Liveable life, educational theory and the imperative of constant change

This article is based on a keynote paper presented at the European Conference on Educational Research (ECER), University College UCC, Copenhagen, 22–25 August, 2017. In this paper, I problematise the idea that we live in an era of constant change with respect to education and educational research. I...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inEuropean educational research journal EERJ Vol. 17; no. 5; pp. 621 - 630
Main Author Säfström, Carl Anders
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London, England SAGE Publications 01.09.2018
Subjects
Educational Change
Educational Research
Educational Theories
Educational Trends
Politics of Education
Theory Practice Relationship
Areté
educational theory
educational impulse
liveable life
change
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Summary:This article is based on a keynote paper presented at the European Conference on Educational Research (ECER), University College UCC, Copenhagen, 22–25 August, 2017. In this paper, I problematise the idea that we live in an era of constant change with respect to education and educational research. I claim that what presents itself as change on supra-national as well as national levels, or even in classrooms, more often than not has to do with adjustments within a given reality rather than of a radical and profound change of this same reality. The response to this situation I will suggest is to mobilise radical forms of theory that address the inherent emancipatory and transformational character of education. This kind of theory, I argue, actually also addresses the central characteristics of a truly pluralistic democracy. Drawing on Jacques Rancière and Judith Butler the paper will lay out some arguments for resisting an anti-democratic and anti-pluralistic tendency within what I will call ‘pre-Sophist’ educational trends and instead promote an education that is concerned with a ‘liveable life’ for all.
ISSN:1474-9041
1474-9041
DOI:10.1177/1474904118784480