An Educational Way of Thinking?

This chapter explores the possibility of an educational way of thinking through pleas in the literature that call for a more explicit educational perspective in foundational reflections about education. It clarifies K–12 education as the unit of analysis, points to the linkage between goals and the social role of K–12 education, introduces and draws initial attention to the urgency of addressing the problem of instrumentalization specifically in K–12 education, and discusses the question of an educational way of thinking as a possible strategy to both address the instrumental approach and promote self-governance of K–12 education. This question is examined through two constructions of educational studies: the Anglo-American and the Continental. But instrumentalism of K–12 education attracts much less attention, at least in the areas of educational theory, foundations of education, and philosophy of education.