May 4 - July 31

Tuesdays

Educ. 437: 5:30-9:20

Educ. 833: 4:30-9:20

Regular semester

Instructor:

Dr.

C.M. Hamm

Office:

MPX

8654

Phone:

291-3662

Location:

MPX 9511

EDUCATION 437-4: ETHICS AND EDUCATION

EDUCATION

833-5:

SEMINAR IN SOCIAL

&

MORAL PHILOSOPHY AND

PREREQUISITES:

60 hours of credit. Students with credit for Educ. 436 may not take Educ. 437 for further

credit.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course is concerned with identifying and examining moral and ethical issues in education.

Three broad areas of concerns are explored. (1) The normative character of education as a

whole and its justification. Questions like the following will be examined: Is the God-like role

of education in setting goals for children morally tenable? Can there be a value-free education?

Does the contemporary shift to informal modes of education remove the moral problem? What

justification is there for selection of compulsory curriculum content in education? Have we the

right to force children to go to school? (2) Questions related to problems of equality of

educational opportunity, autonomy, interpersonal relationships, and rights in education. What

is the place for the exercise of authority in education? Is discipline and punishment in schools

warranted? Who ought to control schools? What rights do children, teachers and parents have?

(3) The meaning and nature of moral education. What is the status of moral judgements? Are

moral principles "objective"? When is a principle a moral principle? Can values be taught?

Should they be? How do some recent theories of moral education (values clarification,

developmental theories) fare under careful examination? Is moral education without

indoctrination possible?

The course is intended for those who want to think hard and argue about these kinds of

questions. It should be valuable to teachers, administrators, counsellors and all serious students

of education.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

1.

Participation in seminars through formal and informal presentations from time to time.

2.

A mid-term examination based on required readings.

3.

A term paper of about 10 typewritten pages on a relevant topic approved by the instructor.

TEXTS:

Peters, R.S. Ethics and Education. London: George Allen and Unwin, 1966.

Cochrane, D.B., Hamm, C.M., & Kazepides, A.C. (eds.), The Domain of Moral Education.

Paulist Press and O.I.S.E., 1979.