I have been thinking for some time about the way that the field of gender and education has developed in recent years. Once political and outward-looking, involving schools and other extra-university institutions in a joint quest for gender knowled Foto Sf Lite ge, the field seems has atrophied into just another university discipline.
Feminist academics working in education have been remarkably successful in achieving recognition and reward for the quality of their work. Yet their very success in academia has meant that the earlier ‘activist’ goals of the field have been downgraded with a consequent loss of direction and impetus. This is noticeable for instance, in the pursuit of theory as an intellectual game, lack of attention to education practice, competitiveness, exclusion, and lack of political edge.
Perhaps it is now too late and we have all become addicted to theory, an issue which I further consider in a paper that I am currently working on. Entitled ‘A Dangerous Addiction: Theory, Feminism and Education’, I argue that what education in its broadest sense needs is a political and practical re-turn- to a belief in the possibility of revolutionary change.
Gaby Weiner, GEA Executive
‘A Dangerous Addiction: Theory, Feminism and Education’ is available to download here. As always, comments are welcome.
