A Book Review of the Skourdoumbis, A. & Webster, S. (2023). The Epistemological Development of Education. Considering Bourdieu, Foucault and Dewey. Routledge

Abstract

Skourdoumbis and Webster analyze the design of education policy frameworks in Australia, the UK and the USA and draw on sociological, political and philosophical concepts of Bourdieu, Foucault and Dewey to place familiar debate on neo-liberal education policies within a multi-faceted critical framework that integrates socio-cultural analysis of evidence-based teaching effectiveness research and questions the dynamics of institutional power mechanisms that transform classroom practices. This uncommon unite of three scholars bring novel analysis and encourage rethinking the purposes and processes of public education and creating a new inclusive epistemology rooted in Deweyan concepts of progressive education. The book contributes to the scholarly critique of the consequences of neo-capitalist-driven education policies making individual economic prosperity and the country’s competitiveness the main forces of educational development. Suggestions are offered including democratic, scientific and authentic dimensions to the contemporary epistemologies of education to enable it to address the social, philosophical, cultural, local, and situated and become a “truly human activity.”