Kenneth Wain is a major Maltese philosopher and educator. His areas of specialisation in philosophy are chiefly education

Education

Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...

, ethics

Ethics

Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...

, political philosophy

Political philosophy

Political philosophy is the study of such topics as liberty, justice, property, rights, law, and the enforcement of a legal code by authority: what they are, why they are needed, what, if anything, makes a government legitimate, what rights and freedoms it should protect and why, what form it...

.

Beginnings

Wain was born at Sliema

Sliema

Tas-Sliema is a city located on the northeast coast of Malta. It is a centre for shopping, restaurants and café life. Tas-Sliema is also a major commercial and residential area and houses several of Malta's most modern hotels. Tas-Sliema, which means 'peace, comfort', was once a quiet fishing...

, Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

, in 1943. He then pursued his higher studies in philosophy and in education at the University of London

University of London

-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. He later studied philosophy in Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

.

Career

After some teaching experience in junior high schools in Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

, Wain started his long teaching career at the University of Malta

University of Malta

The University of Malta is the highest educational institution in Malta Europe and is one of the most respected universities in Europe. The University offers undergraduate Bachelor's Degrees, postgraduate Master's Degrees and postgraduate Doctorates .-History:The University of Malta was founded in...

. Here he was also appointed Dean of the Faculty of Education. Along the way, Wain continued to specialise in ethics

Ethics

Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...

, political philosophy

Political philosophy

Political philosophy is the study of such topics as liberty, justice, property, rights, law, and the enforcement of a legal code by authority: what they are, why they are needed, what, if anything, makes a government legitimate, what rights and freedoms it should protect and why, what form it...

, the philosophy of education

Philosophy of education

Philosophy of education can refer to either the academic field of applied philosophy or to one of any educational philosophies that promote a specific type or vision of education, and/or which examine the definition, goals and meaning of education....

, and international relations

International relations

International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...

.

Apart from playing a leading role in Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

’s national educational policy development, and in the setting of the national curriculum

Curriculum

See also Syllabus.In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...

, he continued to contribute actively in the field as chairman of the Foundation for Tomorrow’s Schools, and of the Foundation for Educational Services. Wain is also a board member of the International Network of Philosophers of Education. In 2007 Wain was appointed Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations.

Throughout his academic and philosophical career, Wain published considerably, and also established himself as a public figure of liberal views with a ready, sharp, but always civil, tongue.

Works

The following are some of Wain’s publications.

The list might need updating. Please help with the on-going process of updating.

Books

• Lifelong Education and Participation (ed.; 1984)
• Philosophy of Lifelong Education (1987)
• The Maltese National Minimum Curriculum (1990)
• Theories of Teaching (1992)
• Luciano Micallef (1993)
• Research into Secondary School Curricula (with Paul Heywood u James Calleja; 1994)
• The Value Crisis (1995)
• Tomorrow’s Schools (with Ronald Sultana, Mary Darmanin and others; 1995)
• Raymond Pitre: a study (with Raymond Pitre; 2000)
• The Learning Society in a Postmodern World (2004)

Articles

The list certainly needs updating. Please help with the on-going process of updating.

Published abroad

• Lifelong Education—a Deweyian Challenge (1984)
• Lifelong education and philosophy of education (1985)
• Il-Vjolenza fl-Idejologija Politika (Violence in Political Ideology; 1987)
• The Case of Lifelong Learning: A Reply to Rozycki (1989)
• Lifelong Education: A Duty to Oneself? (1991)
• Evaluating History and Social Studies Textbooks (1992)
• Malta (with Peter Mayo; 1992)
• Human Rights, Political Education and Democratic Values (1992)
• Lifelong education and adult education — the state of the theory (1993)
• Lifelong Education: Illiberal and Repressive? (1993)
• Strong Poets and Utopia: Rorty's Liberalism, Dewey and Democracy (1993)
• A Postmodernist John Dewey? (1994)
• Competing Conceptions of the Educated Public (1994)
• Richard Rorty, Education, and Politics (1995)
• MacIntyre and the Idea of an Educated Public (1995)
• Foucault, Education, Self and Modernity (1996)
• Thinking Again (1999)
• The learning society: postmodern politics (2000)
• Lifelong Learning: Small Adjustment or Paradigm Shift? (2001)
• Richard Rorty and the end of Philosophy of Education (2002)
• Contribution (2002)
• Postmodernism/Post-structuralism (with Michael Peters; 2002)
• MacIntyre: Teaching, Politics and Practice (2003)
• This Thing Called 'The Philosophy of Education (2006)
• Foucault: The Ethics of Self-Creation and the Future of Education (2007)
• Lifelong Learning and the Politics of the Learning Society (2007)
• Rejoinder (2008)

Published in Malta

• Richard Saliba – Pitturi (1980)
• Opening Address (1988)
• Esprit Barthet (1991)
• Frank Portelli (1991)
• Creating a Philosophy of Lifelong Education (1992)
• Educational Research Workshop (1992)
• Creative Thinking (1993)
• Creative Thinking: Context and Curriculum (1994)
• Secondary Education and Research in Malta (1994)
• Il-Ġenituri, l-Edukazzjoni u l-Iskejjel (Parents, Education and Schools; 1994)
• Konservatiżmu u Ċentralizzazzjoni fl-Edukazzjoni f’Epoka ta’ Tibdil Mgħaġġel (Educational Conservatism and Centralisation in an Age of Rapid Change; 1995)
• Introduction (1996)
• Foreword (1996)

Poetry

A number of Wain’s poetry appeared in various anthologies, including the following:

• Malta: The new poetry (co-authored; 1971)
• limestone 84, ed. by Daniel Massa (1978)

Appreciation

Being an educationist with a pronounced bend towards the western model of democracy

Democracy

Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...

, Wain’s early philosophy was very much influenced by John Dewey

John Dewey

John Dewey was an American philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. Dewey was an important early developer of the philosophy of pragmatism and one of the founders of functional psychology...

. His later philosophy also draws on the works of poststructuralist philosophers such as Michel Foucault

Michel Foucault

Michel Foucault , born Paul-Michel Foucault , was a French philosopher, social theorist and historian of ideas...

, Jürgen Habermas

Jürgen Habermas

Jürgen Habermas is a German sociologist and philosopher in the tradition of critical theory and pragmatism. He is perhaps best known for his theory on the concepts of 'communicative rationality' and the 'public sphere'...

 and Richard Rorty

Richard Rorty

Richard McKay Rorty was an American philosopher. He had a long and diverse academic career, including positions as Stuart Professor of Philosophy at Princeton, Kenan Professor of Humanities at the University of Virginia, and Professor of Comparative Literature at Stanford University...

.

This can be especially gauged from Wain’s interest in the concept of lifelong learning

Lifelong learning

Lifelong learning is the continuous building of skills and knowledge throughout the life of an individual. It occurs through experiences encountered in the course of a lifetime...

, which, he maintains, should not be infected with any mania for efficient productivity in relation to political ideology, but, on the contrary, should be imbued with a broad humanistic awareness. This corroborates Wain’s understanding of democracy

Democracy

Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...

, which, to him, has more to do with individual maturity and responsibility and less with State hegemony or political performance. According to Wain, education

Education

Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...

 and democracy

Democracy

Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...

are handmaids of each other. His political, moral, and aesthetic, philosophies, to be sure, all stem from, and are based on, this foundation.

Sources

• Mark Montebello, Il-Ktieb tal-Filosofija f’Malta (A Source Book of Philosophy in Malta), PIN Publications, Malta, 2001.