https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5626-596X
The Philosophy of Education Society of Australia (PESA) has been immensely proud of owning the journal Educational Philosophy and Theory (EPAT), which over its 55 years of existence has become one of the leading educational journals that address all aspects of educational philosophy and theories. The journal has a strong commitment to extending the dialogues of educational philosophy to other disciplines and fields, such as education, the arts, and sciences, and branching beyond Australasia. Michael A. Peters has been associated as an editor and leader of the field with the journal for decades.
In February 2023, Michael A. Peters stepped down as Editor-in-Chief of EPAT, a role that he held for nearly 25 years. Over his tenure, EPAT expanded from a journal of only three issues annually to a leading international journal that publishes 14 issues annually. In recent years, Michael transformed EPAT into a high-impact indexed journal. The most recent citation metrics give EPAT an impact factor of 2.054 – a substantial growth from 0.566 in 2016. Today, EPAT is well known to philosophers of education and theorists around the world as both an innovative and distinguished publication outlet. EPAT publishes over 100 articles per year, with nearly 800,000 article downloads in 2022. Recent yearly statistics reflect how the authors and readers of EPAT have become global. It is a sought after publication venue that requires both scholarly care and leadership. The support of PESA to maintain its status has been unwavering.
The growth and continued success of EPAT over time has been essential to the life of PESA. EPAT has strengthened the status of philosophy of education as a rigorous research field that can thrive and adapt to challenging times. Michael’s insightful approach to international academic development and his ability to continually adapt has enabled EPAT to persevere and generate funding that makes PESA’s activities and members’ creative works possible (Peters, Jackson, et al., Citation2023; Tesar et al., Citation2021, Citation2023).
In a dynamic and tumultuous time in global academia, Michael has contributed significant successful innovations in academic publishing. Most recently, he spearheaded collective writing – a new mode of academic publishing that emphasizes peer production, openness, collaboration, and co-creation (Jackson & Peters, Citation2021; Peters, Arndt, et al., Citation2022; Peters, Besley, et al., Citation2021; Peters & Jackson, Citation2021; Peters, Jandrić, et al., Citation2023; Peters et al., Citation2016). He has supported the development of collective writing and projects that have included many scholars and thinkers, from emerging doctoral candidates to well-known seasoned scholars. This approach of inclusivity of scholarship and thought has been one of the most impressive contributions to his leadership: opening up possibilities for others (Peters, Brighouse, et al., Citation2023; Peters, Jackson, et al., Citation2022; Peters, Jandrić, et al., Citation2022; Peters, Tesar, et al., Citation2022; Peters et al., Citation2020; Peters, White, et al., Citation2021; Peters, White, et al., Citation2020). These and other projects highlight Michael’s approach to scholarship and editorship which is open, dynamic, accessible, collective, timely and at times provocative (Besley et al., Citation2022; Jackson & Peters, Citation2019, Citation2023; Peters, Rizvi, et al, Citation2022; Peters et al., Citation2018; Peters & Tesar, Citation2018a, Citation2018b; Tesar & Peters, Citation2020).
We, Liz Jackson and Marek Tesar, have been working closely alongside Michael A. Peters as Deputy Editors of EPAT on journal matters and academic publishing. This has prepared us well to accept the passing of the torch from Michael and the PESA Executive to us as joint Acting Editors-in-Chief, until elections are held to appoint a permanent Editor-in-Chief from January 2024, a role that we are applying for jointly. We are fortunate that Michael remains active in the field and supports us as we move forward. We are continuing to work with Michael closely throughout this transition and the years ahead, ensuring that EPAT is growing and reaching new academic and scholarly possibilities. Michael has generously offered to continue to provide related innovative writings for EPAT. As acting Editors-in-Chief, and as PESA and EPAT communities, we are lucky to have the opportunity to learn alongside him as we continue taking the torch forward to support PESA and EPAT.
With this special issue, we would like to formally initiate what no doubt will be merely the first of many celebrations that recognize Michael’s contributions to EPAT, PESA, and the field of philosophy of education by showcasing some of Michael’s recent, not-previously published essays on the history of Western thought and education. What follows is a selection of Michael’s latest editorial essay work demonstrating the breadth of his engagement with the field, and the way he examines and stretches the understanding of the field of philosophy of education, and its place in a broader intellectual history and theory. The collection begins with his reflections on the history of ‘Western Civilization 101’ and the early origins of neoliberalism. It continues with examinations of recent events, including the age of Trump and the end of the United States-led war in Afghanistan. Final pieces look forward and backward at the same time, considering apocalyptic philosophy, new age spiritualism, and ‘the end of the world’. The essays in this collection demonstrate the intellectual legacy and the vision for EPAT and the broader field.
Michael A. Peters’ intellectual and editorial leadership in the field has been truly amazing as this collection testifies to, and we are sure that it will continue to grow. In the meantime, we wish to thank him for all that he has done and begin a celebration of all that has been achieved at EPAT under his leadership. Michael’s stepping down was well planned, and we feel encouraged and heartened by the support we have received in the past 6 months. We are looking forward to working with EPAT, PESA, and the philosophy of education community in the years ahead.
Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
[email protected] Marek Tesar
Faculty of Education and Social Work, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
References
- Besley, T., Jackson, L., & Peters, M. A. (2022). Named or nameless: University ethics, confidentiality and sexual harassment. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 54(14), 2422–2433. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2021.1952865
- Jackson, L., & Peters, M. A. (Eds.) (2019). From ‘aggressive masculinity’ to ‘rape culture’: An educational philosophy and theory gender and sexualities reader (Vol. V). Routledge.
- Jackson, L., & Peters, M. A. (Eds.) (2021). Marxism, neoliberalism, and intelligent capitalism: An educational philosophy and theory reader (Vol. XII). Routledge.
- Jackson, L., & Peters, M. A. (Eds.) (2023). Race and racism: An educational philosophy and theory reader (Vol. XIV). Routledge.
- Peters, M. A., Arndt, S., Tesar, M., Jackson, L., Hung, R., Mika, C., Ozolins, J. T., Teschers, C., Orchard, J., Buchanan, R., Madjar, A., Novak, R., Besley, T., Sturm, S., Roberts, P., & Gibbons, A. (2022). Philosophy of education in a new key: A collective project of the PESA Executive. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 54(8), 1061–1082. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2020.1759194
- Peters, M. A., Besley, T., Tesar, M., Jackson, L., Jandrić, P., Arndt, S., & Sturm, S. (2021). The methodology and philosophy of collective writing: An educational philosophy and theory reader (Vol. X). Routledge.
- Peters, M. A., Brighouse, S., Tesar, M., Sturm, S., & Jackson, L. (2023). The open peer review experiment in educational philosophy and theory. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 55(2), 133–140. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2020.1846519
- Peters, M. A., & Jackson, L. (Eds.) (2021). From radical Marxism to knowledge socialism. An educational philosophy and theory studies reader (Vol. XI). Routledge.
- Peters, M. A., Jackson, L., Hung, R., Mika, C., Buchanan, R. A., Tesar, M., Besley, T., Hood, N., Sturm, S., Farrell, B., Madjar, A., & Webb, T. (2022). The case for academic plagiarism education: A PESA Executive collective writing project. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 54(9), 1307–1323. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2021.1897574
- Peters, M. A., Jackson, L., Papastephanou, M., Jandrić, P., Lazaroiu, G., Evers, C. W., Cope, B., Kalantzis, M., Araya, D., Tesar, M., Mika, C., Chen, L., Wang, C., Sturm, S., Rider, S., & Fuller, S. (2023). AI and the future of humanity: ChatGPT-4, philosophy and education–Critical responses. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 1–35. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2023.2213437
- Peters, M. A., Jandrić, P., Fuller, S., Means, A. J., Rider, S., Lăzăroiu, G., Hayes, S., Misiaszek, G. W., Tesar, M., McLaren, P., & Barnett, R. (2022). Public intellectuals in the age of viral modernity: An EPAT collective writing project. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 54(6), 783–798. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2021.2010543
- Peters, M. A., Jandrić, P., Hung, R., Tesar, M., Zhang, H., & Wang, C. (2023). The aesthetics of collective writing: A Chinese/Western collective essay. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 55(8), 888–896. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2022.2094765
- Peters, M. A., Jandrić, P., Irwin, R., Locke, K., Devine, N., Heraud, R., Gibbons, A., Besley, T., White, J., Forster, D., Jackson, L., Grierson, E., Mika, C., Stewart, G., Tesar, M., Brighouse, S., Arndt, S., Lazaroiu, G., Mihaila, R., Legg, C., & Benade, L. (2016). Towards a philosophy of academic publishing. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 48(14), 1401–1425. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2016.1240987
- Peters, M. A., Rizvi, F., McCulloch, G., Gibbs, P., Gorur, R., Hong, M., Hwang, Y., Zipin, L., Brennan, M., Robertson, S., Quay, J., Malbon, J., Taglietti, D., Barnett, R., Chengbing, W., McLaren, P., Apple, R., Papastephanou, M., Burbules, N., … Misiaszek, L. (2022). Reimagining the new pedagogical possibilities for universities post-Covid-19: An EPAT Collective Project. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 54(6), 717–760. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2020.1777655
- Peters, M. A., & Tesar, M. (Eds.) (2018a). Contesting governing ideologies: An Education Philosophy and Theory reader on neoliberalism. Routledge.
- Peters, M. A., & Tesar, M. (Eds.) (2018b). Troubling the changing paradigms: An Education Philosophy and Theory early childhood reader. Routledge.
- Peters, M. A., Tesar, M., & Jackson, L. (2018). After postmodernism in educational theory? A collective writing experiment and thought survey. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 50(14), 1299–1307. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2018.1457868
- Peters, M. A., Tesar, M., Jackson, L., & Besley, T. (2020). What comes after postmodernism in educational theory?. Routledge.
- Peters, M. A., Tesar, M., Jackson, L., Besley, T., Jandrić, P., Arndt, S., & Sturm, S. (2022). Exploring the philosophy and practice of collective writing. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 54(7), 871–878. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2020.1854731
- Peters, M. A., White, E. J., Besley, T., Locke, K., Redder, B., Novak, R., Gibbons, A., O’Neill, J., Tesar, M., & Sturm, S. (2021). Video ethics in educational research involving children: Literature review and critical discussion. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 53(9), 863–880. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2020.1717920
- Peters, M. A., White, E. J., Tesar, M., Gibbons, A., Arndt, S., Rutanen, N., Degotardi, S., Salamon, A., Browne, K., Redder, B., Charteris, J., Gould, K., Warren, A., Delaune, A., Kamenarac, O., Hood, N., & Sturm, S. (2020). Infantologies. An EPAT collective writing project. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2020.1835648
- Tesar, M., & Peters, M. A. (2020). Heralding ideas of well-being: A philosophical perspective. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 52(9), 923–927. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2019.1696731
- Tesar, M., Peters, M. A., & Jackson, L. (2021). The ethical academy? The university as an ethical system. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 53(5), 419–425. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2021.1884977
- Tesar, M., Peters, M. A., & Jackson, L. (Eds.) (2023). The ethical academy: The university as an ethical system. Routledge.