Children's Minds, Talking Rabbits and Clockwork Changes: Essays on Education (Critical Issues in Curriculum)

These provocative essays confirm Kieran Egan’s reputation as a writer unafraid to challenge long-held notions of children’s thinking and learning. In a brilliant analysis, he questions the concept of children as “concrete thinkers” and recommends discarding social studies from the curriculum. Arguing that most empirical research in education is fruitless because of a particular conceptual confusion, Egan shows how our presuppositions commonly prevent us from thinking effectively about educational issues. Focusing on children’s and adolescents’ thinking, Egan shows how education must engage children’s imaginations. This fascinating text moves from research and theory to practical lesson-planning―showing, for example, how one can teach punctuation in an imaginatively engaging way. Both authoritative and controversial, this book will prove a stimulating read to anyone who cares about education.

Kieran Egan is a professor of Education at Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada. He is the author of The Educated Mind.