We make two interventions in two evolving scholarly literatures. First, we show how fractal metaphors escape a recurring dichotomy in Christian pedagogical scholarship, the either/or of alienation from one's object of study versus union with it in "an act of love." Second, we try to replace recent interdisciplinary work's emphasis on…

Aimed at rethinking the concept of service learning, this article draws upon the philosophical thought of the neo-Confucian thinker Wang Yangming. The inquiry is directed at a perennial concern that the prevailing understandings of service learning may encourage patronisation and domination in the server coupled with subordination and…

Education is widely seen as a force for good, associated with hope and optimism about better individual and social futures. By contrast, and controversially, this paper argues that education and education policy in recent decades has been far from benign, as evidenced in the growing alienation of significant numbers of teachers and students and,…

This paper aims to explore the relationship between Karl Marx's concept of justice and Martha Nussbaum's capabilities approach. Nusbaum follows the Aristotelian idea of man as a political animal, which is intrinsically consistent with Marx's view of human nature, but she provides us with a new normative perspective to reconsider Marxism. When she…

This article introduces work originating from the area of Networked Learning that seeks to problematise and critically discuss notions such as 'collaboration', 'community', and 'participation'. It argues that there is a dark and shadowy side to these ideals, which we need to attend to in a reflexive manner. To this end, it introduces ideas of…

Drawing on the seminal works of Jurgen Habermas, Axel Honneth, Andre Gorz, and Shoshana Zuboff, this article searches in the Marxian tradition for clues to assert claims that the struggle for an emancipatory consciousness and practices must include the workplace. This article examines the kind of arguments that might open the way to reclaim the…

Boys' classroom experiences over the past 20 years have shifted to increasingly restrictive and negative messages on a daily basis. Due to increased accountability, curriculum requirements, testing, and intensification of daily classroom experiences, boys are losing interest in their educational experiences in early elementary school. The question…

In this article I examine the inherent characteristics of teachers' work, as a form of intellectual activity, in relation to the changes that this work is undergoing under the neoliberal mode of capitalist accumulation, that can be identified as teachers' "proletarianisation". I emphasize that the work of teachers, as a creative and…

In recent years, increased attention has been paid to mental health struggles among students, and a range of interventions have been proposed to improve student retention and learning through "trauma-engaged pedagogy" and "cultures of caring." Drawing on the insights of affect theory, we argue that such a focus, although…

Through the use of horror movie motifs like zombies and mad doctors, "The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials" (2015) stands in drastic contrast to other young adult dystopian properties like "The Hunger Games" (2012), for example, in that "Scorch Trials" uses allegory as a means to comment on neoliberalism, alienated…

The basis of the ethical dilemma discussed in this article is the controversy surrounding the personal relationship between a student and their lecturer. The social constructs of university highlight that the potential for any friendship or relationship within the institution is very uncommon and both parties usually assume that integration of…

In a climate of growing intolerance and violence, marked by various forms of injustice across the democratic world, human rights and democratic citizenship education have the potential to help cultivate knowledge, values and skills or competences in the young that are necessary to foster a culture of human rights and democracy. However, education…

Internationally, boys from working-class backgrounds are often the most likely to disengage from their formal education. Research on the educational experience of working-class boys has focused heavily on their identity barriers, often positioning these young men as either vulnerable or volatile in their formal education. Social theorists have…

This personal experience narrative details the dissonances I experienced conducting my ethnographic dissertation study as a graduate teaching assistant (GTA) studying GTA teaching development. These dissonances arose due to my recognition and scrutinization of the blatant transmission of neoliberal ideology in my research setting ("Cardinal…

The purpose of this paper is to critique current women-only coach education initiatives, before suggesting an alternative approach to dealing with gender discrimination in coaching provision. Having increased in popularity over recent years, primarily through justifications as being "safe spaces" for participants, such initiatives have…