ABSTRACT
ThepositionthatIwillcall"thenormativetheoryofeducation"has beendeveloped,oratleastsuggested,inatrilogyofarticlesbyPaul Hirst.1Thepositionhasbeendeveloped,inlargepart,asacontrastto theviewsofO'Connor,discussedinChapter2,whichclaimedthat educationaltheoryisappliedsocialscience.Hirst'sviewisthateducationaltheorycannotberestrictedinthisway.Tobeanadequatetheory ofeducation,itmustbringallourknowledgeofeducationtobearon practice.Althoughthisviewattemptstorectifytheproblemsthatcan beattributedtoscientificconceptionsofeducationaltheory,Iwantto claimthatitisnotanadequateaccountofthenotionsofeducational theoryandpractice.Ibasethisclaimontwoarguments:first,theposition isnotinternallyconsistent;second,theaccountprovidesnoclearand recognizablepictureofwhataneducationaltheoryis.
