Fifty years of life in classrooms: an inquiry into the scholarly contributions of Philip Jackson

Abstract

The intent of this article is to explore the scholarly influence of Philip W. Jackson through examining the spread of his scholarship and the ideas he generated. The research design of this paper is borrowed from a previous study (Ben-Peretz & Craig, 2018) about another distinguished curriculum scholar, Joseph J. Schwab. The work begins with a biography of Philip Jackson and continues with literature reviews on the history of ideas and the use of knowledge in education. This background is followed by a description of the study's research method, 'inquiry into inquiry', and its data sources (Scopus-listed articles, published books/Google citations, invited addresses, transcribed interviews, conference proceedings, invited addresses, etc.) The papers' findings focus on (1) the influence of Jackson's ideas and approaches, (2) Jackson's direct impact through involvement in projects/organizations, and (3) Jackson's impact on the scholarly literature. Discussions of generative scholarship, intergenerational legacy and scholarly influence conclude the article, along with the recommendation that the 'inquiry into inquiry' approach be re-enacted with other noteworthy curriculum figures to more fully understand the influence of ideas and research dissemination in curriculum and instruction/teaching and teacher education.