@article { , title = {The poverty of contractarian moral education}, abstract = { In A Theory of Moral Education, Michael Hand claims that a directive moral education that seeks to persuade children that a particular conception of contractarian morality is justified can be undertaken without falling foul of the requirement not to indoctrinate. In this article, we set out a series of challenges to Hand’s argument. First, we argue that Hand’s focus on ‘reasonable disagreement’ regarding the status of a moral conception is a red-herring in this conception. Second, we argue that the endorsement of moral contractarianism and the prohibition on indoctrination pull in different directions: if contractarianism is sound, then teachers or governments should be less worried about indoctrination than Hand suggests. Third, we argue that moral contractarianism is mistaken; teachers should look elsewhere for guidance on the moral norms and principles towards which they should direct their pupils.}, doi = {10.1080/03057240.2019.1576123}, eissn = {1465-3877}, issn = {0305-7240}, issue = {4}, journal = {Journal of Moral Education}, pages = {501-514}, publicationstatus = {Published}, publisher = {Routledge}, url = {https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1476276}, volume = {48}, keyword = { Michael Hand, Moral education, Moral contractarianism, Reasonable disagreement, Indoctrination}, year = {2019}, author = {Clayton, Matthew and Stevens, David} }