Richard Pring is Emeritus Professor of Education, and was formerly Director of Department of Educational Studies, University of Oxford, UK.

Introduction; Part I Philosophy of Education: meaning and importance; Chapter 1 'From disguised nonsense to recognition of patent nonsense': thinking philosophically about education.; Chapter 2 Am I a critical realist?; Chapter 3 Philosophy of education according to John Dewey.; Part II Aims of Education; Chapter 4 What counts as an educated person?; Chapter 5 Putting persons back into education.; Chapter 6 Traditional or child-centred learning - a 'false dualism'?; Chapter 7 Preparing for citizenship: relevance of John Dewey.; Chapter 8 When is a 'university' not a 'university'? A changing concept.; Part III Teaching and Research; Chapter 9 Leadership: skilled manager or virtuous professional?; Chapter 10 Research into practice: action research and practitioner research.; Chapter 11 Teacher as researcher: relevance of John Dewey's pragmatism.; Part IV Context of Education; Chapter 12 Transformation of education: from public service to private gain.; Chapter 13 The common school