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All Outputs (73)

Forms of knowledge and forms of philosophy (2023)
Journal Article
Smith, R. (2023). Forms of knowledge and forms of philosophy. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 57(1), 65-76. https://doi.org/10.1093/jopedu/qhad007

Paul Hirst’s work on the nature of knowledge and its significance for education is still important, in at least two respects. One is the defence he offers of a distinctively liberal education: this is widely acknowledged, but its importance in our ow... Read More about Forms of knowledge and forms of philosophy.

Character education and the instability of virtue (2022)
Journal Article
Smith, R. (2022). Character education and the instability of virtue. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 56(6), 889-898. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9752.12692

Character education in schools in England is flourishing. I give many examples of the enthusiasm for it as well as drawing attention to the UK government's new ambivalence towards it. Character education seems largely impervious to the many criticism... Read More about Character education and the instability of virtue.

Wittgenstein, Pesquisa Educacional e a Captura da Ciência (Wittgenstein, educational research and the capture of science) (2020)
Journal Article
Smith, R. (2020). Wittgenstein, Pesquisa Educacional e a Captura da Ciência (Wittgenstein, educational research and the capture of science). Educação & Realidade, 45(3), Article e106764. https://doi.org/10.1590/2175-6236106764

The author discusses the importance of Wittgenstein’s thinking for the relativization of the scientific attitude in the philosophy of education, particularly when the social sciences tend to follow the model of the hard sciences in their research act... Read More about Wittgenstein, Pesquisa Educacional e a Captura da Ciência (Wittgenstein, educational research and the capture of science).

Unsettling Knowledge: Irony and Education (2020)
Journal Article
Smith, R. (2020). Unsettling Knowledge: Irony and Education. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 54(3), 757-771. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9752.12444

Philosophy is sometimes thought of as having two principal dimensions: one that aims to build systems and doctrines, and another that is concerned to unsettle fixed ways of thinking. Richard Peters seems to position himself in both camps. I suggest t... Read More about Unsettling Knowledge: Irony and Education.

Writing Up and Down: The Language of Educational Research (2020)
Journal Article
Smith, R. (2020). Writing Up and Down: The Language of Educational Research. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 54(3), 666-678. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9752.12440

There is a marked tendency in educational research to marginalise the written word, and to be wary of what I here call its ‘writerliness’: its capacity to go beyond the prosaic and the utilitarian, where meaning is understood largely in terms of the... Read More about Writing Up and Down: The Language of Educational Research.

Work for the enquiring spirit (2019)
Book Chapter
Smith, R. (2019). Work for the enquiring spirit. In M. Papastephanou (Ed.), Philosophically curious about curiosity (128-149). Cambridge Scholars

The ancient quarrel and the dream of writing (2018)
Journal Article
Smith, R. (2018). The ancient quarrel and the dream of writing. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 52(4), 592-608. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9752.12324

The main purpose of this article is to question and finally reject the tendency to see philosophy and literature (especially poetry) as essentially distinct forms of language, a tendency which sometimes extends to regarding them as mutually exclusive... Read More about The ancient quarrel and the dream of writing.

Seeing the Points of Connection (2018)
Book Chapter
Smith, P., & Standish, P. (2018). Seeing the Points of Connection. In S. Ramaekers, & N. Hodgson (Eds.), Past, present, and future possibilities for philosophy and history of education : finding space and time for research (33-46). Festschrift for Paul Smeyers

Wittgenstein, Science and the Social Sciences (2018)
Book Chapter
Smith, R. (2018). Wittgenstein, Science and the Social Sciences. In P. Smeyers (Ed.), International handbook of philosophy of education (443-455). Springer Verlag. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72761-5_37

It is generally agreed that a strong line of continuity in Wittgenstein’s writings, from the early Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus to the late Philosophical Investigations, is marked by his constant preoccupation with questions about language and mean... Read More about Wittgenstein, Science and the Social Sciences.

The furnace of instrumental reason (2018)
Book Chapter
Smith, R. (2018). The furnace of instrumental reason. In P. Smeyers, & M. Depaepe (Eds.), Educational research : ethics, social justice, and funding dynamics (209-222). Springer Verlag. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73921-2_14

In this chapter I argue that the primary function of the current obsession with research funding is, like many extensions of neoliberalism into education, largely symbolic: it is symbolic of the hegemony of instrumental thinking and its ambition to e... Read More about The furnace of instrumental reason.

Philosophy as Interplay and Dialogue (2017)
Book
Torill, S., Smith, R., Pirrie, A., Gregoriou, Z., & Papastephanou, M. (Eds.). (2017). Philosophy as Interplay and Dialogue. . Münster, Vienna and Zurich: LIT Verlag

The ethics of Research Excellence (2017)
Journal Article
Conroy, J., & Smith, R. (2017). The ethics of Research Excellence. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 51(4), 693-708. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9752.12249

We here analyse the ethical dimensions of the UK's ‘Research Excellence Framework’ (REF), the latest (2014) version of an exercise which assesses the quality of university research in the UK every seven or so years. We find many of the common objecti... Read More about The ethics of Research Excellence.

Slow learning and the multiplicity of meaning (2017)
Book Chapter
Smith, R. (2017). Slow learning and the multiplicity of meaning. In M. Peters, & J. Stickney (Eds.), A companion to Wittgenstein on education : pedagogical investigations (101-113). Springer Verlag. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-3136-6_6

A major theme both in Wittgenstein’s early work, the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus , and in his later work, especially the Philosophical Investigations , is the question of how language can be meaningful. Although there are major differences in the... Read More about Slow learning and the multiplicity of meaning.

Metamorphosis and the management of change (2016)
Journal Article
Smith, R. (2016). Metamorphosis and the management of change. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 50(1), 8-19. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9752.12169

Talk of educational reform and of the importance of ‘the management of change’ in education and elsewhere is still in vogue. However it often seems concerned to persuade us that if we engage fully with change rather than resisting it we will find our... Read More about Metamorphosis and the management of change.

Educational research: the importance of the humanities (2015)
Journal Article
Smith, R. (2015). Educational research: the importance of the humanities. Educational Theory, 65(6), 739-754. https://doi.org/10.1111/edth.12145

It is one sign of the lack of understanding of the value of the humanities, to educational research and inquiry as well as to our world more widely, that such justifications of them as are offered frequently take a crudely instrumental form. The huma... Read More about Educational research: the importance of the humanities.

Erziehung und Wissenschaft, Erklären und Verstehen (2015)
Journal Article
Smith, R., & Keiner, E. (2015). Erziehung und Wissenschaft, Erklären und Verstehen. Zeitschrift für Pädagogik, 5, 665-682

Zusammenfassung: Erziehungswissenschaft scheint gegenwärtig weltweit, besonders in englischsprachigen Ländern, zunehmend von der Übernahme, gar der Imitation, naturwissenschaftlicher Methoden bestimmt zu sein. Ein Beispiel hierfür ist die gegenwärtig... Read More about Erziehung und Wissenschaft, Erklären und Verstehen.

Philosophy in its place. (2014)
Book Chapter
Smith, R. (2014). Philosophy in its place. In L. Waks (Ed.), Leaders in Philosophy of Education (245-254). (2nd series). Rotterdam: Sense

Citizenship, therapy and the politics of irony. (2014)
Book Chapter
Smith, R. (2014). Citizenship, therapy and the politics of irony. In J. Baldacchino, S. Galea, & D. Mercieca (Eds.), My Teaching, My Philosophy. Kenneth Wain: A Lifelong Engagement with Education (303-316). Peter Lang