About

Denis Phillips is an Emeritus Professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Education. His research interests include philosophy, and he is recognized for his contributions to the academic community through his role as Emeritus Faculty and his involvement with the Academic Council at the Graduate School of Education. His professional contact is dcpphd@stanford.edu, and he is associated with the office located at ANKO 307. Further details about his research and professional profile can be viewed on Stanford Profiles.

Research topics

• Epistemology
• Philosophy
• Sociology
• Psychoanalysis
• Psychology
• Aesthetics
• Environmental ethics
• Theology

Selected publications

• Collective obituary for Nel Noddings

  Educational Philosophy and Theory · 2023

  • Sociology
  • Sociology
  • Philosophy
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Evidence of confusion about evidence of causes: comments on the debate about EBP in education

  Routledge eBooks · 2020

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Psychology
  • Epistemology
  • Philosophy
  PublisherDOI

• Notes on Quality (in Particular, With Reference to Education)

  Philosophical Inquiry in Education · 2020 · 1 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Epistemology
  • Philosophy
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Evidence of confusion about evidence of causes: comments on the debate about EBP in education

  Educational Research and Evaluation · 2019-02-17 · 10 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding

  EBP – evidence-based policy and practice – has generated intense controversy. A rough continuum of positions can be discerned: At one pole are “tough-minded” commentators distinguished by their support of EBP; however, there are serious internal differences in this camp, for some regard randomised field trials (RFTs) as the gold standard methodology that should generate the evidence required in EBP; while other “softer” commentators have a more nuanced position wherein the RFT is an INUS factor – part of a “causal cake” which requires many other support factors to be present before any generalisation can be made about a policy. The evolution of this softer branch of the tough-minded pole is traced, from Campbell and Stanley, to Cronbach and Associates, to Cartwright and Hardie. At the other pole are the tender-minded, many of whom are members of the philosophy of education community; they are sceptical about EBP, perhaps the most serious of their criticisms being that educational processes are not apt for causal investigation at all. The arguments that are offered in support of this position are judged to be deficient.

  PublisherDOI

• The many functions of evaluation in education

  Education Policy Analysis Archives · 2018-04-15 · 10 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  This paper focuses upon the many functions that are served by evaluations, and by the process of conducting them. Many forms or types of evaluation have evolved to serve these different functions; and a brief account is given of some of the most common of these forms and the issues or controversies that they have engendered. The discussion opens, after a brief historical note, by describing the differing views of Lee Cronbach and Michael Scriven about whether an evaluator should aim to educate stakeholders about the program so that they can make informed decisions about it, or whether evaluators should go further and make a value judgement about it. The discussion then moves on to the importance of not overlooking the unintended effects of a program that is under study; and after presenting a list of functions that evaluations can have, the remainder of the discussion deals with the “pros” and “cons” of, and the differences between, formative and summative evaluations.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Introduction to the special issue: Historical and contemporary perspectives on educational evaluation

  Education Policy Analysis Archives · 2018-04-15

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Most special issues on evaluation focus on one form or type of evaluation (e.g., program evaluation, personnel evaluation, and, increasingly, educational system evaluation. This special issue is unique in that there are papers on system evaluation, program evaluation, teacher evaluation, and student evaluation. Some papers are primarily conceptual, others are empirical, and still others are a little of each. Some papers are more historical, some contemporary, and some a little of each. The authors represent four countries: Canada, Mexico, South Africa, and the United States, providing an international perspective on key issues. The final paper contains six recommendations concerning the future of educational evaluation based on an analysis of commonalities across the papers.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Book review: Tone Kvernbekk, <i>Evidence-Based Practice in Education: Functions of Evidence and Causal Presuppositions</i>

  Theory and Research in Education · 2017-07-01

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• A Few Calls Too Many? Dewey's Call for Reconstruction in His <i>Reconstruction …</i>

  Educational Theory · 2017-10-01

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• A Companion to John Dewey's "Democracy and Education"

  2016-01-01 · 6 citations

  book1st authorCorresponding

  This year marks the centenary publication of John Dewey's magnum opus, Democracy and Education. Despite its profound importance as a foundational text in education, it is notoriously difficult and dare we say it a little dry. In this charming and often funny companion, noted philosopher of education D. C. Phillips goes chapter by chapter to bring Dewey to a twenty-first-century audience. Drawing on over fifty years of thinking about this book and on his own experiences as an educator he lends it renewed clarity and a personal touch that proves its lasting importance. Phillips bridges several critical pitfalls of Democracy and Education that often prevent contemporary readers from fully understanding it. Where Dewey sorely needs a detailed example to illustrate a point and the times are many Phillips steps in, presenting cases from his own classroom experiences. Where Dewey casually refers to the works of people like Hegel, Herbart, and Locke common knowledge, apparently, in 1916 Phillips fills in the necessary background. And where Dewey gets convoluted or is even flat-out wrong, Phillips does what few other scholars would do: he takes Dewey to task. The result is a lively accompaniment that helps us celebrate and be enriched by some of the most important ideas ever offered in education.

  PublisherDOI

• Gavriel Salomon: In Memoriam

  Educational Psychology Review · 2016-05-02

  article
  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Robert E. Floden

  Michigan State University

  5 shared

• Claudia W. Ruitenberg

  University of British Columbia

  5 shared

• Pamela Moss

  5 shared

• Barbara Schneider

  St. Marien Hospital

  5 shared

• Patti Lather

  The Ohio State University

  5 shared

• Frederick Erickson

  5 shared

• Eamonn Callan

  3 shared

• John Cleverley

  3 shared