The paper evaluates the reach and viability of the call to "decolonize academia" and assesses what can be done in academic institutions by way of decolonizing practices. By distinguishing colonialism from coloniality, it stresses the material and structural dimensions of the latter as an on-going reality, and thus argues for the…

This essay imagines how the "quasi-philosophy" of Alfred Jarry (1873-1907) might function as a fulcrum for overturning the legacy of "standard" thinking and writing now profuse within the Educacene, or rather, the epoch of globalized educational standardization. This essay will consider how Jarry's pataphysics or "science…

This essay examines a longstanding and recurrent metaphor in the representation of schools in modern society: the school as factory. Tracing this figure to the rise of philanthropic schools provided by factory owners from the early stages of the British industrial revolution, the essay surveys its uses both in the historical sources and in later…

Philosophy is sometimes thought of as having two principal dimensions: one that aims to build systems and doctrines, and another that is concerned to unsettle fixed ways of thinking. Richard Peters seems to position himself in both camps. I suggest that education in the UK today increasingly bears the marks of rigid thinking, largely as a result…

Reading poetry through a metaphorical lens, we enquire into our lived experience of academic development. By reading poetry as a metaphor for practice it becomes possible to explore teaching identities within higher education, creating opportunities for learning and critical self-awareness. Comparing and contrasting our different interpretations…

This paper takes inspiration from the Indigenous Fijian practice of 'curui' -- weaving or patching together -- as a metaphor to explore connections between climate justice, gender equality, and education in Fijian policies and practices. The paper argues that neither gender equality nor education can be 'silver bullets' for the huge challenges…

Inequitable access to learning opportunities has intersectional consequences for Black students in general and gifted education. Equally important, "all" students (regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic class, and grade-level), more often than not, lack invaluable opportunities to learn about the innumerable contributions…

This paper advances an alternative leadership metaphor of 'punk rock leadership'. I work through the usefulness of a metaphor of punk rock leadership as a way of exploring one principal's vision of leadership and his efforts to work outside of system expectations in his quest to achieve the school's goals. In doing so, I contribute to our wider…

In this essay Ken McGrew critically examines the "school-to-prison pipeline" metaphor and associated literature. The origins and influence of the metaphor are compared with the origins and influence of the competing "prison industrial complex" concept. Specific weaknesses in the "pipeline literature" are examined.…

Given current extensive expectations of how teachers should excel, any attempt to summarize teacher expertise in action in the second decade of this century may seem at best misguided. However, this has not stopped teacher educators offering diverse metaphoric encapsulations that aim both to distil and prescribe quality teacher practice. In this…

In this article we critically evaluate the case made by proponents of academic language (AL) that AL is functionally necessary for schooling due to specific functional advantages of AL. We consider three examples of AL introduced by AL proponents in order to show (1) that AL proponents have been too quick to accept the ALH, (2) that functional…

Popular culture casts mathematics and writing as opposites--a false dichotomy, which can be harmful for our discipline of mathematics education. Positioning writing outside the domain of the mathematician's abilities and cultivated skill set can create doubt in the mathematician wishing to write--not that one cannot be both writer and…

This article argues that the field of Rhetoric and Composition has long harnessed the active potential of metaphor to change its own practices but has considerably overlooked student use of metaphor--a particularly urgent oversight given the metaphorical battleground that constitutes the discourse of contemporary higher education. Using this…

The aim of this article is to develop a more nuanced understanding of the complex nature of learning as it relates to both the educational and social aims of education as manifested in contemporary European education policy. The article explores tensions in education policy and practice by exploring the evolution of the global brand Lego. The…

Doctoral education is often lauded as a site of academic socialization and research training for nascent scholars. However, discussions of socialization seldom problematize the dangers of intellectual imperialism and methodological nationalism inherent in doctoral researcher socialization. As such, the traditional socialization practices for…