Neoliberalism and Impacts on Education - Essay Example

Neoliberalism and impacts on education Introduction Neoliberalism is considered as an economic approach that advocates for the shifting of economicfactors from the public to the private sector. Through this approach, governments that embrace it drop their deficit spending and eliminate the use of subsidies to spur economic growth. Most governments with this kind of economic approach also reform their taxation system to create a broader tax base and increase internationalization through liberalization and the promotion of free trade. Pierre Bourdieu was a French born sociologist who wrote a number of articles on the philosophical views on neoliberalism and advocated for the elimination of Sarte policies in France (Robbins, 1991). While Bourdieu opposed the notion of neoliberalism in his theories, henry Giroux spent much of his time developing theories that advocated for the adoption of neoliberalism. In this paper, the philosophy of neoliberalism will be discussed in relation to the two sociologists and how this philosophy has affected the pedagogical development of education in different parts of the world (O’Connor, 2010). Pierre Bourdieu and Henry Giroux theories in relation to Neoliberalism The theory of neoliberalism developed and became stronger towards the mid of the 20th century with sociologists like Giroux devoting their time towards the development of theories to support the same. Though the roots of this philosophy was developed by the political elites as a way of advocating for the liberation of people from the control of the government, its use spread to other subject areas including sociology and education. With neoliberalism, free competition and the development of free markets devoid of government control and manipulation were developed. Western countries began to adopt this economic model towards the end of the 19th century but the use was affected by the great depression and the emergence of the Keynesian economic models (Giroux, 2005). In the recent past, different countries have adopted policies that signal the revival of economic liberalism through the agitation for global trade and the development of free trade areas. According to Bourdieu, the adoption of this philosophical approach that is centred on market based competition and efficiency has moved countries towards the social Darwinism philosophies. During the reigns of Thatcher in the United Kingdom and Reagan in the United States, liberal economics contributed to the economic liberalization of states and the restructuring of states through the destruction of societal based welfares (Robbins, 1991). As a result, the United States and the United Kingdom adopted the removal of subsidies and tariffs, increased privatization of different sectors of the economy and attacks on worker unions and bodies. Bourdieu argues that the adoption of the liberal economics has become an unquestioned economic system that has been accepted worldwide and led autonomous countries to regress into penal states which put more emphasis on value production and increase in profit above any social issue that may arise (Michael, 2009). At a personal level, neoliberalism has been attributed to the adoption of individuality, self-interest and rationality which is viewed to guide all actions of citizens in such countries. As supporters of this notion like Giroux argues, neoliberalism is a social science that has the ability to explain the changes in human behaviour as the behaviour of humans is believed to be guided by individualistic, logical and selfish goals, any idea that has been focused on developing the great benefits for the public and the community as a whole is disregarded as ineffective and waste of the government resources. According to Bourdieu, the traditional antagonism of economical and intellectual groupings that was part of the political and ruling elite was overcome by the need to adopt a neoliberal economy (O’Connor, 2010). These faction according to his theories resulted into the classification of the elites as highly educated or economic bourgeoisie who formed part of the ruling class. This resulted into a history of the ruling class and the class struggles which led to the ruling power to be divided into two independent factions. According to Giroux, education is facing a challenge from a society that has adopted rampant individualism and the dissolution of the communal bonds for individual and self-centred gains which has promoted inequality, poverty and the incarceration of majority of the people (Giroux, 2004). Due to this aspect, the education system of different countries has shifted their focus into the production of complacent consumers and producers. This is associated to the decision made by schools in Texas, for example, to burn the study of critical thinking and develop a microcosm as a way of eroding the American educational framework and adopt a system that will inculcate the selfish and self-centred approaches of neoliberalism. With corporates increasingly becoming dominant in the country and other parts of the world, corporate thinkers like Maxwell Gladwell have emerged. According to Giroux, such philosophers are one-man branded and are responsible for the spread on the neoliberal ideologies in the United States and the country’s educational system (Michael, 2009) The prison and correctional systems in the country have been changed into an industrial complex which is fused with the education system and this has continued to affect the misdemeanour of students about the reality on education. This has affected the education of racial minorities as the school to prison system has created a room for racially segregated system to be adopted which has contributed to the discrimination of colored people. Most of the blacks and other minority groups have failed to go beyond high school as they are continuously labelled as criminals against the backdrop of neoliberal approaches (Amable, 2003). The works of Giroux are directly against the development of a neoliberal system that encourages class division that affects the development of critical pedagogy in schools. Public life must have a democratically encouraged engagement approach that values the contribution of people and protects every individual against the harms of the government. As results, educators must constantly advance human progressive development and empowerment to enable them participate the democratic process of their country (Giroux, 2004). Based on this, Giroux argues that the ability of teachers to teach well is based on their willingness to confront the system in place today and enable students develop into socially constructed individuals. His work focuses on the role that teachers play in both the school and higher education system which should create transformative intellectuals and make them public intellectuals later in life. Teachers must therefore be cultural workers engaged in cross cultural pedagogical domains aimed at developing the students’ ability to understand the social impacts of neoliberalism and a system that produces workers as opposed to intellectuals (Archibugi & Iammarino, 2000). Young people have been marginalized and alienated as a result of the neoliberalism and this forms the interest of Giroux as captured in his book ‘youth in a suspect society’. The democratic future of countries has been rejected as a result of neoliberalism which has continued to create the rejection of the youthful generation as a result of the self-centred and selfish society. The economic policies that have been developed by different countries in the world have constantly encouraged the development of disposable communities whose value is lost immediately after they are used (Bourdieu, 1990). This has led to increased homelessness, unemployment and the increase in the number of mentally ill and disabled individuals in the society. Such people are continuously dumped in the scrap heap of history to enable the private sector supported by the neoliberal policies of the government to increase profit. Individuals faced with this kind of challenges must be engaged in dialogue with the policy makers in the education sector to salvage the situation and assist in the pedagogical development of education in the country (Chomsky, 2011). Due to the strong desire to refranchise the educational sector, the neoliberal minds have continuously advocated for the disinvestment in public schools and their take over to pave room for the creation of charter schools. As a result, the education of students and future leaders should not be based on education and intellectual needs but a model of market driven forces. This will result into the creation of corporate assets from the schools which will be driven by the need to create wealth and profit oriented workers as opposed to intellectuals with the ability to understand the democratic discourse in the country (Daniela, 2013). Today, schools in the United States continue to face challenges due to lack of resources as policies are adopted which allows mega corporations to have tax holidays. As a result, the rich are today not taxed fairly and continue to receive massive corporate subsidies from the government while schools continue to face imminent fall (Hill & Kumar, 2012). Impacts of neoliberalism on education based on Giroux and Bourdieu theories Due to the emergence of the global neoliberal attitude, educational knowledge has been merchandised under different conditions that make the contents of educational materials under the control of the market dynamics. As a result, the current educational structure in different countries has been shifted from pedagogical based to an education framework that is driven by the complex forces of demand and supply within the market. This has increased the socioeconomic disparities and the lack of opportunities especially among the disadvantaged members of the society. Due to neoliberal thoughts and ideologies, different states and the country leadership are shifting from the traditional role of being the provider and guarantor of the welfare of the people including educational needs. As a result, massification of skills has ensured to enable the county’s sustained the capitalist production approaches that encourage the development of the private sector (Webb, Schirato & Danaher, 2002). The question of teacher capability continues to raise a storm within the educational sector due to the recent publication that indicated that some mathematical teachers lack pedagogical knowledge of their subjects. In most instances, it is assumed that teachers of a given subject have equal to perfect knowledge and grasp of the subject. This has been proved wrong as most teachers have failed in the same exam they have subjected their students to. Effective teaching of mathematics cannot be equated to attaining a 100% marks in the exam that the teacher is examining his students in. Greater understanding of the subject of specialization can only be demonstrated by in depth preparation and ability of the teacher to handle the different challenges faced by students in the class. In most instances, the mathematical teaching aim has been misconstrued to mean helping students pass their exams. This is far from the truth as the student should be able to apply the mathematical concepts learned beyond the classroom and exam environment. This makes content understanding and pedagogy of the subject essential (Chval, Abell & Pareja, 2008). Increasing teacher’s knowledge in mathematics is essential in assisting them handle different challenges associated with classroom and instructions. In most instances, students develop high curiosity to understand new concepts and relate them to the real life situation. Though this is highly encouraged in mathematics, teachers may not be able to handle such questions unless their mathematical knowledge is adequate (Webb, Schirato & Danaher, 2002). Subject knowledge of mathematics must also be closely linked to pedagogical knowledge to enable students benefit from the classroom experience. In most cases, students develop misconceptions which the teacher must address and develop better ways of looking at them. The process of handling these curious moments, however, needs a teacher to be able to forge links and connect his explanations to mathematical ideas. This can only be done effectively if the teacher has a high understanding of the subject and pedagogical knowledge of the area (Steger & Roy, 2010). Improving mathematics subject knowledge in teachers will also be essential in enhancing the quality of mathematics education in the country. In most instances, teachers tend to work towards improving the subject knowledge of students. However, the same problems that students face today in addressing the theoretical and technical gap in mathematics were experienced by their teachers. The systems have thus continued to generate inefficient professional through the use of the same approaches which do not impact in addressing the application gap currently witnessed (McCarthy & Teasley, 2008). Pedagogical knowledge in teachers also enhances the metacognition abilities in students and this improves the ability to grasp the content. In the presence of pedagogical knowledge, teachers can make figurative comparisons and this improves the ability of students to understand the concept further. By acquiring tools to get unstuck and solve mathematical puzzles, content knowledge in mathematics has helped bridge the gap in students desire to pursue mathematics (Grenfell, 2004). According to Giroux, youths remain the most affected group as a result of the development of this market driven ideology in different countries. The social systems have failed to support them and offer proper educational training that encourage intellectual development. As the states continue to ignore their social duties to the people, different government related agencies have adopted the deregulation policies and the privatization of key public sectors like education (Webb, Schirato & Danaher, 2002). Public schools in the United States are today targeted for privatization and their conversion into charter schools which operates under the factory models and produces graduates that meet the market demand and not the societal pressures. With increased student involvement in their personal performance, autonomy and responsibility is increased as the student is increasingly engaged in making assessment of his strengths based on the results generated by him. While performing the self-assessment process, student engage more deeply with the course and study different aspects of the course to enable him identify the mistakes in his work. In most traditional school setups, students have played the role of passive learners that wait for assessment reports from their teachers to be able to gauge their personal performance. However, self-assessment aims to give a student the chance to control his learning process as a student and an assessor. Self-assessment also seeks to involve students in deeper and more logical critical thinking as they strive to understand the topic they are assessing themselves in. Self-assessment also aims to improve student’s ability to form a fair judgment of their strengths, weaknesses and abilities in a subjective environment (Canaan & Shumar, 2008). The development of skills that enable an individual to monitor his learning process depicts the person as highly motivated, in control of his learning process and guided by the desire to propel in his academic endeavours. These results into the development of self-regulation skills which are essential in the development of critical thinking skills, the ability to self-monitor progress of education, think in the right direction, mould positive beliefs and behaviours. These skills are also considered as self-modifying due to their ability to develop self-reflection skills and abilities in an individual (Harvey, 2005). In the United Kingdom, it is argued that the conservative governments under Thatcher and John Major contributed to the spread of neoliberal ideals and the change of schools into market driven industries. During this time, the government introduced the parental choice in which the schools were given the power to choose the subject combination pursued by the students. By choosing the children based on their social background, race and social abilities to pursue different areas, the educational system discriminated against the children and contributed to the development of hierarchy and elitism in schools. Today, we have the league schools that have stricter, discriminatory and capitalistic admission criteria that are influenced by the corporate world as opposed to the educational policy makers in the country (Smith, 2000). Neoliberalism also agitates for the efficiency tests of products before they can be distributed into the market, a business model that has been applied to children in these societies. Before they can join any educational level, children are exposed to strong testing systems at different ages which influence the schools they are likely to attend. The results attained by the children at these levels also influence their treatment which explains why some schools have free transport system while others don’t. The privatization of the educational sector and the adoption of the business like efficiency model have contributed to the treatment of students as products that must meet the market specifications as opposed to possessing the intellectual ability to deliver. Tuition fees have also been raised by higher education institution following government supported educational reforms which have continued to makes higher education inaccessible to many and a preserve of the rich elites (Howard & King, 2002). Conclusion Based on the models presented by henry Giroux and Bourdieu, critical pedagogy in education has been critically affected by the adoption of neoliberalism. Through neoliberalism, the society has been changed into a capitalist environment where policies adopted are self-centred and selfish, thus making it possible for an elite group to be created. Businesses and corporations have also hijacked the development of higher education and this has led to the emergence of a system where students are trained based on the market needs and not the intellectual development that meets the societal needs (Babb, 2001). 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