Session Information
23 SES 01 B, “Without Data You Are Just Another Person With an Opinion”: Explorations of the Use of Information in Educational Policy
Symposium
Time:
2009-09-28
09:15-10:45
Room:
HG, HS 7
Chair:
Maarten Simons
Discussant:
Eric Mangez
Contribution
The educational magazine 'Klasse', published by the Flemish educational government, aims at informing the participants in educational practice about what is going on in Flemish education. But 'Klasse' not only informs the educational field about policy and practice initiatives, it also wants to improve educational practice and policy by evaluating educational quality and e.g. publishing examples of good practice. Following the studies of governmentality, we assume the magazine 'Klasse' reflects and installs a particular relationship between government and educational practice. 'Klasse' positions governmental agencies, different participants in educational practice (teachers, parents, pupils, educational experts, ...) and itself in a particular way (see Verckens, Simons & Kelchtermans, 2009). Using the methodology of Critical Discourse Analysis (Fairclough 1997), we show what kind of discourse is at stake in 'Klasse', and how this discourse positions and strategically relates the different actors the field of education. The analysis reveals that the magazine installs a particular ‘performative space’ including particular power mechanisms. Particular kinds of ‘performances’ are presented in the magazine (e.g. measurable outputs, spectacles and empowering speech acts), related to the construction of particular (teacher) subjectivities.
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Fairclough, N. (1997). Critical Discourse Analysis. The Critical Study of Language. London: Longman. Verckens, A., Simons, M., & Kelchtermans, G. (2009). Welke overheid voor welk onderwijs? Een kritische studie van Vlaamse beleidsdocumenten. [Which government for which education? A critical study of Flemish policy documents]. Pedagogische Studiën, 86, 21-40.
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