Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Philosophy of education before the twentieth century. Socrates and Plato ; Aristotle ; Rousseau ; Pestalozzi, Herbart, and Froebel -- 2. The philosophical and educational thought of John Dewey. Dewey's Philosophical Orientation ; The Meaning and Aims of Education ; Dewey's Psychology ; Dewey's Theory of Knowledge ; Democracy and Education ; The Place of Subject Matter ; Dewey Today : An Assessment -- 3. Analytic philosophy. Philosophical Analysis in Education ; The Analysis of Teaching ; Current Analyses of Teaching -- 4. Continental philosophy. Existentialism ; Phenomenology ; Critical Theory ; Hermeneutics ; Postmodernism -- 5. Logic and critical thinking. Critical Thinking in the Common Core ; The Earlier Debate ; A Bit of Formal Logic ; Critical Thinking and Moral Commitment ; Pedagogical Neutrality -- 6. Epistemology and education. Justified True Belief ; Foundationalism ; Truth ; Nonfoundational Theories of Knowledge ; Epistemology and Education ; Constructivism -- 7. Philosophy of social science and educational research. How Does Science Grow? ; A Debate in Educational Research ; Some Examples -- 8. Ethics and moral education. Pre-Enlightenment Ethics ; Enlightenment Ethics ; Utilitarianism ; Deweyan Ethics ; Moral Education ; Cognitive developmentalism -- 9. Social and political philosophy. The Current Debate ; Justice and Equality in Education -- 10. Problems of school reform. Equality ; Accountability ; Standards ; Testing -- 11. Multiculturalism and cosmopolitanism. Multiculturalism ; Cosmopolitanism ; The Educator's Dilemma -- 12. Feminism, philosophy, and education. Feminist Critiques of Philosophy ; Epistemology ; Philosophy of Social Science ; Ethics ; Care and Education,.

The first edition of Nel Noddings' Philosophy of Education was acclaimed as the 'best overview in the field' by the journal Teaching Philosophy and predicted to 'become the standard textbook in philosophy of education' by Educational Theory. This classic text, originally designed to give the education student a comprehensive look at philosophical thought in relation to teaching, learning, research, and educational policy, has now been updated to reflect the most current thinking in the field. A revised chapter on Logic and Critical Thinking makes the topic more accessible to students and examines how critical thinking plays a role in light of the new Common Core standards.
Philosophy of Education introduces students to the evolution of educational thought, from the founding fathers to contemporary theorists, with consideration of both analytic and continental traditions. This is an essential text not only for teachers and future teachers, but also for anyone needing a survey of contemporary trends in philosophy of education.