Authority and the teacher
By: William H. Kitchen
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Published: 2014
Place of publication: London
Language: eng
ISBN-13: 9781472529848; 9781472524287
Subjects: Teacher-student relationships; Education; Philosophy; Authority; EDUCATION / General; EDUCATION / Philosophy & Social Aspects; EDUCATION / Teaching Methods & Materials / General
Description: "The notion of authority in education has become an increasingly negative concept, regarded by some as championed only by rigid traditionalists and those who cling on to outdated educational theory and philosophy.  Authority and the Teacher seeks to overturn the notion that authority is a restrictive force within education, serving only to stifle creativity and drown out the voice of the student.  William H. Kitchen argues that any education must have, as one of its cornerstones, a component which encourages the fullest development of knowledge, which serves as the great educational emancipator. In this version of knowledge-driven education, the teacher's authority should be absolute, so as to ensure that the teacher has the scope to liberate their pupils. The pupil, in the avoidance of ignorance, can thus embrace what is rightfully theirs; the inheritance of intellectual riches passed down through time.By invoking the work of three major philosophers - Polanyi, Oakeshott and Wittgenstein - as well as contributions from other key thinkers on authority, this book underpins previous claims for the need for authority in education with the philosophical clout necessary to ensure these arguments permeate modern mainstream educational thinking"--

"The notion of authority in education has become an increasingly negative concept, regarded by some as championed only by rigid traditionalists and those who cling on to outdated educational theory and philosophy. Authority and the Teacher seeks to overturn the notion that authority is a restrictive force within education, serving only to stifle creativity and drown out the voice of the student. William H. Kitchen argues that any education must have, as one of its cornerstones, a component which encourages the fullest development of knowledge, which serves as the great educational emancipator. In this version of knowledge-driven education, the teacher's authority should be absolute, so as to ensure that the teacher has the scope to liberate their pupils. The pupil, in the avoidance of ignorance, can thus embrace what is rightfully theirs; the inheritance of intellectual riches passed down through time. By invoking the work of three major philosophers - Polanyi, Oakeshott and Wittgenstein - as well as contributions from other key thinkers on authority, this book underpins previous claims for the need for authority in education with the philosophical clout necessary to ensure these arguments permeate modern mainstream educational thinking"--
Table of contents: title: Machine generated contents note:; title: Foreword, Chris WoodheadAcknowledgementsPrefaceIntroduction: An Education to be Fearful forPart I: The Background1. Sociological and Philosophical BackgroundA Sociological PerspectivePhilosophy and Theory2. A Definition of AuthorityThe Distinction between Authority and Power3. Authority: Why all the fuss?The Implications for LearningThe Meno Paradox: A Learning ConundrumThe Implications for the Foundations of Knowledge: The Aristotelian ProblemThe Implications for EducationPart II: The Argument4. Polanyi on AuthorityA Brief Philosophical History of Authority and DoubtPolanyi's Fiduciary FrameworkThe Importance of Traditions and Communities within the Fiduciary FrameworkThe Paradigmatic Example: Learning How To SpeakPolanyi's Theory of Knowledge: A CritiqueTacit Knowledge or Guided by Rules?A Proof by ContradictionThe Rule-following ParadoxConcluding the Proof by ContradictionBack to Polanyi5. Oakeshott on AuthorityTeaching and Learning: An Oakeshott DefinitionInformation as 'Inert' KnowledgeJudgement as 'Dynamic' KnowledgeThe Need for Both Information and JudgementPost-script: The Need for Authority in Knowledge, Teaching and Learning, and Education6. Wittgenstein on AuthorityA Foundationalist ApproachThe Categorical Distinction between Certainty and KnowledgeBedrock Certainty: Trust and TrainingHow 'Training' and 'Trust' Depend on Authority: Beyond the Wittgensteinian VisionConclusionBibliography.