‘All over the world, the school has an anti-educational effect on society.’ Fifty years ago, Ivan Illich’s book Deschooling Society offered a radical challenge to the very institution of the school. How far might it be relevant to the world after lockdown?
Enemies of promise? Education, culture and meritocracy under the Conservatives
The argument for restoring ‘traditional’ forms of education is based on dubious claims about social justice. Why the argument for meritocracy needs to be challenged.
Disinfecting Disney? Tackling the history of representation
The Disney Corporation is putting advisory messages about racial stereotyping on some of its historical films and TV shows. How should we deal with problematic representations from the past?
Teaching Culture: The Missionary Position
The attempt to civilize the uncultured masses is coming back into style. I look back to the Leavisite approach to popular culture, and its place in the history of English teaching.
The curriculum of Brexit: culture, education and power the Michaela Way
Corporate capture: the dismantling of London’s youth arts
‘Powerful knowledge’, Media Studies and technology
What are the problems with theories of ‘powerful knowledge’, and how might they apply to teaching about (and with) media and technology?
The changing currency of ‘cultural capital’
The English schools inspectors are apparently looking for schools to teach ‘cultural capital’. But what does cultural capital mean, and how is it changing?
Do children need ‘smart homes’?
Companies are increasingly interested in selling technologies that will create ‘smart homes’. But what are the implications for children and their parents?
Revisiting ‘Popular Culture and Personal Responsibility’
Revisiting a key moment in the early history of media education in the UK, and its legacy in print..
