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Humanism, Postcolonialism, and Education

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Encyclopedia of Educational Philosophy and Theory
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Synonyms

Anti-Humanism; Colonialism; Cultural Difference; Eurocentrism; Humanism; Postcolonialism; Universalism

Introduction

It is not unreasonable to claim that humanism has been, and perhaps continues to be, a foundational principle for education. While it may be the case that fewer scholars and teachers would explicitly refer to humanism in the contemporary era, traces of its influence can be seen in the ideals and commitments expressed by educators from the early childhood through to the tertiary sector. Schools that promote themselves as developing their students holistically, as persons, are just one example of this. However, humanism has encountered a range of critiques since the burgeoning in the 1960s of structuralist and poststructuralist theories. This entry will seek to outline some of the ways in which postcolonial theory has critically engaged with humanism and the effects of this for education. Though it is a term widely used, humanism, ultimately, cannot be neatly...

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Correspondence to Stephen Chatelier .

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Chatelier, S. (2017). Humanism, Postcolonialism, and Education. In: Peters, M.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Educational Philosophy and Theory. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-588-4_184

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