ABSTRACT
Itisacommonplacethatmostschoolingisstructuredround competitivemodelsofinteraction.Itisequallya commonplacethatinthisitreflectsandhelpstoprepare peopleforthedominantmodelofinteractioninthewider society.Somuchtakenforgrantedarethesecommonplaces, thattheyhaveattractedcomparativelylittleattentionfrom philosophersofeducation.Attemptstocharacterise competitiveinteractionsandtoconsidertheircompatibility withtheeducativetaskarefewandfarbetween.Yetthis iscurious,giventheverysharpdivergencesofopinion amongthefewwhohaveconsideredthequestion.Thereis, ontheoneside,strongsupportfortheviewthatpeopleare innatelycompetitive,thatcompetitionistheprecondition ofpersonaldevelopmentandsocialprogress,thata competitiveframeworkistheonlyoneinwhichbenefitsand burdenscanbedistributedfairlyandfreely,andthata non-competitiveframeworkofdistributionbreedsapathy, indolenceandstagnation.Ontheotherside,competitive attitudesaresaidtobesociallyinduced,threatsto co-operationandotherworthwhilepersonalandsocial relationships,thebasisforaviciousdistinctionbetween winnersandlosers,builtonafalseideaofprogress,and thesourceofmuchenvy,despair,selfishness,prideand callousness.Perhapsthepaucityofdiscussionshowsonly thatmostphilosophersofeducationhavefoundthe commonplaceuntroubling.
