Education as Human Development
This expresses the philosophy of education underpinning the values of Ragged University. This thesis is an expanded version of a presentation originally given at the British Educational Research Association conference held in Liverpool John Moores University 8th November 2018 which spoke to the of ‘Transitions: Challenges, Threats & Opportunities across the Post-compulsory Sectors’. Its original title was ‘Education as Human Development; Rewilding and Saving Social Mammals from the Ostracism of the Market’ Read more…
Challenging Consumerism: Education As Human Development
This article explores the role of challenging consumerism through notionalising learning and education as human development. This is an extended version of the blog originally published on the British Educational Research Association blog published on 29th April 2019
A Discussion of Justice in Relation to Crime and the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act
“Justice is the first virtue of social institutions, as truth is of systems of thought. A theory however elegant and economical must be rejected or revised if it is untrue; likewise laws and institutions no matter how efficient and well-arranged must be reformed or abolished if they are unjust. Each person possesses an inviolability founded on justice that even the welfare of society as a whole cannot override. Read more…
Education, The Way to Rehabilitation by Mark Humphries
Prison can raise many images in our minds. While you might not have given prisons a great deal of thought, I can assure you that when you hear about them on the news, or read about them in your newspaper an image or two appears in you mind. It might be that you see Ronnie Barker in Porridge, or you might have the media presented images of holiday centres, or places of continued rioting going through your mind. Read more…
Consuming Education; BERA Panel on Challenges, Threats & Opportunities across the Post-compulsory Sectors
On the 8th of November 2018, the British Educational Research Association (BERA) held a conference at Liverpool John Moores University on the theme of ‘Transitions: Challenges, Threats & Opportunities across the Post-compulsory Sectors‘. I (Alex Dunedin) was lucky enough to be invited to both take part in a panel discussion on the themes and to submit a paper. Read more…
Student as Consumer: A Sign of a Global Pathology
The notion of ‘student as consumer’ represents a sign of a global pathology of finance eating itself and everything else it encounters. The process of transforming the world into products to be consumed is presenting itself as a global pathology. It is a kind of ‘locust economy’ initiated through unaccountable agents and algorithm driven stockmarkets which move through the world consuming everything for profit before moving on. We are evermore set up and posed as consumers as managerial echelons normalise the surreal imposition of new semiotics on our identities as human beings. Read more…
Class, Opportunity and the Lesser Minds Problem
This is an exploration of class, opportunity and how the Lesser Minds Problem of dehumanized perception affects relations in everyday life. What follows is an annotated and extended version of a paper which was accepted for publication in PRISM journal. PRISM is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal that fosters innovative approaches to progressing critical thinking in all areas of teaching and learning. You can find the edition in which this paper is published by following THIS LINK.