Bakhtinian Pedagogy in Historical Perspective

Professor Craig Brandist, University of Sheffield

(PESA Sponsored Keynote at the Conference "Perspectives and Limits of Dialogism in Mikhail Bakhtin". Waikato, Jan 2014)

Abstract
Although formal educational processes appear very seldom in the ideas of the Bakhtin Circle, a much more general, social, educational process permeates all Bakhtin’s writings on culture. This is the heritage of a concern with what was known as ‘social pedagogy’ and Bildung that formed a central part of the Kulturkritik and neo-Kantian philosophy that lay behind his attempt to create a non-psychologstic humanism. Particularly important is Paul Natorp’s Social Pedagogy (1904) in which neo-Kantianism was fused with an ethical socialism and the pedagogical ideas of von Humboldt and Pestalozzi. The heritage of Natorp’s ideas is ambiguous and, along with the ideas of the American philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer John Dewey, they formed one of the theoretical perspectives that gained a significant amount of influence among educational reformers in the early Soviet period. All members of the Circle were involved in the radical educational reforms of the immediate post-Revolutionary period. The revolutionary context served to bring to the surface the radical, democratic potential of the new pedagogical ideas, and they were combined with new, radical ideas in language and psychology. Towards the end of the 1920s, however, some of the other sides of the approach began to come to the fore, limiting demotic voices and leading to a paternalism which ended up saturating the whole Soviet discourse of kul′turnost′ (the quality of being cultured). Bakhtin’s works of the 1930s and beyond have an ambiguous relationship to these developments, in some respects seeming to celebrate the enfranchisement of voices ‘from below’, but also subordinating them to the allegedly benevolent judgement of the intellectual. How are we to understand these tensions? What significance do they have for applications of Bakhtinian ideas in the context of formal education? What are the dangers of an uncritical adoption of Bakhtinian perspectives in this area? What can we do to ensure the productive potential implicit in Bakhtinian thought is retained while the paternalist dangers are minimized? Such questions require a historical investigation of some of the roots of Bakhtinian ideas, and a willingness to revise and supplement the ideas in the light of that investigation. Such will be the focus of this lecture.

Oxford Bibliographies (Oxford University Press)

Philosophy of Education

Michael Foucault

We are pleased to announce, having been passed through peer review, that our articles on 'Philosophy of Education' and  'Michel Foucault' have just been published on Oxford Bibliographies in Philosophy and are available at www.oxfordbibliographies.com.

PESA members can forward their suggestions for additional references in the Philosophy of Education entry for consideration to any one of the three authors. We already have a number of such suggestions especially to Analytic Philosophy of Education.

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Michael A. Peters

Marek Tesar

Kirsten Locke

PESA Scholarships for 2012 announced

Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia (PESA) Scholarships for 2012 announced

Professor Jānis Ozolins, Scholarship Manager for the Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia (PESA) announced recently, on behalf of the Society, that the winners of the PESA doctoral scholarships for 2012 are Mr. Richard Heraud, a PhD student at University of Waikato, and Mr. Marek Tesar, a PhD student at the University of Auckland. Judging was undertaken by an independent panel, comprising Associate Professor Nesta Devine, President of the Society and Research Co-ordinator in the School of Education, Auckland University of Technology and Professor Jānis Ozolins, Immediate Past President of the Society, Professor of Philosophy and Deputy Chair of the Academic Board at the Australian Catholic University. Each PESA Scholarship is valued at AUD10,000, and is offered to assist and encourage students in completing their doctoral programs. The Society supports doctoral students in order to advance serious philosophical discussion about education. Professor Ozolins stated that the quality and number of applications for the Scholarships received this year, up to two of which are awarded each year, was very high. “I am pleased to say that the PESA Scholarships are attracting a lot of interest from members of the Society around the world,” he said.

Mr Heraud’s thesis, titled “The innovative subject: A philosophical perspective”, explores the way in which innovation has become a political device requiring the transformation of individuals into political subjects and the consequences of this. Mr. Tesar’s thesis, titled “Governing Childhoods through Stories: Producing Political Childhood Subjectivities”, is concerned with the production of childhoods and childhood subjectivities in different political contexts and countries, utilising the philosophical framework on power and truth of Vaclav Havel, former Czech president and thinker.

It is likely that further applications will be invited for next year.

Michael A. Peters Answers the Questions: Video Interview

As Editor of Educational Philosophy and Theory, Michael answers a number of questions about the journal, as part of a series that Routledge is conducting with the editors of some of its key Education journals. The interviews are aimed at students, educational researchers, academics and interested others. The interviews provide information about the editors in question, details about the creation of their journal and its purpose and scope within the wider sphere of educational research. Each editor is also asked to offer advice, hints and tips to prospective authors who may be hoping to submit papers to their journal.

Watch the videos or download the transcript (378kb), as Michael addresses the following questions.

1. For researchers or students who have never encountered Educational Philosophy and Theory, what is the journal about in a nutshell? Response... (6:04)
2. What do you think are the most contentious issues in contemporary debate and research in education that your journal seeks to address? Response... (4:50)
3. Who would you describe as being your core readership or audience? Response... (2:56)
4. For researchers considering submitting to the journal, what do you look for when considering articles and submissions? Response... (3:18)
5. What are your aspirations for the future of the journal? Response... (5:23)
6. Do you have any specific advice for researchers seeking publication who write about and from contexts traditionally unrepresented in international journals? Response... (2:03)
7. Why do you think people should consider Educational Philosophy and Theory as an outlet for their work in educational philosophy? Response... (2:01)

For interviews with Editors of other educational journals, visit the Taylor & Francis Group Education Arena.

EPAT awarded A* in recent rankings

Educational Philosophy and Theory (EPAT) has been awarded an A* rating in the Australian Research Council's ERA journal list for 2010. Typically an A* journal would be one of the best in its field or subfield in which to publish and would typically cover the entire field/subfield. Virtually all papers they publish will be of a very high quality. These are journals where most of the work is important (it will really shape the field) and where researchers boast about getting accepted. Acceptance rates would typically be low and the editorial board would be dominated by field leaders, including many from top institutions.

Excellence in Research for Australia

The Australian Research Council maintains and develops the system of assessment for government in consultation with the National Health and Medical Research Council, and with advice from the Department of of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research. It is known as the Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) initiative.

ERA reflects the Australian Government's commitment to a transparent, streamlined, approach for evaluation of the excellence of research undertaken in Australia's universities, using readily available information where practical.

ERA assesses excellence across the full spectrum of research activity. It measures both the extent of research activity and the quality of the work.

The ERA rates over 19,500 unique peer reviewed journals, of which over 300 journals are in the field of Education. Approximately 5% of these are selected for the A* category. Educational Philosophy and Theory is in the A* band along with other outstanding education journals.

The Ranking System

Each journal has a single quality rating and is assigned to one or more disciplines defined by the Field of Research. Indicators of research quality includes an analysis of ranked research publications according to four broad bands A*, A, B, C defined as follows:

• Quality of the papers A* (the top 5% of journals)
  Typically an A* journal would be one of the best in its field or sub field in which to publish and would typically cover the entire field/sub field. Virtually all papers they publish will be of a very high quality. These are journals where most of the work is important (it will really shape the field) and where researchers boast about getting accepted. Acceptance rates would typically be low and the editorial board would be dominated by field leaders, including many from top institutions.

• Quality of papers A (next 15% of journals)
  The majority of papers in a tier A journal will be of very high quality. Publishing in an A journal would enhance the author's standing, showing they have real engagement with the global research community and they have something to say about problems of some significance. Typical signs of an A journal are lower acceptance rates and an editorial board which includes a reasonable fraction of well known researchers from top institutions.

• Quality of papers B (next 30% of journals)
  Tier B covers journals with a solid, though not outstanding, reputation. Generally, in a tier B journal, one would expect only a few papers of very high quality. They are often important outlets for the work of PhD students and early career researchers. Typical examples would be regional journals with high acceptance rates, and editorial boards that have few leading researchers from top international institutions.

• Quality of papers C (the final 50% of journals)
  Tier C includes quality, peer reviewed, journals that do not meet the criteria of the higher tiers.

For further information, check out the website of the Australian Research Council.