Commodifying Education


Book Description

"The texts in this book do not compose a mere selection: the questions that guide the chapters form a cohesively and coherently structured totality which expresses the movement of construction of what the authors understand to be a new problematic in the education field in Brazil and in the world. The book addresses basic, professional and undergraduate education from perspectives that highlight different aspects of privatization, commercialization and commodification, as well as the presence of the business community in the definition of educational policies. These levels and modalities of teaching are analysed in articulation both with science, technology and so-called technological innovation policies and with the modus operandi of the state. “This is a book that should be read by teachers, administrators and all global citizens who have a stake in the future of the planet. Unlike many books by authors from the United States who attack poverty and economic inequality without critiquing capitalism, this book has the courage to challenge capitalism at its very roots. Capitalism connects us all and it will require all of us to dismantle capitalism and replace it with a socialist alternative. Commodifying Education reveals how education in Brazil is inextricably entangled in the logic and practice of economic fascism, which goes under many names, such as austerity capitalism and neoliberal capitalism. I urge educators everywhere to engage the lucid arguments presented in this important work.” – Peter McLaren, Distinguished Professor in Critical Studies, Chapman University, and author of Pedagogy of Insurrection"




Widening Higher Education Participation


Book Description

Governments have introduced policies to widen the participation of disadvantaged students in higher education. Widening participation policies are also introduced to ensure that higher education contributes to social and economic outcomes. This book includes important insights from 23 leading scholars across 11 countries on a wide range of topics that focus on government policies, institutional structures and the social and economic impacts of widening participation. While widening participation policies and outcomes in developed countries are more widely documented, the policies, achievements, and challenges in other countries such as Brazil, China, Indonesia, South Africa and Palestine are not so widely disseminated. Therefore, the 'untold stories' of policies and outcomes of widening participation are a key part of this book. The chapters are organised according to three overarching themes, which include national and transnational studies of the history of widening participation and current policies; inclusive learning and academic outcomes; and socioeconomic structures, concepts and theories. - Engages prominent academics, earlier career researchers, and research students - Provides a wide range of topics related to widening participation - Explores social and economic impact of widening student participation - Presents untold stories of widening participation in developing countries experiencing growth in youth population




Quality of Life and Quality of Working Life


Book Description

In this book, we can read about the well-being, quality of life, and quality of working life. The authors come from different countries, and their ideas, studies, findings, and experiences offer beneficial contributions to enhance our knowledge in the field of well-being and quality of life, as well as quality of working life. The book is divided into two sections, and their respective chapters refer to two major areas. The first section covers "Different Perspectives of Quality of Life," considering the antecedents of happiness, quality of life and sports, quality of life indexes for the United States, well-being in the context of family policies in European countries, cultural well-being and income in Italy, and the right to life in South Africa. The second section deals with "Well-Being and Quality of Working Life," emphasizing these topics for university professors in Brazil, as well as work-related well-being, psychological well-being of individuals as employees, physical and psychical well-being and stress, human work in organizations considering the discomfort perspective, and professional pride and dignity among social workers. Thus, we consider this book will be of interest for readers with a diverse group of audience in different areas of specialty such as psychology, industrial and social psychology, management, medicine, education, law, and sociology.




Brazil and the Emergence of a Digital Lusosphere


Book Description

This book maps how Brazil and the network of Portuguese-speaking countries—the “Lusosphere”—are using digital technologies in new ways to expand opportunities at all levels of society. From a diverse range of perspectives across the Portuguese-speaking world, contributors to this volume explore such questions as the capability of information technologies to encourage social inclusion in the face of economic inequality, the kinds of cultural values that may replace those of the scarcity-based industrial era, and the potential emergence of a virtual world order based on soft power, given the failures of hard power alternatives. This book explores how digital linkages between Brazil and physically-separated Portuguese-speaking communities are influencing the arts, creative industries, sports, learning, business, and cultural evolution for hundreds of millions of Portuguese-speaking people on five continents. At a time of escalating calls in Europe and North America to close borders and build walls, Brazil and the Emergence of a Digital Lusosphere charts alternatives that offer inspiration and practical paths toward a more inclusive world.




Female Voices from the Worksite


Book Description

This collection analyzes women’s narratives on the workplace. These narratives speak to the daily struggles women face in the workforce, such as inflexible and long work hours, masculine workplace cultures, employers’ stereotypical attitudes, and the absence of work-life balance initiatives. Viewed from a sociological perspective, the authors emphasize the reoccurring themes of devaluation, exploitation, and dehumanization of female workers resulting from unconscious or implicit bias and which directly impacts women’s quality of life.




International Higher Education Volume 2


Book Description

This encyclopedia is the result of a highly selective enterprise that provides a careful selection of key topics in essays written by top scholars in their fields. Comprehensive and in-depth coverage of a limited number of countries, regions and themes is provided. The essays not only feature statistical and factual information but significant interpretation of those facts and figures. The chapters on themes and topics are both analytic and interpretative and deal with the most important topics relevant to higher education everywhere. More than a compendium of facts and figures the encyclopedia is a comprehensive overview of a growing field of research and analysis.




Handbook of Latin American Studies


Book Description

Contains records describing books, book chapters, articles, and conference papers published in the field of Latin American studies. Coverage includes relevant books as well as over 800 social science and 550 humanities journals and volumes of conference proceedings. Most records include abstracts with evaluations.




Routledge Library Editions: Education Mini-Set G Higher & Adult Education 11 vol set


Book Description

Mini-set G: Higher and Adult Education re-issues 11 volumes originally published between 1974 and 1992. They discuss and analyze adult education from both theoretical and practical standpoints and look at the challenges facing adult education during the 1970s and 80s as well as examining the history of higher & adult education in the UK. The mini-set includes one volume which although previously available with another publisher (and out of print for some years) is now available for the first time from Routledge.




Higher Education in the BRICS Countries


Book Description

In spite of the increasing attention attributed to the rise in prominence of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries, few studies have looked at the ways in which broader social expectations with respect to the role of higher education across the BRICS have changed, or not, in recent years. Our point of departure is that, contrary to the conventional wisdom focusing on functionalistic perspectives, higher education systems are not just designed by governments to fulfill certain functions, but have a tendency for evolving in a rather unpredictable fashion as a result of the complex interplay between a number of internal and external factors. In reality, national higher education systems develop and change according to a complex process that encompasses the expectations of governmental agencies, markets, the aspirations of the population for the benefits of education, the specific institutional traditions and cultures of higher education institutions, and, increasingly so, the interests and strategies of the private firms entering and offering services in the higher education market. This basically means that it is of outmost importance to move away from conceiving of "universities" or "higher education" as single, monolithic actors or sector. One way of doing this is by investigating a selected number of distinct, but nonetheless interrelated factors or drivers, which, taken together, help determine the nature and scope of the social compact between higher education (its core actors and institutions) and society at large (government, industry, local communities, professional associations).