Joy as subversive defiance (original) (raw)
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Why joy in education is an issue for socially just policies
Journal of Education Policy 27 (5), 2012
The paper presents an argument that the usual account of social justice in formal education is too narrow. That account concerns itself only with the outcomes of education or only with general ethical precepts, such as ‘recognition’. I argue that it should also concern itself with living educational experiences as part of what makes a good life. I begin by noting that people find value in education for three linked but analytically separable reasons which I label: instrumental, inherent and integral. The last of these focuses on the value of education as part of what it is to live a good life. I point out how the usual accounts of social justice in education are seldom concerned with specifically educational experiences within formal education and that there is little clarity about the contribution of such experiences to living a good life. I offer a provisional account of specifically educational goods in experiences of education, and compare this to research and policy on enjoyment and engagement concluding that the significance of joy in education should be recognised within education policy.
Effective or Wise? Teaching and the Meaning of Professional Dispositions in Education. Counterpoints: Studies in the Postmodern Theory of Education. Volume 447, 2014
This chapter argues that (1) we need refreshing and hopeful ways to think about education and that human joy, the deep fulfillment that ought to regulate the ideal of education, should never be replaced in our thinking by an over-riding preoccupation with the technical and the transhuman, but also (2) why this seems to be so difficult for us to do - especially these days. Why, for example, might a title like "The Joy of Educating" sound less than serious and professional to our ears when we know that without the promise of joy, not just education but many fundamental human practices would suffer, perhaps irremediably over the long term, by being reduced to a mere assemblage of tasks and procedures - albeit carried out effectively? This essay will explore how the refreshing and the hopeful is a morally necessary feature of educational discourse and why this should be taken very seriously at a time when educational discourses are being colonized by other powers that take a very different view. Of course, this is an ambitious undertaking to do in one essay and, needless to say, I will be relying on and referencing what I consider to be the most promising avenues that others have already developed to help me make my case. These avenues include existential phenomenology and feminism.
The curriculum of joy: Six poetic ruminations
2004
In July 2003, I returned to RW Parsons Collegiate in Roberts' Arm, Newfoundland where I began my school teaching career in September, 1976. The school was holding a reunion for all students and teachers who had been a part of the school's history during its twenty-five years.
The joy of teaching and learning in academia - teachers' perspectives from three countries
MATEC Web Conferences, 2021
All over the world, the educational landscape has changed dramatically over the last year, impacting the way we teach and learn. It is time for reflecting and searching for new ways to support each other, during these pandemic times and beyond; time to co-construct creative partnerships and to innovate new ways to co-create. Change is an inevitable part of teaching and learning but the adaptations currently required are of unprecedented scale. How can we teach and learn with joy in today"s academia? How can we support each other, as teachers, in more creative ways? These two reflective questions were at the base of the study, which was conducted by university teachers from three countries: “Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu, Romania; London Metropolitan University, United Kingdom; and University of Calgary, Canada. The methods used included interviews, focus groups and free writing with colleagues in each university. Findings revealed the challenges faced by each participant due to the emotional pressure caused in these supercomplex times, and the struggle to bring joy of teaching and learning in creative ways. This small ethnographic project reveals a need to shift our thinking about emotions and how we may facilitate the greatest success of all our students, by continually inventing new solutions and teaching with enthusiasm.
Social justice in education: joy in education and education for joy
International Handbook of Educational Leadership and Social (In)Justice, 2013
This chapter is intended to show why educational leadership is properly characterised as leadership for social justice, and, therefore, for joy from learning and joy in learning. I argue that educational leaders should always be mindful of the role that they play in making the world a good place to live, within their institutions of education (be they pre-schools, schools, colleges, or universities) and then beyond them. I consider that ‘a good place to live’ is necessarily one which is characterised by both justice and by joy. To say this is to use a thin concept of justice (Walzer, 1994). That is, I believe that while we can argue about what exactly we understand by good, justice, and joy, there would be broad agreement that a good life is a flourishing, happy one. In this chapter I summarise my position by thickening the concept of social justice and in doing so, lose some of the broad agreement. I begin by stating the view that happiness I referred to is partly founded on the knowledge that individual well-being is not achieved at the expense of others, and, so, more contentiously, that the well-being of the majority is not achieved at the expense of the minority. Further and in brief, I will argue that while English uses a noun, ‘social justice’, it would be more helpful to think of social justice as a verb. Thus it is always an attempt to act in ways which make the world a good place to live, and in which good lives are lived. But such attempts are always made in the knowledge that all understanding and actions are founded on imperfect, provisional judgements made in specific contexts of learning and diversity. . In these circumstances the comforts of certainty are not available.
Promoting the joy of teaching and learning in a diverse world
South African Journal of Higher Education, 2021
Joy is a feeling that goes beyond happiness, and learning at whatever level should evoke joy in both students and teachers if its goals were to be met. However, the joy of learning may sometimes be totally excluded in a diverse world, especially in emerging economy contexts where issues of equality, equity and social justice are more profound. Using qualitative research methods and the theory of change as the theoretical framework, this study attempts to understand how joy can be promoted in learning despite the major complex diversities that often confront education in such emerging economy contexts. Findings indicate that explicit, implicit and hidden curriculum is key to realising the goals of learning. Furthermore, individuals from diverse settings want to be included in their own education and want their identity, culture, language and life experiences to form part of what is being learned. The participants believe that technology is critical to achieving the joy of learning in the 21 st century and beyond. Recommendations include redesigning the curricula at various education levels to make it more relevant and inclusive and returning to the emotional aspects of teaching and learning. Higher education institutions have a critical role to play in achieving a paradigm shift in the training of preservice teachers. We advance further areas of research.
‘Happiness education': A pedagogical-political commitment
Policy Futures in Education, 2016
The topic of ‘happiness education' has received considerable attention in recent years in educational discourse, not just in academia but also in the public sphere. This movement understands that there is a ‘widespread incidence of psychological harm caused by damage to the child's sense of self-worth’ (Smith (2008) The long slide to happiness. Journal of Philosophy of Education 42(3–4): 560), including damage done by the educational system, and as a response to this, it seeks to make use of ‘happiness education' to repair this damage. In the light of this, some commentators, such as Smith (2008), Suissa ((2008) Lessons from a new science? On teaching happiness in schools. Journal of Philosophy of Education 42(3–4): 575–590) and Cigman (2008 ) have criticised this ‘science of happiness' as being reductionist and not taking into account the richness of life. We join these commentators in criticising this approach to ‘happiness education' and refer to Paulo Freire&...
A Phenomenology of Joyful Experimentation in Art Education
Studies in Art Education , 2023
This article explores a phenomenology of joyful experimentation in art education through a series of pedagogical flashpoints. Flashpoints are educational moments when implicit knowledge carried in the body suddenly appears and makes itself part of conscious experience, often in shocking, disturbing, traumatic ways. In this article, we offer another possibility for exploring the educational value of flashpoints with a shift toward a postcritical orientation that considers the role of art education in facilitating these pedagogical moments. By using a postcritical approach that emphasizes joyful moments of collective liberatory efforts, our intention is to acknowledge the force of structural inequalities while also highlighting how art education can create solidarity with joyful acts of collective empowerment and experimentation in these radically dystopian times.
Hopelessly joyful in dreadful times
Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies, 2023
This article argues that hope is not an adequate affective response to dread. Indeed, hope and dread are more closely aligned than either critical or postcritical forms of educational philosophy would like to admit. The article proposes a shift from hope to joy as an under appreciated educational affect. To make this claim, the author pivots to Spinoza's emphasis on joy as an affect that increases one's potential to think and act in a world with others as a new starting point for education in dreadful times. The article also offers a Spinozian reading of Freire that unlocks the joyful dimensions of his work, especially through his reflections on laughter. In conclusion, a hopelessly joyful affective orientation is called for as a form of passionate educational experimentation with the potentiality of the world.