This paper considers the role and function of Left academics within "elite" (i.e. Russell Group) universities within the UK. Deploying Marxist theory and critical realism, it analyses the "dialectical contradictions" experienced in such a role and reflects upon productive strategies for resisting the hegemony of neo-liberalism…

Beginning with a reading of Kant's "The Conflict of the Faculties" and then moving towards a tentative possible theorization of the University as a hegemonic apparatus this paper aims at discussing university movements in terms of (counter) hegemony. Recent struggles against austerity, neoliberalism and the erosion of democracy,…

The present paper--from a vantage in Bulgaria, and focusing in significant part on this country as an iconic example of the "post-socialist freefall' and its dystopia on European capitalism's neocolonial "new periphery"--is a revised version of an earlier chapter in "Immiseration Capitalism and Education: Austerity,…

A fundamental goal of the university must be to advance a democracy based on the socialist principles of freedom and critique. A Marxist revolutionary critical pedagogy for democracy is advanced that includes a call for the inclusion of faculty of color who may bring diverse epistemes toward doing research that promotes dissent. The author…

"Radical Education Dossier" is arguably the most successful independent continuous radical educational publication ever produced; made without financial support or institutional backing of any kind, surviving on the will and efforts of changing Editorial Collectives for more than 60 Issues over three decades, directly influencing at…

In this essay Malott traces his journey to critical pedagogy focusing on a significant element of his family's ethnic and class background and its connection to his own educational experiences from public schooling to university. Drawing on Marx's historical discussions at the end of Volume 1 of "Capital" Malott traces his own…

In the United States (US), an increase in standardization, quantification, competition, and large-scale comparison--cornerstones of neoliberal accountability--have been accompanied by devices of transparency, through which various forms of school data are made available to the public. Such public reporting, we are told by politicians and education…

The purpose of this paper is to provide a historical and conceptual link between Ella Baker's Freedom School model and Paulo Freire's demand for critical education and emancipatory learning. Ella Baker, situated in the daunting environment of the Civil Rights Movement, saw education as a tool for social mobility for Mississippi residents…

The transformation of the historical functions and goals of the European university is producing the transition from mass university to what has been called "corporate university". With this goal, I will examine how the new functions of the university are aimed at providing services and precarious workers to the labor structure of…

This paper analyzes the routes of the evaluation of higher education in Brazil, from 1995 until 2010. In 1995, during Fernando Henrique Cardoso's administration, higher education began a process of expansion through private enterprise. At that time, evaluation had a key role. The focus was the evaluation of courses conducted by the Ministry…

The major purpose of the study was to look into change and continuity in the policy and practices of adult basic literacy initiatives in Ethiopia and to deduce lessons that can be drawn from the experiences for the future of adult basic literacy program in the country and elsewhere. Data was obtained through critical review of documents on the…

The present article is based on a critical semiotic investigation of the Swedish Long-Term Survey on economic development. It aims to examine how recent Swedish policy trends bring specific economic, political and social processes together to form a system of meaning for both motivation and regulation over individuals' educational choices.…

The interdisciplinary project under discussion is suitable to be addressed to students of either primary or secondary education and it interweaves the art of painting with fairy tales. The aims of the project are: the deeper understanding of the complexity of human nature and the sensitization of students regarding gender roles and stereotypes. On…

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) for many is considered to be a "quality education" in its own right. There also exist many debates around the semantics and implications of such an education, however this study acknowledges the greater intentions of ESD and thus deems it necessary to analyze to what degree teacher education…

In today's world characterized by increasingly effective neoliberal policies, not only the sphere of public services is being constricted but also the concept of "public service" --which traditionally has been pointing at a responsible state providing public services based on social principles and methods-- is being transformed. In…