Rethinking Secondary Education

"This is a significant book for the field of education generally and human-centred education in particular.  Recently, human-centred education has entered into something of a cul-de-sac characterised by exhortation and repetition this book offers an important route out of the current impasse." - Professor Ivor Goodson, Education Research Centre, University of Brighton

"At a time when secondary education is so impoverished by the deadly weight of testing and league tables, by performance indicators and targets, it is important to have reasserted the aims of education in terms of personal development, human flourishing and enriching community. 'Rethinking Secondary Education' does this admirably. It offers the insights of alternative approaches to education, and does so with a philosophical depth that is rarely seen. This book is a welcome antidote to the impersonal nature of much educational theory and practice. It should be on the reading list of both trainee teachers and those teachers who need to be refreshed in their further professional development." - Professor Richard Pring, Department of Education, University of Oxford

"This is a timely, accessible and engaging book of considerable intellectual stature, bold imagination and practical wisdom. Not only does it develop penetrating, elegant analyses of what is wrong with current state controlled and alternative approaches to contemporary education, it also offers imaginative, practical suggestions for a more fulfilling, human centred alternative." - Professor Michael Fielding, Institute of Education, University of London

With great sensitivity and force, and in wonderfully clear prose, Scherto Gill and Garrett Thomson explore some fundamental questions about what we want from our education system and what we can expect from it. Their work is largely philosophical in nature, but it also draws on empirical findings. It is highly recommended for all who are interested in education, whether from a more theoretical point of view or from a more practical point of view. - Professor Adrian W. Moore, Oxford University

The author team Dr Scherto Gill is a research fellow at the Guerrand-Hermes Foundation and visiting fellow at the School of Education, University of Sussex. She has published widely in education. Her recent books include Transformation through education and Narrative Pedagogy. Professor Garrett Thomson is the Compton Chair in Philosophy, College of Wooster Ohio, USA and the Research Director of the Guerrand-Hermes Foundation for Peace. He is the author of 16 books in philosophy, including Needs and On the Meaning of Life.

PART 1  Towards human-centred education

Chapter 1  The aims of education
Chapter 2  The natureof learning
Chapter 3  Motivation and emotion
Chapter 4  The experience of being an adolescent
Chapter 5  Understanding adolescence
Chapter 6  Human-centred education

PART 2  Rethinking secondary education

Chapter 7  Curriculum
Chapter 8  The teacher and the art of teaching
Chapter 9  Assessing assessment
Chapter 10  Young peoples experience of secondary schooling
Chapter 11  Building learning communities - humanising schools