Kathleen Knight-Abowitz

Knight-Abowitz is a philosopher of education who conducts pragmatist-oriented inquiry into topics related to democratic aims and purposes of P-16 education. Knight-Abowitz utilizes political and moral theories to address questions around the "public" of public schools and public higher education. Knight-Abowitz is interested in how P-20 schools/colleges teach young people democratic citizenship, and how we help them develop as civic leaders. Knight-Abowitz is also interested in how educators and activists can shift the discourses in the US on public schooling towards ethical and democratic ends and away from purely individualist, market-based purposes. Knight-Abowitz conducts both conceptual studies, using philosophical argumentation methods, as well as empirically-informed philosophical research.