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Chapter 1 14 other words, defenders of flourishing as an ideal aim of education all know that the world is far from ideal and that a lot of children do not even come close to fulfilling the basic needs that are necessary to even go to school, let alone get a chance to lead a flourishing life. This reviewer questioned whether the changes that are required to make the world more equal require theories and theorising. Writing proposals, making action-plans, yes, but theorising? I agree with the reviewer that theory by itself does not change the world. No child will become happier, or less poor, or more successful, because I wrote this dissertation. 50 Then why insist on theory, or philosophy of education, as a means to contribute to the improvement of education? Because I believe that it is important to ask the ancient philosophical questions: ‘What do you mean?’ and ‘How do you know? For example, in my academic work environment where the bulk of the research is empirical, research to determine whether a certain intervention is effective is ubiquitous. But the question ‘effective for what?’ is rare. 51 While a ‘bland statement of the obvious’ 52 is often given in the form that the proposed intervention will contribute to ‘the optimal development of children’, a discussion of what optimal development is and why that is worthwhile is often absent. Yet, certain implicit assumptions, i.e. hidden normative claims, influence the hypotheses of such research. It is important that these are explicated, so that it becomes clear whether, for example, a particular cultural and normative conception of what constitutes and what contributes to ‘optimal development’ actually benefits certain children or parents who adhere to this conception, and disadvantages others who do not. This is all the more important because research that aims to contribute to the optimal development of children can also have an influence on policy in education and child care practices. An example is the importance of parents’ involvement in their child’s school, which is claimed to contribute to the optimal development of children. When a parent isn’t involved in school as much as others, this is seen as doing something ‘wrong’, or at least as something that can be ‘improved’. Assumptions about what ‘optimal development’ means and how parents can best contribute to this are normative assumptions. To me, the role of philosophy of education and as such one of the ‘moral demands’ of being a philosopher of education, is to expose and interpret such hidden assumptions. Only then are we able to uncover and discuss what ‘it’ (whether it is the optimal development of children or what their flourishing lives should look like) should mean, and which implications it should and shouldn’t have. 50 Except perhaps my own children, because I was happily occupied (and got paid) during the writing of this dissertation. 51 Cf. Biesta 2007. 52 White 2011, p. 2.