Joe Winston is Professor of Drama and Arts Education in the Institute of Education, University of Warwick (WIE). His book Beauty and Education was published by Routledge in 2010 as part of the International Series in the Philosophy of Education.

In this lecture I will make the case that beauty, as a central human value, can provide a fresh and significant outlook on some key principles and practices fundamental to education. Beauty has indeed had a troubled and contested history since the advent of Modernism. However, I shall illustrate how different theories of beauty can cast light on key educational processes that elude common assessment practices and hence are in danger of being ignored. I will argue that an appreciation of the aesthetic dimensions of pedagogy as well as its more rational elements could serve to improve practice in simple and noticeable ways and draw attention to how the domestic, homely nature of beauty can be seen as crucial to the well-being of children.

The lecture took place on 15th March 2012