Max A Hope | University of Hull (original) (raw)
Papers by Max A Hope
This article introduces this Special Issue of FORUM with a discussion of freedom and autonomy and... more This article introduces this Special Issue of FORUM with a discussion of freedom and autonomy and considers the ways in which alternative approaches to pedagogy might provide opportunities to address inequalities in the context of education and in society beyond education. The article draws on work carried out in a project funded by an ESRC seminar series grant entitled 'Thinking the 'Yet to be Thought': an international cross-sector seminar series exploring socially just education and inequalities in education'. Underpinning the article is a belief in the intrinsic power of pedagogy to interrupt dominant paradigms and the article acknowledges the importance of surfacing the role of pedagogic discourse in intensifying existing inequalities. Despite the rising tide of neo-liberalism in education across the world, this article and the special issue that follows provide examples of positive educational practice and spaces of resistance where schools, colleges and other educational institutions are doing things differently.
Vitorino (2016) Learning from differences: a strategy for teacher development in respect to stude... more Vitorino (2016) Learning from differences: a strategy for teacher development in respect to student diversity, School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 27:1, 45-61
This paper is firmly grounded in the position that engaging with students' voices in schools is c... more This paper is firmly grounded in the position that engaging with students' voices in schools is central to the development of inclusive practices. It explores the tensions that can be created when efforts are made to engage with students' voices in relation to their experiences of learning and teaching. An example from a three-year research and development project, which worked alongside teachers to use students' voices as a way of developing inclusive practices, is used to illustrate these tensions. This project, though showing that students' voices can be a powerful means for understanding learning and teaching in schools, also encountered challenges with these processes. This paper focuses on the experiences of one secondary school which (possibly inadvertently) subverted and undermined students' voice initiatives and explores the potential negative impacts of this on individual students, on students as a whole, and on teacher development. By doing this, suggestions as to how such tensions can be avoided in schools are offered, with the aim being to allow a genuine engagement with the views of students.
Across the world, policies and practices within education are changing, and this presents a small... more Across the world, policies and practices within education are changing, and this presents a small window of opportunity for person-centered educators to put principles into practice within mainstream educational systems. In this context, it is important that person-centered educators are explicit about what we believe in terms of classroom practice and beyond. This article uses one small school in England as a prism through which to explore key facets of the person-centered approach to education. This school is not explicitly person-centered -it is a democratic schoolbut the values, ethos and practice of this school dovetail with the person-centered approach. The article concludes with a provisional "position statement" as to what we might expect to find within all person-centered educational organizations.
This paper is about educational policy in England. It explores the Coalition Government's key pol... more This paper is about educational policy in England. It explores the Coalition Government's key policies about localism, decentralisation and education, and assesses whether these present opportunities for a radical school to apply for state funding as a Free School. A case study from the independent sector-a democratic school which is run by students as well as teachers-is used as an example. Following this, the conclusion is drawn that the Coalition Government has given mixed messages in terms of its commitment to decentralisation, and that, in fact, they would be challenged by an application for a radical Free School.
This chapter offers a critique of current definitions of active citizenship and argues that child... more This chapter offers a critique of current definitions of active citizenship and argues that children and young people need to be seen as citizens within their school communities and not just citizens of the Developing active citizenship in schools future. Pedagogy and school decision-making should reflect the aims of active citizenship and thus engage children and young people as active participants within their school communities. This requires a radical change to the way in which many schools are currently structured and organised. A case study of a small democratic school is used as an illustration of an exemplary model of education for active citizenship. This school does not offer citizenship as a curriculum subject nor explicitly aim for active citizenship – and yet active citizenship is integral to its ethos, values, structures, processes and pedagogy. Throughout the chapter, it is suggested that democratic schooling is not just one way – but the best way – of providing education for active citizenship. Keywords Democratic education * active citizenship * experiential learning * critical thinking * citizenship schools
There is overwhelming evidence that England's education system is built on and sustains complex p... more There is overwhelming evidence that England's education system is built on and sustains complex patterns of inequality. A 'comprehensive' system, introduced in 1965, was never fully implemented and so remains as an aspiration rather than a reality. Focusing mainly on the social, economic and political aspects of comprehensive schooling rather than matters relating to the curriculum and teaching, this paper outlines the current state of comprehensive education and its link to inequality levels in English schools. It seeks to provide some underlying reasons for this state of affairs: legacy thinking concerning educational differentiation and the role that government policy makers have played in creating a weak form of comprehensivisation and then, though an emphasis on school diversity, competition and parental 'choice', weakening the system further.
This chapter focuses on the concept of space and its relationship to autonomy and perceptions of ... more This chapter focuses on the concept of space and its relationship to autonomy and perceptions of freedom in education. It includes a review of the literature which indicates that the links between physical and metaphorical spaces and learning are still largely unexplored. Eriksen noted in 1973 that our understanding of educational space had not developed in tandem with new concepts of the learning process . Nonetheless, current research suggests that the environment in which learning takes place can have a significant impact on both the construction of meaning in education and the dynamic of learning (Montgomery, 2008).
This paper reports a small-scale research project which took place in one primary school in the n... more This paper reports a small-scale research project which took place in one primary school in the north-east of England. The study aimed to listen to children’s views about how the practices of teachers helped and/or hindered their sense of inclusion in classrooms. Inclusion was understood here in a broad sense rather than specifically relating to children with special educational needs. Participatory
research tools were used as part of group interviews with children from three different year groups. Even though the children were mostly happy with their school experience, it was noticeable that there were some areas for concern for some children that related to four interconnecting themes: unfairness, shouting, loneliness and seating plans. All of these themes seemed to be connected with children’s interpersonal relationships – with teachers and with each other – and
can be seen as crucial in terms of understanding inclusion in schools and further developing existing practices.
School Leadership & Management, 2012
In recent decades, education policy has changed considerably so that now, numerous types of schoo... more In recent decades, education policy has changed considerably so that now, numerous types of schools are available in the ‘marketplace’. The most recent additions to this landscape are Academies and Free Schools, with freedoms to make more choices about curriculum, structures and leadership. In this climate, this paper takes one school as a case study – a radical democratic school from the independent sector – and explores its structures, processes and model of leadership. This school is unique because it has no Head Teacher and is run as a self-governing community of students and staff. The paper concludes with an argument that this school represents a new form of radical structuralism and offers a model of leadership which might be valuable in other educational settings.
Education 3-13, 2011
Girls and education 3-16: continuing concerns, new agendas.Carolyn Jackson Open University Press,... more Girls and education 3-16: continuing concerns, new agendas.Carolyn Jackson Open University Press, 2010.
This article introduces this Special Issue of FORUM with a discussion of freedom and autonomy and... more This article introduces this Special Issue of FORUM with a discussion of freedom and autonomy and considers the ways in which alternative approaches to pedagogy might provide opportunities to address inequalities in the context of education and in society beyond education. The article draws on work carried out in a project funded by an ESRC seminar series grant entitled 'Thinking the 'Yet to be Thought': an international cross-sector seminar series exploring socially just education and inequalities in education'. Underpinning the article is a belief in the intrinsic power of pedagogy to interrupt dominant paradigms and the article acknowledges the importance of surfacing the role of pedagogic discourse in intensifying existing inequalities. Despite the rising tide of neo-liberalism in education across the world, this article and the special issue that follows provide examples of positive educational practice and spaces of resistance where schools, colleges and other educational institutions are doing things differently.
Vitorino (2016) Learning from differences: a strategy for teacher development in respect to stude... more Vitorino (2016) Learning from differences: a strategy for teacher development in respect to student diversity, School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 27:1, 45-61
This paper is firmly grounded in the position that engaging with students' voices in schools is c... more This paper is firmly grounded in the position that engaging with students' voices in schools is central to the development of inclusive practices. It explores the tensions that can be created when efforts are made to engage with students' voices in relation to their experiences of learning and teaching. An example from a three-year research and development project, which worked alongside teachers to use students' voices as a way of developing inclusive practices, is used to illustrate these tensions. This project, though showing that students' voices can be a powerful means for understanding learning and teaching in schools, also encountered challenges with these processes. This paper focuses on the experiences of one secondary school which (possibly inadvertently) subverted and undermined students' voice initiatives and explores the potential negative impacts of this on individual students, on students as a whole, and on teacher development. By doing this, suggestions as to how such tensions can be avoided in schools are offered, with the aim being to allow a genuine engagement with the views of students.
Across the world, policies and practices within education are changing, and this presents a small... more Across the world, policies and practices within education are changing, and this presents a small window of opportunity for person-centered educators to put principles into practice within mainstream educational systems. In this context, it is important that person-centered educators are explicit about what we believe in terms of classroom practice and beyond. This article uses one small school in England as a prism through which to explore key facets of the person-centered approach to education. This school is not explicitly person-centered -it is a democratic schoolbut the values, ethos and practice of this school dovetail with the person-centered approach. The article concludes with a provisional "position statement" as to what we might expect to find within all person-centered educational organizations.
This paper is about educational policy in England. It explores the Coalition Government's key pol... more This paper is about educational policy in England. It explores the Coalition Government's key policies about localism, decentralisation and education, and assesses whether these present opportunities for a radical school to apply for state funding as a Free School. A case study from the independent sector-a democratic school which is run by students as well as teachers-is used as an example. Following this, the conclusion is drawn that the Coalition Government has given mixed messages in terms of its commitment to decentralisation, and that, in fact, they would be challenged by an application for a radical Free School.
This chapter offers a critique of current definitions of active citizenship and argues that child... more This chapter offers a critique of current definitions of active citizenship and argues that children and young people need to be seen as citizens within their school communities and not just citizens of the Developing active citizenship in schools future. Pedagogy and school decision-making should reflect the aims of active citizenship and thus engage children and young people as active participants within their school communities. This requires a radical change to the way in which many schools are currently structured and organised. A case study of a small democratic school is used as an illustration of an exemplary model of education for active citizenship. This school does not offer citizenship as a curriculum subject nor explicitly aim for active citizenship – and yet active citizenship is integral to its ethos, values, structures, processes and pedagogy. Throughout the chapter, it is suggested that democratic schooling is not just one way – but the best way – of providing education for active citizenship. Keywords Democratic education * active citizenship * experiential learning * critical thinking * citizenship schools
There is overwhelming evidence that England's education system is built on and sustains complex p... more There is overwhelming evidence that England's education system is built on and sustains complex patterns of inequality. A 'comprehensive' system, introduced in 1965, was never fully implemented and so remains as an aspiration rather than a reality. Focusing mainly on the social, economic and political aspects of comprehensive schooling rather than matters relating to the curriculum and teaching, this paper outlines the current state of comprehensive education and its link to inequality levels in English schools. It seeks to provide some underlying reasons for this state of affairs: legacy thinking concerning educational differentiation and the role that government policy makers have played in creating a weak form of comprehensivisation and then, though an emphasis on school diversity, competition and parental 'choice', weakening the system further.
This chapter focuses on the concept of space and its relationship to autonomy and perceptions of ... more This chapter focuses on the concept of space and its relationship to autonomy and perceptions of freedom in education. It includes a review of the literature which indicates that the links between physical and metaphorical spaces and learning are still largely unexplored. Eriksen noted in 1973 that our understanding of educational space had not developed in tandem with new concepts of the learning process . Nonetheless, current research suggests that the environment in which learning takes place can have a significant impact on both the construction of meaning in education and the dynamic of learning (Montgomery, 2008).
This paper reports a small-scale research project which took place in one primary school in the n... more This paper reports a small-scale research project which took place in one primary school in the north-east of England. The study aimed to listen to children’s views about how the practices of teachers helped and/or hindered their sense of inclusion in classrooms. Inclusion was understood here in a broad sense rather than specifically relating to children with special educational needs. Participatory
research tools were used as part of group interviews with children from three different year groups. Even though the children were mostly happy with their school experience, it was noticeable that there were some areas for concern for some children that related to four interconnecting themes: unfairness, shouting, loneliness and seating plans. All of these themes seemed to be connected with children’s interpersonal relationships – with teachers and with each other – and
can be seen as crucial in terms of understanding inclusion in schools and further developing existing practices.
School Leadership & Management, 2012
In recent decades, education policy has changed considerably so that now, numerous types of schoo... more In recent decades, education policy has changed considerably so that now, numerous types of schools are available in the ‘marketplace’. The most recent additions to this landscape are Academies and Free Schools, with freedoms to make more choices about curriculum, structures and leadership. In this climate, this paper takes one school as a case study – a radical democratic school from the independent sector – and explores its structures, processes and model of leadership. This school is unique because it has no Head Teacher and is run as a self-governing community of students and staff. The paper concludes with an argument that this school represents a new form of radical structuralism and offers a model of leadership which might be valuable in other educational settings.
Education 3-13, 2011
Girls and education 3-16: continuing concerns, new agendas.Carolyn Jackson Open University Press,... more Girls and education 3-16: continuing concerns, new agendas.Carolyn Jackson Open University Press, 2010.