Abstract
An important objective of the discipline and, by extension, the possible practice of philosophy is to inquire critically about almost all aspects of our lives relative to the social and physical environments that surround us. Related to this overall understanding of the issue is how the central questions of the philosophy of education would systematically, or as formally as possible, examine questions that can analyze and situate the main reasons people should be educated, how they should be educated, and why should individuals or groups be educated in the first place. As Ozmon and Craver (1998, p. 2) have noted, therefore, “philosophy of education is the application of the fundamental principles of philosophy to the theory and work of education.” In the global configuration of realities and power contours, those who have developed “textualized” and comprehensive bodies of philosophy, that is, Western countries and their “knowledge managers,” have assumed that theirs are the most viable, if not the only meaningful, philosophies and, especially those of education. It is in that problematic plateau of understanding that Cahn (1997, p. 3), tells us that “all work in philosophy of education should be measured against the standard of excellence [Plato] established.”
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© 2005 Ali A. Abdi and Ailie Cleghorn
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Abdi, A.A. (2005). African Philosophies of Education: Counter-Colonial Criticisms. In: Abdi, A.A., Cleghorn, A. (eds) Issues in African Education. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403977199_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403977199_2
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