A History of Western Educational Ideas

by Denis Lawton, Peter Gordon

It is important that all those concerned with education - parents, teachers, administrators and policymakers - should have a reasonable understanding of the present system and how it has developed, sometimes over a period of many years. This work traces the development of Western educational ideas from the Greek society of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, to the ideas and ideologies behind some of the controversial issues in education today.
This book discusses the continuous development of educational thought over three millennia. The focus upon the history of ideas in this volume is partly an attempt to move history of education away from an approach based on 'great men' to technological, economic and political influences on ideas and beliefs. It reviews many issues, ranging from the purposes of education from the earliest times, to the challenge of postmodernism in the present century. The authors provide an accessible and thought-provoking guide to the educational ideas that underlie practice.

256 pages, Hardcover

First published April 30, 2002

About the author

Denis Lawton is Professor of Education at the Institute of Education, University of London, of which he was Director from 1983 to 1989. He has taught both in schools and at university and is a former Chairman of the Joint Council for the General Certificate of Secondary Education.