Critical Paths in Pedagogy, Research, and Development

These three books, while differing somewhat in focus, style, and substance, have in common a concern to uphold critical approaches to the theory and practice of education. Addressing issues of pedagogy, research, and professional development, the texts pose a challenge to technocratic, neoliberal, and conservative discourses in the educational sphere. This essay reinforces the importance of critical work in the academy and the teaching profession, but draws attention to the problem of theoretical and personal "infighting" among left scholars. The importance of strategic alliances in the face of a (more) united, and overwhelmingly dominant, right is stressed.