Category Archives: T&L

Aporia, doubt and questioning…

Tubbs, N. (2004) Heidegger: Being and Time. in Philosophy’s Higher Education. Springer. pp49-72 Well, this was bloody hard to get my head around. I probably didn’t come anywhere close, but I think that’s ok, because what I did get from … Continue reading

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The Idea of a University Today

Anderson, R (2010) The Idea of A University Today. Anderson’s article outlines the key events in and perspectives on UK HE that have led us to where we are today. It connected some things I was already aware of, and … Continue reading

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Kant, Brand and Lucas on peaceful conflict

I was getting depressed reading all that stuff about neoliberalism and performativity; not because these phenomena are new to me, rather because I hadn’t grasped how established this body of literature was, and hence how divorced policy research must be … Continue reading

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A crushing low

…I just hit one. I’ve been reading some more stuff on the history and context of UK HE (Anderson 2010), plus a long paper explaining neoliberalism and the knowledge economy (Olssen & Peters 2005), and trying to write some coherent thoughts … Continue reading

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Wonks, tanks and dancing bears

Given the key message of Padraig Hogan’s book, and the papers I have read over the last week critiquing and explaining education policy, I was curious to discover the mechanisms through which academic research can inform education policy, and the … Continue reading

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We have a new God and his name is Quality Assurance

Ball, S. (2003) The teacher’s soul and the terrors of performativity. Journal of Education Policy, 18 (2) p215-228 In this article Stephen Ball explains how market, managerialism and performativity are replacing professionalism and bureaucracy in education, making the public sector … Continue reading

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A principled approach to teacher accreditation?

I’ve been thinking about how to square my concerns about neoliberalism and performativity with the aspect of my role that measures teaching capability through the Professional Standards Framework. One train of thought is about the value to teachers of having the accreditation. … Continue reading

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Education – some notes on etymology

What does the word education mean? Where does it come from? I came across the word educe the other day, which means ‘to lead out’ – from the Latin ducere – ‘to lead’. Exchange the prefix ‘e’ for ‘de’ and … Continue reading

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On individual potential, means, ends and reconciliation

I’m trying to get my thoughts straight on finishing Hogan’s New Significance of Learning, alongside a 2006 article I came across in Pedagogies by a chap called Michael Apple who writes well and says a lot of things I agree … Continue reading

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The will to learn

I had an unexpectedly good time at the Ped-RIO pilot workshop in Birmingham on 20 March. The purpose of this session was to introduce an impact assessment resource for teacher CPD that had been developed by Plymouth University for the … Continue reading

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On education as a practice in its own right

This morning, on the bus, I finished Chapter 9 of Hogan’s New Significance of Learning, which draws together the arguments developed in previous chapters for education as a practice and tradition in its own right. It firmly sets Hogan’s view apart from … Continue reading

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On the University as a place to experiment with perception…?

I’ve been reflecting on the workshop we had on 14 March with Andrew Davis on brain-based learning. This was very much focused on what I like to call ‘neurodiversity’; specific cognitive differences that are often termed ‘difficulties’ or ‘disabilities’. I am reminded … Continue reading

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From Barnett to the Dalai Lama – Mindfulness, rule-breaking, intention.

It’s been a very interesting week, reading-wise. In addition to the prescribed papers on assessment, I’ve been following my own path with Hannah Arendt (via the Times Higher) and Ron Barnett’s 2004 paper Learning for an Unknown Future. I’m also … Continue reading

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Loving it loving it – Hogan on Heartwork

Hogan, P. (2010) The New Significance of Learning: Imagination’s Heartwork. Routledge. I am SO happy about this book… I feel that is affirming everything I’ve been writing and thinking about in the last few weeks/months! Hogan opens by acknowledging that education … Continue reading

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GLAD conference – thoughts on the purpose of higher education in Art & Design

I attended the Group for Learning & Teaching in Art & Design conference last week. It is the organisation’s 25th anniversary and the opening panel’s task was to reflect upon the change in art & design higher education over that … Continue reading

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Some pretty intense philosophising

Barrow, R. and Woods, R. (2006) An Introduction to Philosophy of Education. 4th edition. Routledge. My last blog post was just a warm-up… there are lots of other thoughts I’ve been chewing over while reading the first half of this … Continue reading

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Higher Education and the holistic self

Here are some thoughts on getting halfway through An Introduction to Philosophy of Education by Robin Barrow & Ronald Woods. We looked at a chapter of this book last term and I really enjoyed it so I thought I’d buy … Continue reading

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An epiphany

The recent increase in my engagement with politics has coincided with reading certain texts on society and social justice. It’s difficult to say how one might be influencing the other; I suspect it’s a two-way thing. I’m this far (pink … Continue reading

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Taking stock… what am I supposed to be doing again…?

Two months have passed since my last trip to Oxford and we have another one coming up in two weeks. I feel that I’ve been ticking over rather than really attacking the reading I wanted to do; I’ve had a burning desire to read, … Continue reading

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How do teachers value theory?

Dye, V. L. (1999) Is Educational Theory being Valued by Student Teachers in Further & Higher Education? Journal of Vocational Education and Training. 51 (2). I picked this article to read because it seemed to relate to my questions about … Continue reading

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