ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the concepts covered in the preceding chapters of this book. The book shows the theory and practice from a variety of points of view, based on very different assumptions. Instrumentalist goals differ according to the particular interest of their advocates. These goals might be largely utilitarian, expressed in terms of maximising human happiness; or they might be strongly political and expressed in terms of social engineering. The liberal position has been subject to attack, particularly from a Marxist viewpoint, for not being value-free, but expressing the outlook and interests of the liberal establishment. Acceptance of the ideal of rationality carries with it acceptance of the supporting ideal of impartiality. Good teaching for the instrumentalist is a purely technical concept; good teaching for the de-schooler cannot occur within the normal framework of schooling, since it violates the totally unrestricted freedom which he wishes to offer from the earliest stages of learning.
