Invasion,alienation, and imperialist nostalgia: Overcoming the necrophilous nature of neoliberal schools

Abstract

The authors present a materialist analysis of the effects of neoliberalism in education. Specifically, they contend that neoliberalism is a form of cultural invasion that begets necrophilia. Neoliberalism is necrophilous in promoting a cultural desire to fix fluid systems and processes. Such desire manufactures both individuals known and culturally felt experiences of alienation which are, it is argued, symptomatic of an imperialist nostalgia that permeates educational policy and practice. The authors point to ‘unschooling in schools’ as a mechanism for resisting the necrophilous tendencies of contemporary formations of education.     

Structured and unstructured homeschooling: a proposal for broadening the taxonomy

In recent decades, parental involvement in their children’s education has been steadily increasing. Perhaps the ultimate form of parental involvement is the phenomenon called elective home education – EHE (also known as homeschooling). It is customary to divide EHE into two categories according to the degree of structure: structured EHE and unstructured EHE (or unschooling). Advocates of structured learning study in the home framework according to a defined curriculum, whereas unstructured learning advocates study content determined in accordance with the child’s wishes, with no external dictates. This division relates to learning as one entity. This article proposes to distinguish between two dimensions of structure: content and process. In order to demonstrate this distinction, qualitative research was conducted in which 30 mothers who educate their children at home were interviewed and asked what they actually do within the framework of EHE. The research findings suggest that the two types of EHE are indeed different from one another with regard to the structure of the content of instruction and learning as well as the structure of the process. The article addresses the importance of broadening the traditional distinction (structured and unstructured EHE) to include content and process.