Judith Suissa
Biographic Data
| ID | 492753 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Judith Suissa |
| GIVEN NAMES | Judith |
| FAMILY NAME | Suissa |
| SIGNATURE | SUISSA J |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of London |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-4156-9477 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 25 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 73 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 25 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2000 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2023 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Democratic practice and curriculum objectives
This paper revisits the battle between Summerhill School and the Department for Education and Employment following the damning Ofsted inspection in 1999 that demanded changes to the school’s practice. The focus of the discussion is Paul Hirst’s involvement in the subsequent inspection of Summerhill following the school’s victory against Ofsted in their 2000 appeal at the Independent Schools Tribunal. Drawing on contemporary commentaries on the Of…
Philosophical Reflections on Child Poverty and Education
The harmful effects of Covid 19 on children living in poverty have refocused attention on the complex nature of child poverty and the vexed question of its relationship to education. The paper examines a tension at the heart of much discussion of child poverty and education. On the one hand, education is often regarded as essential for children’s flourishing and a means by which children can “escape” poverty; yet on the other hand, education syst…
Creating and sustaining democratic spaces in education
This article explores the context for the accompanying suite of papers on creating and sustaining democratic spaces in education. Prompted by the centenary of Summerhill, the internationally famous democratic school founded in Suffolk, England, in 1921, by A.S. Neill, this collection of papers explores and broadens out the central questions at the heart of experiments in democratic education. We suggest that, at a time of distrust in and question…
The Gender Wars, Academic Freedom and Education
Philosophical arguments regarding academic freedom can sometimes appear removed from the real conflicts playing out in contemporary universities. This paper focusses on a set of issues at the front line of these conflicts, namely, questions regarding sex, gender and gender identity. We document the ways in which the work of academics has been affected by political activism around these questions and, drawing on our respective disciplinary experti…
Oikophobiaand not being at home
In this paper, I explore some of the ways in which the notion of ‘home’ has been invoked in the context of ideas about belonging and nationalism in the wake of the recent EU Referendum in Britain. I focus particularly on Roger Scruton’s account of ‘oikophobia’, and explore some ways in which, while questioning the pathologisation of ‘not belonging’ implied in Scruton’s account, we can nevertheless put the notion of ‘home’ and its political signif…
‘From the margins’
Philosophy of education in a new key
This article is a collective writing experiment undertaken by philosophers of education affiliated with the PESGB (Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain). When asked to reflect on questions concerning the Philosophy of Education in a New Key in May 2020, it was unsurprising that the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on society and on education were foremost in our minds. We wanted to consider important philosophical and educational q…
Children, parents and non-parents
Narratives of ‘the future’ shape action, and the idea that certain members of society have more of a claim to ‘the future’ than others has received explicit articulation from academics, political commentators and journalists. Children are often viewed as the embodiment of ‘the future’, with parents positioned as having unique stakes in ‘the future’, particularly in comparison to non-parents. Asserting one agent’s rights to ‘the future’ inevitably…
Education and Non-domination
This paper explores the implications of a radical republican conception of freedom as non-domination, rooted in the anarchist tradition. In discussing both the non-statist theoretical frameworks and the practical educational experiments associated with this tradition, I suggest that it can add a valuable dimension to recent critical work in philosophy of education that draws on the republican idea of freedom as non-domination
Minimal utopianism in the classroom
In this paper, we build on recent work on the role of the ‘utopian pedagogue’ to explore how utopian thinking can be developed within contemporary higher education institutions. In defending a utopian orientation on the part of HE lecturers, we develop the notion of ‘minimal utopianism’; a notion which, we suggest, expresses the difficult position of critical educators concerned to offer their students the tools with which to imagine and explore …
Testimony, Holocaust Education and Making the Unthinkable Thinkable
A great deal of philosophical work has explored the complex conceptual intersection between ethics and epistemology in the context of issues of testimony and belief, and much of this work has significant educational implications. In this paper, I discuss a troubling example of a case of testimony that seems to pose a problem for some established ways of thinking about these issues and that, in turn, suggests some equally troubling educational con…
Character education and the disappearance of the political
In this article, I explore some contemporary versions of character education with specific reference to the extent to which they are viewed as constituting a form of citizenship education. I argue that such approaches often end up displacing the idea of political education and, through their language and stated aims, avoid any genuine engagement with the very concept of the political in all but its most superficial sense. In discussing some of th…
Tiger Mothers and Praise Junkies
In this article, I look at some discussions of praising children in contemporary parenting advice. In exploring what is problematic about these discussions, I turn to some philosophical work on moral praise and blame which, I argue, indicates the need for a more nuanced response to questions about the significance of praise. A further analysis of the moral aspects of praise suggests a significant dimension of the parent-child relationship that is…
Private Schools, Choice And The Ethical Environment
In this paper, we consider the relationship between the existence of private schools and public attitudes towards questions about educational provision. Data from the 2010 British Social Attitudes survey suggest that parents who choose to send children to private schools may become more entrenched in their support for more extensive forms of parental partiality, with potential ramifications for the future supporting of progressive education polic…
What All Parents Need to Know? Exploring the Hidden Normativity of the Language of Developmental Psychology in Parenting
In this article we focus on how the language of developmental psychology shapes our conceptualisations and understandings of childrearing and of the parent-child relationship. By analysing some examples of contemporary research, policy and popular literature on parenting and parenting support in the UK and Flanders, we explore some of the ways in which normative assumptions about parenthood and upbringing are imported into these areas through the…
The question of ‘parenting’
Parents as ‘educators’
In this article, we explore to what extent parents should be ‘educators’ of their children. In the course of this exploration, we offer some examples of these practices and ways of speaking and thinking, indicate some of the problems and limitations they import into our understanding of the parent–child relationship, and make some tentative suggestions towards an alternative way of thinking about this relationship
Teaching and Doing Philosophy of Education
Lessons from a New Science? On Teaching Happiness in Schools
Journal Article Lessons from a New Science? On Teaching Happiness in Schools Get access Judith Suissa Judith Suissa Department of Educational Foundations and Policy Studies, Institute of Education, 20 Bedford Way, London, WC1H OAL, UK Correspondence: Judith Suissa, Department of Educational Foundations and Policy Studies, Institute of Education, 20 Bedford Way, London, WC1H OAL, UK. E-mail: [email protected] Search for other works by this author…
Anarchism and Education
Although there have been a few historical accounts of the anarchist school movement, there has been no systematic work on the philosophical underpinnings of anarchist educational ideas - until now. Anarchism and Education offers a philosophical account of the neglected tradition of anarchist thought on education. Although few anarchist thinkers wrote systematically on education, this analysis is based largely on a reconstruction of the educationa…
Untangling the mother knot
Although children and parents often feature in philosophical literature on education, the nature of the parent–child relationship remains occluded by the language of rights, duties and entitlements. Likewise, talk of ‘parenting’ in popular literature and culture implies that being a parent is primarily about performing tasks. Drawing on popular literature, moral philosophy and philosophy of education, I make some suggestions towards articulating …
Shovelling Smoke? The Experience of Being a Philosopher on an Educational Research Training Programme
This paper is a reflective account of the experience of designing and teaching a philosophy module as part of a research training programme for students studying for research degrees in education. In the course of the discussion, I address various problems and questions to do with the relationship between philosophy and educational research, the nature of philosophy of education and the role of the foundational disciplines in educational research
Borrelli, Mill, Emily and Me
In this paper, I explore the insights suggested by Michele Borrelli’s ‘The Utopianisation of Critique’ in the context of a real-life educational encounter that involves an attempt at being ‘critical’. Borrelli’s observation that all positive utopian critique implies an inevitable degree of dogmatism takes on a new—and less depressing—significance when examined in the light of such an encounter. Acknowledging the tensions suggested by Borelli’s an…
Anarchism, Utopias and Philosophy of Education
This paper presents a discussion of some central ideas in anarchist thought, alongside an account of experiments in anarchist education. In the course of the discussion, I try to challenge certain preconceptions about anarchism, especially concerning the anarchist view of human nature. I address the questions of whether or not anarchism is utopian, what this means, and what implications these ideas may have for dominant paradigms in philosophy of…
Dissenting Voices
Duke Maskell (Journal of Philosophy of Education, 32.2) argues that 'our idea of education is puerile' and that we need to rethink it. Drawing on the work of Jane Austen, he essentially reasserts the classic nineteenth-century ideal of Liberal Education. Yet in so doing, Maskell fails to acknowledge the social and political implications of this ideal. I argue that if we wish to engage in a rigorous philosophical debate on education, we cannot aff…
Lessons from a New Science? On Teaching Happiness in Schools
Journal Article Lessons from a New Science? On Teaching Happiness in Schools Get access Judith Suissa Judith Suissa Department of Educational Foundations and Policy Studies, Institute of Education, 20 Bedford Way, London, WC1H OAL, UK Correspondence: Judith Suissa, Department of Educational Foundations and Policy Studies, Institute of Education, 20 Bedford Way, London, WC1H OAL, UK. E-mail: [email protected] Search for other works by this author…
The Gender Wars, Academic Freedom and Education
Philosophical arguments regarding academic freedom can sometimes appear removed from the real conflicts playing out in contemporary universities. This paper focusses on a set of issues at the front line of these conflicts, namely, questions regarding sex, gender and gender identity. We document the ways in which the work of academics has been affected by political activism around these questions and, drawing on our respective disciplinary experti…
What All Parents Need to Know? Exploring the Hidden Normativity of the Language of Developmental Psychology in Parenting
In this article we focus on how the language of developmental psychology shapes our conceptualisations and understandings of childrearing and of the parent-child relationship. By analysing some examples of contemporary research, policy and popular literature on parenting and parenting support in the UK and Flanders, we explore some of the ways in which normative assumptions about parenthood and upbringing are imported into these areas through the…
Anarchism, Utopias and Philosophy of Education
This paper presents a discussion of some central ideas in anarchist thought, alongside an account of experiments in anarchist education. In the course of the discussion, I try to challenge certain preconceptions about anarchism, especially concerning the anarchist view of human nature. I address the questions of whether or not anarchism is utopian, what this means, and what implications these ideas may have for dominant paradigms in philosophy of…
Children, parents and non-parents
Narratives of ‘the future’ shape action, and the idea that certain members of society have more of a claim to ‘the future’ than others has received explicit articulation from academics, political commentators and journalists. Children are often viewed as the embodiment of ‘the future’, with parents positioned as having unique stakes in ‘the future’, particularly in comparison to non-parents. Asserting one agent’s rights to ‘the future’ inevitably…
Minimal utopianism in the classroom
In this paper, we build on recent work on the role of the ‘utopian pedagogue’ to explore how utopian thinking can be developed within contemporary higher education institutions. In defending a utopian orientation on the part of HE lecturers, we develop the notion of ‘minimal utopianism’; a notion which, we suggest, expresses the difficult position of critical educators concerned to offer their students the tools with which to imagine and explore …
Philosophy of education in a new key
This article is a collective writing experiment undertaken by philosophers of education affiliated with the PESGB (Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain). When asked to reflect on questions concerning the Philosophy of Education in a New Key in May 2020, it was unsurprising that the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on society and on education were foremost in our minds. We wanted to consider important philosophical and educational q…
Testimony, Holocaust Education and Making the Unthinkable Thinkable
A great deal of philosophical work has explored the complex conceptual intersection between ethics and epistemology in the context of issues of testimony and belief, and much of this work has significant educational implications. In this paper, I discuss a troubling example of a case of testimony that seems to pose a problem for some established ways of thinking about these issues and that, in turn, suggests some equally troubling educational con…
Private Schools, Choice And The Ethical Environment
In this paper, we consider the relationship between the existence of private schools and public attitudes towards questions about educational provision. Data from the 2010 British Social Attitudes survey suggest that parents who choose to send children to private schools may become more entrenched in their support for more extensive forms of parental partiality, with potential ramifications for the future supporting of progressive education polic…
Shovelling Smoke? The Experience of Being a Philosopher on an Educational Research Training Programme
This paper is a reflective account of the experience of designing and teaching a philosophy module as part of a research training programme for students studying for research degrees in education. In the course of the discussion, I address various problems and questions to do with the relationship between philosophy and educational research, the nature of philosophy of education and the role of the foundational disciplines in educational research
Tiger Mothers and Praise Junkies
In this article, I look at some discussions of praising children in contemporary parenting advice. In exploring what is problematic about these discussions, I turn to some philosophical work on moral praise and blame which, I argue, indicates the need for a more nuanced response to questions about the significance of praise. A further analysis of the moral aspects of praise suggests a significant dimension of the parent-child relationship that is…
Philosophical Reflections on Child Poverty and Education
The harmful effects of Covid 19 on children living in poverty have refocused attention on the complex nature of child poverty and the vexed question of its relationship to education. The paper examines a tension at the heart of much discussion of child poverty and education. On the one hand, education is often regarded as essential for children’s flourishing and a means by which children can “escape” poverty; yet on the other hand, education syst…
Oikophobiaand not being at home
In this paper, I explore some of the ways in which the notion of ‘home’ has been invoked in the context of ideas about belonging and nationalism in the wake of the recent EU Referendum in Britain. I focus particularly on Roger Scruton’s account of ‘oikophobia’, and explore some ways in which, while questioning the pathologisation of ‘not belonging’ implied in Scruton’s account, we can nevertheless put the notion of ‘home’ and its political signif…
Education and Non-domination
This paper explores the implications of a radical republican conception of freedom as non-domination, rooted in the anarchist tradition. In discussing both the non-statist theoretical frameworks and the practical educational experiments associated with this tradition, I suggest that it can add a valuable dimension to recent critical work in philosophy of education that draws on the republican idea of freedom as non-domination
Dissenting Voices
Duke Maskell (Journal of Philosophy of Education, 32.2) argues that 'our idea of education is puerile' and that we need to rethink it. Drawing on the work of Jane Austen, he essentially reasserts the classic nineteenth-century ideal of Liberal Education. Yet in so doing, Maskell fails to acknowledge the social and political implications of this ideal. I argue that if we wish to engage in a rigorous philosophical debate on education, we cannot aff…
Anarchism, Utopias and Philosophy of Education
This paper presents a discussion of some central ideas in anarchist thought, alongside an account of experiments in anarchist education. In the course of the discussion, I try to challenge certain preconceptions about anarchism, especially concerning the anarchist view of human nature. I address the questions of whether or not anarchism is utopian, what this means, and what implications these ideas may have for dominant paradigms in philosophy of…
Borrelli, Mill, Emily and Me
In this paper, I explore the insights suggested by Michele Borrelli’s ‘The Utopianisation of Critique’ in the context of a real-life educational encounter that involves an attempt at being ‘critical’. Borrelli’s observation that all positive utopian critique implies an inevitable degree of dogmatism takes on a new—and less depressing—significance when examined in the light of such an encounter. Acknowledging the tensions suggested by Borelli’s an…
Anarchism and Education
Although there have been a few historical accounts of the anarchist school movement, there has been no systematic work on the philosophical underpinnings of anarchist educational ideas - until now. Anarchism and Education offers a philosophical account of the neglected tradition of anarchist thought on education. Although few anarchist thinkers wrote systematically on education, this analysis is based largely on a reconstruction of the educationa…
Untangling the mother knot
Although children and parents often feature in philosophical literature on education, the nature of the parent–child relationship remains occluded by the language of rights, duties and entitlements. Likewise, talk of ‘parenting’ in popular literature and culture implies that being a parent is primarily about performing tasks. Drawing on popular literature, moral philosophy and philosophy of education, I make some suggestions towards articulating …
Shovelling Smoke? The Experience of Being a Philosopher on an Educational Research Training Programme
This paper is a reflective account of the experience of designing and teaching a philosophy module as part of a research training programme for students studying for research degrees in education. In the course of the discussion, I address various problems and questions to do with the relationship between philosophy and educational research, the nature of philosophy of education and the role of the foundational disciplines in educational research
Teaching and Doing Philosophy of Education
Lessons from a New Science? On Teaching Happiness in Schools
Journal Article Lessons from a New Science? On Teaching Happiness in Schools Get access Judith Suissa Judith Suissa Department of Educational Foundations and Policy Studies, Institute of Education, 20 Bedford Way, London, WC1H OAL, UK Correspondence: Judith Suissa, Department of Educational Foundations and Policy Studies, Institute of Education, 20 Bedford Way, London, WC1H OAL, UK. E-mail: [email protected] Search for other works by this author…
The question of ‘parenting’
Parents as ‘educators’
In this article, we explore to what extent parents should be ‘educators’ of their children. In the course of this exploration, we offer some examples of these practices and ways of speaking and thinking, indicate some of the problems and limitations they import into our understanding of the parent–child relationship, and make some tentative suggestions towards an alternative way of thinking about this relationship
What All Parents Need to Know? Exploring the Hidden Normativity of the Language of Developmental Psychology in Parenting
In this article we focus on how the language of developmental psychology shapes our conceptualisations and understandings of childrearing and of the parent-child relationship. By analysing some examples of contemporary research, policy and popular literature on parenting and parenting support in the UK and Flanders, we explore some of the ways in which normative assumptions about parenthood and upbringing are imported into these areas through the…
Tiger Mothers and Praise Junkies
In this article, I look at some discussions of praising children in contemporary parenting advice. In exploring what is problematic about these discussions, I turn to some philosophical work on moral praise and blame which, I argue, indicates the need for a more nuanced response to questions about the significance of praise. A further analysis of the moral aspects of praise suggests a significant dimension of the parent-child relationship that is…
Private Schools, Choice And The Ethical Environment
In this paper, we consider the relationship between the existence of private schools and public attitudes towards questions about educational provision. Data from the 2010 British Social Attitudes survey suggest that parents who choose to send children to private schools may become more entrenched in their support for more extensive forms of parental partiality, with potential ramifications for the future supporting of progressive education polic…
Character education and the disappearance of the political
In this article, I explore some contemporary versions of character education with specific reference to the extent to which they are viewed as constituting a form of citizenship education. I argue that such approaches often end up displacing the idea of political education and, through their language and stated aims, avoid any genuine engagement with the very concept of the political in all but its most superficial sense. In discussing some of th…
Testimony, Holocaust Education and Making the Unthinkable Thinkable
A great deal of philosophical work has explored the complex conceptual intersection between ethics and epistemology in the context of issues of testimony and belief, and much of this work has significant educational implications. In this paper, I discuss a troubling example of a case of testimony that seems to pose a problem for some established ways of thinking about these issues and that, in turn, suggests some equally troubling educational con…
Minimal utopianism in the classroom
In this paper, we build on recent work on the role of the ‘utopian pedagogue’ to explore how utopian thinking can be developed within contemporary higher education institutions. In defending a utopian orientation on the part of HE lecturers, we develop the notion of ‘minimal utopianism’; a notion which, we suggest, expresses the difficult position of critical educators concerned to offer their students the tools with which to imagine and explore …
Children, parents and non-parents
Narratives of ‘the future’ shape action, and the idea that certain members of society have more of a claim to ‘the future’ than others has received explicit articulation from academics, political commentators and journalists. Children are often viewed as the embodiment of ‘the future’, with parents positioned as having unique stakes in ‘the future’, particularly in comparison to non-parents. Asserting one agent’s rights to ‘the future’ inevitably…
Education and Non-domination
This paper explores the implications of a radical republican conception of freedom as non-domination, rooted in the anarchist tradition. In discussing both the non-statist theoretical frameworks and the practical educational experiments associated with this tradition, I suggest that it can add a valuable dimension to recent critical work in philosophy of education that draws on the republican idea of freedom as non-domination
‘From the margins’
Philosophy of education in a new key
This article is a collective writing experiment undertaken by philosophers of education affiliated with the PESGB (Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain). When asked to reflect on questions concerning the Philosophy of Education in a New Key in May 2020, it was unsurprising that the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on society and on education were foremost in our minds. We wanted to consider important philosophical and educational q…
The Gender Wars, Academic Freedom and Education
Philosophical arguments regarding academic freedom can sometimes appear removed from the real conflicts playing out in contemporary universities. This paper focusses on a set of issues at the front line of these conflicts, namely, questions regarding sex, gender and gender identity. We document the ways in which the work of academics has been affected by political activism around these questions and, drawing on our respective disciplinary experti…
Oikophobiaand not being at home
In this paper, I explore some of the ways in which the notion of ‘home’ has been invoked in the context of ideas about belonging and nationalism in the wake of the recent EU Referendum in Britain. I focus particularly on Roger Scruton’s account of ‘oikophobia’, and explore some ways in which, while questioning the pathologisation of ‘not belonging’ implied in Scruton’s account, we can nevertheless put the notion of ‘home’ and its political signif…
Creating and sustaining democratic spaces in education
This article explores the context for the accompanying suite of papers on creating and sustaining democratic spaces in education. Prompted by the centenary of Summerhill, the internationally famous democratic school founded in Suffolk, England, in 1921, by A.S. Neill, this collection of papers explores and broadens out the central questions at the heart of experiments in democratic education. We suggest that, at a time of distrust in and question…
Democratic practice and curriculum objectives
This paper revisits the battle between Summerhill School and the Department for Education and Employment following the damning Ofsted inspection in 1999 that demanded changes to the school’s practice. The focus of the discussion is Paul Hirst’s involvement in the subsequent inspection of Summerhill following the school’s victory against Ofsted in their 2000 appeal at the Independent Schools Tribunal. Drawing on contemporary commentaries on the Of…
Philosophical Reflections on Child Poverty and Education
The harmful effects of Covid 19 on children living in poverty have refocused attention on the complex nature of child poverty and the vexed question of its relationship to education. The paper examines a tension at the heart of much discussion of child poverty and education. On the one hand, education is often regarded as essential for children’s flourishing and a means by which children can “escape” poverty; yet on the other hand, education syst…
Sociology (24 works) · Political science (19 works) · Law (15 works) · Law (14 works) · Epistemology (13 works) · Psychology (13 works) · Pedagogy (12 works) · Higher education (10 works) · Social science (10 works) · Philosophy (9 works)