Post-Modernism Flashcards
Postmodernism
After modern times.
Postmodernist society
Pace of change is fast, life is chaotic, society is diverse, pluralistic, fragmented. Globalisation is huge, individuality is encouraged, it’s a ‘pick n’ mix’ society.
The Industrial Revolution
It was considered modern in the 18th centurary, but the rapid, on-going pace of change has arguably transformed society into a new, post-modern era.
Robin Usher - education in a postmodern society
The education system is currently under pressure to ensure that its fit for purpose in the 21st centurary. The rapid pace of change and technological innovations means that the education system must reflect and adapt as necessary. For example:
- Society is increasinly plural: schools mirror society in the diversity of students they accomodate, the education system must ensure that the curriculum is inclusive and works for everyone.
- Technological innovation: technology can be used by students (Sparx Maths, Google classroom, Zoom) to access info pand think for themselves, and for teachers to aid them when teaching (interactive whiteboards, online assigments)
- Learning is dynamic: there is an increasing shift away from students learning from just teachers, there’s so many ways to access learning. The open University provides many to study for a degree without ever stepping foot on campus, adult education in colleges allows a second chance to gain qualifications if they didn’t the first time around.
- Opportunities are endless: there is an incredible wealth of options avaliable for learners and the freedom to choose what to study themselves.
BBC News article 2016
Oxford University to launch first online ‘Mooc’ course.
BBC News article 2017
Robots and drones take over classrooms.
Robin Usher - criticisms
Virtual learning can be very beneficial but can it also lead to isolation? It’s possible to get everything online in order to live, making it very possible to live without leaving an apartment/house and with no social interaction.
Too many choices can cause risk and uncertainty.
Cyberbulling exists - new crimes have been opened up. People who cannot afford technology exist too.
Fordism/Modern Society to Post Fordist/postmodern society
There has been a big term shift away from the job-security, routine and predictability of work in manufacturing to the insecure, dynamic, fast-paced high technological industries. This requires transferrable skills.
The Guardian article, James Muldoon 2019, University of Exeter: De-colonising the curriculm
Students at British universities are calling for their reading lists to include more BAME writers. Decolonising universities is not about completely eliminating white men from the curriculm but to challenge longstanding biases and omissions that limit how we understand politics and society. Most reading lists in the discipline of political science and international relations consist of an overwhelming majority of white male authors, creating a systematic disortion to the material and ignores scholarship produced by BAME scholars. BAME students need to see themselves represented in the curriculum as legitament creators of knowledge. To diversify our curriculum is to challenge power relations and call for deeper thinking about the contents of our courses and how we teach them.
Coronavirus and postmodern views, article: B. Garner
Zoom, Google Meets, Microsoft teams, ct, transformed the classroom into a virtual space, same as buissness moving to online work. The ability to adapt quickly to different types of teaching and learning, promoting different levels of individuality and dynamic learning and technology developing to allow suitable teaching and learning can relate to postmodernist views of education.
Globalisation
The impact of globalisation on shaping education in schools. The education system is adapting and evolving all the time. We increasingly look at how other countries do things, look at what lessons we can learn and and look to see how ideas about how to strengthen our education can be learnt from other countries. Finland, China, Korea are often examined in order to see what changes Britian can make to ensure that we adequatly follow these world leaders. Toughening up on the course content covered, regular rote-learning of material and frequent testing are seen to be important in many ways. Increasing levels of motivation in students to learn willingly and independantly is something Britian can learn a lot from other countries.
Globalisation - criticisms
Britian can’t simply copy education policies from countries overseas since their cultural systems are very different from our own. Cultural attitudes towards academic studies, self-discipline and the value placed on educational sucess are not easily found in the UK in the same way. Despite being seen as role models to the world, Finland slipped in it’s rankings, sugessting that things aren’t going as well as first thought.
Joan Garrod article: Global education - missing education
The United Nations (UN) sustainable development goal is to achieve primary education for all kids by 2030, though that is likely to be not reached. Young girls are particularly vulnerable to missing out education as a whole due to inbuilt prejudice. Boys are seen as ‘more important’ and worthier of education than girls. Of the 264 million children missing out on education, the majority were girls. 3 countries alone had more than a million girls not in school: Nigeria (almost 5.5 mil), Pakistan (over 3 mil), Ethiopia ( over 1 mil), In Afghanistan, over 60% of girls are not in education. All children in conflict zones are vulnerable to not recieveing education (some 25 million). In conflict zones in 22 countries, about 1 in 5 children miss out school, particularly girls. In Chad, about half of children are unable to get to school, and in South Sudan, some 3/4 of primary school age children recieve no education.
Joan Garrod article: Global Education - quality of education
While students may be in school, there is no guarantee they’re learning. Quality of education is poor (the average grade 6 teacher preformed no better in reading tests than the highest preforming pupil in the year in 14 sub-Saharan countries), unsafe buildings, malnourished and exhausted children, lack of resources and teachers sometimes not even showing up due to little/no pay made learning very difficult for these children.
Joan Garrod article: Global Education - Impact of poor education
A major feature of poor education on citizens are being very disadvantegeous in the long run. Being totally illiterate can make citizens prone to poverty, ill health, victimisation and being vulnerable to lower life expectancy. Having 264 million children blocked from recieveing a good education is not a very bright future. There is no interconnection between countries helping them, no choices being avaliable to them, no technological and dynamic learning - postmodernism does not apply here.
Micheal Apple - Postmodernist criticms
Postmodernists exaggerate the extent which the education system really changed over the years. The curriculum remains narrow; inequalities in achievement persist. It could be argued that education is being left behind in the postmodern world, rather than forming part of the postmodern future.
Gerry Czerniawski article: What is the role of education?
Summary of all prev. topics - functionalism, marxism, feminism and post modernism.
