Power of Education
Social Power and Education
Social Power/Education
The focus of this essay is to expand on the concept of social power and education. The phrase "social power" has been used by political scientist and philosophers to refer to the power that is exercised by individuals or groups within a society. The question of power in the educational context has troubled educators, off and on, for years. Ambitious students have attempted to change the landscape of education by injecting the power of the student body into the contemporary political thinking of college presidents and faculty.
Political theorists have also attempted to rework liberal political thought but have once again thrust this issue to the forefront of the educational debate. This essay will also focus more intently on the African American college student during the time of the Civil Rights movement and the controversy related to South Africa and it's racism. These two historical events have shaped the way college students have instituted some type of power structure to challenge the powers that be.
Appropriately. several recent philosophers of education have examined the issue of social power in the educational context. It is my contention that this issue must be explored before any meaningful revision of how college educational theory can be made. This paper is an attempt to contribute to the investigation of the important question of power in education. This approach will not be limited to the college level, I will also include the high school approach. Dennis Wong asserts that past attempts at classifying specific forms of power rarely succeeded in dispelling confusion, but rather have revealed "at least as much diversity as uniformity". Instead, I begin by looking at one educational theorist's view, before describing my own alternative. Then I draw from my view educational implications that seem important. Following this, I challenge the idea that power-over has control and show how the power of grading
Social Power/Education
The focus of this essay is to expand on the concept of social power and education. The phrase "social power" has been used by political scientist and philosophers to refer to the power that is exercised by individuals or groups within a society. The question of power in the educational context has troubled educators, off and on, for years. Ambitious students have attempted to change the landscape of education by injecting the power of the student body into the contemporary political thinking of college presidents and faculty.
Political theorists have also attempted to rework liberal political thought but have once again thrust this issue to the forefront of the educational debate. This essay will also focus more intently on the African American college student during the time of the Civil Rights movement and the controversy related to South Africa and it's racism. These two historical events have shaped the way college students have instituted some type of power structure to challenge the powers that be.
Appropriately. several recent philosophers of education have examined the issue of social power in the educational context. It is my contention that this issue must be explored before any meaningful revision of how college educational theory can be made. This paper is an attempt to contribute to the investigation of the important question of power in education. This approach will not be limited to the college level, I will also include the high school approach. Dennis Wong asserts that past attempts at classifying specific forms of power rarely succeeded in dispelling confusion, but rather have revealed "at least as much diversity as uniformity". Instead, I begin by looking at one educational theorist's view, before describing my own alternative. Then I draw from my view educational implications that seem important. Following this, I challenge the idea that power-over has control and show how the power of grading
Bibliography: 1) Dennis Wrong, Power (Oxford: Blackwell, 1995), 65 2) Steven Lukes, Power: A Radical View (London: Macmillan, 1974), 27 3) Steven Lukes, Power: Readings In Social And Political Theory (New York Univ. Press). 4) Nicholas C. Burbules, "A Theory Of Power in Education," Educational Theory 36, no. 2 (1986): 97. This article will be cited as TPE. 5) James D. Marshall, "Foucault and Educational Research," in Foucault and Education (New York: Routledge, 1990), 25 6) The Oxford English Dictionary, vol. 12 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989), 259