Book contents
- The Cambridge Handbook of Democratic Education
- Cambridge Handbooks in Education
- The Cambridge Handbook of Democratic Education
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part One Historical Perspectives
- 2 Plato on Democratic Education
- 3 Aristotle on Education, Democracy, and Civic Friendship
- 4 Rousseau on Democratic Education
- 5 Dewey on Democratic Education
- 6 Hannah Arendt on the Very Possibility of Democratic Education
- 7 Paulo Freire on Democratic Education
- 8 Rabindranath Tagore on Democratic Education
- Part Two Philosophical and Normative Foundations
- Part Three Key Topics and Concepts
- Part Four Challenges
- Index
- References
4 - Rousseau on Democratic Education
from Part One - Historical Perspectives
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 April 2023
By
Book contents
- The Cambridge Handbook of Democratic Education
- Cambridge Handbooks in Education
- The Cambridge Handbook of Democratic Education
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part One Historical Perspectives
- 2 Plato on Democratic Education
- 3 Aristotle on Education, Democracy, and Civic Friendship
- 4 Rousseau on Democratic Education
- 5 Dewey on Democratic Education
- 6 Hannah Arendt on the Very Possibility of Democratic Education
- 7 Paulo Freire on Democratic Education
- 8 Rabindranath Tagore on Democratic Education
- Part Two Philosophical and Normative Foundations
- Part Three Key Topics and Concepts
- Part Four Challenges
- Index
- References
Summary
In Emile, Jean-Jacques Rousseau describes the education of a fictional student who follows his interests and discovers facts by problem-solving. Rousseau’s educational philosophy was embraced by child-centered progressives committed to advancing a distinctively democratic conception of education. They believed that Rousseau outlined principles for forming autonomous and independent citizens – precisely the kind of citizens ready to meet the demands of democratic self-government. In other works, however, Rousseau calls for a system of public schooling that forms patriots. He writes that education “must give souls the national form, and so direct their tastes and opinions that they will be patriotic by inclination, passion, necessity.” Can this authoritarian approach to education be reconciled with the laissez-faire principles of Emile? Should either of these educational visions be called democratic? This chapter offers answers to those questions and argues that, ultimately, both approaches aim to improve how citizens relate to one another.
Keywords
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Cambridge Handbook of Democratic Education , pp. 45 - 60Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023
References
Darling, J. (1982). Education as horticulture: Some growth theorists and their critics. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 16(2), 173–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dewey, J. (1916). Democracy and education: An introduction to the philosophy of education. New York: The Free Press.Google Scholar
Gilead, T. (2021). Introduction: Enlightenment and education. In Gilead, T., ed., A history of western philosophy of education in the age of enlightenment. London: Bloomsbury, pp. 1–43.Google Scholar
Hofman, A. (2021). Rousseau’s philosophy of education. In Gilead, T., ed., A history of western philosophy of education in the age of enlightenment. London: Bloomsbury, pp. 69–96.Google Scholar
Iheoma, E. O. (1997). Rousseau’s views on teaching. Journal of Educational Thought, 31, 69–81.Google Scholar
Jonas, M. E. (2016). Rousseau on sex-roles, education and happiness. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 35(2), 145–61.Google Scholar
Michaud, O. (2012). Thinking about the nature and role of authority in democratic education with Rousseau’s Emile. Educational Theory, 62(3), 287–304.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mintz, A. I. (2012). The happy and suffering student? Rousseau’s Emile and the path not taken in progressive educational thought. Educational Theory, 62(3), 249–65.Google Scholar
Mintz, A. I. (2016). Dewey’s ancestry, Dewey’s legacy, and the aims of education in democracy and education. European Journal of Pragmatism and American Philosophy, 8(VIII–1). doi: doi.org/10.4000/ejpap.437.Google Scholar
Mintz, A. (2018). Sparta, Athens, and the surprising roots of common schooling. Philosophy of Education, 74, 105–16.Google Scholar
Roosevelt, G. G. (1990). Reading Rousseau in the nuclear age. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.Google Scholar
Roosevelt, G. G. (2021). Educational legacies of the French Enlightenment. In Gilead, T., ed., A history of western philosophy of education in the age of enlightenment. London: Bloomsbury, pp. 97–124.Google Scholar
Rosenow, E. (1980). Rousseau’s “Emile,” an anti‐utopia. British Journal of Educational Studies, 28(3), 212–24.Google Scholar
Rousseau, J.-J. (1750/1997). The First Discourse on the arts and sciences. In Rousseau: The Discourses and other early political writings. Trans. by V. Gourevitch, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 1–28.Google Scholar
Rousseau, J.-J. (1755/1997). Political economy. In Rousseau: The Social Contract and other later political writings. Trans. by. V. Gourevitch, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, pp. 3–38.Google Scholar
Rousseau, J.-J. (1762/1979). Emile: Or on education. Trans. by A. Bloom, New York: Basic.Google Scholar
Rousseau, J.-J. (1762/1997). The Social Contract. In Rousseau: The Social Contract and other later political writings. Trans. by V. Gourevitch, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 39–152.Google Scholar
Rousseau, J.-J. (1764/2005). Plan for a constitution for Corsica. In The plan for perpetual peace, on the government of Poland, and other writings on history and politics. Trans. by C. Kelly & J. Bush, Chicago, IL: Dartmouth College Press, pp. 123–55.Google Scholar
Rousseau, J.-J. (1772/1997). Considerations on the government of Poland. In Rousseau: The Social Contract and other later political writings. Trans. by V. Gourevitch, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 177–260.Google Scholar
Rush, B. (1786). Thoughts upon the mode of education proper in a republic. In Rudolph, F., ed., Essays on education in the early republic. Harvard, MA: Harvard University Press, pp. 25–40.Google Scholar
Schaeffer, D. (2013). Rousseau on education, freedom, and judgment. University Park, PA: Penn State University Press.Google Scholar
Wain, K. (2011). On Rousseau: An introduction to his radical thinking on education and politics. Vol. 3. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walter, S. (1996). The “flawed parent”: A reconsideration of Rousseau’s Emile and its significance for radical education in the United States. British Journal of Educational Studies, 44(3), 260–74.Google Scholar
Weiss, P. A. (1993). Gendered community: Rousseau, sex, and politics. New York: New York University Press.Google Scholar