Policy Futures in Education

ISSN 1478-2103

Volume 1 Number 3 2003

CONTENTS

[click on author's name for abstract and full text]
 

Hegemonic and Marginalised Educational Utopias in the Contemporary Western World

IVANA MILOJEVIC University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia

This article discusses whether utopian thinking in education has really disappeared, as is often argued. The argument is here made that while overtly utopian thinking has lost its legitimacy among social sciences and education theorists and practitioners, the influence of various utopian discourses on educational policies and practices remains strong. The first part of this article contextualises the present state of utopian thinking by overviewing its historical development. The second part discusses this in the context of education. The third part raises the issue of hegemonic utopias that present as ‘realist’ discourses about the future. The fourth section brings into discussion marginalised utopias, and asks the question if there are any spaces left for utopias that most deeply challenge patriarchal and Western assumptions about what constitutes knowledge, history, future and ideal education. The article concludes by arguing that all ‘regimes of educational truths’ whether labelled ‘realistic’ or ‘utopian’ draw their inspiration from a particular image of the future, an image that always includes at least some elements of the utopian.

Dystopian Nightmares and Educated Hopes: the return of the pedagogical and the promise of democracy

HENRY GIROUX Penn State University, University Park, USA

This article examines how the political, economic, and ideological policies under neoliberalism in the United States are being used to wage a war against almost every facet of American life not directly governed by the logic and values of the market. War has become the central motif of the dystopian vision of neoliberalism and the effects of such an assault on the domestic front have been overshadowed by the war in Iraq. The article further argues that it is crucial that educators reclaim a revitalized notion of politics that gets beyond the discourse of critique, one which all too often in reductionistic fashion emphasizes either the crushing effects of domination or views people largely as victims. A more radical politics must consider embracing a notion of hope rooted in pedagogical work that both extends the sites of pedagogy and recognizes the importance of cultural politics as a preconditions for both creating revitalized democratic public spaces, social movements, and the possibility of social action.

On Enfraudening the Public Sphere, the Futility of Empire and the Future of Knowledge after 'America'

DAVID GEOFFREY SMITH International Forum on Education and Society, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada

Reality on Trial: notes on ideology, education, and utopia

ZEUS LEONARDO California State University, Long Beach, USA

 The concept of utopia has been described as a distortion of reality in the positive direction. On the other hand, its dialectical counterpart, ideology, has been described as a distortion of reality in the negative direction. Each concept has been defined in exclusive terms from the other, but as discourses they have become dependent on each other, albeit in a negative relationship. First, this article analyzes the four moments of Althusser’s theory that ideology is unscientific, humanist, like-the-unconscious, and finally as having material effects. Althusser’s theory provides a compendium for the recent ruminations on the concept of ideology and is representative of the propensity to define it in pejorative terms. Second, the article surveys More, Saint-Simon, and Fourier’s thoughts on utopia. At its minimum, utopia has been useful in imagining a reality that is better than its current form. At its best, utopia shatters the current reality. Third, the article concludes by building an incipient theory of ideology as utopia, or the utopian moment of ideology critique. The article argues that ideology critique often projects an alternative reality, a utopia, and that utopian thinking is inherently a form of ideology critique.

Totalitarianism and the ‘Repressed’ Utopia of the Present: moving beyond Hayek, Popper and Foucault

MARK OLSSEN University of Surrey, Guildford, United Kingdom

This article starts by reviewing the negative account of utopian thinking in dominant liberal western political theory, through the positing of a link between utopianism and totalitarianism, as present in the writings of liberal writers like Hayek, Popper, Berlin and others. As such, this article constitutes a critique of the liberal theories of utopianism and totalitarianism as well as positing alternative conceptions. It uses Michel Foucault’s views to advance beyond the liberal mind-set in order to rehabilitate the concept of utopia as both a substantive and methodological conception for both democratic and educational theory, and argues for a revival of utopian thinking as necessary for extending and deepening democracy in the world post 9/11.

Curriculum Studies and the Problem of Knowledge: updating the Enlightenment?

MICHAEL YOUNG Institute of Education, University of London, United Kingdom

This article argues that, contrary to widespread views in the philosophy of education, the acquisition of knowledge, and therefore the nature of the knowledge to be acquired at school, is central to any debate about a future curriculum. It illustrates this argument with examples from recent policies for the 14‑19 age group but suggests that the neglect of knowledge reflects more basic flaws in contemporary educational theory. The article reviews recent developments in terms of the principles of ‘insularity ‘ and ‘hybridity’ and goes on to argue for an alternative institutional or social realist approach. It concludes with some brief observations on how in framing a curriculum for the 21st century we might relate to Enlightenment ideas of reason truth and knowledge.

Education, Utopia and the Limits of Enlightenment

ROBERT A. DAVIS University of Glasgow, United Kingdom

In many recent explanations of the rise of modernity, Scotland has been cited as an illustration of the relationship between the growth of mass education and the influence of the Enlightenment faith in reason and progress. This article questions the prevailing account of the advance of education in Scotland by highlighting the impact upon it of utopian concepts of education and society from which Scottish Enlightenment thought recoiled. Originating in the radical theology of the Scottish Reformation, the utopian theme in Scottish culture has been a constant source of renewal and reproach, testing the limits of Enlightenment consensus and positing compelling alternatives to dominant educational practice.

What is the Future for National Policy Making in Education in the Context of an Enlarged European Union?

KAY LIVINGSTON Quality in Education Centre, University of Strathclyde, United Kingdom

This article considers the impact of European policy making on national education systems. It discusses a selection of recent initiatives taken by the European Union (EU) and the growing emphasis on joint action in the Member States in the field of education. In particular, the article is concerned with the effects that common objectives, benchmarks and quality indicators set for education at EU level have on the education agenda in the Member States. The growing number of international studies comparing education systems and the concern that policy makers have about their country’s place in international league tables add to the pressure to conform to goals and standards set at international level. For example, studies such as the Programme for International Student Assessment publish international comparisons and attract significant media attention. This undoubtedly puts pressure on policy makers to make changes at a national level to improve or maintain their international standing. The article considers a number of questions: will these trends in international cooperation and comparison result in a loss of diversity that is evident in the education systems in Europe today? And will they stunt the growth of innovation and creativity within each country and ultimately lead to conformity in education?

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