School of Education NewsRelease

UNCG PROFESSOR DAVID PURPEL TO RECEIVE
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT HONOR FROM AERA
 

Dr. David Purpel

GREENSBORO— Dr. David E. Purpel, a professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Cultural Foundations at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, has been selected to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Educational Research Association (AERA).

Purpel will receive the honor during the organization’s annual meeting in Seattle on April 11. His honor comes in the curriculum studies division. Dr. Antoinette Oberg, professor of education at the University of Victoria and chair of the nominating committee, said that Purpel is recognized as one of the founders and leaders of moral theory in education.

Purpel is author, coauthor or editor several books about education, including “The Hidden Curriculum and Moral Education,” "The Moral and Spiritual Crisis in Education" and “Beyond Liberation and Excellence: Reconstructing the Public Discourse on Education” (the latter with UNCG colleague Dr. Svi Shapiro). He joined the UNCG School of Education in 1972, coming from Harvard University where he taught from 1961-72. He served as chair of the UNCG Department of Curriculum and Educational Foundations from 1983-91. He holds the doctorate from Harvard University.

Oberg described Purpel’s professional contributions in the AERA newsletter: “During the 1960s, 70s, and 80's his intellectual involvements kept pace with the times: from the new social studies through the curriculum reconceptualization to critical pedagogies. At the same time, he developed a distinctive focus on the moral and spiritual dimensions of education, arguing passionately for an expansion of curriculum to include questions of social justice and human compassion. In the 1990s, influenced by feminist and liberation theologians and Jewish ethical teachings, he strengthened his call for educators to attend to their moral commitments and social vision. In his 10 books and numerous articles, he has not hesitated to articulate his own vision for a world of social justice, human dignity, loving compassion, democratic community, and joyful existence.”

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