Paulo Freire in a Hall of Mirrors

Since first published in English in 1970, Pedagogy of the Oppressed has inspired generations of scholars and social activists to examine the inherent potential of Paulo Freire's theories on grassroots intellectual emancipation and education in marginalized communities. The interpretive lineage of Freire's writings is vast, indeed. To date, scholars continue to mobilize Freire's ideas to establish meaningful connections between what he describes as “liberatory teaching” and the role progressive educators must play in bringing about a more just and humane society. Freire's popularity outside Brazil, however, has come with inevitable tradeoffs worth considering, particularly as regards the epistemological directions and labels affixed to his educational philosophy. Considering the “many Freires” phenomenon, Sandro Barros takes a genealogical approach in this essay to the metanarratives that have made up Freire scholarship outside Brazil. His analysis is guided by the following questions: (1) What kinds of hermeneutic cultures have enveloped Freire's ideas in academic contexts? (2) How have these cultures shaped the reading practices that surround his texts?     

Global citizenship education in South Korea: ideologies,inequalities, and teacher voices

Guided by neoliberalism and post-colonialism, this article takes the case of global citizenship education (GCE) in South Korea to explore social studies teachers’ experiences and their everyday voices in teaching GCE. The findings demonstrated a number of barriers that teachers confront and the entrenched ideologies behind these hurdles, which contributes to the marginalisation of GCE. By drawing scholarly and policy implications that consider the complicated global/local nexus of GCE within dominant Eurocentric and neoliberal discourses, the study adds to existing research on teachers’ GCE practices from different societies and expands upon the critique of Western-centric, neoliberal perspectives embedded in GCE.     

NGO Art Education

How is art education being put to use today? To explore this provocation, I read between the lines of teaching for civic literacy through visual arts education in the United States as mandated by the Partnership for 21^st Century Skills. I consider an art education of social practice's utility within this mandate. In order to accomplish this, I describe artist Rick Lowe's Trans.lation: Vickery Meadow social sculpture project and then analyse this through a service aesthetics’ lens and neoliberal motives. In the process of overlaying social practice within the Partnership for 21st Century Skills as a model for visual arts and citizenship education toward globally competent graduates, I articulate the possible limitations of such micro‐utopian ventures for art education that amount to NGO‐esque art, making the case that these efforts, while facilitating a feeling of civic engagement, only further intensify the depoliticisation of art education acting as a form of Rancière's better police in reasserting the neoliberal status quo. I sound a cautionary note about such a pragmatic turn risking the exacerbation of our collective interpassivity through aligning art education too closely to our apparent use value for late capitalism.     

After Higgins and Dunne: Imagining School Teaching as a Multi‐Practice Activity

There remains a concern in philosophy of education circles to assert that teaching is a social practice. Its initiation occurs in a conversation between Alasdair MacIntyre and Joe Dunne which inspired a Special Issue of the Journal of Philosophy of Education. This has been recently utilised in a further Special Issue by Chris Higgins. In this article I consider two points of conflict between MacIntyre and Dunne and seek to resolve both with a more nuanced understanding of the implications of applying the concept ‘social practice’ to teaching. I critique both Dunne's and Higgins' focus on schools and school teaching. It is their focus on school teaching, rather than a broader account of teaching, that leads them astray. The result is that Dunne and Higgins have not shown that teaching is a social practice. School teaching is not a complex activity, but a complex set of different activities co‐located in one place and engaged in by the same agents. In a final section I offer an account of ‘school teaching’ as a multi‐practice activity which is consistent with MacIntyre's approach, and argue that schoolteachers have both an institutional and an educative role.     

Children as citizens: literacies for social participation

The last decade has seen, in the policy arena, a broad global push for children to be treated as active participants in society rather than as the passive recipients of adult decisions and interventions. The topic of literacy learning and teaching has, however, been absent from much of the policy and literature on children's social participation. This paper is an exploratory foray into possible connections between literacy and citizenship from the perspective of young children and those responsible for their education. Drawing from both sociocultural and semiotic perspectives on literacy, this analysis crosses between institutional texts, ethnographic accounts and children's own representations of their places in the world. A hierarchical model of literacy development, which emphasises the teaching of basic decoding skills in the early years, is associated with a view of young children as future citizens rather than as active social participants. Recognising children's agency, and supporting their meaningful participation, requires literacies of social participation.     

A response to Scott's concerns about the relevance of environmental education research: applying social–ecological systems thinking and consilience to defining research goals

In William Scott's plenary address at the World Environmental Education Conference, he expressed concerns about the relevance of environmental education research in a world facing global environmental and demographic change. In responding to Scott's concerns, I argue that addressing challenges related to development and the environment requires examining EE goals at multiple levels as well as bridging diverse disciplines. I further suggest that integrating social‐ecological systems and other approaches in environmental education research may provide a means for consilience among potentially divisive environmental education practice and research traditions. In so doing, I hope to spark debate about possibilities for an environmental education research agenda and learning organisation that spurs action relevant to concerns about the environment, individuals, and their communities.     

A Justification,after the Postmodern Turn,of Universal Ethical Principles and Educational Ideals

The implementation of education programmes in different cultures invites the question whether we are justified in doing so in cultures that may reject the programmes’ underlying principles. Are there indeed ethical principles and educational ideals that can be justified as applicable to all cultures? After a consideration of Zygmunt Bauman's postmodern rejection of the possibility of universal ethics, Ι cite and extend Harvey Siegel's defence of multiculturalism as a transcultural ethical ideal. I conclude the paper with a justification of the transcultural normative reach of moral principles that I have elsewhere defended as the ethics of integrity. The paper's significance lies in its justification of educational interventions founded in these principles across different cultures.     

From the Bronx to Bengifunda (and other lines of flight): deterritorializing purposes and methods in science education research

In this essay I explore a number of questions about purposes and methods in science education research prompted by my reading of Wesley Pitts’ ethnographic study of interactions among four students and their teacher in a chemistry classroom in the Bronx, New York City. I commence three ‘lines of flight’ (small acts of Deleuzo-Guattarian deterritorialization) that depart from the conceptual territory regulated by science education’s dominant systems of signification and make new connections within and beyond that territory. I offer neither a comprehensive review nor a thorough critique of Wesley’s paper but, rather, suggest some alternative directions for science education research in the genre he exemplifies.     

Neoliberal practices amidst social justice orientations: global citizenship education in South Korea

Abstract

Global citizenship education (GCE) positions itself on the global arena as a transformative social justice oriented educational curriculum that addresses the political, social, economic and cultural inequalities brought about through colonisation and neoliberalism on the global and local levels. Through an exploration of the discourse, design and delivery of GCE in the young nation-state of South Korea, we argue that, in fact, GCE reinforces and maintains the hegemonic ideals of global capitalism; core-periphery global and local relationships; and dichotomous views of poverty and inequalities. We argue that these approaches reflect South Korea’s geopolitical realities, but that attitudes towards GCE in South Korea also reflect its cultural norms and values towards working together towards a common good. Ultimately, we call for a more nuanced approach to GCE scholarship in which we move away from theoretical divisions to practical applications of social justice that work within increasingly capitalist/neoliberal interests for a more inclusive world.     

Pedagogical Pleasures: Augustine in the Feminist Classroom

Many feminist philosophers of education have argued that the teacher's pleasure plays an important role in the classroom. However, accessing such pleasure is often easier said than done. Given our current academic climate, how might teachers develop pedagogical practices that cultivate these delights? This article investigates the (rather surprising) response to this question offered in Augustine's De catechizandis rudibus. Despite his reputation as a pleasure‐hater, Augustine spends the majority of his text defending the delights of teaching. In particular, Augustine argues that if teachers wish to find pleasure in teaching, they would do well to study the pleasures of mothers. To this end, I analyse the nature of Augustine's maternal appeal. What insight does Augustine find in the experiences of mothers? In what way does he hope his colleagues will allow these experiences to shape their pedagogies? I conclude by exploring the benefits and the risks of Augustine's claim for those who teach in the contemporary feminist classroom. Augustine's defence of pedagogical pleasure suggests that he shares a common interest with feminist philosophers. But, the social/political limits of his account highlight the value of submitting such pleasures to the terms of feminist critique.     

素质教育视野下高校思政课实践教学的价值与路径选择

高校思想政治理论课实践教学是高校思想政治理论课教学的一个必不可少的环节。思想政治理论课实践教学在提升大学生思想政治素质方面有着纯粹课堂理论教学不可替代的价值。它可以提升大学生的思想政治素质、人文素质和综合能力素质。素质教育视野下,加强思想政治理论课实践教学,必须遵循一定的路径。课堂实践教学是主要路径,校园实践教学是重要路径,社会实践教学是典型路径。     

Education for the Group Worker's Reality

Abstract

Within the social work profession, one's world view, one's beliefs and values based on one's experiences, strongly influences one's practice and comfort with groups.

This paper will examine some of the different ways of viewing the world held by practitioners and students in relation to the likelihood that they will be able to work effectively with groups. Such examination, and the identification of the differences among social workers that results from it has implications for both teaching and supervision in social work. These implications will be discussed and specific principles and techniques for teaching social workers, in education and in supervision, based on their world views will be described. This paper aims to enrich education for group work so that the community of social group work practitioners can grow and continue to thrive.     

Israeli teachers make sense of global citizenship education in a divided society- religion,marginalisation and economic globalisation

ABSTRACT

Global citizenship education (GCE) has recently been promoted by national education systems and supranational organisations as a means for facilitating social cohesion and peace education. We examined the perceptions of GCE held by teachers from the three main education sectors in Israel: secular-Jewish, religious-Jewish, and Palestinian Arab, and found stark differences in the way teachers from each sector interpreted the term. For marginalised groups (Palestinian Arab), GCE is seen as offering a way of securing a sense of belonging to a global society. For already well-resourced social groups (Jewish secular), GCE is viewed as a way of promoting global futures. Meanwhile, for the Jewish religious minority in Israel, GCE is seen as a threat to national identity and religious values. Our findings cast doubt on the unifying potential of GCE, and we conclude by calling upon scholars and policymakers to examine unique obstacles facing GCE in their various contexts.     

Education Reform in Taiwan: A search for a 'national' identity through democratisation and Taiwanisation

Recent studies on globalisation and the literature of democratisation of society and education cannot explain the complicated interplay between democratisation, localisation and the pursuit of 'national' identity in both education and the broader society of Taiwan between the late 1980s and 2000. The paper argues that these three processes are indivisible in Taiwan. They involve not only the reallocation of power between the state, society and education, but also the redefinition of the territorial and social components of Taiwanese 'national' identity in relation to the Chinese mainland. In particular, social pressure groups, teachers and parents are empowered in policymaking processes at various levels, whilst the power of school principals and education officials to respond to these pressure groups is limited. The role of the school curriculum is now reversed from suppressing to promoting ethnic cultures and identities as points of a new collective identity: 'Taiwan people' with Taiwan as their ultimate homeland.     

Environmental Education as Critical Education: how teachers and students handle the challenge

Previous research studies suggest that environmental education for social change has to be considered as critical education rather than as nature study. In a participatory research approach, classroom projects with teacher teams in five senior high schools were initiated and in‐service seminars were offered. A theorising debate about environmental education resulted in a critical environmental education concept based on human action in local social systems and the questioning of the norms and value judgements of the people concerned. Classroom projects were analysed with respect to locally constructed critical knowledge and in view of the teaching/learning culture. This study shows that teachers are most concerned about ways of handling a complex and value‐laden process. It is concluded that reflection on processes and methods is essential if teachers are to understand their students’ critical exploration of social issues.     

Economics and Education for Human Flourishing: Wendell Berry and the Oikonomic Alternative to Neoliberalism

Neoliberal ideologies and policies have transformed how we think about the economy, education, and the environment. Economics is presented as objective and quantifiable, best left to distant experts who develop algorithms regarding different monetary relations in our stead. This same kind of thinking—technical, numerical, decontextualized, and ostensibly objective—infiltrates how we think about education and the environment. For example, neoliberal education reform focuses on using test scores and markets as a way to measure and improve learning and teaching. Similarly, environmental issues are presented as problems to be solved through new technologies and market efficiency. In response, we critique neoliberalism using the philosophy of the agrarian poet and writer Wendell Berry who abhors how neoliberalism disconnects humans from one another and the traditions that sustain them in their communities. Rather than neoliberalism's rootless entrepreneurial individual—homo economicus—we suggest that freedom, instead, resides in one's ability to flourish in one's place in the world. Such flourishing cannot occur without reinvigorating the traditions, including Aristotle's oikonomics, that have allowed people to live sustainably in their social and ecological communities.     

Teacher professionalization in the age of social networking sites

As teacher education students become professionals, they face a number of tensions related to identity, social participation, and work-life balance, which may be further complicated by social networking sites (SNS). This qualitative study sought to articulate tensions that arose between professionalization influences and teacher education student participants' SNS participation. Findings suggest that some expectations of professionalization in SNS cut deeply into participants' self-concept and that tensions arose surrounding unclear expectations of professionalization and fears related to political and religious expression. The study's implications are: teachers need to (a) consider how participation in SNS may impact their identity, (b) understand how moral turpitude is defined in their communities and how their behavior aligns with these standards, and (c) carefully explore how they can maintain meaningful social connections in online spaces as they pass through new phases of life and seek to become professionals.     

Walking around the curriculum tree: An analysis of a third/fourth-grade mathematics lesson

This study, part of a narrative classroom inquiry into the teaching and learning of mathematics in a Canadian elementary classroom, emerges from the three years I was a participant-observer in Janine O'Neil's 3rd/4th-grade classroom at Bay Street Community School. Drawing on the curriculum commonplaces of teacher, social milieu, subject matter, and learner, I portray the various viewpoints and interests that shape curriculum of a 3rd/4th-grade lesson. In the process of engaging the various perspectives of the curriculum commonplaces, a challenge to formalistic thinking in and about education develops, which has implications in this time of standardization and central government influences on education.     

日本高校“主动学习”的构建与发展

近年来,为了适应社会发展,提升高等教育的质量,在世界范围内掀起了“从教向学的范式转换”改革热潮。日本高校自2012年起积极推进“主动学习”,其中既包含教师教学也包含学生学习。为深入理解日本高校“主动学习”的理论和方法,需要从基本概念入手,对“主动学习”产生的学术理论背景、社会背景、政府政策导向、推进状况、经验与教训进行深入的考察与分析,以期对我国高校的教学改革有所启发。