Many accounts of critical pedagogy, particularly accounts of trying to enact it within higher education (HE), express a deep cynicism about whether it is possible to counter the ever creeping hegemony of neo-liberalism, neo- conservatism and new managerialism within Universities. Hopeful Pedagogies in Higher Education acknowledges some of these criticisms, but attempts to rescue critical pedagogy, locating some of its associated pessimism as misreading of Freire and offering hopeful avenues for new theory and practice. These misreadings are also located in the present, in the assumption that unless change comes within the lifetime of the project, it has somehow failed. Instead, this book argues that a positive utopianism is possible. Present actions need to be celebrated, and cultivated as symbols of hope, possibility and generativity for the future - which the concept of hope implies. The contributors make the case for celebrating the pedagogies of HE that operate in liminal spaces – situated in the spaces between the present and the future (between the world as it is and the world as it could be) and also in the cracks that are beginning to show in the dominant discourses.

Many accounts of critical pedagogy, particularly accounts of trying to enact it within higher education (HE), express a deep cynicism about whether it is possible to counter the ever creeping hegemony of neo-liberalism, neo- conservatism and new managerialism within Universities. Hopeful Pedagogies in Higher Education acknowledges some of these criticisms, but attempts to rescue critical pedagogy, locating some of its associated pessimism as misreading of Freire and offering hopeful avenues for new theory and practice. These misreadings are also located in the present, in the assumption that unless change comes within the lifetime of the project, it has somehow failed. Instead, this book argues that a positive utopianism is possible. Present actions need to be celebrated, and cultivated as symbols of hope, possibility and generativity for the future - which the concept of hope implies. The contributors make the case for celebrating the pedagogies of HE that operate in liminal spaces – situated in the spaces between the present and the future (between the world as it is and the world as it could be) and also in the cracks that are beginning to show in the dominant discourses.

An introduction to critical pedagogy for all those working within higher education. Critical Pedagogy is an approach that is fundamentally democratic, informal, non-hierarchical, determined by participants, privileges the oppressed and their perspectives and is committed to action. Higher education (HE), conversely, is often un-democratic, formal, hierarchical, determined by tutors and national bodies, re-inscribes existing privileges and is distant from lived experience. The book starts from the premise that critical pedagogies are possible in HE, while recognising the tensions to be ameliorated in trying to enact them. It re-examines the concept and explores its practical application at an institutional level, within the curriculum, within assessment, through learning and teaching and in the spaces in-between. The Critical Practice in Higher Education series provides a scholarly and practical entry point for academics into key areas of higher education practice. Each book in the series explores an individual topic in depth, providing an overview in relation to current thinking and practice, informed by recent research. The series will be of interest to those engaged in the study of higher education, those involved in leading learning and teaching or working in academic development, and individuals seeking to explore particular topics of professional interest. Through critical engagement, this series aims to promote an expanded notion of being an academic – connecting research, teaching, scholarship, community engagement and leadership – while developing confidence and authority.

All universities have to produce plans to eliminate the gaps in access, success and participation of disadvantaged student in higher education, setting targets with regards to Global Majority, working class, disabled and student with mental health conditions. In this book, Mike Seal examines the terminology, theoretical debates and positions, identifies the causes of gaps, and evaluates proposed initiatives. He argues that there is an unexamined assumption that higher education is a 'good thing' materially and intellectually, which demonises those for whom this is questionable. The book also highlights the continuing structural and individual discrimination in terms of class, race and disability and a denial of the extent to which higher education is a cause of mental health issues and negative well-being. It uncovers unexamined 'assimilation' models in higher education that expects these students to abandon their culture and communities, despite students wanting to give back to these communities being a major extrinsic motivation, and to embrace a culture that will not embrace them. The book starts from the perspective that contemporary international higher education reproduces existing privileges, and the book goes on to argue that widening participation agendas should recognise the changing nature of academic life through a more inclusive, holistic approach. Seal argues that it is essential to include an informed understanding of how students position themselves in academia and how their identity and academic status is enabled and developed with the support of the university. In order to do this universities need to redefine their purpose and the nature of their relationships with the communities they purport to serve.

Higher education should be a place for students to innovate, create, and expand their horizons, and in order to create an environment which allows for all these things, tutors need to be able and willing to do the same. This practical and informative book explores how a diverse range of tutors working in the Arts and Humanities disciplines have succeeded in thinking creatively about their teaching, module design, and extra-curricular activities without losing sight of necessary academic rigour. The book explores: · experimental learning environments · student and lecturer collaborations · the development of students' employability and transferable skills · creative and imaginative assessment design · embedding mental wellbeing techniques into curricula The varied roles, subjects, and locations of the contributors enables rigorous and diverse international exploration of creative pedagogy in higher education and the book will particularly appeal to those looking to bring creativity to higher education.

Around the world, the landscape of Higher Education is increasingly shaped by discourses of employability, rankings, and student satisfaction. Under these conditions, the role of universities in preparing students for all facets of life, and to contribute to the public good, is reshaped in significant ways: ways which are often negative and pessimistic. This book raises important and pressing questions about the nature and role of universities as formative educational institutions, drawing together contributors from both Western and non-Western perspectives. While the editors and contributors critique the current situation, the chapters evince a more humane and compassionate framing of the work of and in universities, based on positive and valued relationships and notions of the good. Drawing together a wide range of theoretical and conceptual frameworks to illuminate the issues discussed, this volume changes the debate to one of hopefulness and inspiration about the role of higher education for the public good: ultimately looking towards a potentially exciting and rewarding future through which humanity and the planet can flourish.

This book traces the notion of care and civic values in education that are largely devalued today by neoliberal economic concerns. Through a discussion of educators and philosophers including Arendt, Foucault, Guattari, Patocka, Simondon, Stengers and Whitehead, Atkinson explores the 'gift of otherness' in relation to an ethico-politics of pedagogic practice and learning, including art education. He argues for pedagogical practices that facilitate and support each learner's pathways through what is called a pedagogy of taking care. This involves paying due attention, with empathy, to each learner's pathway of learning and to the difference and divergence of such pathways. It also requires the teacher to take care, to be vigilant towards their own pedagogical frameworks that inform pedagogical work, particularly when a student or child produces work that does not accord with such frameworks. Atkinson not only critiques current educational policy but advocates possible futures of being, not dominated by the neoliberal tools of force and power. Pedagogies of taking care allow us to think differently about education and art education, and revaluate it's meaning within research, classrooms, non-formal contexts of education and cultural institutions.

This book shows how the pedagogical philosophy of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) founder, Ignatius of Loyola, can be used and applied in public school settings in the USA and around the world without dismantling the separation of church and state. Ignatian Pedagogy should be considered a historical precursor to modern practical and pedagogical theories such as culturally relevant pedagogy and equity frameworks in education, with Jesuit foundational texts such as the Ratio Studiorum including material about working within and valuing the context of the culture surrounding schools, emphasizing student voice and empowering the student as a co-teacher. Based on new research carried out in New York City Department of Education (NYC DOE) schools the author argues for universal character formation programs based on already existing and highly effective programs at Jesuit-sponsored schools. The research shows that universal character formation programs are highly effective in developing students flourishing, strengthening their relationships with themselves and others, and enabling critical, reflective thought. Based on the theory of Ignatius of Loyola and the work of thinkers including Paulo Freire, Mahatma Gandhi, Elisabeth Johnson and Martin Luther King, Brenkert presents a theological-philosophical framework for creating a 'beloved community' free from oppression, poverty and hate.

The chapters in this book highlight the possibilities and complexities of putting decolonial theory to work in higher education in Northern and Southern contexts across the globe. This book looks at decolonial work as praxis involving transformation at a range of levels from theoretical development, national policy, institutional policy and culture, academic discipline, programme, course, classroom, student and the self. Our authors argue that praxis in their contexts includes working at institutional level to undo the historical power of ‘coloniality’ in universities in the metropoles, introducing Indigenous knowledges into curricula and undoing the effects of ‘coloniality’ in embodiment, temporality and whiteness. We, as editors, argue for the need for transformation of the self as well as structures, and highlight qualities such as reflexivity on our own entanglements with coloniality, and why they occur, in this undoing. The approach offered in this book emphasises the connection between significant personal change as a pre-condition and an epistemological process to connect critical decolonial theory and our teaching practice. The book was originally published as a special issue of the journal Teaching in Higher Education.