Conference Agenda

Emotions have been gaining ground in educational discourses and practices since the beginning of the 21st century. A clear example of this is the growing importance given to Social Emotional Learning (SEL) in the globally structured educational agenda, as promoted fundamentally by International Organisations, especially since the pandemic caused by COVID-19 (Abramowski & Sorondo, 2022). SEL has been criticised for its underlying link to the production of subjects adapted to the needs of the labour market and the precarious conditions of life in neoliberal society, and for its contribution to the psychologisation and therapeutisation of education and of social problems in general (Bryan, 2022; Cabanas Díaz & González-Lamas, 2021). However, the proposals that advocate for a space to reflect, express and work with emotions in schools are not limited to SEL and come from heterogeneous political stances.

Hence, in this paper, we aim to examine the approach to emotions within the critical educational discourse on a transnational scale, including the education for social justice paradigm. Our goal is to describe the prominent place taken today by the emotional dimension in this discourse, and to analyse how and from what theoretical perspectives this new dimension is incorporated. Research questions guiding this inquiry include: which shifts in meaning can we observe in key critical pedagogy concepts, such as social-awareness and conscientization, justice or agency? What are the ethical and political implications of these changes? To answer these questions, we will draw a map of the meanings given to affect and emotions by critical educational discourse and of how these meanings are articulated with social justice and educational justice’s main concepts.

Our theoretical framework is based on socio-anthropological approaches to emotions (Illouz, 2014 and 2019; Leys, 2017; Lutz, 1986). From this starting point, we critique the current ubiquity of emotionalised language in contemporary educational projects, which we interpret as part of an epochal ethos that privileges emotional vocabulary and explanations over other registers (Sorondo & Abramowski, 2022). This pre-eminence given to emotion grants it with a new status of truth, with ontological, normative and epistemic value (Illouz, 2019). Thus, this cultural and discursive matrix –which began to take shape alongside the political, sexual and identity claims of the 1960s (Ehrenberg, 2000; Illouz, 2014)– operates today as a regime of truth that regulates how we think and act in the educational field. Indeed, we might be witnessing the naturalisation of a dominant discourse on emotions that installs certain meanings, imaginaries and routines of interaction in schools. This emotionalisation of education reinforces what other researchers have called the therapeutisation of education, to describe the installation of psychological and therapeutic ideas and practices as a way to interpret and intervene on social and educational problems –using, for instance, individual and depoliticised terms such as emotional vulnerabilities or psychological traumas– (Ecclestone & Brunila, 2015; Ecclestone & Hayes, 2009).

To conclude, our underlying interest is to examine how critical pedagogy is placing emotion at the centre of educational research, in order to assess which boundaries of the dominant emotional discourse are actually challenged and which are maintained and reinforced. In this regard, to focus on the critical educational research field is especially relevant in a context marked by the dominant SEL agenda. Considering emotions as a new normative discourse, formed by a system of privileged ideas and underpinned by power relations (Downing, 2023), is key to understanding and problematising current research trends, and the resulting policies and practices.

Poland has been seen as one of the examples of the growing authoritarian populism, with right-wing ideological beliefs constraining free speech, creating deep social divisions, and influencing education curricula. The process of transformation from the authoritarian communist regime to a more democratic system is still evident in a number of dimensions of Poland’s society, including education.

In education, the major reforms undertaken over the last three decades have changed the educational structures, institutions and processes, and established Poland’s schooling system as one of the highly effective. Poland may seem ‘successful’ when focusing on the measurement of its educational goal attainment (e.g. PISA or PIRLS) however there are indications of deep-rooted problems related to the forms of cultural capital promoted in schools which contribute to the reproduction of dominant cultural and economic values represented by ruling and powerful groups (Apple, 2004). It means that there is significant work to be done to understand conditions of the inequality and hegemony of the current system and enable “the creation and recreation of meaning and values” for all citizens in the democratic way (Apple, 2004, p. xxiv).

This is in the context of a specific status of education in Poland which is characterised by its ‘national’ significance - education has been seen in Poland as a bastion of national survival, especially during turbulent historical times. The subjects of history and Polish literature, in particular, have been regarded as significant instruments in preserving Polish values, language and identity. This is particularly important under the right-wing populist governments, governing Poland since 2015, which emphasise the growing threat to the Polish way of life using highly emotive language with a narrative inspired by past historical events, aiming to create an integrated national self-image which Pankowski (2010) calls Polonism.

This research, therefore, takes a detailed look into the socio-political themes and topics discussed in classrooms in Poland, especially in relation to ‘controversial’ topics, and how teachers deal with them. We analyse the ways teachers have been affected by the current political climate by focusing on teachers’ engagement in discussing difficult or controversial topics, and how intentional these conversations were.

Research into discussing controversial issues in the classrooms has attracted a lot of attention due to the growing social and political tensions evident in many countries, and the schools’ role in moderating discussions on public policy issues (Kello 2016; Dunn, Sondel & Baggett 2019; Cassar, Oosterheert & Meijer 2021; Sætra 2021). The role of the teacher in managing such conversations is crucial. Poland is an interesting case study for research on teacher practices and controversial issues in the classroom due to its complex domestic socio-political situation, as well as its continuously reforming education system. It becomes important to learn more about the mindset of practicing teachers, their attitudes and decision-making in relation to selecting and discussing difficult, and often controversial, topics in their classrooms. At a time of need for critical thinking skills and democratic debate, the transformation of pedagogical approaches, and the attitudes of teachers towards understanding and shaping of critical thinking and socially-engaged attitudes among students requires specific attention

On-going complexities and tensions in society, such as a divisive political climate and increasing diversity, have raised questions on how schools can foster a sense of belonging within the democratic polity. As a result, questions on the meaning of citizenship and citizenship education have received much attention in research, policy, and practice. Xenophobic discourses and anti-migrant rhetorics often lead to the exclusion and marginalization of minoritised people and position these ‘othered’ individuals outside the ‘imagined community’ despite having legal citizenship (Abu El-Haj, 2015; Schmitt, 2010). Multiple studies have illustrated the discrepancy between having legal citizenship and feelings of non-belonging and revealed that young people with migration backgrounds feel that they are often positioned as the ‘other’ (Fleischmann & Phalet, 2018). This suggests that the conditioned experiences of minoritised students can be linked with broader micro- and macro-political power structures. These structures also relate to the school’s cultural norms and power dynamics and thus affect the everyday experiences regarding citizenship and belonging of young people in school.

Although recent research has made significant advances in demonstrating that citizenship is an experiential and negotiated social process in everyday life (Askins, 2016; Kallio et al., 2020), current understandings of citizenship in education are mainly based on adult-centred conceptions of what it means to be a citizen and often omit the feelings and experiences of young people themselves. Moreover, emotional attachments as part of feelings of belonging (i.e. feeling at ‘home’) and citizenship remain underexplored (Kenway & Youdell, 2011). However, emotions are often used to describe and give meaning to feelings of belonging or non-belonging and emphasize the ways young people experience their social world (Ho, 2009). They provide cues to understand the society and the social structures in which we operate (Barbalet, 2001). In this study, emotions are conceptualized, not as internal psychological states of the individual, but rather as social and cultural practices that lead to the formation of social identities, groups, and collectives (Ahmed, 2014).

As the existing body of literature has not fully explored the complex emotional attachments of young people regarding their citizenship and belonging (Jackson, 2016), this study will contribute to the field by its particular focus on the empirical exploration of young people’s emotional attachments and experiences of belonging within the school setting. Attention to the emotional dimensions of citizenship and belonging can advance critical views on why young people feel that they belong in different ways, as well as the way citizenship is enacted in education. Therefore, I centre the emotional experiences that give meaning to the social relationships and structures that shape the daily lives of young people building on literature from the sociology of emotions (e.g., Clark, 1990; Barbalet, 2001). The emotional politics of belonging within educational settings helps us then to understand how the boundaries of citizenship are constructed that determine who is considered a rightful member in particular places and how young people are encouraged to feel about themselves and others (Zembylas, 2014). The research question in this study is therefore as follows: How do young people construct themselves and others as citizens within an educational setting and what role do emotions play in these experiences of belonging?