Can the view of persons and society that is presupposed by Higgs's account of fundamental pedagogics be compatible with a concept of demographic education?
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Date
1993
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Publisher
University of the Western Cape
Abstract
Yes, the view of persons and society that is presupposed.by Higgs's account of Fundamental Pedagogics can be compatible with a concept of democratic education. However, I shall argue that this is a charitable rather than a certain answer.
I shall firstly examine Carol Gould's thesis that every social and political theory presupposes, explicitly or tacitly, a social ontology. I critically reinterpret her conceptual tool of social ontology as a presupposed view of persons and society, but retain some positive aspects of her argument.
Secondly, I provide an analytical summary and critical discussion of three recent articles by Professor PhiI Higgs on the nature and task of Fundamental Pedagogics (FP). Consequently, I apply the conceptual tool of a presupposed view of persons and society to Higgs's account of FP.
The following steps of my argument are the development of an account of democratic education that is linked to agency, authority, reciprocity and participation and the interpretation of the view of persons and society (VOPS) that underpins it.
In the concluding chapter Higgs's account of FP, together with its constitutive VOPS, is measured against eight criteria provided by the account of democratic education and its matching VOPS. My conclusion is that the VOPs that is presupposed by Higgs's account of FP can charitably said to be compatible with the concept of democratic education developed in Chapter Five, given some adjustments, clarifications and elucidations. Finally, I consider some objections that Higgs might raise against the argument of this mini thesis, and briefly respond to these.
Description
Magister Educationis - MEd
Keywords
Higgs's account of fundamental pedagogics, Education and educational theories, Conceives of persons and society