Kenneth S. Hawes

Kenneth S. Hawes, Assistant Professor of Education at Wellesley College, joined the Wellesley faculty in 1986. His courses include those in educational philosophy and the study of schools. He also teaches seminars for teachers, supervises student teachers, and directs the secondary teacher education program. He has taught in the Writing Program at the College for many years, and has helped plan and guide the Quantitative Reasoning Program from its earliest phases.

Before his arrival at Wellesley College, Professor Hawes was Research Associate and Instructor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education from 1983 to 1985, supported in part by a grant from the Spencer Foundation. He received his Ed.D. in the philosophy of education from Harvard in 1983, having studied with Israel Scheffler, John Rawls, and William G. Perry, among others. Prior to graduate study, he taught mathematics and science from 1972 to 1977 at the Roxbury Latin School. In all, he has taught mathematics at five different schools and colleges. He received his S.B. in electrical engineering from MIT in 1968.

Hawes' intellectual and practical work focuses on processes that affect attitudes and beliefs crucial in learning and teaching, for example the beliefs that teachers hold about their students, about themselves as teachers, and about their subjects. He also is continually learning more about what allows people to change or expand closely held attitudes and beliefs in a variety of significant areas. He has in the past published work on moral philosophy applied to education, on critical thinking, and on educational innovation and reform.

Profile last updated: 11/01

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Last Modified: December 6, 2006