Editing Philosophy of education (section)

== Subdivisions ==
Different subdivisions of the philosophy of education have been suggested. One categorization distinguishes between descriptive and [[Normativity|normative]] issues.<ref name="Frankena"/><ref name="BritannicaPhilosophyOfEducation"/> Descriptive theories aim to describe what education is and how to understand its related concepts. This includes also [[Epistemology|epistemological]] questions, which ask not whether a theory about education is true or false, but how one can arrive at the knowledge to answer such questions.<ref name="BritannicaPhilosophyOfEducation"/> Normative theories, on the other hand, try to give an account of how education should be practiced or what is the right form of education.<ref name="Frankena"/><ref name="SageHandbookWhat"/> Some normative theories are built on a wider ethical framework of what is right or good and then arrive at their educational normative theories by applying this framework to the practice of education. But the descriptive and the normative approaches are intertwined and cannot always be clearly separated since descriptive findings often directly imply various normative attitudes.<ref name="Frankena"/>

Another categorization divides topics in the philosophy of education into the nature and aims of education on the one hand, and the methods and circumstances of education on the other hand. The latter section may again be divided into concrete normative theories and the study of the conceptual and methodological presuppositions of these theories.<ref name="RoutledgeEducation"/> Other classifications additionally include areas for topics such as the role of [[reasoning]] and [[morality]] as well as issues pertaining to social and political topics and the curriculum.<ref name="OxfordHandbookIntro"/>

The theories within the philosophy of education can also be subdivided based on the [[Philosophical movement|school of philosophy]] they belong to. Various schools of philosophy, such as [[existentialism]], [[pragmatism]], [[Marxism]], [[postmodernism]], and [[feminism]], have developed their own perspective on the main issues of education.<ref name="RoutledgeEducation"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Noddings |first1=Nel |title=Philosophy of Education |date=2016 |url=https://www.routledge.com/Philosophy-of-Education/Noddings/p/book/9780813349725 |language=en |chapter=Introduction |access-date=2024-05-31 |archive-date=2023-06-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609105323/https://www.routledge.com/Philosophy-of-Education/Noddings/p/book/9780813349725 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="StanfordPhilosophyOfEducation"/> They often include normative theories about how education should or should not be practiced and are in most cases controversial.<ref name="RoutledgeEducation"/>

Another approach is to simply list all topics discussed in the philosophy of education. Among them are the issues and presuppositions concerning [[sex education]], [[science education]], [[Aesthetics|aesthetic]] education, [[religious education]], [[moral education]], [[multicultural education]], [[professional education]], theories of teaching and learning, the measurement of learning, knowledge and its value, cultivating reason, epistemic and moral aims of education, [[authority]], fallibilism, and [[fallibility]].<ref name="StanfordPhilosophyOfEducation"/><ref name="BritannicaPhilosophyOfEducation"/>

Finally, yet another way that philosophy of education is often tacitly divided is in terms of ''western'' versus non-western and “[[global south]]” perspectives. For many generations, philosophy of education has maintained a relatively [[ethnocentric]] orientation, with little attention paid to ideas from outside Europe and North America, but this is starting to change in the 21st century due to [[decolonization]] and related movements.<ref>Hebert, David G. (2023). ''Comparative and Decolonial Studies in Philosophy of Education''. Springer Nature. {{ISBN|9819901383}}</ref>