458 research outputs found
Learning democracy in social work
In this contribution, we discuss the role of social work in processes of democracy. A key question in this discussion concerns the meaning of ‘the social’ in social work. This question has often been answered in a self-referential way, referring to a methodological identity of social work. This defines the educational role of social work as socialisation (be it socialisation into obedience or into an empowered citizen). However, the idea of democracy as ‘ongoing experiment’ and ‘beyond order’ challenges this methodological identity of social work. From the perspective of democracy as an ‘ongoing experiment’, the social is to be regarded as a platform for dissensus, for ongoing discussions on the relation between private and public issues in the light of human rights and social justice. Hence, the identity of social work cannot be defined in a methodological way; social work is a complex of (institutionalized) welfare practices, to be studied on their underlying views on the ‘social’ as a political and educational concept, and on the way they influence the situation of children, young people and adults in society
Elective Modernism and the Politics of (Bio) Ethical Expertise
In this essay I consider whether the political perspective of third wave science studies – ‘elective modernism’ – offers a suitable framework for understanding the policy-making contributions that (bio)ethical experts might make. The question arises as a consequence of the fact that I have taken inspiration from the third wave in order to develop an account of (bio)ethical expertise. I offer a précis of this work and a brief summary of elective modernism before considering their relation. The view I set out suggests that elective modernism is a political philosophy and that although its use in relation to the use of scientific expertise in political and policy-making process has implications for the role of (bio)ethical expertise it does not, in the final analysis, provide an account that is appropriate for this latter form of specialist expertise. Nevertheless, it is an informative perspective, and one that can help us make sense of the political uses of (bio)ethical expertise
Class Position of Immigrant Workers in a Post-Industrial Economy: The Dutch Case
In this paper, the issue of changing labour-market opportunities and the position of members
of minority groups in advanced service economies is addressed, focusing on the Dutch case.
We distinguish between two social hierarchies, one of traditional ‘fordist’ occupations and
one of post-fordist occupations. Compared to the native Dutch, all immigrant groups are
over-represented at the bottom of the labour market, both in the fordist and in the postindustrial
hierarchy. Increased immigrant labour-market participation in the 1990s was
accompanied by a strong rise in the number of flexible labour contracts. Native Dutch also
work more frequently on flexible labour contracts, but not to the same extent as immigrants.
The lower occupational level of the Surinamese, Antilleans and other non-Western
immigrants employed in post-industrial occupations can be attributed to their low
educational level. This is not true, however, for Turks, Moroccans and other non-Western
immigrants employed in fordist occupations. Their low occupational level can not be
completely explained by their low educational level. The effects of changes in the economic
structure differ for ethnic groups, depending on their past employment, their cultural capital
and the institutional framework in which they have to operate
From Indymedia to Anonymous: rethinking action and identity in digital cultures
The period following the social mobilizations of 2011 has seen a renewed focus on the place of communication in collective action, linked to the increasing importance of digital communications. Framed in terms of personalized ‘connective action’ or the social morphology of networks, these analyses have criticized previously dominant models of ‘collective identity’, arguing that collective action needs to be understood as ‘digital networking’. These influential approaches have been significantly constructed as a response to models of communication and action evident in the rise of Independent Media Centres in the period following 1999. After considering the rise of the ‘digital networking’ paradigm linked to analyses of Indymedia, this article considers the emergence of the internet-based collaboration known as Anonymous, focusing on its origins on the 4chan manga site and its 2008 campaign against Scientology, and also considers the ‘I am the 99%’ microblog that emerged as part of the Occupy movement. The emergence of Anonymous highlights dimensions of digital culture such as the ephemeral, the importance of memes, an ethic of lulz, the mask and the grotesque. These forms of communication are discussed in the light of dominant attempts to shape digital space in terms of radical transparency, the knowable and the calculable. It is argued that these contrasting approaches may amount to opposing social models of an emerging information society, and that the analysis of contemporary conflicts and mobilizations needs to be alert to novel forms of communicative practice at work in digital cultures today
Good for your soul? Adult learning and mental well-being
Although there is a widely held view that adult learning has a positive impact on well-being, only recently has this proposition been systematically tested. The paper reviews recent research findings on the influence of adult learning on earnings and employability, both of which may influence well-being indirectly. These are more important for some groups than others: in economically advanced societies, additional earnings produce limited gains in well-being for most groups except the poorest, while employability is most significant for groups that are most vulnerable in the labour market. The author then reviews recent research findings showing that participating in learning in adult life has some positive direct influence on well-being; analyses of cohort studies suggest that the influence is comparatively small, but nevertheless significant. There has been less study of learning’s negative consequences for well-being, and the paper draws on history data to illustrate some of these less desirable influences. It concludes by identifying areas for further research, and outlining a number of implications for policy and practice. These are particularly important in the current context, where environmental movements appear to be challenging the primacy of economic growth as the overarching goal of policy
Bologna process, higher education and a few considerations about the New University
O presente artigo analisa o que se convencionou chamar de Processo de Bolonha, isto é, a produção de uma “política pública de um meta-Estado para um meta-campo universitário”, constituindo-se em uma política educacional supranacional, comum aos estados-membros da União Européia, com vista à construção de um “espaço europeu de educação superior”. O processo político e de reformas institucionais, realizado por cada governo nacional, conduzirá ao estabelecimento efetivo do novo sistema europeu de educação superior até 2010, incluindo atualmente 45 países – todos
os da UE e outros 18 países europeus não pertencentes a ela. Nesse sentido, por se tratar de um vastíssimo número de “subsistemas nacionais” e de instituições educativas, atribui-se um grande
protagonismo às questões relativas à “garantia de qualidade”. Analisam-se, igualmente, as recentes transformações na educação superior no Brasil, em que o projeto da chamada “Universidade
Nova” e o Programa de Apoio a Planos de Reestruturação e Expansão das Universidades Federais
(REUNI) constituem-se nas manifestações mais claras do reordenamento desse nível de ensino (seguindo os parâmetros de Bolonha), que já experimentara grandes transformações nos governos de Fernando Henrique Cardoso (1995-2002) e teve prosseguimento nos governos de Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (2003-2006; 2007), embora com distintos matizes.This article analyzes what is conventionally known as the Bologna Process, or the making of a “public policy of a meta-State for a University meta-field” that corresponds to a supranational educational policy for all the European Union membership States, with the goal of building a “European higher education space.” The political process and the institutional reforms of each national government intends to establish the new European higher education system until 2010,
with 45 countries – the number reflects current developments, including the EU membership States and 18 non-EU countries. Given the high quantity and the myriads of “national subsystems” and educational institutions involved, “quality assurance” becomes a major task in this process.
We analyze, in the same way, the recent higher education changes in Brazil, where the so-called “New University” project and the Program of Support for the Restructuring and Expansion of Brazilian Federal Universities (REUNI, in Portuguese) are the clearest expressions of the reshaping
of the higher education system (in accordance with the Bologna standards) after the dramatic changes made by Fernando Henrique Cardoso´s government (1995-2002) and continued by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva´s government (2003-2006; 2007), despite some differences between both administrations
Institutional assessment as an instrument of rationalization back to the school as a formal organisation
O papel central da avaliação, da avaliação institucional e dos
processos de garantia da qualidade de escolas e universidades
nas políticas educacionais é objeto de discussão, também
considerando a reforma do Estado. As teorias da nova gestão
pública e as perspectivas gestionárias são consideradas como
algumas das principais fontes de inspiração e de legitimação no
contexto dominante de uma educação contábil. Dados empíricos
preliminares resultantes do processo de avaliação externa de
escolas básicas e secundárias portuguesas são apresentados
e interpretados de acordo com os principais conceitos e
representações organizacionais de escola presentes nos relatórios
externos. Examinando algumas das imagens e dos significados de
escola, cultura de escola, autonomia, objetivos, liderança e eficácia
presentes nos relatórios de avaliação, o autor releva a importância
das imagens formais, racionais e burocráticas de escolas. Várias
questões de investigação são apresentadas tendo por base aquilo
a que o autor chama o processo da hiperburocratização das
organizações educativas. Algumas dimensões do conceito de
burocracia de Max Weber são revisitadas, em articulação com
perspectivas neocientíficas de garantia da qualidade e com as
tecnologias da informação e comunicação. O autor sugere que
maior relevância deve ser atribuída aos modelos formais e racionais
de interpretação das organizações educativas, pois os processos de
avaliação e de garantia da qualidade estão a contribuir para a
formalização de escolas e universidades e para a intensificação do
seu processo de racionalização, isto é, para a emergência de uma
imagem analítica das escolas como hiperburocracias.The central role of evaluation, institutional assessment and quality
assurance processes of schools and universities in education policy
is object of discussion also considering the reform of the state. New
Public Management theories and managerialist perspectives are
considered some of the main sources of inspiration and legitimation
in the dominant context of an audit education. Preliminary
empirical data from external assessment of Portuguese primary and
secondary schools are introduced and interpreted according to the
main concepts and organizational representations of school found
in external reports. Examining some of the central organizational
images and meanings of school, school culture, autonomy, goals,
leadership and effectiveness included in the external reviews, the
author stresses the importance of formal, rational and bureaucratic
images of schools. Several new research questions are presented
for further inquiry based on the hypothesis of what it is called by
the author the process of hyperbureaucratization of educational
organizations. Some of the main dimensions of the concept of
bureaucracy as presented by Max Weber are revisited in close
relation with neo-scientific approaches of quality assurance and
taking in consideration the use of information and communication
technologies. Accordingly the author suggests that much more
importance must be given to formal and rational models of
interpreting educational organizations because assessment and
quality assurance procedures are contributing to the formalization
of schools and universities and to the intensification of their process
of rationalization, i. e., to the emergence of an analytic image of
schools as hyperbureaucracies.(undefined
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