Category Archives: Education theory & research

New book: The Phenomenon of Obama and the Agenda for Education Can Hope Audaciously Trump Neoliberalism?

The Phenomenon of Obama and the Agenda for Education
Can Hope Audaciously Trump Neoliberalism?

Edited by Paul R. Carr, Lakehead University
Bradley Porfilio, Lewis University in Romeoville, IL

A volume in the series: Critical Constructions: Studies on Education and Society. Series Editor: Curry Stephenson Malott, West Chester University

Published 2011

Who should read this book? Anyone who is touched by public education – teachers, administrators, teacher-educators, students, parents, politicians, pundits, and citizens – ought to read this book. It will speak to educators, policymakers and citizens who are concerned about the future of education and its relation to a robust, participatory democracy. The perspectives offered by a wonderfully diverse collection of contributors provide a glimpse into the complex, multilayered factors that shape, and are shaped by, institutions of schooling today. The analyses presented in this text are critical of how globalization and neoliberalism exert increasing levels of control over the public institutions meant to support the common good. Readers of this book will be well prepared to participate in the dialogue that will influence the future of public education in this nation – a dialogue that must seek the kind of change that represents hope for all students.

As for the question contained in the title of the book–Can hope audaciously trump neoliberalism?–, Carr and Porfilio develop a framework that integrates the work of the contributors, including Christine Sleeter and Dennis Carlson, who wrote the forward and afterword respectively, that problematizes how the Obama administration has presented an extremely constrained, conservative notion of change in and through education. The rhetoric has not been matched by meaningful, tangible, transformative proposals, policies and programs aimed at transformative change. There are many reasons for this, and, according to the contributors to this book, it is clear that neoliberalism is a major obstacle to stimulating the hope that so many have been hoping for. Addressing systemic inequities embedded within neoliberalism, Carr and Porfilio argue, is key to achieving the hope so brilliantly presented by Obama during the campaign that brought him to the presidency.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements. Foreword: Challenging the Empire’s Agenda for Education, Christine E. Sleeter. SECTION I: USING HISTORICAL AND THEORETICAL INSIGHTS TO UNDERSTAND OBAMA’S EDUCATIONAL AGENDA. More of the Same: How Free Market-Capitalism Dominates the Economy and Education, David Hursh. Concocting Crises to Create Consent: The Importance of “The Shock Doctrine” to Understanding Current Educational Policy, Virginia Lea. Educational Hope Ignored Under Obama: The Persistent Failure of Crisis Discourse and Utopian Expectations, P. L. Thomas. Competing Definitions of Hope in Obama’s Education Marketplace: Media Representations of School Reform, Equality, and Social Justice, Rebecca A. Goldstein, Sheila Macrine, Nataly Z. Chesky, and Alexandra Perry. SECTION II: THE PERILS OF NEOLIBERAL SCHOOLING: CRITIQUING CORPORATIZED FORMS OF SCHOOLING AND A SOBER ASSESSMENT OF WHERE OBAMA IS TAKING US. Charting a New Course for Public Education Through Charter Schools: Where is Obama Taking Us? Mary Christianakis and Richard Mora. Manufactured Consent: Latino/a Themed Charter Schools, in Whose Interests? Theresa Montaño and Lynne Aoki. Whose Schools are These Anyway—American Dream or Nightmare? Countering the Corporate Takeover of Schools in California, Roberta Ahlquist. Obama, Escucha! Estamos en la Lucha! Challenging Neoliberalism in Los Angeles Schools, Theresa Montaño. Standardized Teacher Performance Assessment: Obama/Duncan’s Quick Fix for What They Think it is That Ails Us, Ann Berlak. The Political Economy of Educational Restructuring: On the Origin of Performance Pay and Obama’s “Blueprint” for Education, Mark Garrison. SECTION III: ENVISIONING NEW SCHOOLS AND A NEW SOCIAL WORLD: STORIES OF RESISTENCE, HOPE, AND TRANSFORMATION. The Education Agenda is a War Agenda: Connecting Reason to Power and Power to Resistance, Rich Gibson and E. Wayne Ross. Connecting Communities and Schools: Accountability in the Post-NCLB Era, Tina Wagle and Paul Theobald. If There is Anyone Out There, Peter McLaren. Afterword: Working the Contradictions: The Obama Administration’s Educational Policy, and Democracy Will Come, Dennis Carlson. Biographies.

CFP: Marxian Analysis of Society, Schools, and Education (SIG of AERA)

American Educational Research Association
2012 Annual Meeting – Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Friday, April 13 – Tuesday, April 17, 2012**

***Marxian Analysis of Society, School and Education SIG***

***CALL FOR PAPERS*** [pdf]

*Why Marxism? Whose Marxism? Let’s Begin from the Beginning.*

*Rethink Class, Race and Gender Inequalities and Education*

The current global momentum is a profound paradox. On one hand, our era has
been witnessing huge and dramatic transformations propelled by the biotech
movement including genetic and biotechnological discoveries, as well
as, theelectronic revolution of communications and informationboth of
which have had a huge impact on the way knowledge has been produced
and reproduced. Despite such progress, on the other hand, global societies
have been experiencing, among other things, the shocking exacerbation (and
in some cases the return) of horrendous social evils, namely, the return of
slavery, legitimization of human genocide, new pandemics, the return of high
vulnerability to old sicknesses that seemed to have been eradicated and now
appear to be linked to new pandemics like HIV/AIDS, and naturalization of
war, the domestication of revolting social inequalities (cf. Sousa Santos,
2005), the need of a more predatory capitalism to sustain neoliberal
capitalism, the emergence of a new economy propelled by the need to fight
terror(ism) (cf. Giroux, 2011). Despite the fact that we never had a society
that produced as much knowledge as today’s society, the fact is such
production not only has been incapable of building a fairer and just
society, but also as it has just served to increase and multiply social
inequality. Such shocking paradoxes bring to the fore the vitality of
(neo)Marxist analyses, as the ‘most rigorous, comprehensive critique of
capitalism ever to be launched’ (Eagleton, 2011). The 2012 Marxian Analysis
of Society, School and Education SIG program asks scholars and educators
around the globe, profoundly committed with the struggle for social and
cognitive justice, to rethinking not only class, race, and gender
inequalities and education, but also if the reinvigoration of the
(neo)Marxist analyses and contributions to society and education implies the
need to ‘begin from the beginning’ (Zizek, 2009). We asked scholars to
critically address questions such as why (neo)Marxism and whose (neo)Marxism
is a key to rethink and understand the current global disruption of
capitalism and its implications of the daily live of teachers and students.

The Rouge Forum 2011: Call for Papers

Education and the State: A Critical Antidote to the Commercialized, Racist, and Militaristic Social Order

The Rouge Forum 2011 will be held at Lewis University. The University’s main campus is located in Romeoville, IL, which is 30 minutes southwest of Chicago, IL. The conference will be held May 19-22.

Proposals for papers, panels, performances, workshops, and other multimedia presentations should include title(s) and names and contact information for presenter(s). The deadline for sending proposals is March 22. The Steering Committee will email acceptance or rejection notices by April 1. The proposal formats available to the presenters are as follows:

Bringing together academic presentations and performances (from some of the most prominent voices for democratic, critical, and/or revolutionary pedagogy), panel discussions, community-building, and cultural events, this action-oriented conference will center on questions such as:

Transforming the notion of “saving public education” to one of creating education in the public interest, what does teaching and learning for a democratic society look like?
How do we educate the public and our youth to understand the implications of “saving public education” through corporate and militaristic practices, such as standardized examinations, zero-tolerance policies, charter schools, and corporate donations?
How will educational initiatives supported by the Obama Administration and many other politicians impact teachers, students, and communities across the US?
What does education for liberation look like compared to the more socially reproductive/dominating education we see in many of our nation’s schools?
What debts will future generations, including the students we may teach, carry because our financial, governmental, and military endeavors have not been concerned with public goods?

SUBMISSIONS
Proposal Formats

Individual Proposal: (45 minutes)
The Rouge Forum welcomes individual paper proposals, with the understanding that those accepted will be grouped together around common or overlapping themes, Presenters will have approximately 45 minutes to present or summarize their individual papers. Individual paper submissions will be considered for panels with the same topic/theme. If you would prefer to present your paper/research individually you should consider the alternative format proposal. A 300-500 word abstract of the paper will be peer reviewed for acceptance to the conference.

Symposium Proposal: (90 minutes)
Presenters are also welcomed to submit proposals for a symposium. A symposium is typically composed of a chair and discussant and three to five participants who present or summarize their papers. Each symposium is organized around a common theme. Each participant will have between 15 and 45 minutes to present their papers, depending upon the number of participants involved in the symposium. A 300-500 word abstract of the symposium will be peer reviewed for acceptance to the conference.

Panel Proposal: (90 minutes)
A panel discussion is another venue available presenters. A panel discussion is typically composed of three to six participants who discuss their scholarly work within the context of a dialogue or conversation on a topic or theme related to the conference theme. Typically, each panelist is given 10-15 minutes to discuss the topic, present theoretical ideas, and/or point to relevant research. A chair should be identified who introduces the panel and frames the issues and questions being addressed. In addition to the chair, we encourage (but do not require) organizers of panels to include a discussant who responds to the comments of the panelists. Individual proposal submissions will be combined into panels with the same theme/topic. A 300-500 word abstract of the panel discussion will be peer reviewed for acceptance to the conference.

Alternative Format and Special Interest Groups (90 minutes)
Alternative proposals that do not fit into the above categories, such as workshops, performances, video and multimedia presentations, and round-table dialogues, are encouraged. We also welcome proposals for the organization of special interest groups. A 150-250 word abstract of the panel discussion will be peer reviewed for acceptance to the conference.

Email proposals to conference coordinator Brad Porfilio porfilio16@aol.com, by March 22, 2011.

Additional information on Rouge Forum 2011 is available at rougeforumconference.org

“Anarchism…is a living force within our life…” Anarchism, education and new possibilities

CALL FOR PAPERS

Educational Studies, Special Issue
“Anarchism…is a living force within our life…” Anarchism, education
and new possibilities

Guest Editor
Abraham P. DeLeon
University of Texas at San Antonio
Manuscripts due April 1st, 2011

The title for this special issue emerged from the work of Emma Goldman
and other anarchists that have developed a reflexive and subversive
body of literature that has inspired countless political movements and
actions. Indeed resistance seems to become a living force inside of
anarchists based on their participation in such events like the
Russian Revolution, the Spanish Civil War, Paris in 1968, Seattle in
1999 and Genoa in 2001. Today, anarchism is found in a diverse range
of fields such as philosophy, sociology, cultural studies, justice
studies and human rights scholarship. It is a rich tradition aligned
with multiple anarchisms rather than with a monolithic body of theory.
Anarchists critique hierarchies, resist authority, oppose coercive
institutions, employ alternative spatial arrangements and create
organic, communal societies based on mutual aid and social justice.
Although many anarchists have pushed for the end of compulsory
schooling, anarchist theory and practice can potentially serve a
subversive role in resisting how schools fashion student bodies into
workers, managers, owners and the other nefarious identities that
capitalism requires for its reproduction. Despite being
interdisciplinary, anarchist theory and practice is omitted from
educational scholarship and has only begun to be recently theorized
despite having a vested interest in educational projects throughout
the globe.

This special issue will address this current gap by inviting a broad
range of scholars to submit their theoretical, qualitative, and
conceptual papers that explore anarchism within the context of
critical educational theory and practice, particularly its
implications for critical pedagogy and the foundations of education.
Papers can attend to a wide variety of interdisciplinary anarchist
perspectives related to education. Historical work is welcomed that
examines anarchist-inspired models of education. Visionary papers that
imagine other future anarchist educational possibilities may be
provocative. Ethnographers that have embedded themselves within
anarchist educational movements will also be of interest. Scholars
that conceptualize anarchist theory and critical pedagogy through
eco-justice, critical race theory, poststructuralism, critical
discourse studies, indigenous education or queer theory are highly
sought. All submissions will be subject to a blind and rigorous peer
review process. The guest editor also seeks book reviews that explore
anarchist theory and any other media review connected to anarchism
and/or its practice. Poetry written or inspired by anarchists is also
highly encouraged. Hopefully, this special issue will serve as a
beginning conversation for how anarchist theory can be embedded within
educational theory, critical pedagogy and the foundations of education
serving as a catalyst for a more inclusive critical educational
theory. Manuscripts are due by April 1st, 2011 and are submitted
through Educational Studies’ online submission system, at
http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com:80/heds. Please direct all inquires
about possible submissions by email to the guest editor, Prof. Abraham
P. DeLeon at Abraham.deleon@utsa.edu

New issue of Critical Education: “Why the Standards Movement Failed: An Educational and Political Diagnosis of Its Failure and the Implications for School Reform”

Part 2 of Larry Stedman’s analysis of the failure of the standards movement, just published by Critical Education.

Why the Standards Movement Failed: An Educational and Political Diagnosis of Its Failure and the Implications for School Reform
Lawrence C. Stedman

Abstract

In the first paper, “How Well Does the Standards Movement Measure Up?,” I documented the movement’s failure in diverse areas—academic achievement, equality of opportunity, quality of learning, and graduation rates—and described its harmful effects on students and school culture.

In this paper, I diagnose the reasons for the failure and propose an alternative agenda for school reform. I link the failure of the standards movement to its faulty premises, historical myopia, and embrace of test-driven accountability. As part of the audit culture and the conservative restoration, the movement ended up pushing a data-driven, authoritarian form of schooling. Its advocates blamed educational problems on a retreat from standards, for which there was little evidence, while ignoring the long-standing, deep structure of schooling that had caused persistent achievement problems throughout the 20th century. Drawing on reproduction theories and analyses of the neoliberal reform project, I make the case for repealing NCLB and Race to the Top and outline a progressive framework for reconstructing schools.

Critical Education: How Well Does the Standards Movement Measure Up?

Critical Education has just published its latest issue—the first of a two part examination of No Child Left Behind policies and the standards movement by Lawrence C. Stedman.

We invite you visit our web site to review this and other articles and items of interest.

Critical Education
Vol 1, No 10 (2010)
Table of Contents
http://m1.cust.educ.ubc.ca/journal/index.php/criticaled/issue/view/21

Articles
——–
How Well Does the Standards Movement Measure Up? An Analysis of
Achievement Trends, Academic Course-taking, Student Learning, NCLB, and
Changes in School Culture and Graduation Rates
Lawrence C. Stedman

Abstract

This is the first of two papers examining the standards movement. In it, I review data from NAEP, the SAT, the international assessments, transcript studies, and NCLB assessments, as well as surveys and case studies of changes in curriculum and pedagogy. The picture is a bleak one. Over the past quarter century, achievement has stagnated, dropouts and aliteracy have grown, and large minority achievement gaps have persisted. The quality of student learning remains poor. School changes, stratified by class and race, have constricted instruction and harmed students and teachers. NCLB has made things worse, not better. Even in the two areas where the movement has achieved some success—lower grade math achievement and high school academic enrollments—the gains were largely superficial, other forces such as teaching-to-the-test and social promotion contributed, and serious deficiencies remain.

In the second paper, “Why the Standards Movement Failed,” I examine the educational and political reasons for the failure—including its misconstruction of pedagogy and links to the neoliberal reform project—and propose a progressive alternative.

“Youth-Led Organizations, the Arts, and the 411 Initiative for Change in Canada: Critical Pedagogy for the 21st Century”

Critical Education has just published its latest issue:

“Youth-Led Organizations, the Arts, and the 411 Initiative for Change in Canada: Critical Pedagogy for the 21st Century”
Brad J. Porfilio, Michael Watz

Abstract

The purpose of this essay is to document a group of Canadian youth activists’ and artists’ perceptions and experiences with developing and sustaining an arts-based educational initiative that “undertakes public education and the promotion of civic participation of young people on social issues that frame their development within their communities.” Through the youth activists’ and artists’ narratives, we highlight the youths’ motivation to establish this organization, the methods they use to engage their audience in social commentary and activism, how they confront and overcome barriers in schools when implementing their pedagogical initiatives, and the challenges they face in keeping their project intellectually vibrant and culturally relevant to youth. Moreover, we argue that critical pedagogues must take seriously the cultural work proffered by youth-led social justice initiatives if critical pedagogy is to remain relevant in promoting equity and social justice in schools and in society.

Chomsky on Dewey

Here’s a very brief clip that gets to the heart of John Dewey’s thought on schools and society.

New issue of Critical Education: “Animals on Display: The Zoocurriculum of Museum Exhibits”

Critical Education has just published its latest issue, which includes a new contribution to the CE article series “The Lure of the Animal: Addressing Nonhuman Animals in Educational Theory and Research”.

We invite you to review the Table of Contents here and then visit our web site to review articles and items of interest.

Critical Education
Vol 1, No 8 (2010)
Table of Contents

Articles
——–
Animals on Display: The Zoocurriculum of Museum Exhibits
Helena Pedersen