No Sinecure Acting as Public Intellectual in Education Cover Image

No Sinecure Acting as Public Intellectual in Education
No Sinecure Acting as Public Intellectual in Education

Author(s): Siebren Miedema
Subject(s): Social Sciences
Published by: Instytut Neofilologii, Państwowa Wyższa Szkoła Zawodowa w Chełmie
Keywords: neo-liberalism; public intellectual; forms of education; holistic personhood formation; experiences of educators

Summary/Abstract: The author has earlier made a plea for educators acting as public intellectuals in society to counteract still influential neo-liberal tendencies in educational policies and practices.Against emphases on overstretched attention for measurable output and accountability in education, the aim of education in schools is formulated in terms of holistic personhood formation.Interviewing three educators in different phases of their carrier, it becomes clear that working in academia nowadays it is no sinecure to act as a public intellectual. The author also presents his own experiences in different roles, and makes clear that the instructional niche one is working in could be of utmost importance for really taking that role. To realize a change, it is, according the author, necessary to stop with too much focus on highly cited publications in academic journals, and on individual researchers instead of on research groups working collectively together in joint research programs and with societal partners.

  • Issue Year: 1/2021
  • Issue No: 6
  • Page Range: 259-271
  • Page Count: 13
  • Language: English
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