Complexity Theory and the Philosophy of Education

Dr. Mark Mason is Associate Professor in Philosophy and Educational Studies in the Faculty of Education at the University of Hong Kong, where he is also Director of the Comparative Education Research Centre (CERC). He has written and edited a variety of books in the field, most recently Changing Education: Leadership, Innovation and Development in a Globalizing Asia Pacific (2007).

• Notes on Contributors viiForeword: Complexity and knowledge systems xiMichael A. Peters1 Complexity Theory and the Philosophy of Education 1Mark Mason2 Educational Philosophy and the Challenge of Complexity Theory 16Keith Morrison3 What Is Complexity Theory and What Are Its Implications for Educational Change? 32Mark Mason4 Complexity and Education: Vital simultaneities 46Brent Davis5 Three Generations of Complexity Theories: Nuances and ambiguities 62Michel Alhadeff-Jones6 Re-reading Dewey through the Lens of Complexity Science, or: On the creative logic of education 79Inna Semetsky7 Foucault as Complexity Theorist: Overcoming the problems of classical philosophical analysis 91Mark Olssen8 Complex Systems and Educational Change: Towards a new research agenda 112Jay L. Lemke & Nora H. Sabelli9 Human Research and Complexity Theory 124James Horn10 Complexity and Truth in Educational Research 137Mike Radford11 ‘Knowledge Must Be Contextual’: Some possible implications of complexity and dynamic systems theories for educational research 150Tamsin Haggis12 Complexity and Educational Research: A critical reflection 169Lesley Kuhn13 Complexity and the Culture of Curriculum 181William E. Doll14 From Representation to Emergence: Complexity’s challenge to the epistemology of schooling 204Deborah Osberg, Gert Biesta & Paul Cilliers15 Educating Consciousness through Literary Experiences 218Dennis Sumara, Rebecca Luce-Kapler & Tammy IftodyIndex 231