Session Information
23 SES 13 C, Examining Western Traditions, Theories, and Epistemologies for Curriculum, Leadership, and Evaluation Policy Amidst the Recent Globalization Movement
Symposium
Contribution
This symposium engages internationally recognized scholars from the U.S., Finland, and Denmark in a theoretically grounded dialogue regarding curriculum, leadership, and evaluation policies amidst tensions emerging from the recent globalization movement. More specifically, contemporary nation states (and their educational policy structures) are experiencing new and perennial tensions between increasing global homogenization (unity) and local pluralization (national, sub-group, and individual identity), nationalism versus cosmopolitanism, universalism versus particularism, and consensus versus dissensus along with new questions regarding citizenship, diversity, technology, and transnational organizations.
Theoretical Framework
Philosophers (e.g. Kant, Hegel, Herder) have considered and debated globalization, cosmopolitanism, and the unity versus plurality problem as an ideal for centuries; however, as globalizing policies and related tensions have now become empirical realities, curriculum and leadership studies have primarily focused on the nation state level with much of the scholarship grounded in Western traditions. Further, historically, North American and European scholars have developed different conceptual approaches to analyzing curriculum work amidst changing societal conditions (e.g. curriculum meets didaktik; curriculum internationalization project). In a broader sense, policy scholars (e.g. Steiner-Khamsi, 2004; Wallerstein, 1974) and public administration scholars (e.g. Schmidt, 2008) have contributed new terminologies and analytical frameworks that extend the curriculum/didaktik dialogues regarding globalizing policies. From a political science perspective, Schmidt (2008) posits discursive institutionalism as an analytical framework that offers a language for talking about educational leadership that may explain how ideas are borrowed and received differently within and between institutional levels and contexts. Such perspectives on curriculum policy borrowing and discursive institutionalism are instructive but clearly grounded in Western traditions and epistemologies. Our intent of this symposium is to consider and problematize these modern Western traditions of education, curriculum, and policy, in terms of their viability for understanding the contemporary conditions.
Research Question
Specifically, this session draws on world systems theory, curriculum theory/didaktik and general education, as well as discursive institutionalism and leadership studies to consider the following question:
1. What are the strengths and limitations of Western educational traditions, theorizing, and underlying epistemologies that consider relations among education, curriculum, and policy within and between various institutional levels?
Methods
As a collective, papers in this symposium consider answers to this question, and the viability of these answers, through varying historical, contextual, theoretical and epistemological lenses. Theoretical frameworks draw on internationally recognized, seminal theories, including Luhmann’s (1995) systems theory, Wallerstein’s (1974) world systems theory, curriculum theory/Didaktik, and general education theory (Benner, 2001). Comparative education research methods (Crossley, 2000) offer an analytical framework to inform a dialogue on curriculum policy borrowing and lending within globalization and cosmopolitanism. Empirical research examples feature the U.S, Nordic Countries/Europe, Macedonia, India, and Malawi.
The first paper examines critical geography as an analytical framework with which to address the rapidly changing global context impacting educators and citizens, including particularly issues of ethics and Western traditional hegemony. The second paper further challenges globalizing curriculum legitimacy and hegemony, arguing for increased epistemological diversity. The third paper utilizes world systems theory to consider the problem of knowledge transfer and reproduction in policy borrowing and lending. Finally, the fourth paper considers the viability of classical, Western theories and analytical frameworks for curriculum/didaktik work and policy amidst the contemporary condition, including world systems theory, understandings from the curriculum/didaktik dialogue, leadership studies, and discursive institutionalism within modern philosophy and education theory and a non-affirmative approach to education (Benner, 1991).
To date, curriculum, leadership, and policy scholars have not engaged collaboratively in a theoretically coherent and robust dialogue around these challenges. Together, papers in this symposium lay the groundwork for cross-disciplinary theorizing and new research fields as well as a new critical dialogue in the public sphere.
References
Benner, D. (1991). Allgemeine Pädagogik: eine systematisch-problemgeschichtliche Einführung in die Grundstruktur pädagogischen Denkens und Handelns.Weinheim: Juventa. Eagleton, T. (2003). Figures of dissent: critical essays on Fish, Spivak, Žižek and others. Verso. Harvey, D. (2001). Spaces of capital: Toward a critical geography. New York: Routledge. Helfenbein, R. (2012). New Meridians: Social education and citizenship in a critical geography. In T.Kenreich (Ed.). Geography and Social Justice in the Classroom. New York: Routledge. Luhmann, N. (1995). Social systems. Stanford University Press. Massey, D. (2005). For space. London: Sage. Meyer, J. W., Boli, J., Thomas, G. M., & Ramirez, F. O. (1997). World society and the nation-state. American Journal of sociology, 103(1), 144-181. Paraskeva, J. M. (2011). Conflicts in curriculum theory: Challenging hegemonic epistemologies. Palgrave Macmillan. Schmidt, V. A. (2008). Discursive institutionalism: The explanatory power of ideas and discourse. Annu. Rev. Polit. Sci., 11, 303-326. Schriewer, J. (2000). World system and interrelationship networks. Educational knowledge: Changing relationships between the state, civil society, and the educational community, 305-343. Segal, A. & Helfenbein, R. (2008). Geography education. In L.Levstik & C. Tyson (Eds.), Handbook of research in social education. Erlbaum Publishing. Soja, E. (1996). Thirdspace: Journeys to Los Angeles and other real-and-imagined places. Malden, MA: Blackwell. Steiner-Khamsi, G. (Ed.). (2004). The global politics of educational borrowing and lending. Teachers College Press.
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