Education in Human Rights: Social Functioning and Human Capabilities

Reviews the book, Wheels in the Head: Educational Philosophies of Authority, Freedom, and Culture from Sócrates to Human Rights (2nd ed.) by Joel Spring (see record 2006-06194-000). Joel Spring, is a philosopher who fights against authoritarian tendencies of government-operated schools that are run with the pretense of supporting freedom of thought in the classroom (p. ix). He debates in the academic arena, critically and carefully examining 27-plus different educational philosophies that he calls "wheels in the head." The book covers a large historical period from Plato to Paulo Freire, including contemporary feminist psychologists like Carol Gilligan and many others. Spring asks the following questions: How do we educate students without restricting their intellectual and political freedom, and how do we ensure that education does not serve as an instrument of control by authoritarian institutions and people? When Spring ends the book, he creates a wheel in the head and is convinced that an education in human rights should be enforced by societies. The book dialogues with authors of several different philosophies. It is very gratifying reading! The author could put together an excellent textbook for educators who do not want to browse all these philosophers in the original sources. In particular, he refreshed my memory about very important educational movements like the Free School social experiment, providing us excellent analysis of that moment in the history of education. Readers will assuredly find other philosophies to attract their particular interests in Wheels in the Head. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)