One of the important determinants of development during the transition to adulthood is the undertaking of social roles characteristic of adults, also in the area of finishing formal education, which usually coincides with beginning fulltime employment. In the study discussed in this paper, it has been hypothesized that continuing full-time education above the age of 26, a phenomenon rarely observed in Poland, can be considered as an unpunctual event that may be connected with difficulties in the process of identity formation. (...) Relationships between identity dimensions and identity statuses, and age and educational context were analyzed. 693 individuals aged 19-35 took part in the study. The participants attended three types of educational institutions: full-time university studies, part-time university studies, and full-time post-secondary school. Among the students of full-time university studies predictable dependencies, also in respect of highlevels of indicators of identity crisis and a high frequency of diffused identity occurrence, were observed. Such dependencies were not found in the group of full-time post-secondary school students. (shrink)

It has been reported by some studies that the desire to be involved in decisions concerning one’s healthcare especially with regard to obtaining informed consent is related to educational status. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to assess the influence of educational status on attitude towards informed consent practice in three south-eastern Nigerian communities.

Part of the educational system in England has been geared towards the preparation of particular professions, while the identity and status of members of some professions have depended significantly on the general education they have received. Originally published in 1973, this volume explores the interaction between education and the professions. It also looks at the education of the main professions in sixteenth century England and at how twentieth century university teaching is a key profession for the training of (...) new recruits to other professions. (shrink)

ABSTRACTAs neo-Aristotelian character education approaches have become more popular, the list of objections has increased too. This paper focuses on the objection that while character education proponents claim to be ‘progressive’ and ‘reformative’ they seem to maintain the educational status quo. This paper examines what happens to neo-Aristotelian character education approaches when they are implemented in schools. First, a range of authors is consulted that has critically followed character education approaches, in particular the one advocated by the Jubilee (...) Centre for Character and Virtues. Second, the Bildung tradition is discussed, which was also intended as a progressive and cosmopolitan project, but was used by German governments in the 19th century to fashion the nation state. Finally, a comparison between the two approaches is made, raising the question whether it is possible for states to run an education system that does not distort ideals of what it means to be human. (shrink)

Recalling the landmark US Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education, the advancement of educational equality is often associated with the reduction of stigmatizing differences in status or “sense of inferiority” engendered by separately and differentially educated citizens. This essay takes up the obverse concern, the sense of superiority sustained by educational inequality, with particular focus on the inequality signaled by higher education status. I contend that the presence of aggrandized HES in a democratic society (...) provides reasons to object to educational inequality for which institutions of higher education ought to be held responsible. Aggrandized HES not only demands a questionable deference from citizens in a democratic society; it also weakens HES’s signaling of epistemic authority and equality of educational opportunity, which harms the public’s motivation to learn by distorting beliefs about education. To address this problem, I argue that the best policy solution for curbing aggrandized uses of HES is to transform the positional aspect of higher education using an admissions policy originally suggested by Elizabeth Anderson, which I term the elite culture strategy. Beyond admissions policies, this essay addresses the larger concern of educating citizens to perceive and assess educational status according to democratic norms and not solely in terms of self-interested gain. (shrink)

Since 2013, Vietnam has implemented a plan to reform the whole education sector. However, there is little understanding on the status of educational research in Vietnam, which may lay the foundation for such plan. Thus, this research aims to analyze the whole picture of educational research from Vietnam, as seen from the Clarivate Web of Science (WOS) database: 215 publications were recorded, ranging from 1991 to 2018. These 215 publications were further analyzed from five perspectives: 1) number (...) of publications by year; 2) research fields and levels of education; 3) top institutions with the highest number of publications; 4) international collaboration; and 5) quality. Some of the most notable results are: 1) the educational sciences in Vietnam have been still under-developed until recently; 2) among different research topics research among educational sciences, some (e.g., Vocational Education and Training or Early Childhood Education) seemed to be overlooked whereas others (e.g., Higher Education and Teaching and Learning) seemed to receive more attention from educational scholars; 3) all the most major education – specialized universities did not appear among the top five institutions with highest number of publications; 4) Australia, Thailand, the USA, New Zealand and China were the countries with the highest number of co-publications with Vietnamese researchers; and 5) The majority of publications belonged to low-ranked journals. Implications would be withdrawn for Vietnamese policymakers, education leaders, educational researchers and teachers in order to adjust their policies and/or action plans; thus, enhancing the performance and impacts of educational research in the future. (shrink)

This study investigates the impact of entrepreneurship education on college students’ entrepreneurial intentions, as well as the moderating effects of personality and family economic status on the relationship between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intention, respectively. We tested our hypotheses using a sample of college students in Tianjin, China, and analyzed the data of 326 questionnaires containing validated measures. The results show that entrepreneurship education has a positive impact on college students’ entrepreneurial intentions; proactive personality negatively moderates this relationship; and (...) family economic status positively moderates it. However, the moderating effect of narcissistic personality has not been verified. This study is unique and innovative as it brings new insights to this stream of literature by introducing the roles of the personality and family economic status in the relationship between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intention. Our analysis provides important empirical evidence about the negative moderating effect of proactive personality and the positive moderating effect of family economic status on the relationship between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intention, introducing insights into the heterogeneity of the effect of entrepreneurship education. (shrink)

A review of the chemical education research literature suggests that the term constructivism is used in two ways: experience-based constructivism and discipline-based constructivism. These two perspectives are examined as an epistemology in relation to the teaching and learning of the concept of idealization in chemistry. It is claimed that experience-based constructivism is powerless to inform the origin of such concepts in chemistry and while discipline-based constructivism can admit such theoretical concepts as idealization it does not offer any unique perspectives that (...) cannot be obtained from other models. Chemical education researchers do not consistently appeal to constructivism as an epistemology or as a teaching/learning perspective and it is shown that, while it draws attention to worthwhile teaching/learning strategies, it cannot be considered as foundational to chemical education research and tends to be used more as an educational label than as an undergirding theory. (shrink)

This paper addresses, in a third of a series of works by the author on the status of Fear Education, particularly the work of the philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti. It appears little progress has been made, especially in the field of Education in terms of recognizing the unique nature and role of fear in shaping everything humans do—including the way they learn and create knowledge itself. The paper encourages others to join this mission for a better fear education for all.

Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) education has been part of the US research landscape for nearly 35 years. Although at least in part a response to cases of research misconduct, RCR requirements and implementations by instructors often repurpose RCR to focus on many different possible conceptions of “responsible conduct.” In reviewing today’s landscape, it is clear that interventions vary widely with respect to goals, audience, topics covered, settings in which education is delivered, pedagogical approaches used, and institutional commitment. Surveying the (...) status quo in each of these areas is taken here as a starting point for a series of recommendations to better promote RCR. A case is made for shifting from hoping RCR education will directly decrease research misconduct (unlikely) or using NIH recommended topics as a checklist, but instead supporting researchers to engage in conversations about the ethical challenges present in their practice of research. (shrink)

New challenges in the development of teaching methods lead to a large number of new tools, methods, and approaches to teaching. The structure and functions of a class as a basic social group in education is being radically transformed, becoming more and more virtual especially in COVID-19/post-covid period. In this regard, this study proposes a model that generalizes the existing trends in changing forms of education towards its digitalization, virtualization and mobility to increase the effectiveness of pedagogical practice. The model (...) is based on Pierre Bourdieu’s model of a social field, which has proven its effectiveness in pedagogy. The study considers the communicative space of the class as an integral structure aimed at the optimal academic, social and moral development of the participants. Considering a physical and communicational expanse of class as a social field that describes the field of cognitive, social, and psychological interaction between participants in the educational process, the study tries to establish its structure, stages of formation and suggests considering examples of partial successful application of similar models in other studies. The proposed model acts as a generalization, combining models and approaches previously used on the basis of the social field theory. The practical application of this model will make possible the classroom learning process more effective in both online and off-line implication and social interaction less conflict and stable. (shrink)

The acceptance or rejection of classmates is one of the most widely recognized determinants of wellbeing in childhood. This study analyses psychosocial adjustment and sociometric status in primary education pupils, and possible differences by gender. A cross-sectional survey was undertaken in Huelva. The surveyed schools were selected using a stratified random sampling technique with both public and private elementary schools. Sample was composed of 247 4th grade students. Data revealed gender differences in psychosocial adjustment, particularly in terms of prosocial (...) behavior in girls and behavioral problems in boys. Popular and rejected statuses presented opposing adjustment profiles, particularly in hyperactive symptoms and behavioral problems. When the sample was separated by gender, the differences between the types of status in emotional symptomatology and prosocial behavior disappeared. In addition, the differences between statuses were greater in boys, and were defined mainly by hyperactivity, whilst for girls these differences were more apparent in behavioral problems. (shrink)

A review of the chemical education research literature suggests that the term constructivism is used in two ways: experience-based constructivism and discipline-based constructivism. These two perspectives are examined as an epistemology in relation to the teaching and learning of the concept of idealization in chemistry. It is claimed that experience-based constructivism is powerless to inform the origin of such concepts in chemistry and while discipline-based constructivism can admit such theoretical concepts as idealization it does not offer any unique perspectives that (...) cannot be obtained from other models. Chemical education researchers do not consistently appeal to constructivism as an epistemology or as a teaching/learning perspective and it is shown that, while it draws attention to worthwhile teaching/learning strategies, it cannot be considered as foundational to chemical education research and tends to be used more as an educational label than as an undergirding theory. (shrink)

This paper presents new evidence on the impact of socioeconomic status and education on knowledge attribution. I examine a variety of cases, including vignettes where agents have been Gettiered, have false beliefs, and possess knowledge. Early work investigated whether SES might be associated with knowledge attribution :429–460, 2001; Seyedsayamdost in Episteme 12:95–116, 2014). But these studies used college education as a dummy variable for SES. I use the recently developed Great British Class Survey :219–250, 2013) to measure SES. The (...) paper reports evidence against an association between SES and patterns of knowledge ascription, and reports mixed evidence about education effects. (shrink)

Procrastination describes a ubiquitous scenario in which individuals voluntarily postpone scheduled activities at the expense of adverse consequences. Steel pioneered a meta-analysis to explicitly reveal the nature of procrastination and sparked intensive research on its demographic characteristics. However, conflicting and heterogeneous findings reported in the existing literature make it difficult to draw reliable conclusions. In addition, there is still room to further investigate on more sociodemographic features that include socioeconomic status, cultural differences and procrastination education. To this end, we (...) performed quantitative sociodemographic meta-analyses to fill this gap. It was found that the general tendency and academic procrastination tendency of males were stronger than females. No significant effects of differences in socioeconomic status, multiculturalism, nationality, family size, and educational background were found to affect procrastination tendencies. Furthermore, it was noteworthy that the gender differences in procrastination tendencies were prominently moderated by measurements, which has a greater effect on the Aitken Procrastination Inventory than on the General Procrastination Scale. In conclusion, this study provides robust evidence that males tended to procrastinate more than females in general and academic profiles, and further indicates that procrastination tendencies do not vary based on sociodemographic situations, including socioeconomic status, multiculturalism, nationality, family size, and educational background. (shrink)

Derek C Meakin; The Moral Status of Competition: an issue of concern for physical educators, Journal of Philosophy of Education, Volume 20, Issue 1, 30 May 2006.

Talent and Education was first published in 1960. Minnesota Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original University of Minnesota Press editions.The problem of identification, development, and utilization of talented young people is a matter of prime concern to all who are interested in the welfare of the individual and the future of the nation. This book, constituting a progress report on research related to the problem, will be of (...) particular value to educators, psychologists, social workers, community leaders, and others who are engaged in the effort to make the most of our human resources.The volume contains chapters by a number of contributors drawn from various fields in elementary, secondary, and higher education. The contributors include John E. Anderson, Robert H. Beck, Florence N. Brumbaugh, Walter W. Cook, Willis E. Dugan, Dale B. Harris, Arthur J. Lewis, Catherine Cox Miles, Mary Pilch, Maynard C. Reynolds, Anne Roe, Merrill F. Roff, Paul C. Rosenbloom, Audrey Shechtman, and E. Paul Torrance. Orville L. Freeman, governor of Minnesota, writes an indtroduction.Among the topics discussed are the nature and scientific measurement of talent, the effects of life experiences on the development of talent, the enrichment of school curricula, special grouping and acceleration in the schools, psychological aspects of some of the problems, and Russian methods of dealing with individual differences. The volume is based on papers from an Institute on Exceptional Children held at the University of Minnesota. (shrink)

While young children lack the moral powers that Rawls calls a conception of the good and a sense of justice, psychological data show that adolescents are closer to adults in this respect. The idea that civic education should be compulsory for younger person but not for adults cannot be justified by appeal to the supposed incapacities of the former. A more democratic ’participation‐oriented’ approach to the civic education of the young is more appropriate than an ’authority‐oriented’ approach. Such an approach (...) is a requirement that flows from according younger persons the respect that justice requires. (shrink)

On grounds of autonomy, is comprehensive education — an approach to education that attempts to facilitate the acceptance of certain beliefs and ways of life as being correct, and refuses to sympathetically expose students to contrary beliefs and ways of life — ethically suspect? Recently, Bryan R. Warnick has argued that it is. In this essay, Adam D. Bailey critically evaluates Warnick's argument, and contends that it is unsuccessful. In particular, he argues that Warnick's argument from necessity does not succeed. (...) Bailey then addresses a potential response to his critique of Warnick's argument — that of developing an argument from facilitation rather than necessity — and argues that, contrary to the argument from necessity, the argument from facilitation does provide support for the claim that comprehensive education is ethically suspect. However, Bailey attempts to show that even granting the facilitation argument, it is plausible to hold that, on grounds of autonomy, comprehensive education need not be seen as ethically suspect. (shrink)

Studies on students' perception of corporate social responsibility (CSR) have been growing in western scholarship. For students in African countries, such as Nigeria, there is little that is known about how and whether gender, level of study, and being enrolled in business education courses impact their perception of and disposition towards CSR. This study explores the significance of gender, academic status or level of study, and exposure to business ethics education (BEE) on Nigerian students' perception of CSR as a (...) veritable business ethic. Specifically, the effects of these factors on students' perception of CSR are examined using analysis of variance. The results show a significant effect of exposure to BEE and gender on CSR‐sensitivity, and a mild, but significant effect of academic status. This implies that male students and female students had different perspectives on CSR issues. Students who took ethics courses and those who did not would run businesses differently. However, age and experience on campus did not influence students' perception or position on CSR. The study recommends that more behavioral models be estimated with the inclusion of more demographic and socioeconomic variables to elicit more robust results. (shrink)

Purpose. The article aimed at comprehending the phenomenon of education in its anthropological content, by comparing two versions for the analytics of the crisis state in education, given by Hannah Arendt and Evald Ilyenkov. Theoretical basis. For implementing this task, the method of in-depth reflexive reading of texts is used, when traditional academic concepts are considered in a new context determined by the analytics of real social problems. In this case, we are talking about the development of thinking not only (...) as a cognitive ability but as an ethical and ontological feature of a human being. In that event, thinking arises through its invisible belonging of one person to many others that both Arendt and Ilyenkov ascertain. Originality. Originality of the article is to identify the anthropological dimension of education and to establish the negative influence of such ways in organizing the educational process while it is under the dictation of current circumstances. The justification for this thesis is presented by identifying the consonance of the educational concepts from Hannah Arendt and Evald Ilyenkov. Conclusions. The opposition between action and thinking, revealed by Hannah Arendt, cannot be understood as a divorcement of thinking from reality, since another man appears to be the original reality for a person, namely, in thinking a person enters the space of a meeting with another man, put himself into another person’s mind and with this firstly attains his place in the world, becoming himself, acquiring the image of a man. So perceived education does not become manipulative training, but it is a real birth of a subject as creating himself. Undermining of the authority in the modern world is accompanied by the searching new forms in structuring the common space of human endeavor, which is possible when the educational status is determined by its attitude to the world rather than by the social environment. The authority of a teacher is effective when he relies on his responsibility for the world into which he introduces the child and which opens to him. Responsibility for peace and the resulting authority is associated with love for the world. Only with sufficient love for the world, a person is capable of taking responsibility for it. (shrink)

Higher education institutions are expected to produce quality and competitive graduates for the job market and nation-building. In realizing this role, Bukidnon State University needs to ensure that graduates may land a job-relevant and align with their education and training. With this, a tracer study was conducted to verify whether the three batches of graduates are employed and are employable. It ascertained their employability based on their work experience from graduation to the present job. It employed a cross-sectional method and (...) data mining for the information of 326 graduates. The results revealed that the majority of graduates had jobs relevant to their education and training; yet, there was a significant difference in the employability of graduates across batches, except in terms of gender. Biological Science, Social Studies, and Math graduates were employable within the first six and twelve months compared to graduates from other curricula. It was claimed that the BukSU had prepared BSE graduates for employment. However, these results have implications for strategic options in improving the programs. The study made some recommendations for future tracer initiatives. (shrink)

This article investigates elite young people’s transitions from the Leysin American School in Switzerland, an elite secondary school, to international higher education. These young people often moved to the UK or the US for higher education – locations associated with global status in the education market. However, I argue, new configurations of race and racism in those spaces may challenge some students’ elite status, despite their wealth. This article demonstrates that to navigate such issues in their transition to (...) higher education, these young people leaned on their diasporic networks. By doing so, they strategically and pre-emptively ascertained whether their power and privilege would travel with them when they became mobile. Significantly, then, this article attends to the differential experiences of members of the transnational elite and highlights the racial discrimination that they may face in mobility. It thereby complicates the notion of mobility as an effective strategy for elite status maintenance. (shrink)

The authors of the article with reference to the discussions about the status of knowledge in the postmodernism discourse and the "crisis of the intellectual" presented in the works by J.F. Lyotard and Z. Bauman, consider these issues in the context of other social challenges. Interpreting the conducted empirical research results, the research also focuses on the multidisciplinary theoretical analysis of philosophical, psychological and pedagogical literature. The authors note that in the absence of metanarratives, the phenomenon of intellectuals and (...) intellectual work is transformed: postmodern epistemology has changed the opportunities of mass education about how things should stand / what to have / how to act into the multiple / polyphonic / variable / fragmentary / collage dissemination of knowledge. As an argument in the "crisis of intellectuals" discussion, the authors analyze the educators` need and motivation sphere emphasizing constant knowledge enhancement to be a priority for them, which logically affects professional identity reconstruction carried out through self-reference. The paper presents an opinion that intellectuals lack self-perception as a reference social group. We conclude that in the information society, public interaction with the media affecting the reconsideration of the intellectual`s role and status serves as a basis for their legitimation. The results of the conducted survey enable us to conclude that raising educators` intellectual level affects their competences in professional practices. The status of the intellectual-educator is legitimized by their activity in training sessions, discussions, meet-ups and other events. The study presents an algorithm for constructing the intellectual-educator in the conditions of social reality challenges. The research substantiates demand for the intellectual-educator who is IT literate, capable of professional reflection, open to change, motivated for continuous self-development, ready for the reconstruction of professional identity from a knowledge transmitter to an erudite, a creative coach, a supervisor and a moderator. (shrink)

Based on the nationally representative sample data from the Chinese General Social Survey, this study examines the relationship of education levels and health status with an individual's probability of being employed in China. The findings obtained from the binary logistic regression estimator suggest that people with a higher level of education were more likely to be employed than those who have less or no education. The individual with university or above education was found to be 85% more likely to (...) be employed than college or equal diploma holders. Further, the healthier individual was found to be 11% more likely to be employed than relatively less healthy. Moreover, the resulting coefficients obtained from the moderation effect suggest that all of the two-way interaction effects among health status and education levels with gender are not statistically significant even at the 10% level. The results suggest that there was no multiplicative effect of gender with health status and level of education on an individual's probability of being employed. Further, the study also suggests important policy implications in the light of China's active labor force market and the gender gap in employment. (shrink)

The text approaches the status of Romanian philosophy during the communist period from two points of view: a) that of speech: while a new philosophical vocabulary becomes official, the old one fades away; b) that of the communist educational system. My analysis will consider the first period in which “the new philosophy” was disseminated in society, and the second period in which Marxism could not be reduced to DIAMAT. Are these periods subsumed to the universal ideology or not?

"One of the greatest problems of education," Kant observes, "is how to unite submission to the necessary restraint with the child's capability of exercising his free will." The famous philosopher explores potential solutions to this dilemma, stressing the necessity of treating children as children and not as miniature adults. Rather than a systematic study of theories, this succinct treatise encompasses Kant's thoughts on the subject of education. His positive outlook includes a conviction that human nature can be continually improved. To (...) achieve this end, he advocates raising the science of education to academic status-an innovative notion for the 18th century, and a landmark in modern Western education theory. Annette Churton translation. (shrink)

Malnutrition among children is prevalent in almost all the states in India. This study assesses the extent and causes of malnutrition in two eastern Indian states with similar climates, namely West Bengal and Assam, using data from the National Family Health Survey 1998s educational status, working status of the mother, mother’s age at delivery of the children, source of drinking water, toilet facilities and standard of living of the household. Logistic regression was carried out separately for each (...) of the three indices on the explanatory variables for both the states. It was found that not all variables are equally important in determining whether a baby is underweight, or suffering from acute or chronic malnutrition. Also, the importance of variables is not the same in the two states. It was observed that the coefficients associated with the variables in determining weight-for-height are not significant compared with those for weight-for-age and height-for-age. (shrink)

To understand the impact of social, financial, cultural capitals, negative culture, and socioeconomic status of families on educational aspiration in the senior high school student athletes, it will be beneficial to promote their career developments. The purpose of this study is to explore the influence of ethnicity, year of sport experience family income, the educational expectations of significant others, and the three aforementioned types of capital on educational aspiration among the senior high school student athletes. This (...) study was conducted with a sample of 262 U-18 male baseball student athletes. Of the participants, 20.20% had attained the qualifications to play on the national team. The results showed that monthly family income positively affected social capital and positively indirectly affected educational aspirations through social capital, whereas monthly family income negatively affected negative culture and positively affected educational aspirations through negative culture. Moreover, social capital positively affected educational aspirations compared with negative culture negatively affected educational aspirations. The results serve as a reference for the formulation of educational policy as it relates to student athletes. (shrink)

The current heated debate on the deteriorating status of the university raises a range of pertinent questions, including: What role can the humanities play in culture today in the face of the crisis of higher education? To answer this question, the authors begin by problematizing the relationship between culture, the humanities, and education. In the second part of the paper, they examine the changing role of the humanities in conjunction with the understandings of culture, and outline three salient ways (...) in which culture is conceived of today. Subsequently, they focus on the loss of the dominant status that culture suffered when everyday life was discovered in modernity. In the third part, they argue that everyday life, or rather social representations of everyday life and its practices, are currently becoming the chief criterion for assessing culture, the humanities, and education. However, everyday life remains complex both in theoretical conceptualizations and in research observations. For example, everyday life harbors a range of risks and anxieties which are veiled by its own obviousness and reinforced by socialization. The authors conclude that, given this, everyday life in democratic societies calls for the work of understanding, support, affirmation, and criticism, in which the humanities can retain their superior status. In the fourth part, the authors discuss non-consensual democracy, critical community, and the pedagogy of asylum as the forms of organization and action that promote an auspicious interconnection of culture, the humanities, and education. (shrink)

This study examined ethical attitudes and perceptions of 691 undergraduate seniors and freshmen in a college of business. Gender was found to be correlated to perceptions of "what the ethical climate should be" with female subjects showing significantly more favorable attitude towards ethical behaviors than males. Further, Seniors had a more cynical view of the current ethical climate than freshmen. Freshmen were significantly more likely than seniors to believe that good business ethics is positively related to successful business outcomes. Ethical (...) education was significantly correlated to both perceptions of "current ethical climate" as well as "what the ethical climate should be". Students who had been exposed to ethical issues in a course were more likely to believe both, that ethical behavior is, and should be, positively associated with successful business outcomes. (shrink)

Ranking systems such as The Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings and Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s Academic Rankings of World Universities simultaneously mark global status and stimulate global academic competition. As international ranking systems have become more prominent, researchers have begun to examine whether global rankings are creating increased inequality within and between universities. Using a panel Tobit regression analysis, this study assesses the extent to which markers of inter-institutional stratification and organizational segmentation predict global status among US (...) research universities as measured by position in ARWU. Findings indicate some support that both inter-institutional stratification and organizational segmentation predict global status. (shrink)

Complexity theory challenges educational philosophy to reconsider accepted paradigms of teaching, learning and educational research. However, though attractive, not least because of its critique of positivism, its affinity to Dewey and Habermas, and its arguments for openness, diversity, relationships, agency and creativity, the theory is not without its difficulties. These are seen to lie in terms of complexity theory's nature, status, methodology, utility and contribution to the philosophy of education, being a descriptive theory that is easily misunderstood (...) as a prescriptive theory, silent on key issues of values and ethics that educational philosophy should embrace, of questionable internal consistency, and of limited ‘added value’ in educational philosophy. The paper sets out key tenets of complexity theory and argues that, though it is useful for educational philosophy, it requires new conceptual tools and mind‐sets to comprehend fully its significance. (shrink)