Theory and Practice of Education

by David A. Turner

Overview

"To fellow academics may I say this: Don't put it unread on your students' reading list. Tackle it for yourself, for this is seminal."

Professor Michael Bassey (Praise for Theory of Education)

The eagerly-awaited sequel to the award-winning Theory of Education considers issues of perennial interest to educators. In his compelling and controversial book, Professor David Turner shows how game theory and mathematical models can be used to develop an understanding of educational theory in useful ways. Professor Turner uses his findings to inform the debate on a wide variety of issues, including classroom management, teaching and learning in groups, quality assurance mechanisms and equality of opportunity in accessing educational institutions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780826441706
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	05/10/2009
Pages:	180
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.38(d)

About the Author

David A. Turner is Professor of Education at the University of Glamorgan, UK. Before he entered academia, he was a physics teacher in secondary schools in England. He won the World Education Fellowship Prize in 2006 for his book, Theory of Education. He is currently Visiting Professor at Hiroshima University until July 2010.

Table of Contents

Part 1
Chapter 1: Education is a humane and unpredictable activity Chapter 2: Game theory as a model of behaviour
Chapter 3: Chaos theory and fractals
Chapter 4: The purpose of modelling

Part 2
Chapter 5: Classroom management
Chapter 6: Equality of Opportunity
Chapter 7: Justice in Education
Chapter 8: Learning and Teaching
Chapter 9: Choice of career path
Chapter 10: Quality assurance

Part 3
Chapter 11: Conclusions

Editorial Reviews

"This volume develops in more detail the argument of Turner's Theory of Education (2004) that most educational research (called "single centered") is misguided and useless for policy decision, because it assumes that individual causal conditions, such as student background or teacher preparation, determine educational outcomes...the arguments are strong and worthy of consideration by researchers and policy makers. At least one of Turner's volumes should be included in any academic library. Summing Up: Highly Recommended. Graduate, research, and professional collections." - G. E. Hein, CHOICE, May 2008, Vol. 45 No. 09” —G. E. Hein

“David Turner is an original and innovative scholar and his views on research, policy and pedagogy are socially reconstructionist, if not pedagogically challenging. He opens a new door to thinking in a new way on the nexus between research, policy and classroom pedagogy. This is a must read for reflective, critical and transformationalist educators, researchers and policy makers.” —Educational Practice and Theory

“Praise for the hb of 'Theory of Education' includes: "To fellow academics may I say this: Don't put it unread on your students' reading list. Tackle it for yourself, for this is seminal." Professor Michael Bassey "I think every chapter has an important idea in it, and the last sentence happily promises a sequel". Tyrell Burgess, Professor Emeritus in the Philosophy of Social Institutions, University of East London. "I thought the book was provocative and original ... "Patricia Broadfoot, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Professor of Education at the University of Bristol "... a surprisingly interesting read". John Fazey, Director Centre for Learning, Development and Training, University of Wales, Bangor” —Blurb from reviewer

From the Publisher