Constructivist Education in an Age of Accountability - Paperback

by David W. Kritt (Editor)

Includes constructivist education approaches rooted in action, activity, interaction, discourse, inquiry, and learning originating from culture and individual experience
Examines the competing demands of accountability and meaningful, engaged learning in the classroom
Considers educational reforms of recent years to set a context for juxtaposing cognitive theory of learning-teaching and educational politics as they affect teacher education and classroom practices

Back Jacket

This book contrasts authentic approaches to education with classroom practices based primarily on standards external to the individuals who are supposed to learn. While other books tend to promote either a desperate scramble for meeting standards or determined resistance to neoliberal reforms, this book fills that gap in ways that will inspire practitioners, prospective teachers, and teacher educators. Mandates pay only lip service to constructivist and social constructivist principles while thwarting the value of both students and teachers actively creating understandings. Authors in this book assert the central importance of a range of constructivist approaches to teaching, learning, and thinking, inviting careful reflection on the goals and values of education.

Author Biography

David W. Kritt is Associate Professor of Education at the College of Staten Island, City University of New York, USA.