Revisited: “What Should We Teach as Controversial? A Defense of the Epistemic Criterion”

Michael Hand

doi:10.1111/edth.70065

Revisited: “What Should We Teach as Controversial? A Defense of the Epistemic Criterion”

Michael Hand^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Education and Social Justice

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Abstract

In this invited essay for the 75th Anniversary Special Issue of Educational Theory, I revisit my 2008 article “What Should We Teach as Controversial? A Defense of the Epistemic Criterion.” I briefly summarize my argument, then survey the various objections it has attracted in the years since its publication. I focus in on a criticism I call the value worry about the epistemic criterion and try to show that it is unsuccessful.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	50-56
Number of pages	7
Journal	Educational Theory
Volume	76
Issue number	1
Early online date	27 Nov 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/edth.70065
Publication status	Published - Feb 2026

Keywords

epistemic criterion
controversial issue
moral education
nondirective teaching
political criterion

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Revisited: “What Should We Teach as Controversial? A Defense of the Epistemic Criterion”

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Keywords

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