Education

“This brief guide to the history of education is a valuable resource for those who wish to think about what education is, what it should be, and what it possibly could be. History helps to cure our myopia and enlarge our vision. Newell does a great job of presenting a broad picture of what education has been in various cultural settings in the past. Anyone interested in thinking Christianly about education would benefit from this small but wide-ranging treatment.”

Craig A. Carter

“In Education, Newell offers his readers a compact and readable history of Christians’ involvement in education. He traces both the continuities and the shifts from the time of Christ to the present. I recommend this volume for anyone wanting a clear and accessible telling of a complex story.”

Ken Badley

“Get ready for a whirlwind tour through over twenty centuries of education in the Christian tradition! Newell highlights educational efforts, both formal and informal, and explores how changes in society impacted the growth, decline, and change in educational efforts by the church and society. In light of the past, Newell explores issues for the ‘next’ Christian education. A helpful orientation that will prompt needed reflection for our times.”

Kevin E. Lawson

“How does one make sense of two millennia of education? Ted Newell does it effectively by exploring education as the process of learning a culture, guided by an animating story and vision of what really matters in life. Outlining five major historical paradigms, Newell provides a helpful map to guide readers through a complex terrain. In the process, he provides a compelling case for a renewed Christian education that challenges the flood of competing educational stories whose visions and values are not shaped by the gospel.”

Harry Fernhout

“Ted Newell brings the reader on an exhilarating ride through history, tracing how the theory and practice of education has shaped, and been shaped, by both culture and Christian theology. He engages a wide breadth of literature as he seeks to make sense of the interplay and development of educational theory and practice with changing historical contexts. This small book introduces students to the world of education as it is experienced today and casts a vision of how Christians can and must be shaped by education in this post-Christian world. I highly recommend this book, not only for students, but for all Christians who work in the various fields of education. Newell offers a vision that is both realistic and hopeful with sound theological grounding and insightful cultural analysis.”

Perry G. Downs

“A future Christian revival may depend on the development of a Christian alternative to our current mode of education, which has surrendered to liberal, managerialist, and technocratic ideology. A Christian alternative can potentially exercise mass appeal and therefore prove the most effective instrument of mission for the future. Ted Newell has produced an immensely useful handbook for this task. I thoroughly recommend it.”

John Milbank