This contribution begins by reviewing a widespread inherited idea in Western civilisations: that education is an undertaking to be controlled, at least in all essentials, by some superior body; not by educational practitioners. As a subordinate practice then, and depending on the political, religious or ideological colour of the controlling body's…

Many arguments for education's autonomy put forward a repeated yet undefined claim that there is an identifiable, dividing line between education and its outside, and that it is within the distinct contours of "the educational" where the nomos of its autonomy lies. Approaching this claim from a literary perspective, I conduct a critical…

While the fresh debate on education's autonomy continues in this special issue as in other forums and venues, new layers of complexity on this theme continue to emerge, just as further nuances are revealed in the course of discussion. Following this welcomed growth in the discussion, and in the spirit of characterizing autonomy--and therefore also…

In this article we attempt to envision what utopian higher education could be given the realities that currently shape students' experiences. Postsecondary education is fraught with admissions that favor those with social, cultural, and economic capital; with course enrollment, class size, and instructor accessibility governed by bureaucratic…

F. W. Parker (1837-1902), an American educationist, implemented various reforms in education. Parker had a considerable role in the development of progressive education in the United States. Parker is usually regarded as the father of progressive education. Using theoretical analysis, this article aims to explore the notions regarding child…

Over the last two decades, increasing participation rates in post-secondary education in many countries have been accompanied by decreases in aggregate economic growth and raising social tensions. It is obvious now that education does not 'automatically' produce more well-being (at least, if conventionally measured through income or gross domestic…

General education is closely tied to universities because the holistic and liberal elements of modern general education are key ideals of both traditional Chinese and Western universities. General education plays a key role in the sustainable development of universities and the realization of their educational ideals. This study discusses the…

The early childhood years are pivotal as they mark the beginning of a young child's life journey into education. This paper offers critical reflections of the early childhood care and education landscape in Singapore as it has evolved over the last decade. The discussion will draw on findings of the study "Vital Voices for Vital Years 2"…

The popular image of activism in the university involves students and academics campaigning for social justice and resisting the neo-liberalisation of the university. Yet activism has been subtly corporatised through the migration of corporate social responsibility from the private sector into the university, a trend that may be illustrated by…

In this contribution to the Special Issue on the instrumentalisation of education, we focus on the relation between politics and education, as today there is a dominant discourse on rendering education subservient to the realisation of political aims. Rather than analysing the many ways in which such instrumentalisation takes place, we propose to…

In this article, the author problematizes two well-known positions on the relationship between means and ends in education. On the one side, there are those who problematize the means of education without necessarily redefining its ends, and on the other hand, there are those who challenge the purported ends of education while maintaining certain…

In the article I argue that the category of exhaustion constitutes the key to contemporary instrumental education. In my analysis I draw from Sloterdijk's diagnosis of modern consciousness and the Deleuzian concept of exhaustion. My contention is that an explanation for a durable rule of market logic can be found in the fact that traditional…

Recent work in education research and policy studies has been critical of the view that sees education as a fix for social problems. This perspective invites a reconsideration of the relationship between education and society that breaks from the long held instrumental assumptions informing most education theory and policy, wherein education is a…

In this article, after delineating a Deweyan framework that reclaims the autonomy of education against any instrumentalization, while not curtly writing off the vocabulary of instrumentalism, I will address the question of the "what and what for" of education in reference to schooling and, more particularly, to an emerging emphasis on…

This article is the third of three on "Sources of Authority in Education." All use the work of Amy Gutmann as a heuristic device to describe and explain the prevalence of market-based models of education reform in the US and the business-influenced Global Education Reform Movement. The other two are "Negating Amy Gutmann:…