo, pela experiência singular imaginativa, e a cultura como um todo, mediante a comunicação. / The present theoretical-philosophical research argues descriptively about the aesthetic theory of the american philosopher John Dewey, in regards to the principle of continuity\" within Dewey\'s philosophical system as a whole. Bearing that in mind, the continuity of the aesthetic and the scientific were focused, as well as value broadly conceived and knowledge viewed as a scientific approach, and as the essential feature of Dewey\'s aesthetic theory. Thus, through the observation of the philosophers general assumptions, it has been verified that his aesthetics is necessarily established in continuity with experimental methods of natural sciences, which consolidates a few of the essential features propositions of his art theory: Dewey\'s supreme belief in the contingent of the process, which is continuous, cumulative, and broadly conceived as nature itself, implies that the ideal must cease to be contemplative and thus become instrumental and operative, which means it should become an experimental method in virtue of the environment. Therefore: Dewey\'s aesthetics must be primarily understood within its investigative character, that is, in its continuity to science; Deweys rejection of traditional metaphysics, epistemology, and philosophical dualisms prevents any classical interpretation of \"transcendental\" or \"transcendent\". Therefore art or aesthetics, as acts of expression or culture, should be continuous to a diversity of rhythms, but never dualistic or hierarchical in the sense of any ideal in pursuit of the Absolute. According to Dewey\'s aesthetics, value resides precisely in the pace of the process itself, such as between tension and harmony, ordinary and extraordinary, real and ideal and so on. From this active articulation between all the aspects of continuity an expressive act would emerge, as the realm of a singular imaginative experience, and of culture as a whole, through communication.

Este trabalho tem como proposta pensar a Educação em Direitos Humanos a partir de uma perspectiva wittgensteiniana. Desse filósofo, Ludwig Wittgenstein, apropriamo-nos de sua concepção de filosofia a partir da qual os problemas filosóficos decorrem de uma má compreensão da linguagem, conduzindo a confusões de natureza conceitual, como também nos apropriamos de sua terapia filosófica, processo pelo qual essas confusões de natureza conceitual podem ser dissolvidas ou evitadas. Com o intuito de desenvolvermos nossa proposta, analisamos as características da Educação em Direitos Humanos em comparação com outras propostas de formação moral. Pudemos perceber, após essa análise, que a Educação em Direitos Humanos tem um potencial formativo que possibilita uma formação diferenciada, ao possibilitar uma reflexão não dogmática sobre os valores. Por se tratar também de uma formação moral, discutimos a partir da filosofia de Wittgenstein alguns equívocos que podem ser evitados. Por exemplo, quando não levamos em conta a distinção existente entre a aprendizagem de certezas e a de conhecimentos, de tal forma que a Educação em Direitos Humanos passa a ser vista apenas como mais um conteúdo na grade curricular. Ou quando acreditamos que a Educação em Direitos Humanos deve ocorrer exclusivamente por meio de estratégias de convencimento do educando. Ou ainda, ao se ter como objetivo, o abandono, por parte do aluno, de certezas que compõem a sua visão de mundo. Por fim, defendemos que uma atitude antidogmática é promovida pela Educação em Direitos Humanos quando diversas visões de mundo são comparadas em suas semelhanças e diferenças, apontando o fundamento convencional que há em cada uma delas, de tal forma que o educando possa ver o mundo também a partir da perspectiva daquele que é o diferente, o discriminado, reconhecendo-se, assim, que essa outra perspectiva também tem o direito de ser respeitada. / This work intends to think about Human Rights Education from a Wittgensteinian perspective. From this philosopher, Ludwig Wittgenstein, we draw upon his conception of philosophy from which philosophical problems derive from a misunderstanding of language, leading to confusions of a conceptual nature, as well as appropriating his philosophical therapy, a process by which these confusions of conceptual nature can be dissolved or avoided. To develop our proposal, we analyze the characteristics of Human Rights Education in comparison with other proposals for moral formation. After this analysis, we can see that Human Rights Education has a formative potential that allows a differentiated formation, allowing a non-dogmatic reflection on values. Because it is also a moral formation, we discuss from the philosophy of Wittgenstein some misconceptions that can be avoided. For example, when we do not consider the distinction between learning certainties and knowledge, in such a way that Human Rights Education is just another content in the curriculum. Or when we believe that Education in Human Rights must occur exclusively through strategies of convincing the student. Or, to have as objective, the abandonment, on the part of the student, of certainties that make up his vision of the world. Finally, we defend that an anti-dogmatic attitude is promoted by Human Rights Education when different worldviews are compared in their similarities and differences, pointing out the conventional basis in each of them, so that the student can see the world too from the perspective of the one who is the different, the discriminated, recognizing, therefore, that this other perspective also has the right to be respected

For African Americans, literacy has historically been rooted in passion, collaboration, and social justice. This study explores two distinct sites of historical African American literacy development: literary societies of the 1800s and print culture of the Harlem Renaissance. Notably, literacy and culture were fundamentally intertwined during these times, creating an urgency and inspiration for literary pursuits not often seen today. In an effort to rekindle this reverence and utility for literacy in classrooms today, a culturally sustaining pedagogy is called for. Culturally sustaining pedagogy seeks to leverage students’ cultural knowledge and skills. By culturally aligning curriculum and instruction, educators position students to experience the transformative power of literacy—a transformative power that was evident in African American literary societies and through the Harlem Renaissance print culture. This study seeks to merge historical and contemporary approaches to literacy development to reconceptualize literacy education and engagement for all students.

A pedagogia de John Dewey (1859-1952) é referência para compreender as alterações no pensamento e na prática do campo educacional do século XX. Suas propostas questionam o modelo escolar tradicional predominante na época, realocando a criança para o centro do processo pedagógico. Apesar de ilustre por suas contribuições à Educação, Dewey assegura seu lugar nas discussões filosóficas tanto pela amplitude temática de seu pensamento quanto pela riqueza analítica de suas ideias. Tido como um dos pioneiros do pragmatismo (ao lado de William James e C. S. Pierce), o filósofo se debruça sobre as mais prementes questões políticas e sociais de seu tempo: o avanço desenfreado do capitalismo lança uma série de novos desafios ao homem, ao mesmo tempo em que ascendem totalitarismos de esquerda e direita na Europa e na Rússia. O horizonte da emancipação humana, representado pela democracia, está sob ameaça de diferentes modos. Essa importante pauta recebe o tratamento de Dewey em escritos que transcendem as fronteiras pedagógicas. Entendemos que a pedagogia de John Dewey é melhor compreendida quando matizada pela concepção de sociedade democrática presente nessas reflexões filosóficas mais amplas. Com o intuito de delinear essa concepção, este trabalho partiu da leitura analítica de Velho e novo individualismo e Liberdade e Cultura. A primeira trata dos descompassos entre indivíduo e sociedade, acentuados diante da lógica capitalista de prevalência do interesse particular sobre o comum. A democracia aparece como forma de organização social que possibilita a harmonia desses lados, zelando tanto pela garantia do desenvolvimento do indivíduo quanto pela busca dos fins sociais. Já o segundo texto afirma que liberdade e democracia devem ser tomadas como aposta moral e não como fins naturalmente prezados pelo homem. A cultura, em interação com a natureza humana, é elemento formador de hábitos, disposições e valores. Com isso, Dewey coloca a manutenção e expansão dos ideais democráticos em mãos humanas enquanto missão que precisa ser deliberadamente empreendida. Uma sociedade livre exige uma cultura livre o que, por sua vez, só se dá pela existência de instituições sociais igualmente libertárias. Em função dessas descobertas, alguns dos principais pontos de sua reflexão pedagógica são repensados a partir de Meu credo pedagógico e Democracia e Educação. Em primeiro lugar, destacamos o papel da educação, enquanto processo social na formação da cultura da sociedade. Se a democracia é uma escolha, a educação pode beneficiar ou dificultar sua construção de acordo com o tipo de cultura que promove. Assim, a preocupação com o interesse da criança diante da matéria e da atividade escolar assume nova tonalidade, pois é expressão de sua preocupação tanto com a preservação da dimensão individual na sociedade massificada, quanto pelo repúdio a práticas antidemocráticas geradoras de sujeitos passivos e acostumados a tarefas não reflexivas. Por outro lado, cabe à escola levar o aluno a compreender-se como ser social, significando seu papel e suas ações em função dos fins da comunidade. Para Dewey, a centralidade do método pedagógico se dá porque meios são tão importantes quanto fins. A democracia não pode ser alcançada senão por meios democráticos: a escola, enquanto instituição social, não pode se furtar desse imperativo. / John Deweys (1859-1952) pedagogy is a key to comprehend changes in educational thought and practice throughout the 20th century. His propositions call in question the predominant traditional school model, shifting the child back to the center of the pedagogical process. Though well known for his contribution on Education, Dewey is present in philosophical discussions due to his wide thematic scope as well as for the analytical power of his ideas. Regarded as one of the pioneering American pragmatist, the philosopher laid effort on the most urgent political and social matters of his time: the ungoverned advance of capitalism puts at stake new challenges to mankind, as left and right-wing totalitarian systems emerge in Europe and Russia. Human emancipation, represented by democracy, is threatened in different ways. Dewey tackles this important issue in works that transcend the pedagogical field. The authors pedagogy seems to be better comprehended when contextualized by his concept of democratic society, stated in broad philosophical reflections. This dissertation clears out this conception through analytical readings of Individualism, Old and New and Freedom and Culture. The former brings out the differences between individuals and society, intensified by the prevalence of private interests over common well-being. Democracy emerges as a form of social organization which makes it possible to achieve balance between those two sides, guaranteeing both individual development and the search for social aims. The latter asserts that liberty and democracy shall be understood as moral choice, instead of as mens natural longing. Thus, Dewey understands the maintenance and expansion of democratic ideals as deliberately undertaken by human hands. A free society requires a free culture that, in its turn, can only exist through free social institutions. Having in mind these findings, some of his main pedagogical ideas from My Pedagogic Creed and Democracy and Education were revisited in this research. Firstly, the role of education is pointed out, as a social process in the formation of culture. If democracy is actually a choice, education can favor or hinder its construction according to the kind of culture it promotes. Hence, the concern for childrens interest on academic content and activities rises new implications, for it reveals an attempt to preserve the individual dimension in mass society, as well as to deny non-democratic procedures that form passive human beings, accustomed to non-reflexive tasks. On the other hand, it is the schools duty to help students understand themselves as social beings, making sense of their roles and actions on account of communal purposes. Dewey believed that pedagogical methods were important because means are as relevant as its ends. Democracy can only be reached through democratic means: school, as a social institution, cannot avoid such principle.