Rethinking ethics and democratic agency in teaching and teacher education

In Democracy and Education, Dewey argued for the mutually dependent relationship linking a legitimate education system and a thriving democracy. A century later, many would argue that democracy and education have been decoupled and that both have been diminished and devalued as a result. This can be attributed, at least in part, to recent policy developments, including standardised curriculum, high stakes testing and professional teacher standards, which, in concert with deregulation and an ethos of market-based competitive individualism, have focused attention on matters of efficiency rather than underlying questions of purpose, thereby undermining education’s links to democracy (Biesta, 2007; Fielding & Moss, 2011). These developments have been compounded by a contrived climate of fear in relation to extremism – a climate which has been cultivated in a manner that erases history and politics with serious implications for the ethical responsibilities of teachers and schools. This paper considers how these developments have contributed to the reshaping of teaching and teacher education as technical rather than a moral or political practice, thereby eviscerating the ethical and political core of teaching (Clarke & Moore, 2013; Clarke & Phelan, 2015, 2017). Against this background, the paper considers the conceptual resources teachers and teacher educators might draw on, including ideas from Levinas, Lacan and Foucault, in order to rethink, revitalise and reassert their ethical and political agency so as to enhance the relationship between democracy and education.

Biography

Prior to taking up his current post as Chair and Professor of Education at York St John University, Matthew taught and researched at universities in Australia, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates. He has also taught in schools and language centres in England and Australia. His undergraduate studies were in politics and philosophy, and his research and writing are characterised by enduring concerns with issues of politics and questions of identity in relation to education and teaching. In recent years he has been grappling with the complexities and challenges of psychoanalytic theory and seeking to draw on its insights in order to analyse and critique education policy. His latest book, Teacher Education and the Political: The Power of Negative Thinking, co-authored with Anne Phelan (University of British Columbia, Canada) was published by Routledge in January 2017.