John Halliday – författare

Originally published in 1990. This book is concerned with the logic of the relationship between educational theory and practice. It is a fundamental examination of three ideas:

Vocationalism - the idea that the central purpose of education is to prepare people for work.

Managerialism - the idea that this preparation can be managed by those not intimately concerned with the practice of teaching.

Consumerism - the idea that education should be led by the demands of the ‘market’.

Halliday argues that promoters of these ideas share a mistaken belief in the value of pursuing a supposed ideal of objective precision in education. He traces the theoretical origins of this ideal and its practical consequences. In particular, he argues that educational development is likely to remain ossified within a particular theoretical framework, unless competing developments are allowed to flourish alongside one another. He concludes by outlining the ways in which this competition might be managed.

Originally published in 1990. This book is concerned with the logic of the relationship between educational theory and practice. It is a fundamental examination of three ideas:

Vocationalism - the idea that the central purpose of education is to prepare people for work.

Managerialism - the idea that this preparation can be managed by those not intimately concerned with the practice of teaching.

Consumerism - the idea that education should be led by the demands of the ‘market’.

Halliday argues that promoters of these ideas share a mistaken belief in the value of pursuing a supposed ideal of objective precision in education. He traces the theoretical origins of this ideal and its practical consequences. In particular, he argues that educational development is likely to remain ossified within a particular theoretical framework, unless competing developments are allowed to flourish alongside one another. He concludes by outlining the ways in which this competition might be managed.

For too long, theories and practices of learning have been dominated by the requirements of formal learning. Quite simply this book seeks to persuade readers through philosophical argument and empirically grounded examples that the balance should be shifted back towards the informal. These arguments and examples are taken from informal learning in very diverse situations, such as in leisure activities, as a preparation for and as part of work, and as a means of surviving undesirable circumstances like dead-end jobs and incarceration. Informal learning can be fruitfully thought of as developing the capacity to make context sensitive judgments during ongoing practical involvements of a variety of kinds. Such involvements are necessarily indeterminate and opportunistic. Hence there is a major challenge to policy makers in shifting the balance towards informal learning without destroying the very things that are desirable about informal learning and indeed learning in general. The book has implications therefore for formal learning too and the way that teaching might proceed within formally constituted educational institutions such as schools and colleges.

A fully updated edition of the Lower Mainland’s bestselling walking guidebook, featuring a wider range of trails than ever before.

Since its first edition in 1976, 109 Walks has guided more than 100,000 locals and visitors alike to the best viewpoints, urban forests, and coastal headlands of British Columbia’s stunning Lower Mainland. This latest edition continues and builds on the legacy of its beloved predecessor with more than twenty completely new trails, a striking selection of photographs, and updated directions that include GPS coordinates for easier route-finding. True to its origins, the book includes clearly written, carefully detailed route descriptions for each walk, along with helpful personal notes about points of natural and historical interest to visit along the way. This edition also features more options in the Sea-to-Sky Corridor, Surrey, and the Fraser Valley—as well as walks that take less than three hours to complete—making it more accessible and expansive than ever before.

Still accurate, authoritative, and highly affordable, 109 Walks is an indispensable insider’s guide for exploring British Columbia’s Lower Mainland in all seasons.