Page 9 - Šolsko polje, XXIX, 2018, no. 1-2: The Language of Neoliberal Education, ed. Mitja Sardoč
P. 9
m. sardoč ■the language od neoliberal education ...
[with possible applications to other areas of public policy]. The introduc-
tory article by Vasco d’Agnese discusses some of the linguistic choices as
well as the [problematic] mixture of diverse communicative registers used
by the OECD in its policy documents. In his article ‘Neoliberalism and
Laissez-faire: The Retreat from Naturalism’, Mark Olssen examines some
of the core features characterizing the neoliberal conception of govern-
mentality as well as sets out the distinctive features that characterize neo-
liberalism (with a brief investigation of their consequences for education).
Next, in his article ‘Unpacking the Usage & Implications of Neoliberal
Language in The Russell Group’s Education Strategies’, Rodolfo Levya
examines the latest education strategy statements of said group’s individ-
ual members to identify pedagogic and institutional trends and trajecto-
ries. As he emphasizes, the findings of his quantitative content analysis
show that these statements are predominantly rife with neoliberal discur-
sive inflections, which effectively and principally equate a university ed-
ucation with professional development and research with economic util-
ity. At the same time, the findings make clear that the traditional role of
universities is virtually absent. The concluding section of his article dis-
cusses what this indicates for teaching and learning in British universi-
ties. Michael Peters’s essay is a discussion of neoliberalism as a form of po-
litical discourse – ‘the political arithmetic of Homo Oeconomicus’. In the
first half, the essay begins with a genealogy of political discourse with an
etymology from late Middle English and Medieval Latin. The second half
of the essay traces the emergence of the figure of Homo Oeconomicus and
the rise of rational choice theory by focusing on its application to educa-
tion as a commodity. Finally, as the author emphasizes, the paper turns to
a discussion of Foucault’s understanding of neoliberalism. Based on his
decades long examination of neoliberalism and its educational agenda,
Henry Giroux discusses in the interview form how the neoliberal ideolo-
gy came to dominate some of the commanding institutions of contempo-
rary societies. At the same time, he also discusses the centrality of educa-
tion under neoliberal modes of governance as well as the role of large-scale
assessments and quantitative data in educational research. In the central
part of the interview Prof. Giroux examines neoliberalism’s strategy of ap-
propriating ideas and concepts that lie outside its gravitational orbit and
its transformative influence on our way of thinking about education and
public policy in general. In her article, Urška Štremfel addresses some of
the questions about influence of educational (neoliberal) governance in
the European Union (EU) on the development of national educational
policies and practice. The theoretical dispositions, as she emphasizes, are
demonstrated in the case study of Slovenia, which presents an interesting
7
[with possible applications to other areas of public policy]. The introduc-
tory article by Vasco d’Agnese discusses some of the linguistic choices as
well as the [problematic] mixture of diverse communicative registers used
by the OECD in its policy documents. In his article ‘Neoliberalism and
Laissez-faire: The Retreat from Naturalism’, Mark Olssen examines some
of the core features characterizing the neoliberal conception of govern-
mentality as well as sets out the distinctive features that characterize neo-
liberalism (with a brief investigation of their consequences for education).
Next, in his article ‘Unpacking the Usage & Implications of Neoliberal
Language in The Russell Group’s Education Strategies’, Rodolfo Levya
examines the latest education strategy statements of said group’s individ-
ual members to identify pedagogic and institutional trends and trajecto-
ries. As he emphasizes, the findings of his quantitative content analysis
show that these statements are predominantly rife with neoliberal discur-
sive inflections, which effectively and principally equate a university ed-
ucation with professional development and research with economic util-
ity. At the same time, the findings make clear that the traditional role of
universities is virtually absent. The concluding section of his article dis-
cusses what this indicates for teaching and learning in British universi-
ties. Michael Peters’s essay is a discussion of neoliberalism as a form of po-
litical discourse – ‘the political arithmetic of Homo Oeconomicus’. In the
first half, the essay begins with a genealogy of political discourse with an
etymology from late Middle English and Medieval Latin. The second half
of the essay traces the emergence of the figure of Homo Oeconomicus and
the rise of rational choice theory by focusing on its application to educa-
tion as a commodity. Finally, as the author emphasizes, the paper turns to
a discussion of Foucault’s understanding of neoliberalism. Based on his
decades long examination of neoliberalism and its educational agenda,
Henry Giroux discusses in the interview form how the neoliberal ideolo-
gy came to dominate some of the commanding institutions of contempo-
rary societies. At the same time, he also discusses the centrality of educa-
tion under neoliberal modes of governance as well as the role of large-scale
assessments and quantitative data in educational research. In the central
part of the interview Prof. Giroux examines neoliberalism’s strategy of ap-
propriating ideas and concepts that lie outside its gravitational orbit and
its transformative influence on our way of thinking about education and
public policy in general. In her article, Urška Štremfel addresses some of
the questions about influence of educational (neoliberal) governance in
the European Union (EU) on the development of national educational
policies and practice. The theoretical dispositions, as she emphasizes, are
demonstrated in the case study of Slovenia, which presents an interesting
7
