Teacher education and the political : the power of negative thinking / Matthew Clarke and Anne M. Phelan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Clarke, Matthew, 1964- author.

Phelan, Anne M., author.

Series:

Foundations and futures of education

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Teachers--Training of--Political aspects.

Teachers.

Teachers--Training of.

Physical Description:

149 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, 2017.

Summary:

Teacher Education and the Political is a striking book which addresses the nature and purpose of teacher education in a global context characterised by economic and political anxieties around declining productivity and social inclusion. These anxieties are manifested in recent policy developments such as the promotion of professional standards, the deregulation and marketisation of teacher education and the imposition of performance-related regimes that tie teachers' pay to outcomes in high-stakes testing. The book assesses the implications of such policies for the work of teachers as well as for teacher educators and those undertaking initial teacher training. It is argued that these policy moves can be read as a depoliticising and de-intellectualising of teacher education. In this context, they illustrate how contemporary theory can provide a language for critiquing recent developments and imagining new trajectories for policy and practice in teacher education. Drawing on the work of theorists from Derrida and Mouffe to Agamben and Lacan, this book argues for the need to maintain a space for intellectual autonomy as a critical dimension of the ethico-political work of teachers. Together these ideas and analyses provide examples of the power of negative thinking, illustrating its capacity to unsettle comfortable truths and foreground the political nature of teacher education. Current teachers, teacher educators and school leaders will be particularly interested readers, alongside those concerned with policy in the wider educational landscape. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 On the power of negative thinking in and for teacher education: an introduction 1

2 Policy's excess: professional alienation and sublimation 17

3 After-effects: knowledge and impotentiality 37

4 Assuming subjectivity: desire, ethics and agency 59

5 Tragic pursuits: embracing pluralism and legitimising dissent 81

6 Conclusion: 'between the road of yes and the road of no' 107.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Clarke, Matthew, 1964- author. Teacher education and the political

ISBN:

9781138840737

1138840734

9781138840744

1138840742

OCLC:

966436352