Knowledge, policy and practice in education and the struggle for social justice : essays inspired by the works of Geoff Whitty

For 50 years, educator and sociologist Geoff Whitty resolutely pursued social justice through education, first as a classroom teacher and ultimately as the Director of the Institute of Education in London. The essays in this volume - written by some of the most influential authors in the sociology of education and critical policy studies - take Whitty’s work as the starting point from which to examine key contemporary issues in education and the challenges to social justice that they present. Set within three themes of knowledge, policy, and practice in education, the chapters tackle the issues of defining and accessing ‘legitimate’ knowledge, the changing nature of education policy under neoliberalism and globalization, and the reshaping of teacher workplaces and professionalism – as well as attempts to realize more emancipatory practice. The essays open windows on life in the sociology of education, the scholarly community of which it was part, and the facets of education policy, practice, and research that they continue to reveal and challenge in pursuit of social justice. Cover 1 Half-title 2 Dedication 3 Title 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 About the Contributors 8 List of Figures and Tables 16 List of Abbreviations 17 Acknowledgements 19 Preface 20 Introduction 22 Part I: Knowledge 32 1. Social Mobilizations and Official Knowledge 34 2. Sex, Sexuality and HIV: ‘Education’, in the Broadest Sense of the Word 49 3. Education for Inclusion or Exclusion: Representation of Ethnic Minorities in Chinese Mainstream History Textbooks 60 4. Social Theory, Biological Sciences and the Sociology of Knowledge in Education 85 5. Geoff Whitty: Student, Friend and Colleague; Some Personal Reflections 104 Part II: Policy 116 6. The Neoliberalization of the State, the Processes of ‘Fragmentation’, and Research Implications of the New Political Terrain of English Schooling 118 7. The White Bones of Policy: Structure, Agency and a Vulture’s-Eye View with Critical Race Theory 136 8. From Bastion of Class Privilege to Public Benefactor: The Remarkable Repositioning of Private Schools 155 9. Pursuing Racial Justice within Higher Education: Is Conflict Inevitable? 170 10. The Policy Sociology of Geoff Whitty: Current and Emergent Issues Regarding Education Research in Use 186 11. Revolutions in Educational Policy: The Vexed Question of Evidence and Policy Development 200 Part III: Practice 218 12. Why Isn’t This Empowering? The Discursive Positioning of Teachers in Efforts to Improve Teaching 220 13. Can Teachers Still Be Teachers? The Near Impossibility of Humanity in the Transactional Workplace 238 14. Contestation, Contradiction and Collaboration in Equity and Widening Participation: In Conversation with Geoff Whitty 254 15. Quality, Impact and Knowledge Traditions in the Study of Education 276 Geoff Whitty: A Biographical Note 298 Index 314 Back Cover 318 This book reviews the state of education in Myanmar over the past decade and a half as the country is undergoing profound albeit incomplete transformation. Set within the context of Myanmar's peace process and the wider reforms since 2012, Marie Lall's analysis of education policy and practice serves as a case study on how the reform programme has evolved. Drawing on over 15 years of field research carried out across Myanmar, the book offers a cohesive inquiry into government and non-government education sectors, the reform process, and how the transition has played out across schools, universities and wider society. It casts scrutiny on changes in basic education, the alternative monastic education, higher education and teacher education, and engages with issues of ethnic education and the debate on the role of language and the local curriculum as part of the peace process. In so doing, it gives voice to those most affected by the changing landscape of Myanmar's education and wider reform process: the students and parents of all ethnic backgrounds, teachers, teacher trainees and university staff that are rarely heard. Marie Lall argues that, despite a commitment to greater equality and equity expressed in the Ministry of Education's policy documents, Myanmar has missed a historic opportunity to make use of education reform to engage with deep-seated social injustices. Inequalities persist in the long-term outcomes for poorer sections of society and between the majority Bamars and ethnic nationality communities. This is the portrait of a country constrained by internal tensions and competing international priorities that serve to divert the professed course towards social justice For 50 years, educator and sociologist Geoff Whitty resolutely pursued social justice through education, first as a classroom teacher and ultimately as the Director of the Institute of Education in London. The essays in this volume - written by some of the most influential authors in the sociology of education and critical policy studies - take Whitty’s work as the starting point from which to examine key contemporary issues in education and the challenges to social justice that they present. Set within three themes of knowledge, policy and practice in education, the chapters tackle the issues of defining and accessing ‘legitimate’ knowledge, the changing nature of education policy under neoliberalism and globalization, and the reshaping of teacher workplaces and professionalism – as well as attempts to realize more emancipatory practice. Whitty’s scholarship on what constitutes quality and impact in educational research is also explored. Together, the essays open a window on a life in the sociology of education, the scholarly community of which it was part, and the facets of education policy, practice and research that they continue to reveal and challenge in pursuit of social justice. They celebrate Whitty as one of the foremost sociologists of education of his generation, but also as a friend and colleague. And they highlight the continued relevance of his contribution to those seeking to promote fairer and more inclusive education systems The essays in this volume - written by some of the most influential authors in the sociology of education and critical policy studies - take the work of educator and sociologist Geoff Whitty as the starting point from which to examine key contemporary issues in education and the challenges to social justice that they present