The anti-democratic employment of school cyberspace. A pilgrimage into an Arab winter?

In this article I wish to bring critical attention to the manner in which the Internet and intranet are employed as pedagogical space in schools. Within this article I also articulate my struggle to understand and conduct research in this place of electronic communication. Informed by Nietzsche and some biblical scripture, I suggest that what we are finding in education is a church of the intranet that is worshiped as a shelter of safety for educational learning. However, my contention is that a lack of control of uploaded and downloaded digital media results in spaces which mirror extant societal prejudices and bigotry. To evidence my argument I present specific data from English schools' colonisation of cyberspace and suggest that in this terra nullius a new civilisation, constructed upon old world ideals, ‘conformed’ the construction of the disabled indigene

Safe Spaces” in Education- ghettos of marginalisation and dominance or places of equality and social justice?

This article critically analyses the concept of space in generality and specifically the employment of safe space as an educational concept. In addition, by employing Derrida’s notion of the arrivant, the article provides an account of the author’s frustrations during his analysis of space and of his attempts to reorientate his quantitative writings to ones that are more autobiographical in nature. The argument emplaced in the article is that safe spaces are not safe but in reality are ‘warped spaces’ where landscapes reveal topographies of despair which mimic modern technological and capitalist development

‘Telling Tales’. An investigation into the representation of disability in classic children’s fairy tales.

The research examined the cultural construction of disability found within children’s traditional fairy tales that are employed to support the English National Curriculum. The study employed proto text analysis, a meta-analysis process which combines textual analysis, critical discourse analysis and semiotics, to uncover the hidden representations and stereotypes relating to disability that were contained within well-known children’s fairy tales. The study, which examined five story books in detail, found consistent themes which included normalcy, the emphasis on the ‘perfect’ physical appearance, exclusion, avoidance and portrayal of the disabled character as an ‘object of evil’ as well as the employment of the ‘happily ever after’ story ending. The research concludes these children’s fiction books, commonly employed to support the English National Curriculum, are problematic in terms of how they represent disability. The authors argue that this form of children’s literature is introducing young children to ableist assumptions and oppressive attitudes towards disability which we suggest could be a factor in why these attitudes are replicated within society. Keywords Disability, Fair

The curious case of the school textbook: pedagogical support or covert tool of manipulation?

This ‘think piece’ re-casts the school textbook as ontological envelopes which enfold an unresolved dialectic between constituting and constituted power into the education of every school pupil. Informed by the writings of Deleuze and Guattari (1987) the authors reveal that textbooks act as ‘majoritan’ to categorise, contain and constrain societal conceptions of the ‘Other’. The authors propose that educators must reinvent notions of freedom, authority and ethical responsibility. The authors conclude that to undermine the pernicious power of the ‘normalising’ textbook we need the production of a counter signifying semiotic to overcome pathologies existing in schools today

For Pity’s Sake: Comparative Conceptions of Inclusion in England and India

This paper offers a critique of transnational aspects of ‘inclusion,’ one of those global education buzzwords that as Slee (2009) puts it, say everything but say nothing. It starts off by trying to compare Indian and English usages and attitudes at the level of teacher discourse, and notes the impossibility of any ‘authentic’ translation, given the very different cultural contexts and histories. In response to these divergences, the authors undertake a much more genealogical and ‘forensic’ examination of values associated with ‘inclusion,’ focussing especially on a key notion of ‘pity.’ The Eurocentric tradition is traced from its Platonic origins through what is claimed to be the ‘industrialization of pity’ and its rejection as a virtue in favour of more apparently egalitarian measures of fairness. The Indian tradition relates rather to religious traditions across a number of different belief systems, most of which centre on some version of a karmic notion of pity. The authors both criticise and reject ‘inclusion’ as a colonisation of the global and call for a new understanding of notions like ‘pity’ as affective commitment rather than ‘fair’ dispensation of equality

For pity’s sake: comparative conceptions of inclusion in England and India.

Hodkinson, A., & Devarakonda, C., For pity’s sake: comparative conceptions of inclusion in England and India., International Review of Qualitative Research (4,2) pp. 253-270. Copyright © [2011] (The Authors). DOI: [10.1525/irqr.2011.4.2.253].This paper offers a critique of transnational aspects of ‘inclusion,’ one of those global education buzzwords that as Slee (2009) puts it, say everything but say nothing. It starts off by trying to compare Indian and English usages and attitudes at the level of teacher discourse, and notes the impossibility of any ‘authentic’ translation, given the very different cultural contexts and histories. In response to these divergences, the authors undertake a much more genealogical and ‘forensic’ examination of values associated with ‘inclusion,’ focussing especially on a key notion of ‘pity.’ The Eurocentric tradition is traced from its Platonic origins through what is claimed to be the ‘industrialization of pity’ and its rejection as a virtue in favour of more apparently egalitarian measures of fairness. The Indian tradition relates rather to religious traditions across a number of different belief systems, most of which centre on some version of a karmic notion of pity. The authors both criticise and reject ‘inclusion’ as a colonisation of the global and call for a new understanding of notions like ‘pity’ as affective commitment rather than ‘fair’ dispensation of equality

Conceptions of inclusion and inclusive education: A critical examination of the perspectives and practices of teachers in England

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a published work that appeared in final form in Educationalfutures. To access the final edited and published work see https://educationstudies.org.uk/journal/ef/volume-31-2011/conceptions-inclusion-inclusive-education-critical-examination-perspectives-practices-teachers-england/alan_4/; https://educationstudies.org.uk/journals/educationalfutures/This paper details the development and operation of a system of inclusive education in England during the latter part of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st Century. Through the employment of a literature review and in-depth semi-structured interviews the study sought to determine how teachers defined and operationalised inclusive education in their schools. The studys conclusion details that although many teachers had struggled to understand and operationalise inclusion they had tried very hard to make this initiative work for them, their pupils and their schools. Where inclusion had been most successful was in schools where levels of training were high and ones in which the ethos was positive and supportive of this important educational initiative

Online sexual grooming: Exploratory comparison of themes arising from male offenders' communications with male victims compared to female victims.

The majority of current grooming research makes no distinctions between male and female targets. This study therefore aims to provide an initial attempt to rectify this state of affairs. Thematic analysis was used to analyse eight transcripts from the Perverted Justice website, revealing five main themes: positivity, emotional connection, self-protection, sexual content, and arranging to meet offline. Unlike O’Connell (2003) themes were not consecutive. While no thematic differences between target genders were found, it was clear that more sexually related words were used towards male targets. It was concluded further investigation of target gender differences was warranted

Employment of American and British first language textbooks as a foreign language resource in private schools in South Lebanon

This article presents the findings of research that examined how teachers employed first language textbooks to teach English as a foreign language and to develop the intercultural competences of their students. The research employed semi-structured phenomenological interviews and questionnaires with eight South Lebanese educators. The findings demonstrates how in relation to language learning, the employment of foreign textbooks produces successful results. The research though also details how teachers have to work hard to bridge the cultural gaps between their students and the ‘alien’ cultures detailed in the textbooks. Problematic, it would appear to the development of inter cultural competence is that in South Lebanon some cultures, noticeably that of Judaism, and some topics, such as sexuality, that schools, teachers but moreover parents control how and indeed if, students are inculcated into wider cultures and debates. The conclusion of the research details how in the development of intercultural competence that teachers are the key mediators of students’ responses to cultures and practices other than their own

The death of the 2015 Special Educational Needs Code of Practice - and the parable of the drowning man -Should government have learnt lessons from listening to the voices of history, research and politicians? (Part I)

Through employment of the ‘parable’ of the drowning man - part one of the research examines the systems of SEND management from the Warnock Report through to the operation of the Children and Families Act (CFA). It utilises extant literature to provide a voice from history with a second voice provided by analysing research relating to the CFA’s operation. The research concludes that voices of history and research reveal fault lines that serve to undermine and ultimately overtop government legislation. It is argued that such fault lines will continue to undermine policy and practice in SEND because a piety of government thought renders radical culture change impossible. In part two, a third voice is introduced by way of a thematic analysis of parliamentarian’s speeches since CFA implementation in 2014. A voice that, like those of history and research, attempted to provide wisdom and perhaps salvation of government legislation