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15 - Why Educate?

Competing Ethical Frameworks in the Practice of Education

from Part II - Ethics and Education in Practice

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 March 2024

By
Liz Jackson
Edited by
Sheron Fraser-Burgess ,
Jessica Heybach  and
Dini Metro-Roland
Sheron Fraser-Burgess
Affiliation:
Ball State University, Indiana
Jessica Heybach
Affiliation:
Florida International University
Dini Metro-Roland
Affiliation:
Western Michigan University
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Summary

Why educate? This question has been considered throughout history and around the world. Many reasons and rationales have been proposed. Some are overlapping, while others are competing. Considering why to educate is important for considering how to educate: that is, what policies, curriculum, and pedagogy to use, in relation to purposes. This chapter discusses some of the major frameworks underpinning various educational practices that have taken place historically and today. The aim is to elaborate ethical frameworks as they relate to justifications for educational practices, before giving some examples to clarify and demonstrate how choices among frameworks make a difference in relation to practice. Additionally, the chapter considers some of the noteworthy limitations of each.

Keywords

ethicseducationcommunitarianismliberalismjustice
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Ethics and Education , pp. 305 - 329
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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