Title: An Analysis and Theological Critique of Education
Subtitle: Who Are We?
Subject Classification:  Education, Philosophy, Religion and Faith  
BIC Classification: JNL, HP, HR
BISAC Classification: EDU011000, EDU040000, EDU025000
Binding: Hardback, Paperback, eBook
Publication date: 20 Sep 2023
ISBN (Hardback): 978-1-80441-292-3
ISBN (eBook): 978-1-80441-293-0
ISBN (Paperback): 978-1-80441-480-4

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Description

When we ask the question, “what is the purpose of education?” we are asking, “what is the purpose of educating human beings?” and any sincere answer to this question can only be advanced following our reflections upon the interrelated question, “what do we mean by being human?” This ‘Who are We?” question is embedded, though usually not explicitly, in school inspection regimes, in day-to-day teaching practice, and in all educational dialogue and policy. It affects the wellbeing of those on the frontline of education. But it is possible for staff, policy makers and academics to uncover these hidden assumptions, explore counter-narratives, and transform school curricula in the light of these reformed narratives. The author approaches these questions from a Christian Contemplative standpoint, via Radical Orthodoxy (RO) - an academic, persuasive and polemical sensibility - and through the prayerful and relational aspiration of the contemplative tradition. It takes as a central case study the inspection of a school by the UK Government inspection body, Ofsted, the Office for Standards in Education.

Biography

Author(s):  Richard Noble is a High School teacher. In 2021 he completed a PhD, specialising in Education and Lifelong Learning, from the University of East Anglia, UK.

Reviews

"Drawing on teleological and ontological conceptions of human ‘purpose’ and ‘self’ within this tradition Richard Noble illuminates a spiritual dimension that underpins the practical experience of education as this is still understood and valued by teachers and parents in schools, but which the assessment methodology of Ofsted threatened to undermine. A central feature of this spiritual dimension Noble argues is the idea of the pupil as a ‘complex relational self’ to be realised in the educational process. In open-ended interviews with teachers and parents about the contents of an inspection report he convincingly finds expressions and traces of a theological conception of the education process which is absent from the report itself. In this way his critique of Ofsted’s reportage is built collaboratively with teachers and parents ‘voices’ and in the process strengthens the case to reinstate philosophical theology as a practical discipline in the field of education."
- Professor John Elliott, Emeritus Professor of Education at the University of East Anglia, UK

"I was inspired, consoled and nodding continuously with agreement as I turned the pages to this very important book which deals with a crucial question all those involved in education urgently need to ask: Who are we and what makes us human? This in turn is related to the pressing dilemma of the purpose of education. Ontic and teleological questions are never separated. Although this might seem on obvious investigation to address, the author claims that it is rarely examined. Identity politics does not really touch on it. Therefore, there is a pressing need to uncover the often hidden, assumptions (he rightly calls them hegemonies) underlying notions of the self presently operating in educational discourse and practice….The book will be immensely helpful to teachers since it offers them the tools to investigate for themselves this issue. He includes a detailed case study and advocates them becoming action researchers in this field of knowledge which he names the ‘study of self and purpose’. A sizeable part of the book is devoted to how practitioners might uncover ontological biases across varied domains and how to correct these in their own practice. In some ways I have been waiting impatiently for this book to appear. Now it is here, I am pleased to highly recommend it to others. I think it deserves as wide an audience as possible and should be discussed regularly by all those working in education in whatever capacity. It also needs to be on the essential reading list of every teacher training course."
- Professor David Torevell. Liverpool Hope University, UK.

"The three questions “Who am I?”; “What is a self?”; “What does it mean to be human?” are rarely, if ever, explicitly addressed in school inspection regimes and in daily teaching practice. Yet, the answers to these ontological questions should be the point of departure of any discussion related to the hopes and experiences of teachers and pupils alike. This book, a case study of the inspection of a school by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted), is distinctive in applying the prayerful and relational principles of the Christian Contemplative tradition to yield insights on how the narratives of self and identity implicitly permeate policies, practices and dialogue in the U.K. educational system. Richard Noble is the best person that I can think of to write lucidly and masterfully on this topic. Publication of this book is particularly timely as we grapple with issues related to post-pandemic disaffection in schools where hegemonies, subtly disguised as benign, yet perniciously determine the nature of our ultimate telos. I believe this book is an invaluable and fundamental resource for all concerned with the reforming of the school experience and the ultimate, profound and inescapable mystery we confront when we ask the question: Who are we?"
- Alain J.E. Wolf (PhD Cantab, FHEA), Honorary Research Fellow (UEA, UK), Visiting Professor (University of Transylvania at Brasov, Romania)