Towards a Weak Ontology of Education
Team
Dr Ruth Unsworth (Lead)
CenTCS
University of Glasgow
Professor Gunnlaugur Magnusson
University of Uppsala
Dr Dion Rüsselbæk Hansen
University of Syddansk
Professor Matthew Clarke
University of Aberdeen
Dr Stephen Heimans
University of Queensland
Professor Anne M. Phelan
University of British Columbia
Abstract
The book, edited by Ruth Unsworth and co‑authors Gunnlaugur Magnússon, Dion Rüsselbæk Hansen, Matthew Clarke, Stephen Heimans, and Anne M. Phelan, critiques the “humanist legacy” in education and proposes a “weak ontology” to open new possibilities for the educational imagination. The book aims to: Challenge the dominant neoliberal and utilitarian framing of education; affirm the richness and complexity of educational experience; open space for alternative visions of education that respond to global crises and the need for meaningful, human‑centred learning.
Keywords
education as complex and rich relational activity; education as transformative through language, subjectivity, and the vitality of unexpectedness