Professor Michael Hand

• 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

• BA Education

Michael supervises doctoral students working in the field of philosophy of education. The substantive topics on which his past and present doctoral students have worked include the ethics of teaching, philosophy in schools, religious education, faith-based education, spiritual education, education for patriotism, academic freedom in higher education, and the interface between science and religion.

For more information on research degrees, please visit the Postgraduate Research pages.

Michael is currently working on three topics. 

• In his recent book A Theory of Moral Education, Michael addresses the problem for moral education posed by reasonable disagreement about morality. He sets out to show that cultivating children’s commitment to moral standards need not be indoctrinatory. It is true that many moral standards and justificatory theories are controversial, and educators have an obligation to teach these nondirectively, with the aim of enabling children to form their own considered views. But reasonable moral disagreement does not go all the way down: some basic moral standards are robustly justified, and these should be taught directively, with the aim of bringing children to recognise and understand their authority. 
• Michael is also working on a case for teaching philosophy in schools. In his article ‘On the distinctive educational value of philosophy’, he argues that there are philosophical problems that feature prominently and pressingly in ordinary human lives and that all children should be equipped by their education to tackle. Among these are the problems of justifying subscription to moral, political and religious standards. The significance of these problems for everyone is sufficient to warrant the inclusion of philosophy in the school curriculum. 
• Finally, Michael is collaborating with Laura D’Olimpio at the University of Notre Dame Australia on a project on education against extremism. The project will explore what exactly extremism is, whether and why it is objectionable, and whether and how schools should equip children to resist it.