A Forward to the Special Issue on Neoliberalism in Education The Long Road to Redemption: Critical Pedagogy and the Struggle for the Future

A Forward to the Special Issue on Neoliberalism in EducationEducatio

Mechanical dissection in an introductory engineering design module

The introductory design module for first year students in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Strathclyde uses mechanical dissection as a focus for learning activities that seek to integrate engineering science with the prior knowledge of the students. First year groups select and remove components from a scrap motor car, and produce a technical description of the system including consideration of function, mechanics, materials and manufacturing processes. Personal and professions skills and interpersonal skills are developed through enquiry based learning. This encourages the students to identify problems and engage in analysis requiring estimation and uncertainty; sourcing information in a critical manner to integrate in their description of the chosen component. Group and communication skills are developed through peer discussion and the presentation of their research in the form of a poster and formal seminar. Student feedback indicates a high level of enjoyment of, and engagement in many of the learning activities. However, focus group interviews and questionnaire responses indicate that the key area of metallurgy has proved to be difficult for many students, probably due to a lack of relevant background knowledge. Further development of the learning activities in metallurgy is planned, including pre-reading and peer instruction to prepare the students for the staff-led materials examination sessions. Continuing evaluation of the learning experiences of the students will be undertaken to assess the effectiveness of these developments

Education as liberation : the Bolivarian alternative Hugo Chavez (1954-2013)

This article pays homage to Hugo Chavez, the former democratically elected Venezuelan leader who passed away earlier in the year. Education played an important part in his anti-colonial political strategy and Bolivarian revolution. Editorial advisory board member, Peter McLaren, a leading critical pedagogue and frequent visitor to Venezuela (he actually met and conversed with Chavez), seemed the obvious choice to write the tribute. In this article, he underlines Chavez political and educational achievements and his standing as a symbol of resistance to western imperialism.peer-reviewe

Pedagogia crítica e luta de classes no neoliberal era do terror

En el marco de la tradición de la Educación Progresista norteamericana, la Pedagogía Crítica ha sido ampliamente discutida en el proyecto de reforma que reta a los estudiantes a convertirse en políticamente ilustrados de manera de que puedan comprender mejor y transformar el poder y los privilegios; la Pedagogía Crítica se ha mostrado como una importante protagonista en la lucha para un justicia económica y social; sin embargo rara vez ha desafiado la base fundamental de las relaciones sociales capitalistas. Entre los muchos defensores de la Pedagogía Crítica en Estados Unidos, el análisis de la pedagogía marxista ha sido prácticamente inexistente; de hecho en las últimas décadas, su orientación conceptual ha estado más cerca del posmodernismo y del posestructuralismo. Este artículo sostiene que a menos que el análisis de las clases y la lucha de clases jueguen un papel central en la pedagogía crítica, seguirá destinada al camino de la mayoría de los movimientos de reforma liberales del pasado, mezclando demandas a la distribución y asignación más justa de recursos y el apoyo a la diversidad racial, sin cuestionar radicalmente el cambio social que este tipo de proclamas hacenWithin the North American progressive education tradition, critical pedagogy has been a broadly debated project of educational reform that faces students to develop politically well-educated so that they might better recognize and change how power and privilege works on a daily basis in current social contexts. As a project of social change, critical pedagogy is pushed as a significant protagonist in the struggle for social and economic justice, nonetheless it has infrequently ever challenged the fundamental root of capitalist social relations. Amongst the many and varied exponents of critical pedagogy in the United States, Marxist analysis has been almost missing; in fact, over the last decades, its conceptual alignment has been more closely associated with postmodernism and poststructuralism. This paper debates that without class analysis and class struggle play a central role in critical pedagogy, it is meant to go the way of most liberal reform movements of the past, combining into calls for fairer resource distribution and allocation, and maintenance for racial diversity, without fundamentally challenging the social world of capital in which such requests are madeDentro da educação tradição progressista norte-americana, a pedagogia crítica tem-se amplamente debatido um projeto de rostos de reforma educacional que desenvolvem os alunos a politicamente educado melhor para que eles possam reconhecer e mudar a forma como o poder e privilégio funciona em uma base diária em contextos sociais atuais. Como um projeto de mudança social, pedagogia crítica é empurrado como um protagonista importante na luta pela justiça social e econômica, raramente entanto que nunca desafiou a raiz básica de relações sociais capitalistas. Entre os muitos e variados expoentes da pedagogia crítica nos Estados Unidos, a análise marxista tem sido, quase ausente; na verdade, nas últimas décadas, o seu alinhamento conceitual mais de perto tem sido associada com o pós-modernismo e pós-estruturalismo. Este papel debates sem essa análise de classe e luta de classes desempenhar o papel central na pedagogia crítica, que se destina a seguir o caminho da reforma liberal maioria dos movimentos do passado, combinando em chamadas para uma distribuição mais justa e alocação de recursos e manutenção da diversidade racial, sem fundamentalmente desafiando o mundo social dos títulos em que tais pedidos são feitos

Open Letter: To Eliott Abrams (U. S. Venezuela Envoy)

An open letter from Peter McLaren to Eliott Abrams, the the Special Representative for Venezuela at the U.S. Department of State. A Spanish translation is available here

Moral Panic, Schooling, and Gay Identity: Critical Pedagogy and the Politics of Resistance

We are living at a time in U.S. cultural history in which the autonomy and dignity of the human spirit is being threatened rather than exercised. What makes it bearable is what is hidden from us, what is repressively desublimated. The current historical juncture is precisely that perilous mixture of historical amnesia and cultural intensity in which society is attempting to reinvent itself without the benefit of knowing who or what it already is

Pushing Boundaries: Peter McLaren on the Importance of Critical Pedagogy Inside and Outside the Classroom

Peter McLaren is Distinguished Professor in Critical Studies and Co-Director and International Ambassador for Global Ethics and Social Justice of the Paulo Freire Democratic Project at Chapman University in the USA. Regarded as one of the leading architects of critical pedagogy, McLaren re-envisions the philosophy of Freire in the context of contemporary issues, including the struggle of the LGBTQ community, racism, and economic inequalities. Research Outreach spoke with McLaren about how critical pedagogy evolved and what he imagines its future to be

Liberation Theology and Adult Education

If there was ever time for the social gospel of Jesus Christ to make its voice heard, it is at this present historical juncture. Now is the time for American adult education to bid welcome to Liberation Theology

Learning Marx in the Podcast Era: A Review of “Reading ‘Capital’ with Comrades”

Karl Marx’s Capital is a book that keeps me going, thinking, organizing, writing, teaching; it’s a book that might even keep me alive. The trenchant analysis, the clarity of the exposition, and most importantly the insights that are crucial to the revolutionary overthrow of capitalism energize me. It’s a book that radically transformed my own life, one that made me move from working toward “social justice” and within “critical pedagogy” to working toward communism and within “revolutionary critical pedagogy,” a praxis I and comrades have been developing for over two decades now. Reading Capital with Comrades, a new Liberation School podcast series — now available on Spotify, Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts, and other platforms — advances that project in significant ways. It’s an amazing offering to not only revolutionary critical pedagogy and education, but the overall struggle to overthrow the capitalist mode of production and institute a new one that is organized for people and the earth, not for the profits. The class series makes the book incredibly accessible but—and this is an important qualifier—without sacrificing any of the richness of the text