On Foucault: Teaching mathematics to lower attainers:

Alderton, J., Gifford, S.
Teaching mathematics to lower attainers: dilemmas and discourses
(2018) Research in Mathematics Education, pp. 1-17. An article in Press.

Abstract

This article draws on Foucault’s concepts of power and discourse to explore the issues of teaching mathematics to low attainers in primary schools in England. We analyze a dataset of interviews, from a larger study, with the mathematics teachers of one child across three years, showing how accountability practices, discourses of ability and inclusion policies interrelate to regulate both teachers and student. We demonstrate the impact of neoliberal policy discourses on teachers’ practices and how they are caught up in conflicting ways by an accountability regime that subverts inclusive pedagogies, requiring teachers to monitor, label and assign within-child deficits. In spite of these regulatory technologies, we identify contradictory fault lines between mathematics education policy discourses which we argue provide the potential for developing a critical awareness of accepted practices and opportunities for change. 

© 2018 British Society for Research into Learning Mathematics

Author Keywords

ability; accountability; discourse; Foucault; inclusion; low attainers; Mathematics education

Gormley, K.
Neoliberalism and the discursive construction of ‘creativity’
(2018) Critical Studies in Education, pp. 1-16. Article in Press.
Abstract

This paper resists normative definitions of ‘creativity’ to argue that the concept is constructed by neoliberal discourses in education policy. The analysis is firstly centered on the Australian context, and this is further informed and complimented by a global perspective. Focusing on two pivotal policies, The Melbourne Declaration of Educational Goals for Young Australians and PISA 2012 Results: Creative Problem Solving, the paper argues that universal versions of creativity, such as those that align the concept with problem-solving or design endeavor, are a product of market logic. Using Foucault’s concept of homo economics, it traces how creativity is subsumed into discourses of workplace readiness and rapidly changing environments, and proceeds to identify how select and partial discourses of the concept, such as creativity as instrumental and determinable are supported, while there is a silence around alternative conceptualizations. The paper concludes with a discussion on how the discursive positioning of creativity by neoliberal themes and formations brings about real effects: certain work practices are valued more than others and particular student and teacher subjectivities are endorsed or demoted ‘in the name of’ creativity.

 © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

Author Keywords
Creativity; Foucault; homo economicus; knowledge; neoliberalism; policy; power

CLARE O'FARRELL
26 MAY 2018 

Farrell, F., Lander, V.
“We’re not British values teachers are we?”: Muslim teachers’ subjectivity and the governmentality of unease
(2018) Educational Review, pp. 1-17. An article in Press.
Abstract

This paper is a critical investigation of a group of eight Muslim religious education (RE) teachers’ views of fundamental British values in education (FBV). Findings demonstrate that as teachers of multicultural RE, they experience dissonance accommodating the requirements of FBV, and are critical of its divisive effects upon their students. They are able to reclaim some professional agency through their problematization of FBV and reinterpretation of its requirements through the pluralistic discourse of RE. Drawing from Foucault’s analysis of power, we argue that the teachers’ views reveal that FBV is a disciplinary discourse, acting upon teacher and student bodies as a classificatory and social sorting instrument, which we conceptualize as an expression of the “governmentality of unease”. We conclude that further empirical research is required to critically examine how teachers are enacting this policy to assess how FBV continues to shape the education environment and the student and teacher subjects of its discourse.

 © 2018 Educational Review

Author Keywords
Foucault; Fundamental British values; governmentality; Muslim teachers; religious education; subjectivity

Gao Lei addresses power, violence 

By Kwon Mee-yoo

Chinese artist Gao Lei explores the power, control and violence of the ruling class in contemporary society through witty and allegorical art. 

Titled "Enzyme of Trial" and held at Arario Gallery Seoul, this is Gao's first solo exhibit in Korea in five years. 

Gao is one of the ba ling hou, or "after ‘80s," generation artists in China, whose work differentiates from the previous generation. This generation grew up in a materially affluent environment, benefiting from the rapid economic development. Their works encompass a wide range of methods from painting to installation and media art, compared to the previous generation known for bold paintings.

Among the ba ling hou generation, Gao's works incline to be more philosophical.

"I was inspired by French philosopher Michel Foucault's thoughts on power and control," Gao said during a press conference in November. "I'm based in Shanghai now and there are factories near my studio. The change of environment also influenced materials used for my works."

Gao Lei's "Confession" / Courtesy of Arario Gallery

As visitors descend stairs to the underground gallery, they encounter a video of drain hole with the sound of running water. 

This piece is closely related to "Confession," an installation work which features torture tools in a bathroom-like setting with a CCTV instead of a showerhead. 

"Bathroom is a private space and I want to arouse the issue of an individual, power and invasion of privacy," Gao said. "The hanging object holds two meanings of a criminal and a martyr ― the guilty one and the innocent one."

For Gao, CCTV controls people in a psychological way as it is a modern crime finder. "There are many fake CCTVs in China, because it can suppress people just with its presence."

"Test Substance" shows commercial objects such as chair, bookshelf and floor lamp from furniture giant IKEA UV printed on aluminum boards. The backdrop looks like an abstract image, but in fact it is a rendition of mushroom cloud from nuclear explosion. 

"I think it is my interpretation of still life. The three objects are some of the most popular models from IKEA. IKEA advanced to Asia and changed the lifestyle here, unifying the standard of beauty all around the world," Gao said. "The background looks warm due to its colors, but in fact it is very violent image from nuclear explosion."

A series of "Untitled" photographs on the first floor is Gao's metaphor to the conflict between love and oppression. 

The powder blue paper used as the background comes from the Felix Gonzalez-Torres exhibit held at Shanghai's Rockbund Art Museum. Visitors were allowed to take a sheet of blue paper and it represents Gonzalez-Torres' sharing of love.

Gao used this symbol of love against controlling objects such as a roll of birth control education film, a microscope and a mechanical calculator.

The exhibit runs through Jan. 7. For more information, visit arariogallery.com or call 02-541-5701.