Demands of Liberal Education (00) by Levinson, Meira [Paperback (2002)]

by Levinson

Demands of Liberal Education (00) by Levinson, Meira [Paperback (2002)]

Genres: Education, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published September 23, 1999

Reviews

[Rafael Fuentes · Rating 5 out of 5]

En breve resumen, la autora defiende el derecho básico de los niños y niñas a desarrollar su capacidad para la autonomía, por lo cual el Estado liberal tiene la obligación de proporcionar una educación que fomente los conocimientos y las habilidades que sostienen y promueven su autonomía a través del modelo de una escuela "desapegada" de la autoridad de los padres (en la que ellos no puedan influir en el currículo y manipularlo para reproducir su propia concepción del bien), común (en la que se reúnan niños y niñas de distintos trasfondos sociales), y que sorteé el reto del liberalismo de equilibrar el educar a los niños y niñas tanto para ser ciudadanos como para tener un sentido de pertenencia cultural dentro de sus comunidades (culturales, religiosas, etc.) más particulares. Para un liberal político simpatizante de Rawls, encontré este libro bien argumentado y convincente del modelo liberal perfeccionista de educación. En particular, los capítulos que me parecieron más interesantes son el 1, y el 2 en donde expone su idea de autonomía y elabora el modelo de la escuela desapegada de los padres, y el 4 en donde compara los modelos educativos estadunidense, británico y francés desde la perspectiva del liberalismo político y sostiene que el liberalismo político es incapaz de equilibrar satisfactoriamente las exigencia de equilibrar la necesidad de formarse una identidad cultural de los niños con la necesidad de cultivar en ellos una identidad común y cívica. Me convenció de que desde una perspectiva pragmática, el liberalismo político converge con el liberalismo perfeccionista en su necesidad de promover la autonomía en las escuelas.

[Aliya Khasseneyeva]

In 4 books read this week on liberal education this one is the first one which is written in a clear and understandable language. Though it is mostly focused on schooling and the development of autonomy, it still opens one's eyes on the aims of the liberal education. easy to read, enjoyed it.
Ch.1. Autonomy and the foundations of contemporary liberalism. P.9-35

Elements of liberalism: p.9-10
An acceptance of the fact of pluralism: the otherness
Legitimation process which is characterised as "a public or transparent process in which all (potential) citizens participate equally and freely in order to generate a set of foundational principles and basic institutional structures that are agreeable to all"
the outcome of the legitimation process: the substantive liberal institutions.
Locke as the father of liberal contractarian approach: "Men ... by nature all free, equal and independent" p.11 Locke, J. (1990) 'An essay concerning the true original, extent and end of civil government' in Two treatises of Government, London: Everyman's library (1st pub.1690)
Ackerman, B. (1980) Social Justice in the Liberal state, New Haven: Yale university Press) also believes equality as the main aim of liberalism.
Ronald Dworkin also underlines the importance of public equality for liberalism.

1 and 1 elements of liberalism result in constitutional democracy as well as the following liberties: p.13
Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, association and conscience, freedom to won private property, freedom over own body, freedom to do anything that does not violate other people's freedom.
Raz and Mill prioritise autonomy over other liberal values. Autonomy is "the capacity to form a conception of the good, to evaluate one's values" and revise them. P.15

The state should value and promote autonomy. P. 21
In order to link elements 1 and 2 of liberalism, children should "adopt the burdens of judgement" with the consequent modification of the values and behaviour (analysis, reflection, action). In order to get proceed to element 3, children need just to acknowledge the existence of the moral power but without subsequent action.
Autonomy is a "necessary component of contemporary liberal theory".p.21
Autonomy-based weak perfectionism values people exercising automomy but does not discriminate against those who are not autonomous.
"A weakly-perfectionist commitment to individual autonomy is a necessary component of the liberal theory". P.22

Autonomous people do not let self-enslavement but adopt deep commitments such as love, loyalty, religion and patriotism. P. 30
To be autonomous a person has to be a person, has to have an identity to make an informed choice. P.31
Plurality develops autonomy in 3 ways: p. 33-34
Provides an opportunity for questioning own values without losing identity.
Provides with the standpoint to critique own values and beliefs.
Provides with understanding of the criticism of us by other people.

Ch.2. The development of autonomy. P.36-63

The ideal autonomy requires the mandatory state schooling. P. 58
Personal autonomy is "a substantive notion of higher-order preference formation within a context of plural constitutive values and beliefs, openness to others' evaluations of oneself, and a broadly developed moral, spiritual or aesthetic, intellectual and emotional personality". P. 58

Autonomy prerequisites: p.59
The community which provides criticism and evaluation of the beliefs; a lack of own and others' consciousness; mutual respect and toleration.

To develop autonomy children should: p. 60
self-confident to discuss and challenge their views in public;
Communicative skills to express themselves;
Develop empathy;
Exposure to cultural and national diversity;
Development of social skills;
Development of creative and critical thinking skills;
Learn basic skills and knowledge in history, maths and so on.

These skills are developed from different sources where families play a significant role. However, the school can provide a more diverse environment for developing them.

Ch.3. Modifying the liberal educational ideal. P.64-99