Most statements today about higher education begin with the assumption that it should be relevant. That it should be relevant, however, does not settle the matter. The significance of relevance depends on the power of something else that is more fundamental. Relevance may be a true standard of judgment, but it does not stand by itself. Assuming higher education should be relevant, the question emerges, relevant to what? Why? How? At what costs? And, relevant in what sense? These are some of the central questions animating this study. The Relevance of Higher Education: Exploring a Contested Notion, edited by Timothy L. Simpson examines the relevance of higher education by bringing together the work of historians, political scientists, and educational philosophers. The contributors probe the meaning of relevance in its many guises, providing an historical and philosophical account of the roots of this concept and its impact on the institution of higher education. Furthermore, The Relevance of Higher Education provides a critical evaluation of the impact of relevance on our understanding of the political and economic relationship between higher education and society. This study suggests views of relevance that could guide the future of higher education. By providing penetrating analysis, this text thoroughly explores relevance and its underlying assumptions, potential implications and long-lasting effects on higher education and society. The Relevance of Higher Education provides the tools necessary to develop a rich framework for understanding relevance and its impact on higher education and society.

Most statements today about higher education begin with the assumption that it should be relevant. That it should be relevant, however, does not settle the matter. The significance of relevance depends on the power of something else that is more fundamental. Relevance may be a true standard of judgment, but it does not stand by itself. Assuming higher education should be relevant, the question emerges, relevant to what? Why? How? At what costs? And, relevant in what sense? These are some of the central questions animating this study. The Relevance of Higher Education: Exploring a Contested Notion, edited by Timothy L. Simpson examines the relevance of higher education by bringing together the work of historians, political scientists, and educational philosophers. The contributors probe the meaning of relevance in its many guises, providing an historical and philosophical account of the roots of this concept and its impact on the institution of higher education. Furthermore, The Relevance of Higher Education provides a critical evaluation of the impact of relevance on our understanding of the political and economic relationship between higher education and society. This study suggests views of relevance that could guide the future of higher education. By providing penetrating analysis, this text thoroughly explores relevance and its underlying assumptions, potential implications and long-lasting effects on higher education and society. The Relevance of Higher Education provides the tools necessary to develop a rich framework for understanding relevance and its impact on higher education and society.

Problems in Philosophy of Education canvasses several of the leading issues in philosophy of education. These include the disconnect between the disciplines of philosophy and philosophy of education, the strained relationship between educational practice and philosophy of education, the role of educational research in philosophy of education, and the lack of an independent scholarship for philosophy of education. James Scott Johnson argues for a philosophy of education separate and distinct from both the disciplines of philosophy and education and claims that philosophy of education should raise and address its own questions and concerns. Supporting this is a model of how philosophy of education should originate basic questions, together with a set of philosophic presuppositions regarding the model's logic, ethics, politics, and relationship to science and social science.

James Scott Johnston's incisive study draws on a holistic reading of Kant: one that views him as developing and testing a complete system (theoretical, practical, historical and anthropological) with education as a vital component. As such, the book begins with an extensive overview of Kant's chief theoretical work (the Critique of Pure Reason), and from that overview distils crucial discussions (the role of practical reason; the claims of the third antinomy) for his moral theory. An extended discussion of Kant's moral and political theories and the place of pedagogy in it follow, with attention to all of Kant's important moral works as well as his chief religious work, Religion within the Bounds of Mere Reason. A discussion of culture and character follows, chiefly through a discussion of Kant's Critique of the Power of Judgment and Anthropology from a Pragmatic Standpoint, together with certain lectures and published essays on history and politics. Finally, an extensive discussion of Kant's published works on education, together with only recently published letters and announcements (in English), is provided. This culminates in Johnston's estimation of what a Kantian education, systematically conceived, might look like: an education that is attentive to theoretical, moral, cultural-historical, and pedagogic domains of Kant's thinking.

Problems in Philosophy of Education canvasses several of the leading issues in philosophy of education. These include the disconnect between the disciplines of philosophy and philosophy of education, the strained relationship between educational practice and philosophy of education, the role of educational research in philosophy of education, and the lack of an independent scholarship for philosophy of education. James Scott Johnson argues for a philosophy of education separate and distinct from both the disciplines of philosophy and education and claims that philosophy of education should raise and address its own questions and concerns. Supporting this is a model of how philosophy of education should originate basic questions, together with a set of philosophic presuppositions regarding the model's logic, ethics, politics, and relationship to science and social science.

This book examines the interconnections between self-consciousness and self-cultivation (Bildung). Drawing on resources both philosophical and historical, it probes the various ways in which self-cultivation stands or falls on a theory of self-consciousness. Heavily indebted to Classical German Philosophy, this book examines the twists and turns self-cultivation has taken through 200 years of philosophical and educational thought. Self-cultivation in one form or another has always been prevalent in Germany specifically, and Europe generally- even in those cases where varieties of self-cultivation are themselves in opposition to earlier projects and programs. Self-cultivation, however, never became a focus of North American educational theory and this book examines why this is, and what would need to be in place for a theory of self-cultivation to prosper. In the final section, this book examines the requirements for a new theory of self-consciousness in the context of self-cultivation.

James Scott Johnston's incisive study draws on a holistic reading of Kant: one that views him as developing and testing a complete system (theoretical, practical, historical and anthropological) with education as a vital component. As such, the book begins with an extensive overview of Kant's chief theoretical work (the "Critique of Pure Reason"), and from that overview distils crucial discussions (the role of practical reason; the claims of the third antinomy) for his moral theory. An extended discussion of Kant's moral and political theories and the place of pedagogy in it follow, with attention to all of Kant's important moral works as well as his chief religious work, "Religion within the Bounds of Mere Reason." A discussion of culture and character follows, chiefly through a discussion of Kant's "Critique of the Power of Judgment" and "Anthropology from a Pragmatic Standpoint," together with certain lectures and published essays on history and politics. Finally, an extensive discussion of Kant's published works on education, together with only recently published letters and announcements (in English), is provided. This culminates in Johnston's estimation of what a Kantian education, systematically conceived, might look like: an education that is attentive to theoretical, moral, cultural-historical, and pedagogic domains of Kant's thinking.

Teacher Education in a Transnational World brings together specialists from various disciplines and scholars with policy-making and high-level government and administrative experience to discuss the historical, sociological, and philosophical issues associated with teacher education in a global context.

Edited by Rosa Bruno-Jofre and James Scott Johnston, two leading scholars of the history and philosophy of education, this collection offers both analytical and practical insights into the present and future state of teacher education. Among the topics examined are paradigmatic changes in teacher education, the impact of the Bologna process in Europe, Indigenous education, and state policies in a transnational context.

With contributors from nine countries on four continents, Teacher Education in a Transnational World offers a genuinely international interdisciplinary examination of the challenges and opportunities associated with teacher education in the twenty-first century.