Neoliberalism, pedagogy, and human development : exploring time, mediation, and collectivity in contemporary schools /

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Bibliographic Details
Author / Creator:Kontopodis, Michalis.
Imprint:New York : Routledge, 2012.
Description:xiv, 137 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.
Language:English
Series:Routledge research in education ; 77
Routledge research in education ; 77.
Subject:
Format: Print Book
URL for this record:http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/8906090
Hidden Bibliographic Details
ISBN:9780415516761 (hardback)
0415516765 (hardback)
Notes:Includes bibliographical references and index.
Summary:"In most Western developed countries, adult life is increasingly organized on the basis of short-term work contracts and reduced social security funds. In this context it seems that producing efficient job-seekers and employees becomes the main aim of educational programs for the next generation. Through case studies of Turkish and Arabic students in Berlin (Germany), Asian, Hispanic and Black students in Long Beach (USA), and children of landless rural workers in Espirito Santo (Brazil), this book investigates emerging educational practices and takes a critical stance towards what can be seen as "mainstream" or "dominant" educational politics. Kontopodis poses the question of whether encouraging students to engage in guided reflection about themselves, their past performance and their future career supports marginalized youth in dealing with complex everyday situations and actively participating in societal improvement. His interdisciplinary theoretical account draws on process philosophy and time theory, developmental and educational psychological theorising (mainly Vygotskian/post-Vygotskian), sociology of education, as well as on continuing discussions in the fields of science and technology studies and anthropology. The book suggests an innovative relational understanding of time and development at school which can prove of particular importance for the education of marginalized students"-- Provided by publisher.
Description
Summary:In most Western developed countries, adult life is increasingly organized on the basis of short-term work contracts and reduced social security funds. In this context it seems that producing efficient job-seekers and employees becomes the main aim of educational programs for the next generation. Through case studies of young people from urban and countryside marginalized populations in Germany, USA and Brazil, this book investigates emerging educational practices and takes a critical stance towards what can be seen as neoliberal educational politics. It investigates how mediating devices such as CVs, school reports, school files, photos and narratives shape the ways in which those marginalized students reflect about their past as well as imagine their future. By building on process philosophy and time theory, post-structuralism, as well as on Vygotsky's psychological theory, the analysis differentiates between two discrete modes of human development: development of concrete skills (potential development) and development of new societal relations (virtual development, which is at the same time individual and collective). The book outlines an innovative relational account of learning and human development which can prove of particular importance for the education of marginalized students in today's globalized world.
Physical Description:xiv, 137 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.
Bibliography:Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN:9780415516761
0415516765