Education as Pre-Political and The Living Curriculum

If we think of politic as involving the recruitment of support for a particular perspective, idea or project amongst a group of people – a polis – then the state of education can be understood as pre-political. This is in juxtaposition to indoctrination – the use of intrigue through rhetoric, eristics, misinformation and peer pressures. For the learner not having the sufficient knowledge on a given matter may be understood as in a pre-political state – undecided, uninformed, unaware. Read more…

the book Further Education and Twelve Dancing Princesses

Introduction: How Grimm is Further Education? by Joel Petrie

The following is an annotated version of the introduction chapter to the book ‘Further Education and the Twelve Dancing Princesses‘ as an accompaniment to the talk he is giving in Liverpool on oppressive management practices, the birth of the ’12 Dancing Princesses’ project, Fairy tales, and what they tell us, hope and utopia and future goals (Trentham Productions).The reader will find excerpts from the highlighted references in the original text contained within the grey highlighted boxes along with download links for the documents where possible. Read more…

BERA Abstract Interrupted: Patient Knowledge – A Medical Taboo

What follows is an abstract which was accepted by the British Educational Research Association (BERA) for their 2021 conference however due to there not being any scholarship or widening participation provisions for gaining membership to BERA, I could not afford to present it.  Whilst there are no provisions for supporting people without access to the necessary finance, this work is not simply ‘academic’ but is an ongoing project which is a result of years of study of exclusive institutional practices. Read more…

Shoestring Initiative: Ragged University – The Means to Organise Education Beyond Money

This presentation was given to the Shoestring Initiative on ‘Ragged University – The Means to Organise Education Beyond Money’ by Alex Dunedin. The Shoestring Initiative is a grassroots initiative to build community and support among first-generation students, staff, and faculty who identify as coming from poverty and/or living in poverty or working class backgrounds.  As members of the University of Victoria community from poverty or working class origins ourselves, we recognize that our backgrounds come with shared strengths and experiences, as well as unique challenges that continue to influence our work and life at the University of Victoria in Canada.
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