Schooling and the production of social inequalities: what can and should we be doing?

Article


Mills, Carmen and Gale, Trevor. 2002. "Schooling and the production of social inequalities: what can and should we be doing?" Critical Studies in Education. 43 (1), pp. 107-128. https://doi.org/10.1080/17508480209556395
Article Title

Schooling and the production of social inequalities: what can and should we be doing?

ERA Journal ID20125
Article CategoryArticle
AuthorsMills, Carmen (Author) and Gale, Trevor (Author)
Journal TitleCritical Studies in Education
Journal Citation43 (1), pp. 107-128
Number of Pages22
Year2002
PublisherTaylor & Francis
Place of PublicationMelbourne, Australia
ISSN0076-6275
1750-8487
1750-8495
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1080/17508480209556395
Web Address (URL)http://www.education.monash.edu.au/research/melbournestudieseduc//
Abstract

To speak of an ideal is to lay claim to what ought or should be and to explain 'reality' as deviation. That is, ideals serve to provide direction towards some desired goal as well as judgment about how well a perceived reality approximates that desire. In more recent times, the postmodernist critique has provided its own 'reality check' on modernist ideals, challenging the notion that there is one best way to reach utopian ends. The emergence of postmodern theories has signalled a general shift in 'the structure of feeling' from acquiescence to censure of the universal. But it is not as if there are no postmodern ideals. In these accounts, utopianism is more cogently understood as 'heterotopianisms'. While we are convinced by such critique, that there are diverse goals of value and pathways to reach them, we admit to some uneasiness about a 'postmodern pluralism' in which ideals have the potential to wash away into relativism, where one ideal is as good as the next and ways of achieving them are also equally regarded.

In this article we take up these matters in the context of schooling, particularly as they relate to socially just ideals and practices. We begin by testing how effective schooling ‘really’ is in advancing the interests of all students; asking for whom schooling is effective and the ways in which it recognises and deals with diverse interests. We then consider how things might be better, first in relation to what happens in classrooms and, second, with respect to what happens in school communities. In our view, these two interests – in who benefits (and who does not) by current social arrangements and what can be done about them – are the central tenets of a socially critical orientation. Given our disposition for recognitive justice, we also think the issues are about self-identity and respect, self-expression and development, and self-determination. We regard these as necessary conditions for socially just schooling; they form the ‘tests’ we apply, particularly in relation to how students are connected to schools and how decisions are made within their communities. We recognise that these matters are primarily concerned with the means rather than the ends of schooling although we do not entirely agree with the separation. Neither do we want to signal that a focus on recognitive justice is at the expense of distributive justice. ‘Who gets what’ remains an important issue. Here we address this from the perspective of ‘how’.

Keywordscultural context of education
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020390203. Sociology of education
520102. Educational psychology
390402. Education assessment and evaluation
Public Notes

This is the authors' final pre-publication version. Deposited in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher of the time.

Byline AffiliationsMonash University
Permalink -

https://research.usq.edu.au/item/9y197/schooling-and-the-production-of-social-inequalities-what-can-and-should-we-be-doing

  • 2369
    total views
  • 781
    total downloads
  • 0
    views this month
  • 0
    downloads this month

Export as

Related outputs

Doing research with teachers, parents and students: the ethics and politics of collaborative research
Mills, Carmen and Gale, Trevor. 2004. "Doing research with teachers, parents and students: the ethics and politics of collaborative research." Coombes, Phyllida, Danaher, Mike and Danaher, Patrick Alan (ed.) Strategic uncertainties: ethics, politics and risk in contemporary educational research. Flaxton, Australia. Post Pressed. pp. 89-101
Editors' introduction to special theme issue [of International Journal of Pedagogies and Learning]: Meanings emerging in practice (Part 2)
Danaher, Patrick Alan, Mills, Carmen, White, Robert D., O'Neill, Shirley and Son, Jeong-Bae. 2007. "Editors' introduction to special theme issue [of International Journal of Pedagogies and Learning]: Meanings emerging in practice (Part 2)." International Journal of Pedagogies and Learning. 3 (2), pp. 1-3.
Recognitive justice: renewed commitment to socially just schooling
Mills, Carmen and Gale, Trevor. 2001. "Recognitive justice: renewed commitment to socially just schooling." Knight, Bruce Allen and Rowan, Leonie (ed.) Researching in contemporary educational environments. Flaxton, Australia. Post Pressed. pp. 64-83
Researching social inequalities in education: towards a Bourdieuian methodology
Mills, Carmen and Gale, Trevor. 2007. "Researching social inequalities in education: towards a Bourdieuian methodology." International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education. 20 (4), pp. 433-447. https://doi.org/10.1080/09518390601176523
I'm your new teacher: the impact of teacher mobility on educational opportunities for marginalised students
Mills, Carmen and Gale, Trevor. 2004. "I'm your new teacher: the impact of teacher mobility on educational opportunities for marginalised students." Critical Studies in Education. 45 (2), pp. 67-82.
Transient teachers: mixed messages of schooling in regional Australia
Mills, Carmen and Gale, Trevor. 2003. "Transient teachers: mixed messages of schooling in regional Australia." Journal of Research in Rural Education. 18 (3), pp. 145-151.
Parent participation in disadvantaged schools: moving beyond attributions of blame
Mills, Carmen and Gale, Trevor. 2004. "Parent participation in disadvantaged schools: moving beyond attributions of blame." Australian Journal of Education. 48 (3), pp. 268-281.
The teacher educator as (re)negotiated professional: critical incidents in steering between state and market in Australia
Danaher, Patrick Alan, Gale, Trevor and Erben, Tony. 2000. "The teacher educator as (re)negotiated professional: critical incidents in steering between state and market in Australia." Journal of Education for Teaching. 26 (1), pp. 55-71.