23. Policy Studies and Politics of Education
Poster
From open-ended material to Saviors – A Genealogy of Physical Environments and material in Swedish Preschools
Elsa Andersson
Malmö University, Sweden
Presenting Author: Andersson, Elsa
The physical environment in Swedish Early Childhood Education (ECE) is considered a crucial factor to how children develop and learn (Westberg, 2019). Although Swedish preschool is integrated within the education system there are generally little to no distinctions made between education, care, and play. Instead, all activities are considered a part of preschool education (Sheridan and Williams, 2018). Thus, the environment and material play an important part for the governing of preschool activities.
There is a variety of research on environment and material factors in early childhood education from a wide range of research fields. For example, on how material and environments are used in preschool and how material aspects influence education (Barnett, 2015; Odegard, 2021; Åström et al, 2020; Änggård, 2011). As well as how the physical environment forms limits or possibilities for how children can become and act (Eriksson Bergström, 2013; Nordin-Hultman, 2004). In summary, previous research show that childhood materials and environments are constructed in different ways and given different meanings in relation to a variety of discourses, discourses that not only influence how early childhood spaces are designed but also how children are viewed and governed.
Inspired by Foucault’s (1977) genealogical perspective the contribution of this paper is to examine the power relations embedded in the discursive practices of creating a ‘good educational environment’ by looking at discourses on ECE environment and material in 140 texts published in a Swedish preschool teacher trade journal between 1969-2022. In Foucault's spirit, the empirical material is not limited to one type of material, but in addition to the journal Förskolan, the analysis includes policy documents from the same period. The approach is an attempt, through discourse analysis of both contemporary and historical material, to show how discursive practices shape and reshape the norms and ideals of ‘good’ learning environments. The analysis is structured around two main questions:
(1) What are the discursive practices that constructs the dominant discourse on ‘the good learning environment’?
(2) How do these discourses on good learning environment and material coincide or compete with other practices/discourses, historically or outside of ECE?
Inspired by Foucault’s genealogical perspective, this study engages with the history of the present, which means that it is a study of contemporary practices from a historical and power-analytical perspective (Axelsson and Qvarsebo, 2017; Foucault, 1977). Genealogy as a method make use of historical events to crystallize a critique of contemporary phenomena that have become naturalized and taken for granted. It is not about searching for the true origins of things. Rather, this study aims to show how discourses on environment and material are shaped and reshaped. The goal here is to show how ‘something’ – in this case, the discursive practices of environment and material in ECE – can be understood as a configuration of power and knowledge with particular orientations and consequences (Beronius, 1991; Foucault, 1977). The consequences in this case, come down to how children are perceived and how their lives are directed. The concept of power-relations (Foucault, 1982; 2017) is informative in this study to understand how the discursive practices on environment and material in preschools shape how ‘problems’ are articulated and understood given the discourse at a specific time and context. And by extension, how these discourses shape or direct children’s actions in the present or the future.
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedRather than analyzing all possible sources regarding the societal and educational discourse on ideal environments and material for preschool children, the analytic strategy is geared towards capturing some essential patterns in the ‘talk’ about environment and material by researching both a more general debate, by reviewing an influential preschool trade journal, Förskolan [Preschool], and by including educational policies from the same period.
The journal Förskolan is a Swedish preschool teacher trade journal, founded and originally published by Svenska Fröbel förbundet [Swedish Fröbel Association], 1918. The Fröbel Association started as a pedagogical organization but later developed into being both an interest- and professional association, which in 1944 became a part of a larger union organization. Förskolan is currently published by a teacher union called Lärarförbundet [Teachers union]. Lärarförbundet describes the journals focus as being on skills development for preschool teachers. The voices represented in the journal are a wide range of professionals associated with early childhood education, such as preschool teachers, pediatricians, psychologists, researchers, architects, and others, connected to Swedish ECE institutions. The journal contains articles on, preschool’s work, news, research, debates, and interviews. As such, it represents an arena where discourses on Swedish ECE are represented from a variety of perspectives.
The selected sample period ranges from 1969-2022. 1969 was selected as start year since it coincides with the launch of Barnstugeutredningen [The nursery investigation], a nationwide government investigation on childcare that preceded the Swedish ECE expansion that started during the 1970s. The non-digitalized issues of the Journal, 1969-2001, were strategically sampled, to span over policy changes concerning preschool. The following years were sampled: 1969, 1972, 1975, 1980, 1985, 1991. All texts that concerned preschools material and environment were then digitalized via an app that transform printed text to digital text. The journal’s issues from 2002 and onwards were searched digitally. Multiple searches were made using the keywords: environment, design, material, and learning environment.
In total 140 articles were imported to NVIVO, a computer program for qualitative analysis. NVIVO was used during the first step of the analysis as the data was coded inductively. In the second part of the analysis the material was triangulated with relevant policy documents published within corresponding time periods. The policy material includes: Barnstugeutredningen [Nursery investigation] (SOU 1972:26), Pedagogiska programmet för förskolan (Educational program for preschool), (Socialstyrelsen, 1987:3). Jämställdhet i förskolan (Equality in preschool) (SOU 2006:75). The National curriculum for preschool (Skolverket, 1998;2018).
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsThe dominant discourses on ‘good ‘environment and material in Swedish Early childhood education are disseminated mainly through three discursive fields: (1) quality of play, (2) gender equality and (3) sustainability. The main thread through these discourses is the dichotomization of two different types of materials defined as ‘finished’ and ‘unfinished’ material. Finished materials denotes things that are manufactured to have a function in relation to children, for example ready-made toys. What binds the unfinished materials together is that they are not produced to have a function in relation to children, for example, natural materials or ‘trash’ material. The finished material is consistently problematized. The main problem highlighted is that it is considered to limit children's creativity and freedom. Unfinished materials are on the other hand, generally understood as ‘good’ materials, connected to a series of moral values like sustainability, equality, gender-neutrality, but also to the growth of children’s creativity. Primarily on basis of being viewed as open-ended. The paper discusses the tension between the dual ideals of children as both innocent and uncorrupted and as agents and potential saviors-of-our-world.
The conclusion of the paper is that the understanding of the concept of children’s independence and freedom in preschool has shifted. Although there are kinships with how Swedish preschool design in the 1970s was focused on offering preschool children a stimulating environment that supported independence and freedom of choice (Westberg, 2021), the result of this study points out a shift in what type of freedom that is desired for children to acquire. From freedom to become a part of adult culture, to freedom from adult culture. With this conclusion I invite further questioning of the role of environment and material in relation to the power-relations in ECE, specifically regarding the tension between children’s freedom and the everyday practices of ECE.
ReferencesBurman, Erica. 2013. Conceptual resources for questioning ‘child as educator’. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 32(3), 229–243.
Duschinsky, Robbie. 2013. Childhood innocence: Essence, education, and performativity. Textual Practice, 27(5): 763–781.
Edström, Charlotta. 2014. Pedagogues’ constructions of gender equality in selected Swedish preschools: A qualitative study. Education Inquiry, 5(4), 24618.
Eriksson Bergström, Sofia. 2013.” Rum, barn och pedagoger: om möjligheter och begränsningar i förskolans fysiska miljö” [Rooms, children and educators: about opportunities and limitations in preschool’s physical environment]. PhD diss., Umeå University.
Foucault, Michel. 1977. ‘Nietzsche, Genealogy, History’. In: Language, Counter-Memory, Practice: Selected Essays and Interviews, edited by Donald F. Bouchard. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Foucault, Michel. 1982. The Subject and Power. Critical Inquiry, 8(4): 777–795.
Foucault, Michel. 1991. ‘Politics and the Study of Discourse.’ In The Foucault Effect: Studies in Governmentality, edited by Graham Burchell, Colin Gordon, and Peter Miller, 53–72. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Gleason, Mona. (2016). Avoiding the agency trap: caveats for historians of children, youth, and education. History of Education, 45(4), 446-459.
Gulløv, Eva. 2013. Creating a natural place for children: An ethnographic study of Danish kindergartens. In Children's Places cross cultural perspectives, edited by Karen Fog Olwig and Eva Gulløv, 23–38. London: Routledge.
Hultqvist, Kenneth. 1990. Förskolebarnet: En konstruktion för gemenskapen och den individuella frigörelsen: En nutidshistorisk studie om makt och kunskap i bilden av barnet i statliga utredningar om förskolan [The preschool child: A construction for community and individual emancipation: A contemporary historical study of power and knowledge in the image of the child in state inquiries about preschool]. PhD diss., Stockholm University.
Kallio, Kirsi Pauliina, and Jouni, Häkli. 2011. Are There Politics in Childhood?
Space and Polity, 15(1), 21–34.
Kjørholt, Anne Trine, and Ellen, Os. 2019. Barnehagen som materielt og kulturelt landskap. Arkitektur, innredning og leketøy [The kindergarten as a material and cultural landscape. Architecture, interior design and toys]. In Blikk for barn, edited by Leif Hernes, Torill Vist and Nina Winger, 75–103. Bergen: Fagbokforlaget.
Tallberg Broman, Ingegerd. 2009. Mamma, pappa, förskolebarn. Om förskolan som jämställdhetsprojekt [Mom, dad, preschool–child. About the preschool as an equality project]. In: Genus i förskola och skola, edited by Inga Wernersson, 61–84. Gothenburg: Acta Universitatis Gothoburgensis.
Westberg, Johannes. 2021. Designing preschools for an independent and social child: visions of preschool space in the Swedish welfare state. Early Years, 41(5), 458-475.
23. Policy Studies and Politics of Education
Poster
Europeanization of Education: Two Decades of Research Insights in Slovenia
Urška Štremfel
Educational Research Institute, Slovenia
Presenting Author: Štremfel, Urška
In 2004, Slovenia became a member of the European Union (EU), thereby fully entering into joint European cooperation in the field of education. This is primarily based on the open method of coordination (OMC), consisting of different policy instruments (common goals, benchmarks, indicators, peer learning, comparative reports), by which member states are supported and triggered to develop their educational system in a certain, European, way. Since 2000, this cooperation is organised within the so-called ten-year strategic frameworks of European cooperation in education and training (E&T 2010, E&T 2020, E&T 2030). At the end of the I&U 2010, the European Commission pointed out that the data on how the OMC is being implemented in member states are deficient and missing and the scientific debates (e.g. Alexiadou & Lange, 2015) exposed the need for in-depth empirical research in the field. At the end of E&T 2020, the emerging European education area is facing similar challenges - a lack of studies that would explain the ways in which member states pursue European goals in the field of education (European Commission, 2019). Although the OMC since 2000, when it was formally introduced in the educational sector with the Lisbon strategy (European Council, 2000), has lost its visibility in EU policy documents, as well as attention in scientific debates, Gornitzka (2018) explains the education sector upheld its governance arrangements. The question of its implementation in member states and the strength of Europeanizing national educational systems, therefore, remains actual, especially in times, when the European Education Area is to be established by 2025 (Council of the EU, 2021).
Objective, research question
The main aim of this paper is to explicate the Europeanization of the Slovenian educational space in the last two decades, namely, by in-depth comparative empirical insight into the implementation of the E&T 2010 and E&T 2020 strategic frameworks. The paper, therefore, addresses the research gap in the field, by providing an innovative in-depth longitudinal research framework of the OMC implementation in the last two decades in the particular member state. The research question, the paper address is: “How the OMC and its changing governance arrangements have influenced the development of Slovenian educational space in the last two decades?”
Conceptual and theoretical framework
In the paper, we study OMC in the field of education policy and its influence on member states (e.g. Slovenia) within a theoretical framework that presents the combination of theoretical postulates of the concept of a new mode of governance as the outcome-oriented governance, governance of comparisons, governance of problems and governance of knowledge (e.g. Altrichter, 2010; Grek, 2010), theory of policy learning (e.g. Radaelli, 2008) and the concept of evidence-based policy-making (e.g. Pellegrini & Vivanet, 2021). In the paper, we use a complex multilevel framework of analysis, which serves us for the explanation of conditions under which OMC triggers member states to reach EU goals and therefore initiate the convergence of the European educational space and establishment of the European Education Area by 2025. In that way we explicate a combination of ideational and organizational pressures, stimulating member states to adapt their own ideas and organizational structures in order to attain common EU goals (Bórras & Radaelli, 2011).
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedThis paper is qualitatively oriented. In order to address the research question we employ a methodological framework, including the following methods and techniques: a) comprehensive review of the academic literature on new modes of governance, open method of coordination, policy learning theory and evidence-based policy; b) an analysis of Slovenian educational legislation, EU official documents in the field of education policy, non-official documents, press releases, newspaper articles and speeches since 2000 onwards; c) semi-structured interviews conducted with relevant officials in the Slovenian Ministry of Education, Science and Sport (9 interviews conducted in 2012 and 7 interviews conducted in 2021), the Slovenian Permanent Representation in Brussels (1 interview conducted in 2012 and 1 interview conducted in 2021), f) mailed questionnaires that were sent to Slovenian experts in the field of education that are also active at the EU/international level (n = 22 in 2012; n = 4 in 2021), to education policy makers (n = 8 in 2012; n = 5 in 2021), and to stakeholders (headmasters) (n = 91 in 2012; n = 147 in 2021); g) the analysis of already existing statistical data. The data collected in two waves (2012, 2021) enable us to get important longitudinal insight into the Europeanization of Slovenian educational space in the last two decades and comparative insight into the implementation of the E&T 2010 and E&T 2020 in Slovenia. As the key strategy for the quality assessment of research findings, we employ triangulation, which enables not only testing the validity of research results but also gaining a better understanding of the phenomenon studied.
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsAn in-depth case study of the OMC’s influence on the Slovenian educational space in the first two decades of Slovenia’s formal EU membership provides so far missing empirical evidence about the OMC’s influence on the national educational space. The paper includes a critical evaluation of the OMC reception in the Slovenian educational space in the past two decades in a comparative perspective and presents the author’s views about the further development of the Slovenian educational space within the EU environment. In critically estimating how Slovenia has not selectively neither adopted nor rejected the OMC (institutional and ideational) pressures on the development of the national educational space in the last two decades, the paper presents an alternative way of understanding, how common European cooperation in the field of education has widened and deepened since 2000 onwards and how the establishment of the European Educational Area has become a reality. In the paper, OMC is therefore explicated as a meta-instrument (toolkit) consisting of technical and social devices, which in accordance with the representations and means these hold, establish a specific socio-political relationship between the EU and the member states therefore ensuring the attainment of the common EU goals in the education policy field. The paper with its innovative long-term approach presents an alternative way of researching OMC’s influence on member states and with its conclusions from one perspective explains the social reality - the establishment of the European Educational Area.
References- Alexiadou, N., & Lange, B. (2015). Europeanizing the National Education Space? Adjusting to the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) in the UK. International Journal of Public Administration, 38(3), 157-166.
- Alexiadou, N., & Rambla, X. (2022). Education policy governance and the power of ideas in constructing the new European Education Area. European Educational Research Journal, https://doi.org/10.1177/14749041221121388
- Altrichter, H. (2010). Theory and Evidence on Governance: conceptual and empirical strategies of research on governance in education. European Educational Research Journal, 9(2), 147–158.
- Borrás, S. and Radaelli, C. M. (2011). The Politics of Governance Architectures: Creation, Change and Effects of the EU Lisbon Strategy. Journal of European Public Policy, 18(4), 463–484.
- Council of the European Union (2021). Council Resolution on a strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training towards the European Education Area and beyond (2021-2030).
- European Commission (2019). Assessment of tools and deliverables under the framework for European cooperation in education and training (ET2020). Final Report. Brussels: European Commission.
- European Council. (2000). Presidency Conclusions. Lisbon European Council. 23 and 24 March 2000.
- Pellegrini, M., & Vivanet, G. (2021). Evidence-Based Policies in Education: Initiatives and Challenges in Europe. ECNU Review of Education, 4(1), 25–45.
- Gornitzka, Å. (2018). Organising Soft Governance in Hard Times – The Unlikely Survival of the Open Method of Coordination in EU Education Policy. European Papers, 3(1), 235–255. doi: 10.15166/2499-8249/211
- Grek, S. (2010). International Organisations and the Shared Construction of Policy “Problems”: problematisation and change in education governance in Europe. European Educational Research Journal, 9(3), 396–406.
- Radaelli, C. M. (2008). Europeanization, Policy Learning, and New Modes of Governance. Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice, 10(3), 239-254.
- Štremfel, U. (2013). Nova oblika vladavine v Evropski uniji na področju izobraževalnih politik [New Mode of Governance in the EU in the Field of Education Policy]. Doktorska disertacija. Ljubljana: Fakulteta za družbene vede, Univerza v Ljubljani.
23. Policy Studies and Politics of Education
Poster
Arts Education as Portrayed in China's Top-policy: A Critical Discourse Analysis
Ruini Huang, Kris Rutten
Ghent University, Belgium
Presenting Author: Huang, Ruini
To date, the impacts of arts and culture on society - whether positive or negative - have been intensively discussed and reflected in the economic, political and educational fields (e.g. through deliberations for cultural policy on funding culture projects, political and educational agenda on promoting culture and arts education) (Belfiore, 2008; Gilmore & Abigail, 2014; Winner et al., 2013). Among these initiatives, educational ones ofttimes emphasise the positive impacts of -arts and culture on schooling, which, to some extent, reflect the impact the government hopes to have on arts education (Commission et al., 2012; Sabol, 2013). Educational policy, arguably, is one of the important initiatives to respond to governmental demands (Henry et al., 1997) for arts education. For instance, the New European Culture Agenda (2016) envision that arts education can develop critical appreciation, persevere cultural diversity, foster creativity, et cetera, which shows the EU’s eagerness to promote cohesion through the arts and cultural education.
Coincidentally, the most recent educational reform in China and the ensuing improvement in policy demonstrate the growing importance of arts education but also the expectations of the government. The policy background of this rejuvenation can be traced back to 2014, whereafter a series of arts education policies (2014，2015，2020) were issued by China’s central authority. In those policies, the arts education is assumed as an essential path to achieve the fundamental goal of China’s general education, which comprises Lide Shuren [Enhance morality, Foster talents]. In addition to the policy, the Chinese government also provide guidelines for enhancing arts educational practices in the policy documents (2020). Together the policies and interpretative documents manifest that arts education has reached an unprecedented height and ushered in great development opportunities in China (Xu, 2018). In this regard, an in-depth examination of the policy is imperative for a better understanding of the status of arts education in China and the governmental expectations represented therein.
The focus of the previous research, in China, is more on the diachronic evolution (Li, 2019; Sun & Xu, 2022), descriptive interpretation (Yan, 2015) and implementation (Zhao, 2019) of the arts education policy. Meanwhile, western scholars have reconsidered arts education in broader educational shifts (Sabol, 2013) and adopted diverse approaches (e.g. the cultural policy analysis framework (Shaw, 2018), critical policy analysis (Kos, 2017)) to question the advocacy and examine the discursive practice present in the arts education policy texts (Logsdon, 2013). However, a critical appraisal of the current policies is yet to be conducted in China.
In this paper, the overarching goal has been to understand the principles and the functions of China’s arts education constructed in the top policies and explore the governmental demands and discursive practice. The authors, therefore, applied a critical discourse-analytical reading of the three-arts education policy(2014,2015,2020).These three top policies are deemed the most authoritative policy in the current decade, providing us with the representative and widely used government discourse on arts education. Unpacking the policy discourse and the hidden cultural and power logic, we aim to make an empirical contribution to the research on arts education policy in China.
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedIn order to unpack the expected functions encompassed by arts education policy in China’s educational setting, this paper presents a critical analysis of top-policy texts that contain the major advocacy of arts education in China.
Policies are not only words written in formal documents, but vivid political representations, compromises and practices. The policies are thus dynamic and interactive(Henry et al., 1997). CDA is known as a toolkit for analysing how semiotic choices are being made and how the choices are integrated with practice to achieve certain communicative aims (Machin & Mayr, 2012). It helps to reveal the underneath ideology, power, a body of knowledge in policy texts. In fact, CDA is now widely accepted in educational research, especially in educational policy analysis(Rogers et al., 2016). However, it is acknowledged that CDA is not a concrete method but a set of diverse methods aimed at merging textual and social analysis, critical social theory and linguistic analysis. It is premised upon the supposition that discourse is socially constitutive as it is socially conditioned (Blommaert & Bulcaen, 2000). ‘[CDA] studies [are concerned with] real, and often extended, instances of social interaction which take (partially) linguistic form. The critical approach is distinctive in its view of (a) the relationship between language and society, and (b) the relationship between analysis and the practices analysed’(Wodak, 1997). Thus, in this paper, this author applies CDA to analyse the top policies to find out how it creates meaning and persuades the audience to know China’s arts education advocacy in a way. (Hansen & Machin, 2018)
There are different well-formed traditions of CDA, such as sociocognitive, discourse-historical, critical metaphor, Foucauldian, ethnographic and so on(Rogers et al., 2016). While in this article, one of the typical representatives of CDA- Fairclough’s dialectical-relational method- which combined different CDA research methods to form the 'three-dimensional model' is undertaken. Firstly, Fairclough defined language as a kind of social practice which is an eternal intervention force of the order of society. It reflects reality from diverse perspectives, manipulates and influences social processes through recurring in ideology; in the social and cultural contexts, language and values, religious beliefs and power relations are mutually influential; the application of language can prompt the change of discourse and social reform (Fairclough, 2001). Based on this, the well-known three-dimensional analysis framework is framed as text, discourse practice, and social practice.
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsDrawing on the previous policy document and research, we will first sketch an outline of the evolution of arts education policy in China. In this part, the development of arts education policy is concluded as a five-stage process, which is twisted and tortuous. The background and context of the selected three policies will be highlight.
This will be followed by contextualising the socio-economic and socio-politics grounding primarily during the period when the selected policies were issued (i.e. the 2010s). As Henry et al. (1997) mentioned, consideration of economic, social, political and cultural contexts helps shape the policy and illuminate the question of ‘why’ and ‘why’ the policy is built. In considering the context of arts education policy development during the last decade, one noteworthy feature was China's socio-economic and political shifts.
Thereafter, the findings will be presented with a particular consideration for the policy discourse and the related discursive practice. 1) For the dimension of the text, a linguistic analysis would be adopted to generate the vocabulary, sentence construction, structure, and choices made by the policy. In this essay, the specific nouns, and adjectives chosen by the policy will be analysed. 2) For the dimension of discursive practice, the production, distribution and the public's and researchers’ reception of the policy text, and the context, the meant audience of the text will be analysed, and the focus will be on intertextuality those three policy texts. 3) For the dimension of social practice: the broader social context (both in and out- of China) of those policies will be examined to identify the politics, economy and ideology which is dominant in/through the text.
To close the paper, we offer reflections and discussions on theoretical and practical considerations of arts education policy.
ReferencesBelfiore, E. (2008). The social impact of the arts : an intellectual history. Basingstoke England ; New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.
Cao, Q., Chilton, P., & Tian, H. (2014). Discourse, politics and media in contemporary China. John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Education, C. s. M. o. (2014). The Opinions on Promoting the Development of Art Education in Schools (1004-3438).
Education, C. s. M. o. (2015). Opinions of the General Office of the State Council on Comprehensively Strengthening and Improving Aesthetic Education in Schools.
Education, C. s. M. o. (2020). Strengthen and improve the work of school aesthetic education in the new era, build a education system for comprehensively developing the cultivation of moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic and labor. http://www.gov.cn/zhengce/2020-10/16/content_5551794.htm
European, C., Directorate-General for Education, Y. S., & Culture. (2016). Cultural awareness and expression handbook : open method of coordination (OMC) working group of EU Member States’ experts on ‘cultural awareness and expression. Publications Office. https://doi.org/doi/10.2766/940338
Gilmore, & Abigail. (2014). Understanding of the value and impacts of cultural experience – a literature review. Cultural Trends, 23(4), 312-316.
Heilig, J. V., Cole, H., & Aguilar, A. (2010). From Dewey to No Child Left Behind: The Evolution and Devolution of Public Arts Education. Arts Education Policy Review, 111(4), 136-145. https://doi.org/10.1080/10632913.2010.490776
Ho*, W. C., & Law, W. W. (2004). Values, music and education in China. Music Education Research, 6(2), 149-167. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461380042000222564
Kipnis, A. B. (2011). Governing educational desire. In Governing Educational Desire. University of Chicago Press.
Kos, R. P. (2017). Music education and the well-rounded education provision of the Every Student Succeeds Act: A critical policy analysis. Arts Education Policy Review, 119(4), 204-216. https://doi.org/10.1080/10632913.2017.1327383
Fairclough, N. (1992) Discourse and Social Change. Polity Press, Cambridge.
Fairclough, N. (2001) Language and Power. 2nd Edition, Pearson, Essex
Mattheis, A. (2016). A mashup of policy tools and CDA as a framework for educational policy inquiry. Critical Policy Studies, 11(1), 57–78. doi:10.1080/19460171.2016.1170618
Rogers, R., Malancharuvil-Berkes, E., Mosley, M., Hui, D., & Joseph, G. O. G. (2016). Critical Discourse Analysis in Education: A Review of the Literature. Review of Educational Research, 75(3), 365-416. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543075003365
Sabol, F. R. (2013). Seismic Shifts in the Education Landscape: What Do They Mean for Arts Education and Arts Education Policy? Arts Education Policy Review, 114(1), 33-45. https://doi.org/10.1080/10632913.2013.744250
Shaw, R. D. (2018). Examining arts education policy development through policy frameworks. Arts Education Policy Review, 120(4), 185-197.
23. Policy Studies and Politics of Education
Poster
The Micropolitics of Everyday School Life: The Interplay Between Sticky and Fluid Realities
Anna Kristiina Kokko
University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Presenting Author: Kokko, Anna Kristiina
Globally, the question of how everyday school life is transformed towards more equal and democratic practices is receiving increasing attention in research, practice, and public debate. Often, such discussion aims to raise ways in which schools can facilitate such transformation from the perspective of local and situated practices (e.g., Fairchild, 2019; Leppänen, 2020). Thus, it is not surprising that the concept of micropolitics ─ the fluid, heterogeneous, and non-linear processes of everyday life ─ forms part of many of the studies concerned with these processes.
In this study, we draw on the concept of micropolitics as discussed by Felix Guattari (1984, 2009). Earlier research on Guattari’s micropolitics has built a vital understanding of how fluid (i.e., molecular) sides of everyday life can open our, perhaps sometimes restrictive, macro structures and make visible that everyday life is not that schematic. Our actions are not predetermined by some pre-existing reality, but rather, everyday life is constructed by multiple actions which make mundane life un-predictable (Deleuze & Guattari, 1987; Guattari, 2009). However, although in his writings Guattari in general emphasized the importance of everyday molecular movement (see, for example, Guattari and Rolnik, 2009), he did not consider molecular movements as inherently transgressive or liberatory actions undermining molar entities. Therefore, in this study we engage with Guattari’s (1984, 2009) writings in which he talks about two forces that produce micropolitics, the molar and the molecular. ‘Molar’ here refers to the stable sides of everyday life (i.e., structures, laws, regulations, etc.). By comparison, ‘molecular’ refers to the force that gains its movement from heterogeneous actions in everyday life. These include, for example, all aspects of school days that cannot be predicted beforehand. What we specifically aim to emphasize is that both of these sides exist at the same time, and they can only be realised in relation to each other (Guattari, 1984, 2009).
Placing special emphasis on acknowledging both of these sides as a part of the construction of everyday life, we build on theoretical perspectives that consider reality as relational and dynamic (Deleuze & Guattari, 1987; Guattari, 2009). Moreover, sensitizing ourselves to details does not offer universal facts. Instead, such a perspective helps us to focus on the wider connections between details, allowing processes hiding in mundanity to become visible (Decuypere, 2019). Thus, the purpose is to recognize issues that call for a response (Haraway, 2016). To better understand how this mundane everyday school life is constructed, we ask: How are the two forces, molar and molecular, realised in mundane school practices?
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedTo be able to understand micropolitics in mundane school practices, we draw on ethnographic methodology (Gordon, Holland & Lahelma, 2001). The data were collected in two Finnish comprehensive schools during the school year 2018–2019. In every step of the research, special attention was paid to adhering to the ethical recommendations of the Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity (2012) and ethical practice. Both schools are medium-sized schools in urban areas, the one in a lower socio-economic urban area (compared to the average of the municipality), and the other in an area in which the poverty level of families with children is lower compared to the average of Finland. Although the schools are located in somewhat different areas, in both the school classrooms are inclusive and, at least to some extent, culturally and socio-economically diverse.
Various kinds of ethnographic data were produced for the purposes of this study. First, through participant observations, the researcher compiled a field diary and notes on everyday school life, staff meetings, and the principals’ daily meetings with collaborators and stakeholders, for example municipality officials; recordings or notes of some of the discussions with teachers and principals; photographs; and school and municipality policy documents. In addition, the researcher conducted tape-recorded and verbatim transcribed interviews with three principals and 31 teachers. Since the interviews were conducted in the middle of the ethnographic field work, and the first author already knew the participants, as Niemi (2015) writes, it can be assumed that the interviewer and the interviewee shared common sensibilities, making it easier to record the shared moments in everyday life.
The analysis was conducted in two main phases. First, notes and brief summaries were written up about sociomaterial entanglements in the school environments. Following this, using the methodology of thinking with theory (Jackson & Mazzei, 2012), we took a closer look at the events and asked the question: What kinds of micropolitical, that is, molar (i.e., sticky) and molecular (i.e., fluid) movements could be identified from the data? Lastly, in the third phase of the analysis, we asked: How do the molecular everyday events link to the molar elements of daily life?
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsUsing the ethnographic data, we provide rich and meticulous descriptions that show how particular practices come into being through a two-sided micropolitical process embracing the molar and the molecular: 1) through molecular movements it is possible to open the children’s subjectification process in school spaces, and 2) despite its seemingly random movements, the molecular is never entirely free but always includes congealing molar and stable entities.
Thus, our analysis first explores the situations in which molecular movements, for example, children’s initiatives to extend the way they are seen in school spaces, become visible. These situations relate, on the one hand, to the learning practices (i.e., how the pedagogical situations allow the children to choose their working methods or where the activities take place, etc.). However, interestingly, on the other hand, the majority of these situations relate to more general molar entities, such as how the children are positioned in terms of their social background. Thus, our study reveals how everyday school life is not just about learning activities, but also extends to the wider societal issues.
Second, the interplay between molar and molecular forces assisted us to see that, although the children had multiple opportunities to extend the way their subjectivities were constructed in these settings, it should not be taken for granted that all children had these opportunities. Rather, the study shows how these molecular movements are not entirely free, but are also connected to the wider molar societal entities.
Thus, the main argument we make in this study relates to the multiple co-existing realities in school spaces. We argue that to be able to examine the construction of everyday life in school we need to engage with the interplay between the different sides of micropolitics: the molar (sticky) and the molecular (fluid).
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Jackson, A.Y. & Mazzei, L.A. (2012). Thinking with theory in qualitative research: Viewing data across multiple perspectives (1st ed.) London: Routledge.
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