Resisting Neoliberalism from within the Academy: Subversion through an Activist Pedagogy

Preston, Susan Harrington; Aslett, Jordan

doi:10.1080/02615479.2013.848270

Cited by 56 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…This lack of critical reflection and anti-oppressive action with regard to the self and others, has been revealed in Wilson and Kelly's (2010:11) findings too, where students felt powerless to counteract oppression and they had been 'in a tenuous position' of accepting oppressive agency and institutional policies. Such findings in times of oppression, where neo-liberal policies dominate in the Western context (Preston and Aslett, 2014;Reisch, 2013;Spolander et al, 2014), and South-East Europe faces extreme debt crises and inequalities rise, reveal a number of implications for social work education.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social work education in a time of national crisis in Greece: educating the workforce to combat inequalities

Dedotsi

Young

Broadhurst

2016

European Journal of Social Work

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Since 2010, Greece has experienced an unprecedented economic and humanitarian crisis, which continues to have tremendous social impact. Austerity measures and policy cuts have included a dis-investment in social work and social care and more recently the abolition of one of the four national Social Work Departments providing qualifying social work education. In this context, this study addresses the following question: how does prequalifying social work education in Greece influence students' ability to manage value tensions in relation to anti-oppressive practice? Using a case study methodology, the research was based in one Social Work Department (subsequently abolished). Data were collected through semi-structured interviews from social work students at the beginning and the end of their professional education (n=32) and once from academic staff/placement supervisors (n=10). Data were analysed drawing on grounded theory techniques. In this paper only one particular dataset is considered in detail: the attitudes and experiences of final year students.The main findings indicate students' narrow understandings and individualistic approaches towards oppression, reflecting an urgent need to redefine social work education and practice in Greece according to current social justice concerns. Specifically, social work education needs to give greater weight to a structural perspective on the dynamics of oppression. 2Although focussed on Greece, the paper offers a critical debate of contemporary relevance for social work education in many European nation states.Η Ελληνική κοινωνία βιώνει από το 2010 μια άνευ προηγουμένου οικονομική και ανθρωπιστική κρίση με τρομαχτικές κοινωνικές επιπτώσεις. Τα μέτρα λιτότητας και οι περικοπές σε κρατικές πολιτικές, συμπεριέλαβαν την από-επένδυση από την κοινωνική πρόνοια και την κοινωνική εργασία, με πιο πρόσφατη την κατάργηση ενός από τα τέσσερα Τμήματα Κοινωνικής Εργασίας στην Ελλάδα. Υπό αυτές τις συνθήκες, το ερώτημα της συγκεκριμένης μελέτης είναι: Ποιος είναι ο ρόλος της εκπαίδευσης στην κοινωνική εργασία στην Ελλάδα, αναφορικά με την ικανότητα των φοιτητών να διαχειριστούν συγκρούσεις αξιών σχετικά με την αντι-καταπιεστική προσέγγιση; Χρησιμοποιώντας τη μέθοδο της μελέτη περίπτωσης, η έρευνα βασίστηκε σε ένα Τμήμα Κοινωνικής Εργασίας (στη συνέχεια καταργήθηκε). Τα δεδομένα συλλέχθηκαν μέσω ημι-δομημένων συνεντεύξεων από τους φοιτητές κοινωνικής εργασίας στην αρχή και το τέλος της εκπαίδευσής τους (n = 32) και το ακαδημαϊκό προσωπικό/επόπτες πλαισίων πρακτικής άσκησης (n = 10). Τα δεδομένα αναλύθηκαν με τη χρήση τεχνικών της θεμελιωμένης θεωρίας. Σε αυτό το άρθρο μόνο ένα μέρος των αποτελεσμάτων από τις συνεντεύξεις θα συζητηθεί: οι συμπεριφορές και οι εμπειρίες των τελειόφοιτων φοιτητών. Τα αποτελέσματα, αποκάλυψαν απλοϊκές αντιλήψεις και στερεοτυπικές πεποιθήσεις των τελειόφοιτων ως προς την καταπίεση, αναδεικνύοντας την ανάγκη για επαναπροσδιορισμό της εκπαίδευσης και άσκησης της κοινωνικής εργασίας στην Ελλάδα, ανάλογα με τις σύγχρονες κοινωνικές ανάγκες και μια πιο δ...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social work education in a time of national crisis in Greece: educating the workforce to combat inequalities

Dedotsi

Young

Broadhurst

2016

European Journal of Social Work

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“…Most measures are seen as successful because they impact on fi nancial reward for individuals and institutions, and they often have a bearing on continued employment. They stick because enough can have successful careers while others accept living in a non-authentic way (Noam Chomsky's ' precariat ', in Preston & Aslett, 2014 ).…”

Section: The Quickening Of Academic Lifementioning

confidence: 97%

Deliberate Subversion of Time: Slow Scholarship and Learning Through Research

Harland

2016

Educating the Deliberate Professional

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“…Neoliberal discourses are unfavourable to women (Todd, 2016) and despite claims to the contrary, teaching has much lower priority in neoliberal organisations than research (Bal et al, 2014). Furthermore, as my research was connected to social justice concepts, a neoliberal academy constrains and challenges such a focus (Preston and Aslett, 2014); it also limits the critical engagement of both students and teachers as it restricts possibilities for teaching critical theory (Feigenbaum, 2007). Students as critical thinkers are not encouraged in a neoliberal context (Davies andBansel, 2007 andBeckman et al, 2009).…”

Section: The Tensions and Challenges We Facedmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…The widening participation agenda that has resulted in so called 'non traditional' students entering universities, did not concentrate its ideas around gender equality (David, 2011). Consequently, it was not a surprise to me to find that feminist ideas are invisible or marginal in the lives of students in contemporary universities in the UK, and elsewhere, where discourses are shaped by neoliberal perspectives (Preston and Aslett, 2014;Gill and Donaghue, 2015). I wanted to find ways to address this, so I decided that making this support more formal would create a fortuitous symmetry, as my need for data for my own research ambitions combined with their need for support with the social work application process.…”

Section: Recruiting and Maintaining Students In The Feminist Classroommentioning

confidence: 99%

“…My interaction with these students had previously been as part of bigger groups of either 80 plus, or smaller seminar set ups of 25 -30. The students were not used to being invited to such an intimate space, the large class sizes that are part of the hegemonic neoliberal routine in universities limit opportunities for meaningful and critical discussion with students, and yet to engage on a deep level with critical perspectives such as anti-oppressive practice an intimate space is needed (Preston and Aslett, 2014). It was not surprising that some students found themselves uncomfortable in a smaller set up as they were used to more impersonal classes.…”

Section: The Tensions and Challenges We Facedmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A feminist teacher’s account of her attempts to achieve the goals of feminist pedagogy

McCusker

2017

Gender and Education

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When contemporary feminist movement made its initial presence felt in the academy there was both an ongoing critique of conventional classroom dynamics and an attempt to create alternative pedagogical strategies.' (hooks, 1994:180). Feminist academic work is a challenge to traditional academic expectations. It tends to '…problematise traditional constructions of the academy.' (Leathwood and Hey, 2009:436) and '…has challenged the university with regard to everything from institutional practices like admissions to issues of curriculum and pedagogy.' (Bondy et al., 2015:3). Consequently, its development is not always supported (Weiler, 1995; Woodward & Woodward, 2009). In addition, power relations in educational settings tend to mean that it gets marginalised (De Welde et al., 2013). This situation poses a challenge to the feminist teacher, but not one that is insurmountable, as in my practice; I have always found ways to imbue my teaching with my feminist values, despite managerialist practices in current universities that diminish teacher autonomy (Preston and Aslett, 2014; Gill and Donaghue, 2015). I take inspiration in this endeavour from others who seek to challenge sexism and other forms of discrimination in higher education settings. For example, the Women in Higher Education Management (WHEM) Network, an international feminist research forum that aims to support women in higher education management to succeed (Whemnetwork.com, 2016). Like feminism, feminist pedagogy is not a monolithic and unitary concept; rather it is a movable, tractable and dynamic practice. There are multiple feminisms and multiple feminist pedagogies. Feminist pedagogies are diverse and multifaceted in nature with core goals of emancipation and liberation underpinning what is taught and how it is taught (Storrs and Mihelich, 1998). It is crucial to acknowledge that 'feminist pedagogy does not assume that all classrooms are alike.' (Shrewsbury, 1997:172), and the feminist classroom is a rich ecology rather than a monoculture (Coia and Taylor, 2013). This means that: ' …assuming a singular meaning to feminist pedagogy is … problematic. Just as there are multiple feminisms, so there are multiple feminist pedagogies-for example, anti-racist feminist pedagogies, liberal feminist pedagogies, socialist feminist pedagogies, queer pedagogies, and intersectional feminist pedagogies.' (Briskin, 2015: 66).

show abstract

Resisting Neoliberalism from within the Academy: Subversion through an Activist Pedagogy

Cited by 56 publications

References 37 publications

Social work education in a time of national crisis in Greece: educating the workforce to combat inequalities

Social work education in a time of national crisis in Greece: educating the workforce to combat inequalities

Deliberate Subversion of Time: Slow Scholarship and Learning Through Research

A feminist teacher’s account of her attempts to achieve the goals of feminist pedagogy

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