Philosophical and Ideological Voices in Education contains clearly written analyses of major philosophies, ideologies, and theories of education and includes a primary source selection representative of each topic treated in the book.

The book is divided into three major parts: (1) philosophies of education; (2) ideologies of education: (3) theories of education. The author begins the text, in Part I, by describing philosophy of education and then examining such leading philosophies as Idealism, Realism, Theistic Realism, Pragmatism, Existentialism, Philosophical Analysis, and Postmodernism. The philosophical discussion then leads to Part II, which treats the nature of ideology and proceeds to examine the leading ideologies of Nationalism, Liberalism, Conservatism, Marxism, and Liberation Pedagogy. Part III makes a connection between philosophy and ideology that leads to a discussion of theories of education. After theory is defined, such major theories as Esssentialism, Perennialism, Progressivism, and Critical Theory are examined.

Each chapter addresses the nature, principles, and applications of each philosophy, ideology and theory to education, schooling, and curriculum and instruction. The book provides a philosophical and ideological grid that helps students locate, analyze, and criticize the leading ideas in the theoretical foundations of education.