Learning and Social Difference

Carmel Borg is Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Malta. His books include Children and Youth at Risk. Narratives of Hope (co-edited with Colin Calleja, Agenda, 2005) and Gramsci and Education (co-edited with Joseph A. Buttigieg and Peter Mayo, Rowman and Littlefield, 2002). He is the Editor of the Journal of Maltese Education Research. Peter Mayo is Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, at the University of Malta. His books include Liberating Praxis. Paulo Freire's Legacy for Radical Education and Politics (Praeger, 2004), Gramsci and Education (co-edited with Carmel Borg and Joseph A. Buttigieg, Rowman and Littlefield, 2002), Gramsci, Freire and Adult Education. Possibilities for Transformative Action (Zed Books, 1999) and Beyond Schooling. Adult Education in Malta (co-edited with Godfrey Baldacchino, Mireva, 1997).

" Borg and Mayo have written a book that has charted a new and vital space for a critical analysis of education at a moment in history that demands an acute political and pedagogical attention" —from the Foreword by Peter McLaren, Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, UCLA “Borg and Mayo’s book examines, among other things, the historical and ideological impress of a country’s colonial past along with the increasing pressures of globalization upon its contemporary democratic aspirations. It also stretches the area of inquiry to discuss educational policy making and lifelong learning in Europe as well as the pedagogical insights derived from Antonio Gramsci and Lorenzo Milani and the reinvention of Freire’s ideas in a postcolonial southern context. Taking as its overall theme the need for greater critical pedagogical action to counter a range of entrenched antidemocratic ideologies and assumptions, their work stands as a fitting exemplar of the type of critical educational practice they seek to elicit. Because of this, it is a potent and valuable resource that will both educate and inspire.” —Dr. Deb J. Hill, University of Waikato, New Zealand “Vividly critiquing the seductive nature of neoliberal influences on educational policy, pedagogy, curriculum, and reforms, the essays in Learning and Social Difference demonstrate exemplary work in the critical-democratic tradition. Combining both theoretical and empirical work and carefully building on the work of Gramsci, Freire, and Milani, this exciting work focuses on (a) the local and international and (b) critique, possibilities, and informed resistance. It clearly shows the presence of the neoliberal agenda in a specific context although counterhegemonic tendencies exist. Through skillful analysis of substantive issues marginalized in mainstream literature, these inspiring essays offer meaningful and powerful alternatives that enhance democratic leadership and inclusive school improvement.” —John P. Portelli, Codirector or the Centre for Leadership and Diversity, Department of Theory and Policy Studies, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto “Rarely are books on critical pedagogy published that indicate that the authors not only have a keen historical sense of the diversity of the field but also make a major contribution to advancing the discourse theoretically and politically. Learning and Social Difference, in my estimation, is one of the best books written on critical pedagogy in the past twenty years. Not only does it build on the most insightful traditions of the field, but it resituates the importance of critical pedagogy in a global context, unpacking its best insights and applying them to a diverse number of subjects. Put simply, this book is invaluable for anyone who wants to understand the importance of critical pedagogy in a global context and the promise it offers to educators concerned about democracy and social justice. Buy two copies and give one away to make sure this book is widely read. A superb book.” —Henry A. Giroux, Global TV Network Chair, English and Cultural Studies Department, McMaster University “Learning and Social Difference makes an enormously important contribution to our global understanding of ideology and schooling, particularly with respect to questions of national and international educational policy. The authors’ unapologetic engagement of sociocultural differences is a courageous and vital intervention in an era of neoliberal excess and misguided retro-political diversions. In the face of such challenges, the book should be immensely useful to educators concerned with invigorating a critical pedagogical approach in schools and communities today.” —Antonia Darder, Educational Policy Studies,University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

• 1. Introduction: Critical Pedagogy in Neoliberal Times Part I. International and National Policy Issues 2. The EU Memorandum on Lifelong Learning: Old Wine in New Bottles? 3. Social Difference, Cultural Arbitrary, and Identity: An Analysis of a National Curriculum Document in a No secular Environment Part II. Improving the Face of Schools and Other Pedagogical Sites 4. Changing the Face of the School: Parental Involvement in a Working-Class Community 5. Museum Education as Cultural Contestation Part III. Critical Pedagogy in International Perspective 6. Gramsci and the Unitarian School: Paradoxes and Possibilities 7. Making Sense of a Southern Postcolonial Context: A Freirean Perspective 8. Critical Pedagogy and Citizenship Part IV. Challenges for Critical Pedagogy in a Migratory Context 9. Toward an Antiracist Agenda in Education: The Case of Malta 10. Challenges for Critical Pedagogy: A Southern European Perspective