This collection aims to explore different conceptions of epistemological inquiry and their influence on pedagogy and the curricular content of primary and secondary education. It is arguable that curriculum policy makers have continued to subscribe to a foundationalist paradigm of rational educational planning. This is, however, considered largely untenable by educational philosophers in light of the impact of 'postmodern' philsophical critiques on the notions of objectivity, truth and authority in our claims for knowledge. This volume fills a major gap in the current literature of educational philosophy by calling for the establishment of a coherent route between rational foundationalism and intellectually promiscuous postmodernism in order to address the point and purpose of contemporary education.

List of Contributors Preface and Acknowledgements Introduction: The post-war rise and fall of educational epistemology David Carr Part I: Knowledge in General 1. Knowledge, truth and education HArvey Siegel 2. Interpretation, construction and the 'postmodern' ethos David E. Cooper Part II: Knowledge in Particular 3. Science, education after postmodernism Jim MacKenzie 4. Truth in religion: Wittgensteinian considerations Fergus Kerr 5. Truth, arts education and the 'postmodern condition' Graham McFee 6. Fictional Truth Lynne McFall 7. Moral Education and the objectivity of values David Carr 8. Virtues and human flourishing: a teleological justification Jan Steutel Part III: The Wider Socio-Political Context 9. The politics of difference and common education Eamonn Callan 10. Epistemology, politics and curriculum construction Denis C. Phillips 11. Feminism, epistemology and education Shirley Pendlebury Part IV: Knowledge and Learning 12. Learning as invention: education and constructivism Christopher Winch 13. Education, knowledge and critical thinking Kevin Williams Postscript Index