This Gender Plus Education seminar is part of the Women’s Studies Research Centre’s GENDER PLUS series.
Although gender and feminist theory might seem like old news today, a historical examination shows these strains of thought have only been part of educational research for a relatively short time. The new text From “Aggressive Masculinity” to “Rape Culture”: A Gender and Sexualities Reader (Routledge 2018) uses sample texts from the historical archive of the leading educational research journal Educational Philosophy and Theory to explore and document the way gender and social justice have been understood over the last 5 decades. Taking its provocative title from the book end chapters of the volume — this book and some of its key themes will be explored in this session, from the perspectives of philosophy and education.
The session documents through a historical perspective how gender and feminism have been taken up in philosophy of education, and gives the audience a chance to discuss with one of its editors how the field of educational theory evolves over time. The session will be chaired by Puja Kapai, Associate Professor of Law and Convenor of the Women’s Studies Research Centre.
Dr. Liz Jackson is President of the Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia (PESA) and an Associate Professor of Education and the Director of the Comparative Education Research Centre at HKU. Her first two single-authored books (both with Routledge) are Muslims and Islam In US Education: Reconsidering Multiculturalism and Questioning Allegiance: Resituating Civic Education. Her research has been recognised with awards including the Research Output Prize for Education at HKU and the PESA Book Award. She serves as an editor for New Directions in the Philosophy of Education (Routledge), Educational Philosophy and Theory: Editor’s Choice, and as Deputy Editor for the leading journal in philosophy of education, Educational Philosophy and Theory.
The starting point was recognition that boundaries in education are less firm than before. Traditionally, formal schooling has been responsibility and domain of the public sector, but recent decades have brought a flourishing private sector in supplementary education. Most obvious is the academic form, provided by small, medium-sized and large companies.
Mark Bray, the HKU’s UNESCO Chair Professor in Comparative Education. “It is breaking new conceptual ground”, he added, “not only in the four jurisdictions but also globally.” The University, he pointed out, provides a neutral arena in which stakeholders can dialogue on sensitive topics to identify ways forward in service of the common good.
The organizers did not seek consensus on a single mode of operation for every jurisdiction. Rather, they placed in the arena sets of experiences for participants to discuss and learn from each other. They noted that the burden of governments worried about regulation can be alleviated when the supplementary education providers engage in self-regulation. Participants heard various examples, highlighting ways in which all stakeholders can follow their own mandates yet productively serve the common good.
