John Peter Portelli

John Peter Portelli (born 1954) is a Maltese educationist, and (at least in the Maltese context) a minor philosopher. In philosophy he mostly specialised in the Philosophy of Education with interests in Political Theory.

Portelli was born on March 21, 1954, at Mosta, Malta. In 1975 he acquired a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy and Maltese from the University of Malta. Subsequently, he began teaching history and modern languages at Savio College, Dingli, Malta, and then, in 1976, philosophy at De La Salle College, Cottonera, Malta. In 1977 he pursued his studies in Canada at the McGill University, Montreal, from where he acquired a Masters (1979) and a Doctorate (1984). He permanently emigrated from Malta to Canada in 1980.

In Canada Portelli began teaching at the McGill University, where four year later, in 1982, he became lecturer of philosophy with the Faculty of Education. He also taught at the Cégep Marie-Victorin (college) in Montreal (1982–83), and was a Killam Fellow at the Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he also taught philosophy (1986, 1988, 1990, 1992). Between 1986 and 1992, he taught Philosophy of Education at Halifax. He also taught at St. Mary’s University, Texas, U.S. (1994–95); the Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia (1997–98); and at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia (1998).

Portelli was appointed Associate Professor of Philosophy in 1989, and Professor of Philosophy in 1994. He began teaching at the University of Toronto, Canada, in 1999. He was Assistant editor (1992–96), and then Editor (1996–99), of the periodical Paideusis, the official magazine of Canada's Philosophy of Education.

Books

• 2003 – Bejn Zewg Dinjiet: Malta u l-Kanada (In Between: Malta and Canada).
• 2007 - Journal of Thought (U.S.A.), special issue on Critical Democracy and Educational Leadership Issues.
• 2008 - Il-Qigħan (Depths).
• 2008 - Maltese in Canada Length.
• 2008 - Taht ic-Cirasa (Under the Cherry Tree).

Coeditions

• 1988 - Philosophy of Education (coedited with William Hare).
• 1993 - Reason and Value in Education (coedited with Sharon Bailin).
• 1993 – What to Do? (coedited with William Hare).
• 1994 - Whole Language and Philosophy with Children (coedited with Susan Church).
• 1995 - Children, Philosophy, and Democracy (coedited with Ronald Reed).
• 1995 - Dialoguing Standards (coedited with Ann Vibert).
• 1988 - Philosophy of Education: Introductory Readings (with William Hare)
• 2001 - The Erosion of the Democratic Tradition in Education (with Patrick Solomon).
• 2002 - Journal of Thought (U.S.A.), special issue on Ethics and Educational Leadership (with Douglas Simpson).
• 2003 - The McGill Journal of Education, special issue on the Challenge of Student Engagement (with Lynn Butler-Kisber).
• 2005 – Key Questions in Education (with William Hare).
• 2007 - Key Questions in Education (with William Hare).

Chapters in books

• 1988 – ‘On Reed and Discussing Philosophy with Children’, in Philosophy of Education: Introductory Readings’’, ed. by Hare and Portelli.
• 1993 – ‘Recent Developments in Analytic Philosophy of Education’, in Reason and Value in Education, ed. by Portelli and Bailin.
• 1993 – ‘Dare We Expose the Hidden Curriculum?’, in Reason and Value in Education, ed. by Portelli and Bailin.
• 1994 - ‘From Text to Textuality: Using McLaren's Life in Schools’, in Peter McLaren: Life in Schools (2nd edition).
• 1995 - ‘Whole Language and Philosophy with Children: A Dialogue of Hope’, in Children, Philosophy, and Democracy, ed. by Portelli and Reed.
• 1996 - ‘The Challenge of Teaching for Critical Thinking’, in Philosophy of Education: Introductory Readings, ed. by Hare and Portelli.
• 2001 - ‘Introduction’ (co-authored with R. Patrick Solomon), in The Erosion of Democracy in Education, ed. by Portelli and Solomon.
• 2001 - ‘Beyond Common Standards: Toward a Curriculum of Life’ (co-authored with Ann Vibert), in The Erosion of Democracy in Education, ed. by Portelli and Solomon.
• 2002 - ‘Democracy in Education: Beyond the Conservative and Progressivist Stances’, in Philosophy of Education: Introductory Readings, ed. by Hare and Portelli.
• 2002 - ‘Introduction’ and ‘Introductions to Part 1 - Part 7’ (co-authored with W. Hare), in Philosophy of Education: Introductory Readings, ed. by Hare and Portelli.
• 2005 - ‘Curriculum of Life’ (with Ann Vibert), in Civic Education and Democracy in Russia, ed. by Olga E. Glagoleva and Olga V. Zaslavskaia.
• 2005 - ‘Democratic Values in Bureaucratic Structures: Interrogating the Essential Tensions’ (with Leeno L. Karumanchery) in International Handbook of Educational Policy, ed. by Nina Bascia et al. .
• 2005 - ‘Student Engagement’ in Key Questions for Educators, ed. by W. Hare and J.P. Portelli.
• 2008 - ‘The Role and Impact of Critical Thinking in Democratic Education: Challenges and Possibilities’ (with Laura Pinto), in Critical Thinking in an Era of Accountability: Teaching and Testing in Today's Schools and Universities, ed. by J. Sobocan.
• 2008 - ‘Divergent discourses: Minoritized teacher candidates’ contradictory responses to “white privilege”’ (with Solomon, R.P., Daniel, B-J., & Campbell, A.), in Rupturing racism: Critical theories and insurgent strategies, ed. by L. Karumancherry.

Articles

• 1982 - ‘The Myth that Avicenna Reproduced Aristotle's Concept of Imagination’, in Scripta Mediterranea.
• 1986 - ‘Education, Work and Imagination: A Critique of the Views of Mary Warnock’, in McGill Journal of Education.
• 1986 - ‘Review article of Controversies in Teaching (1985) by William Hare’, in McGill Journal of Education.
• 1986 - ‘On Reed and Discussing Philosophy with Children’, in Teaching Philosophy.
• 1987 - ‘Analytic Philosophy of Education: Development and Misconceptions’, in Journal of Educational Thought.
• 1987 - ‘On Defining Curriculum", in Journal of Curriculum and Supervision.
• 1988 - ‘Curriculum as Planned: An Evaluative Concept’, in Journal of Educational Administration and Foundations.
• 1988 - ‘Philosophy for Children: An Example of the Public Dimension in Philosophy of Education’, in Eidos.
• 1990 - ‘The Socratic Method and Philosophy for Children’ (revised), in Metaphilosophy.
• 1990 - ‘Teaching Philosophy of Education: The Discussion - Case-Study Approach’, in Paideusis.
• 1991 - ‘From Text to Textuality: Using McLaren's Life in School’, in The Journal of Education.
• 1992 - ‘The “Discussion - Case Study Approach”’, in Introduction to Philosophy of Education Courses’ Education.

• Melita Books, Toronto.
• 42,1.
• PEG Publications, Malta.
• Canadian Historical Association, Canada.
• PEG Publications, Malta.
• Ibid., p. 94.
• Detselig Ent. Ltd., Calgary; see ibid., p. 133.
• Fairmount Books, Halifax, 3rd revised edition in 2003; see ibid., p. 255.
• Edphil Books, Halifax; 2nd edition in 1998; see ibid., pp. 255-256.
• Detselig Ent. Ltd., Calgary; see ibid., Vol. I, p. 77.
• Dialog Books, Halifax, NS; see ibid., p. 118.
• Detselig Ent. Ltd., Calgary; 2nd revised edition in 1996, won the CAFÉ Book Award in 1998, 3rd revised edition in 2001, translated into Persian by Saeed Beheshti in 2004.
• Detselig Ent. Ltd., Calgary, won the AESA Critics’ Choice Award in 2001.
• 37, 1, Spring.
• 38, 2, Spring.
• Edphil Books, Halifax, NS.
• U.S. edition, Caddo Gap Press, San Francisco, CA.
• pp. 227-232; see Montebello, op. cit., Vol. II, pp. 133-134.
• pp. 11-33; see Montebello, ibid., Vol. I, pp. 17.
• pp. 171-198; see Montebello, ibid., pp. 102-103.
• Irwin, Toronto; pp. 255-267; see ibid., Vol. II, pp. 212-213.
• pp. 75-117.
• pp. 55-72.
• pp. 11-24.
• pp. 63-82.
• pp. 279-294.
• pp. 11-14, 15-18, 47-50, 117-120, 153-156, 217-220, 275-278, and 383-386.
• In Russian; Moscow.
• Springer; pp. 329-349.
• Edphil Books, Halifax, NS; pp. 74-77.
• Althouse Press, London.
• Fernwood Publishing,Halifax.
• University of Toronto; 3, 1: 122-134.
• 21, 1, Winter: 23-38.
• 21, 2, Spring: 169-175.
• 9, 3: 247-251.
• 21, 1, April: 20-32.
• 2, 4: 354-367.
• 3, 2, December: 23-34.
• 4, 2: 183-194.
• 21, 1/2: 141-161.
• The Journal of the Canadian Philosophy of Education Society; 4, 1, Fall: 25-31.
• Boston University; 173, 3: 15-28.
• University of Malta; 4, 3: 15-25.