Abstract
In this paper, the condition of the educational environment in which the author has been working is examined using three examples representing three different levels of practice, namely, policy, teaching, and learning, to illustrate why the idea of critical thinking and thus philosophy are not able to draw the attention of the participants in the field. To argue for an alternative, an elucidation of the ethical dimension of the issue-inquiry approach to teaching and learning in the light of the Aristotelian notion of phronesis or practical wisdom is introduced. At the end of this paper, an example illustrating the extent to which this approach could contribute to attaining deeper learning and initiating a continuing quest to understand is discussed.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aristotle. (1985). Nicomachean ethics (trans: Irwin, T.). Indianapolis: Hackett Publication Co.
Ball, D. L., & Forzani, F. M. (2009). The work of teaching and the challenge for teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education, 60(5), 497–511.
Beckett, D. (2000). Making workplace learning explicit: An epistemology of practice for the whole person. Westminster Studies in Education, 23, 41–53.
Berlin, I. (1991). Two concepts of liberty. In D. Miller (Ed.), Liberty. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Birmingham, C. (2004). Phronesis: A model of pedagogical reflection. Journal of Teacher Education, 55, 313–324.
Boos, E. J. (2012). The politics of education: A case for liberal learning. Journal of Philosophy and History, 62(1), 181–206.
Christian, J. L. (2012). Philosophy: An introduction to the art of wondering (11th ed.). Boston: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.
Cotter, R. (2013). Peters’ concept of ‘education as initiation’: Communitarian or individualist? Educational Philosophy and Theory, 45(2), 171–181.
Dewey, J. (1944). Democracy and education. New York: Free Press.
Duemer, L. (2012). Existentialism as a framework for qualitative research: Understanding freedom and choice in educational organizations. Journal of Philosophy and History of Education, 62(1), 171–179.
Duemer, L., & Simpson, D. (2010). At the crossroad: Altercations and transformations in philosophy of education. Journal of Philosophy and History of Education, 60, 184–190.
Education Bureau (EB). (2007). Seven learning goals. Retrieved from http://www.edb.gov.hk/en/curriculum-development/7-learning-goals/about-7-learning-goals/index.html. Accessed 22 July 2014.
Eisner, E. W. (2002). From episteme to phronesis to artistry in the study and improvement of teaching. Teaching and Teacher Education, 18, 375–385.
Fiasse, G. (2001). Aristotle’s prudence: A true grasp of ends as well as means? Review of Metaphysics, 55, 323–337.
Flyvbjerg, B. (2004). Phronetic planning research: Theoretical and methodological reflections. Planning Theory and Practice, 5(3), 283–306.
Gadamer, H.-G. (1994). Truth and method (trans: Weinsheimer, J. & Marshall, D.G.). New York: Continuum.
Grint, K. (2007). Learning to lead: Can Aristotle help us find the road to wisdom? Leadership, 3(2), 231–246.
Hong Kong Curriculum Development Council (HKCDC). (2009). Liberal studies curriculum guide: The future is now: from vision to realization (secondary 4–6). Hong Kong: Government Logistics Department.
Hong Kong Curriculum Development Council (HKCDC) and the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA). (2007). Liberal studies curriculum and assessment guide (secondary 4–6). Hong Kong: Government Logistics Department.
Hooks, B. (1994, July 13). Black students who reject feminism. Chronicle of Higher Education, p. A44.
Hufford, D. (2012). Rollo May, existential thinking, and the foundations of education classroom. Journal of Philosophy and History of Education, 62(1), 137–148.
Hutchings, W. (2007). Enquiry-based learning: Definitions and rationale. Centre for Excellence in Enquiry-Based Learning. Manchester: The University of Manchester. http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/detail/enquiry_based_learning_definitions_and_rationale. Retrieved on 1 May 2014.
Klein, J. T., & Newell, W. H. (1997). Advancing interdisciplinary studies. In J. G. Gaff & J. L. Ratcliff (Eds.), Handbook of the undergraduate curriculum: A comprehensive guide to purposes, structures, practices, and change (pp. 393–415). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Kristjansson, K. (2005). Smoothing it: Some Aristotelian misgivings about the phronesis-praxis perspective on education. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 37(4), 455–473.
Kwan, C. Y. (2000). What is problem-based learning (PBL)? CDTL Brief, 3(3), 1–6.
Mark, S.-M. (2001). Implementation of issue-based approach in teaching junior secondary geography. Thesis, M. Ed. Hong Kong: University of Hong Kong.
Marshall, E. (2014). How to teach modern philosophy. Teaching Philosophy, 37, 93–90.
Ng Fung-han, Candice. (2006). Teacher knowledge construction in applying the issue-enquiry approach in Liberal Studies: A study of tensions and possibilities. In Paper presented in “School improvement and University-school partnership” conference, quality school improvement project, Hong Kong Institute of Educational Research, Hong Kong: The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Nouven, H. J. M. (1986). In the house of the Lord. London: Darton, Longman and Todd.
Reed, J. (2007). Appreciative y: Research for change. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Sawyer, K. (2004). Creating teaching: Collaborative discussion as disciplined improvisation. Educational Researcher, 33(2), 12–20.
Simpson, J. L., & Allen, B. J. (2005). Engaging difference matters in the classroom. In J. L. Simpson & P. Shockley-Zalabaka (Eds.), Engaging communication, transforming organizations: Scholarship of engagement in action (pp. 147–169). Cresskill: Hampton Press.
Smeyers, P., & Burbules, N. C. (2006). Education as initiation into practices. Educational Theory, 56(4), 439–449.
Stohl, C. (2005). Transforming engagement. In J. L. Simpson & P. Shockley-Zalabaka (Eds.), Engaging communication, transforming organizations: Scholarship of engagement in action (pp. 203–214). Cresskill: Hampton Press.
Stone, M. V. (2008). Symposium on outcome-based approaches in student learning: Quality education, quality outcomes: The way forward for Hong Kong. www.ugc.edu.hk/eng/ugc/publication/speech/2008/sp20080618.htm. Retrieved on 19 May 2010.
Thayer-Bacon, B. J. (1997). The nurturing of a relational epistemology. Educational Theory, 47(2), 239–260.
Tiwari, A., Chan, S., Sullivan, P. L., Dixon, A. S., & Tang, C. (1999). Enhancing students’ critical thinking through problem-based learning. In J. Marsh (Ed.), Implementing problem based learning project: Proceedings of the first Asia Pacific conference on problem based learning (pp. 75–86). Hong Kong: The University Grants Committee of Hong Kong, Teaching Development Project.
Turner, P. K. (2005). Issue-based learning: Using practice to inform and enrich our teaching. In L. S. Jennifer & P. Shockley-Zalabaka (Eds.), Engaging communication, transforming organizations: Scholarship of engagement in action (pp. 171–189). Cresskill: Hampton Press.
Villa, L. A. (2009). On teaching philosophy. Cultura. International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology, 6(1), 93–101.
Warman, M. (2011). Stephen Hawking tells Google ‘philosophy is dead’, The Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/8520033/Stephen-Hawking-tells-Google-philosophy-is-dead.html. Retrieved on 11 Apr 2014.
Westfall-Greiter, T., & Schwarz, J. F. (2012). Planning for the unplannable: Responding to (un)articulated calls in the classroom. Phenomenology and Practice, 6(2), 121–135.
Zeddies, T. J. (2001). Out of the consulting room and into the world: Hermeneutic dialogue, phronesis, and psychoanalytic theory as practice. The American Journal of Psychoanalysis, 61(3), 217–238.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Tang, R.WY. (2016). Redeeming Philosophy Through the Issue-Inquiry Approach: A Case in Hong Kong. In: Lam, CM., PARK, J. (eds) Sociological and Philosophical Perspectives on Education in the Asia-Pacific Region. Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects, vol 29. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-940-0_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-940-0_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-287-938-7
Online ISBN: 978-981-287-940-0
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)