Lecture: ‘Tyranny of no alternative’: Teachers and students working towards socially just schooling.
Deireadh Fómhair 22, 2013
The Vere Foster Trust and the Institute of Educational Research in Ireland (IoERI) present
EDUCATION POLICY
PUBLIC LECTURE SERIES
Challenging the ‘tyranny of no alternative’:
Teachers and students working towards socially just schooling.
Venue: National Gallery of Ireland
Merrion Square W, Dublin 2
Vere Foster, 19th century philanthropist and Anglo-Irish gentleman, established progressive emigration and education schemes in post-famine Ireland. Recognising the connection between education and the strength of the nation, he founded the Irish National Teacher’s Organisation (INTO) in 1868. His legacy offers many valuable lessons for contemporary Irish Education.
RSVP verefostertrust@gmail.com to reserve a seat
6.30pm Thursday 7 Nov 2013
CHALLENGING THE ‘TYRANNY OF NO ALTERNATIVE’: TEACHERS AND STUDENTS WORKING TOWARDS SOCIALLY JUST SCHOOLING.
MARTIN MILLS, THE UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND
This presentation will seek to demonstrate how all schools can take up the challenge of addressing the economic, cultural and political injustices faced by young people from various backgrounds. It begins from the premise that many young people and teachers experience contemporary schooling as less than satisfying, but that this need not be the case. It will draw on data from a range of ‘alternative’ schools in Australia and England to explore the ways in which all schools can become more socially just. The data will come from interviews with teachers and students in schools variously known as ‘second chance’, ‘flexi-schools’ and ‘flexible learning centres’ and schools sometimes referred to as ‘democratic’. The first set of schools regularly caters to the needs of young people who experience severe social and economic disadvantage through, for example, poverty, homelessness and caring responsibilities. Many of these young people have been failed by the mainstream education system, yet now demonstrate a great enthusiasm for learning. The second group of schools cater to more middle class students, but demonstrate how engaged young people can be when involved in schools’ decision-making processes. In both sets of schools, teachers indicated that they were freed from many of the neo-liberal pressures shaping education systems globally, and that this made their work more productive and rewarding, which in turn benefited their students.
Martin Mills, The University of Queensland Martin Mills is a Research Professor in the School of Education at The University of Queensland, Australia. Martin’s research interests include the sociology of education, social justice in education, alternative schooling, gender and education, school reform and new pedagogies. Martin’s work in these areas has been significant in contributing to international and national debates on these topics. His recent co-authored books include Re-engaging young people in education: learning from alternative schools and Boys and schooling: Beyond Structural Reform. Martin has been on a number of government advisory committees, for example, the Equity advisory group to the Queensland Studies Authority. Substantial policy advice has also been provided through the numerous government reports that he has co-authored, the most recent of which is a report to the Australian Capital Territory government on the alternative provision of schooling in that Territory.
