5. Contexts
Social context
- To explore the educational experiences of your students
- The influence of ideologies on practice
- Addressing cultural concerns
- Meeting different expectations
People and agency
Overview
Chapter 5 considers the factors that have influenced the decisions made around what we teach, how we teach and what our students have experienced previously in their educational journey. We explore the ideas of social injustice in the ways in which FAVE is represented, and what implications this has on our sector. However, we conclude on an optimistic note, claiming that individual teachers and students can ultimately affect social change in order to make a significant difference in our future society.
A study assessing the active participation of adults in further education:
Aldridge, F. Iain, M. & Berry, C. (2012) 'Do Inequalities in Adult Learning Matter?', Adults Learning, V24, I1, pp. 18-20, ERIC, EBSCOhost.
George Mead’s work draws attention to processes of social interaction as the foundation of a person’s development of a ‘self’ and is the basis for the approach known as “symbolic interactionism”. His work can be read in:
Mead, G.H., (1934) Mind, Self and Society, Chicago. University of Chicago Press.