Review by Choice Review
The outstanding forward by Elliot Eisner succinctly outlines the six theses of this collection of previously published essays by Kieran. These are further distilled into the three major headings presented by the author. Section 1 focuses on the thinking of children and how it has been misunderstood and misrepresented through the commonly accepted developmental theories of Piaget and others who consider intellectual growth a cumulative act. The second section deals with the largely undertheorized terrain of children's fantastic and imaginative thinking, and the way it offers significant insights into both how formal curricula can function to restrain and limit thinking, and how creative forces in the child are ignored and held suspect by the dominant discourse of schools. The closing section addresses the ongoing critique of mainstream social science research in education, where methods and theories constructed for inanimate objects are applied to living social organisms. The resultant misconstructions and misinterpretations offered up as "objective research" have led to continuing methods and programs that are built on suspect theory. The writer clearly articulates the mainstream progressive discourse of this decade. Although the book does not explore new terrain, it (sometimes repetitively) covers essential arguments against the status quo of schooling in the US in the late 20th century. Upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty. B. Deever; Georgia Southern University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
