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Class Choreographies: Elite Schools and Globalization
Awarded Best Book prize by CIES Globalization and Education SIG
Awarded 2nd Prize in the Society of Educational Studies Annual Book Prize
Elite schools have always been social choreographers par excellence. The world over, they put together highly dexterous performances as they stage and restage changing relations of ruling. They are adept at aligning their social choreographies to shifting historical conditions and cultural tastes. In multiple theatres, they now regularly rehearse the irregular art of being global. Elite schools around the world are positioned at the intersecting pinnacles of various scales, systems and regimes of social, cultural, political and economic power. They have much in common but are also diverse. They illustrate how various modalities of power are enjoyed and put to work and how educational and social inequalities are shaped and shifted. They, thus, speak to the social zeitgeist. This book dissects this intricate choreography.
Awarded 2nd Prize in the Society of Educational Studies Annual Book Prize
Elite schools have always been social choreographers par excellence. The world over, they put together highly dexterous performances as they stage and restage changing relations of ruling. They are adept at aligning their social choreographies to shifting historical conditions and cultural tastes. In multiple theatres, they now regularly rehearse the irregular art of being global. Elite schools around the world are positioned at the intersecting pinnacles of various scales, systems and regimes of social, cultural, political and economic power. They have much in common but are also diverse. They illustrate how various modalities of power are enjoyed and put to work and how educational and social inequalities are shaped and shifted. They, thus, speak to the social zeitgeist. This book dissects this intricate choreography.
294 pages, Paperback
Published January 17, 2018
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June 21, 2020
I don't know if having read this book I am depressed by the bleak picture it paints or by my own inability to make my article better. LOL
Maybe a bit of both.
This book examines the reproduction of privilege in elite schools and how shifts in the world act on schools so that they have to change to protect that privilege. It's interesting and detailed, it seems that many different studies were done by the authors to build as complete a picture as possible.
In places what comes through is an empathy for principals and teachers or sometimes students caught in these identity cages however the worldview built by the existence of these elite schools is shown to be always problematic, even when people begin by meaning well. Social change gets watered down into something that looks like "charity" even if these days it is called "service" or "intercultural understanding".
The book does not suggest a solution to the issue. An obvious thought is that getting rid of these schools would serve the public good but as we have seen there is already a strong appetite to get rid of elite schools and the ways they drain resources of other schools and governments as well as the rich have ways of resisting this move, of fragmenting the opposition by giving some people some things while continuing to inequitable fund schools. As Kenway et al point out in their final chapter it's no longer just a matter of national governments, there is a transnational ruling class now which is a very frightening thought whenever I consider it.
I'd like to know what anyone can do about any of this...
Maybe a bit of both.
This book examines the reproduction of privilege in elite schools and how shifts in the world act on schools so that they have to change to protect that privilege. It's interesting and detailed, it seems that many different studies were done by the authors to build as complete a picture as possible.
In places what comes through is an empathy for principals and teachers or sometimes students caught in these identity cages however the worldview built by the existence of these elite schools is shown to be always problematic, even when people begin by meaning well. Social change gets watered down into something that looks like "charity" even if these days it is called "service" or "intercultural understanding".
The book does not suggest a solution to the issue. An obvious thought is that getting rid of these schools would serve the public good but as we have seen there is already a strong appetite to get rid of elite schools and the ways they drain resources of other schools and governments as well as the rich have ways of resisting this move, of fragmenting the opposition by giving some people some things while continuing to inequitable fund schools. As Kenway et al point out in their final chapter it's no longer just a matter of national governments, there is a transnational ruling class now which is a very frightening thought whenever I consider it.
I'd like to know what anyone can do about any of this...
Displaying 1 of 1 review