Encyclopedia of Educational Philosophy and Theory

This encyclopaedia is a dynamic reference and study place for students, teachers, researchers and professionals in the field of education, philosophy and social sciences, offering both short and long entries on topics of theoretical and practical interest in educational theory and philosophy by authoritative world scholars representing the full ambit of education as a rapidly expanding global field of knowledge and expertise. This is an encyclopaedia that is truly global and while focused mainly on the Western tradition is also respectful and representative of other knowledge traditions. It professes to understand the globalization of knowledge. It is unique in the sense that it is based on theoretical orientations and approaches to the main concepts and theories in education, drawing on the range of disciplines in the social sciences. The encyclopaedia privileges the "theory of practice", recognizing that education as a discipline and activity is mainly a set of professional practices that inherently involves questions of power and expertise for the transmission, socialization and critical debate of competing norms and values.

Michael A. Peters is Professor of Education at Waikato University, Emeritus Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Adjunct Professor in the School of Art, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) and School of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou University. He is also Professorial Fellow in the School of Creative Arts, James Cook University. He is the executive editor of Educational Philosophy and Theory and founding editor of three international ejournals, Policy Futures in Education, E-Learning and Digital Media and Knowledge Cultures. His interests are in education, philosophy and social policy and he has written over sixty-five books, including most recently Citizenship, Human Rights and Identity: Prospects of a Liberal Cosmopolitan Order (2013), Education Philosophy and Politics: Selected Works of Michael A. Peters (2012); Education, Cognitive Capitalism and Digital Labour (2011), with Ergin Bulut; Neoliberalism and After? Education, Social Policy and the Crisis of Capitalism (2011). In 2012 he was awarded a Doctor of Letters, honoris causa from the State University of New York, in recognition of his work “to promote enlightenment and social equity in higher education".