Click the star to add/remove an item to/from your individual schedule.
You need to be logged in to avail of this functionality.
Log in
- Convenors:
-
Amanda Gilbertson
(University of Melbourne)
Debra McDougall (University of Melbourne)
Moses Mensah (University of Melbourne)
Send message to Convenors
- Format:
- Panel
- Stream:
- Pedagogy
- Location:
- NIKERI KC1.210
- Sessions:
- Wednesday 23 November, -
Time zone: Australia/Melbourne
Short Abstract:
Where does the future of (anthropologies of) learning lie – in reshaping the 'mainstream' or nurturing alternatives? In this panel, we engage with Indigenous and practitioner contributions to the study of learning, and explore the potentials of alternative pedagogies and educational institutions.
Long Abstract:
Learning is a feature of all human lives, but the anthropology of education, learning, and schooling is a relatively small and specialised subfield. While some seek to situate learning as focal topic in ‘mainstream’ anthropology (Blum 2019), this panel questions whether the mainstream is where the most powerful scholarship lives. Learning may be marginal in highly-ranked Global North anthropology journals, but leading Indigenous scholars have focused centrally on learning for decades and many key debates on the topic are led by scholar practitioners. In addition to inviting engagements with studies of learning from beyond anthropology’s mainstream, we invite papers that explore the value of mainstream schooling. Systematic marginalisation of students from minority and underprivileged backgrounds has directed attention to the learning that happens outside of educational institutions and led to calls for alternative institutions and pedagogies. Yet, alternative models of education funded by philanthropy and private capital arguably exacerbate inequalities in both the Global North and the Global South (Rooks 2020; Srivastava & Walford 2016). Where, then, does the future of (anthropologies of) learning lie – in reshaping the mainstream or nurturing alternatives?
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Wednesday 23 November, 2022, -Moses Mensah (University of Melbourne)
Paper short abstract:
Schooling in Africa has long succumbed to sweeping neoliberalism despite persistent calls for Afro-centric learning. This paper engages Ghanaian students as they straddle commitment to ethnic identity and language while pursuing English language proficiency and the lifestyle that schooling promises.
Paper long abstract:
African scholars have been calling for schooling reforms that centre indigenous pedagogies for several decades now. Few national education systems, however, have been intentional about dislodging universalised approaches to learning and refashioning schooling to reflect local ontologies and epistemologies. Moreover, enrolment figures are at an all-time high because citizens are opting for education experiences that promise neoliberal lifestyles and offer a 'competitive advantage' over the less/un-schooled. Perhaps, at the centre of the gap between suggested Afro-centric curricula and current education policy is the debate around the place of local languages in the curriculum and what the language of instruction in 'mainstream schooling' should be. This paper examines ethnographic accounts from Ghana, as well as evidence from other countries in the sub-region, to reflect on how current language policy impacts high school students' conception of indigenous identity and well-being. I present student experiences of liminality in their pursuit of proficiency in the 'foreign' on the one hand, and their connectedness to ethnic identity through 'diminishing' native languages on the other. I also explore the question of whether local languages should feature in neoliberal schooling, and offer 'bridges' for the disconnect between calls for decolonized education and the seemingly 'deaf ears' of the African public.
Matthew Mabefam (University of Melbourne)
Paper short abstract:
According to UNESCO, there are approximately 259 million children globally deprived of education in some way. Of these children, there is a significant number engaged in the role of caregivers.This paper seeks to better understand how caregiving by children impacts their educational aspirations
Paper long abstract:
According to UNESCO data, there are approximately 259 million children globally deprived of education in some way. Of these children, there is a significant number who are engaged in the role of caregivers. The majority of children caregivers are situated in Africa. Alongside existing education gaps in Africa, the challenges for children caregivers are enormous. This paper examines the impact of caregiving on children in Africa and how engaging in such roles affects their educational aspirations and attainment. In particular, the paper focuses on the case of children in witch camps in Ghana who offer care roles to their parents who have been evicted from their societies. This project is novel and fills a knowledge gap in scholarship. That is, although children have been at the centre of studies and policy discourse for years, the extent to which children who perform caregiving roles intersect with their educational aspirations and attainment is currently under-researched. The project's findings will shape policy formulation, programming, and implementation of programs to improve the educational aspirations and achievement of children who provide caregiving roles.
Amanda Gilbertson (University of Melbourne)
Paper short abstract:
Across two studies in North India, working-class parents resisted the separation of their children's learning from that of privileged children, asserting that services for the poor are poor services. Their experiences highlight the need for renewed political commitment to a common school system.
Paper long abstract:
In many contexts, research shows that services for everybody fail the poor but services for the poor are poor services. Across two studies in North India, working-class parents primarily expressed the latter view in relation to education. While many middle-class educators made the argument that working-class children’s needs could be better met if they were educated separately from privileged children, working-class parents associated such separation with discrimination and disadvantage. This paper presents working-class parents’ experiences of and perspectives on a desegregation policy that requires private schools to give educate underprivileged children, and distance learning when schools closed for nearly two years during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their experiences highlight the need for renewed political commitment to a ‘common school system’ comprised of ‘neighbourhood schools’ attended by all children in the vicinity.