CampusDownWiki CampusDown ↗
English

R. S. Peters on Liberal Education

📚 Education By CampusDown Wiki Editorial Team Last updated
Quick answer: Peters saw education as initiating learners into worthwhile activities and forms of knowledge, valued for their intrinsic worth rather than external use.
Contents
  1. 1. Three criteria
  2. 2. Education as initiation
  3. 3. Forms of knowledge
  4. 4. Transcendental justification
  5. 5. Critiques
  6. 6. References

Three criteria

  • Normative: something worthwhile is transmitted.
  • Cognitive: knowledge, understanding and breadth of perspective, not mere training.
  • Procedural: morally acceptable methods respecting learners' awareness; indoctrination is excluded.

Education as initiation

Education initiates the young into public traditions of thought, with teachers as those already initiated.

Forms of knowledge

Paul Hirst identified distinct forms (mathematics, sciences, human sciences, morals, arts, religion, philosophy), each with its own concepts and tests; liberal education initiates pupils into them.

Transcendental justification

Anyone who seriously asks "why pursue theoretical activities?" already presupposes their value. Critics call this circular.

Critiques

John White proposed personal well-being as the aim instead; others charged intellectualism and elitism. Later Peters linked education more to the good life.

References

  1. Peters, R. S. (1966). Ethics and Education. George Allen & Unwin.
  2. Peters, R. S. (1965). Education as initiation. In R. D. Archambault (Ed.), Philosophical Analysis and Education. Routledge & Kegan Paul.
  3. Hirst, P. H. (1965). Liberal education and the nature of knowledge. In R. D. Archambault (Ed.), Philosophical Analysis and Education. Routledge & Kegan Paul.
  4. White, J. (1982). The Aims of Education Restated. Routledge & Kegan Paul.

Reports and materials that use this theory (Korean)

There are no materials dedicated to this theory yet, but you can search related reports in the CampusDown library (Korean).

Find more reports · Search '피터스의 자유교육론' on CampusDown →
John White's Aims of EducationJohn White's aims of education explained: his critique of R. S. Peters' intrinsic justification, education for personal well-being, autonomy and concern for others, the shift in his view of well-being, and its curriculum implications.📚 EducationPiaget's Theory of Cognitive DevelopmentPiaget's theory of cognitive development explained: schema, assimilation, accommodation, equilibration, the four stages, comparison with Vygotsky, criticisms, and report examples.📚 EducationBandura's Social Learning TheoryBandura's social learning theory explained: observational learning, vicarious reinforcement, reciprocal determinism, self-efficacy, the Bobo doll experiment, criticisms, and report examples.📚 EducationSkinner's Operant ConditioningSkinner's operant conditioning explained: reinforcement and punishment, schedules of reinforcement, shaping and extinction, the law of effect, criticisms, and report examples.📚 Education

You may also like

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)Brown v. Board of Education (1954) summary: the case, Chief Justice Warren's unanimous ruling, why 'separate but equal' fell, and what happened after.⚖️ LawIntestate SuccessionWho inherits when someone dies without a will: how U.S. intestacy statutes rank spouses, children and other relatives, how per stirpes works, and how Korea's Civil Act sets heirs, shares and representation.⚖️ LawThe Rule of LawWhat is the rule of law? Its meaning and history from Magna Carta to United States v. Nixon, Dicey and Fuller's principles, and how it differs from rule by law.⚖️ LawCommon Law vs. Civil LawCommon law vs. civil law: how the two legal families differ on sources of law, precedent, trials and judges, and where Korea's mixed system fits between them.⚖️ Law

This article was last updated on October 15, 2026. It is based on widely recognized original works and textbooks; when citing it in a paper, please check the original sources listed in the references.