Education Commons^™

Education Or Quality Of Teaching? Implications For Australian Democracy, R. Scott Webster

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The argument being made here is that democratic life is more likely if educators actually ‘educate’, rather than comply with quality of teaching approaches as promoted by the Australian federal government. Engaging with some philosophy of education can assist educators to resist being seduced by notions such as ‘quality teaching’, ‘evidence-based’ practices and ‘impact’ and to exercise the intellectual and political resolve necessary to ensure educational practices promote democracy (Biesta, 2010a) and are not surrendered to the control of non-educators. Blake et al. (2000, p. xiii) identify that philosophy is usually avoided in discussions regarding quality, evidence-based approaches and accountability …