School of Education
Professor of Philosophy of Education
University Director of Postgraduate Research
Contact details
- Address
- School of Education
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston, Birmingham
B15 2TT, United Kingdom
Michael Hand is Professor of Philosophy of Education in the School of Education and Director of Postgraduate Research in the University Graduate School. He is Chair of the Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain and Chair of Governors at Kings Heath Primary School. He edits the IMPACT pamphlet series and the Bloomsbury Philosophy of Education book series.
Michael's research interests are in the areas of moral, political, religious and philosophical education. His books include A Theory of Moral Education (Routledge, 2018), Education, Ethics and Experience (Routledge, 2015), Patriotism in Schools (Wiley, 2011), Philosophy in Schools (Bloomsbury, 2008) and Is Religious Education Possible? (Bloomsbury, 2006).
Michael coordinates the School’s philosophy of education seminar series.
- DPhil in Philosophy of Education, University of Oxford
- MSc in Educational Research Methodology, University of Manchester
- PGCE in Primary Education, Open University
- BA Hons in Theology and Religious Studies, University of Cambridge
Michael supervises doctoral students working in the field of philosophy of education, primarily in the areas of moral, political, religious and philosophical education. He is currently supervising doctoral theses on the place of philosophy on the school curriculum, the ethics of belief in the classroom, existential thinking in religious education, and tackling extremism through philosophy in schools.
Michael works on a range of topics in philosophy of education, including:
- the nature and aims of moral education
- teaching controversial issues
- education for patriotism
- philosophy in schools
- the nature and aims of religious education
- the justifiability of faith schools
- relationships and sex education
- autonomy as an educational aim
- punishment in schools
Recent publications
Article
Hand, M 2022, 'Consent and mutuality in sex education', Journal of Philosophy of Education.
Hand, M 2022, 'Education, extremism and refusal to compromise', Educational Theory.
Tesar, M, Hytten, K, Hoskins, TK, Rosiek, J, Jackson, AY, Hand, M, Roberts, P, Opiniano, GA, Matapo, J, St. Pierre, EA, Azada-palacios, R, Kuby, CR, Jones, A, Mazzei, LA, Maruyama, Y, O'donnell, A, Dixon-román, E, Chengbing, W, Huang, Z, Chen, L, Peters, M & Jackson, L 2021, 'Philosophy of education in a new key: future of philosophy of education', Educational Philosophy and Theory. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2021.1946792
Hand, M 2020, 'Autonomy, practical rationality and being at one with oneself: a reply to Wendelborn', Oxford Review of Education, vol. 46, no. 6, pp. 672-677. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2020.1842185
Hand, M 2020, 'Defining morality, applying standards and shaping attitudes: replies to Copson, Hobbs and Kotzee', Journal of Beliefs and Values, vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 237-240. https://doi.org/10.1080/13617672.2020.1717224
Hand, M 2020, 'Directing moral inquiry: A rejoinder to Cam, Sowey, Lockrobin, Splitter, Sprod and Knight', Journal of Philosophy in Schools, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 89-102. https://doi.org/10.46707/jps.v7ii.124
Hand, M 2020, 'Moral education in the community of inquiry', Journal of Philosophy in Schools, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 4-20. https://doi.org/10.46707/jps.v7ii.118
Hand, M 2020, 'On the necessity of school punishment', Theory and Research in Education, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 10-22. https://doi.org/10.1177/1477878520907039
Hand, M 2020, 'Symposium on Michael Hand’s A Theory of Moral Education: Introduction', Journal of Beliefs and Values, vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 227-228. https://doi.org/10.1080/13617672.2020.1717222
Hand, M 2020, 'Two worries about Educational Goods', Journal of Philosophy of Education, vol. 54, no. 5, pp. 1371-1374. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9752.12504
Hand, M 2019, 'In defence of rational moral education: replies to Aldridge, de Ruyter and Tillson', Journal of Philosophy of Education, vol. 53, no. 4, pp. 656-664. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9752.12397
Hand, M 2019, 'Moral education and the justification of basic moral standards: replies to Clayton, Stevens and D’Olimpio', Journal of Moral Education, vol. 48, no. 4, pp. 529-539. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057240.2019.1626704
Chapter (peer-reviewed)
Hand, M 2022, Moral education and democratic education. in J Culp, J Drerup & D Yacek (eds), The Cambridge Handbook of Democratic Education. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Book/Film/Article review
Hand, M 2018, 'Book review: Randall Curren and Charles Dorn, Patriotic Education in a Global Age', Theory and Research in Education, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 132-133. https://doi.org/10.1177/1477878517750745
Editorial
Hand, M 2021, 'Editorial introduction', Impact, vol. 2020, no. 26, pp. 2-4. https://doi.org/10.1111/2048-416X.2020.12006.x
View all publications in research portal
Philosophy of education; moral, political, religious and philosophical education; education for patriotism, teaching sexuality; the aims of religious education; faith schools; philosophy for children; teaching of controversial issues.