Ivor Goodson – författare

Well-being studies is an exciting and relatively new multi-disciplinary field, with data being gathered from different domains in order to improve social policies. In its reliance on a truncated account of well-being based implicitly on neoclassical economic assumptions, however, the field is deeply flawed. Departing from reductive accounts of well-being that exclude the normative or evaluative aspect of the concept and so impoverish the attendant conception of human life, this book offers a new perspective on what counts normatively as being well. In reconceptualising well-being holistically, it presents a fresh vista on how we can consider the meanings of human life in a manner that also serves as a source of constructive social critique. The book thus undertakes to invert the usual approach to the social sciences, in which the research is required to be objective in terms of methodology and subjective with regard to evaluative claims. Instead, the authors are deliberately objective about values in order to be more open to the subjectivities of human life. Happiness, Flourishing and the Good Life thus seeks to move away from economic considerations’ domination of all social spaces in order to understand the possibilities of well-being beyond instrumentalisation or commodification. A radical new approach to the human well-being, this book will appeal to philosophers, social theorists and political scientists and all who are interested in human happiness.

Education, Capitalism and the Global Crisis focuses on Andrew Gamble’s book The Spectre at the Feast and its analysis of the background to, conduct of, and possible consequences and opportunities brought about by, the current global economic crisis. The views expressed represent a range of responses to Gamble’s analysis and examination of the crisis, both in different locations and from different perspectives. They reflect upon the broader social, political and even emotional dimensions of what is taking place as well as trying to understand the true nature of the crisis. What is key is how the state sets about ‘managing’ this crisis. The authors seek to answer a wide range of pertinent questions, such as: to what degree will the state continue to balance between economic and fiscal management as against the needs of the weak and vulnerable? What should be and what is the role of state welfarism in a time of recession? How will different nation states respond to this crisis? What is the role of education policy in these complicated times? What is the role of the education state?This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Education Policy.

This book offers a remarkable range of research that emphasises the need to analyse the shaping of curricula under historical, social and political variables. Teachers’ life stories, the Cold War as a contextual element that framed curricular transformations in the US and Europe, and the study of trends in education policy at transnational level are issues addressed throughout. The book presents new lines of work, offering multidisciplinary perspectives and provides an overview of how to move forwards.The book brings together the work of international specialists on Curriculum History and presents research that offers new perspectives and methodologies from which to approach the study of the History of Education and Educational Policy. It offers new debates which rethink the historical study of the curriculum and offers a strong interdisciplinary approach, with contributions across Education, History and the Social Sciences.This book will be of great interest for academics and researchers in the fields of education and curriculum studies. It will also appeal to educational professionals, teachers and policy makers.

Originally published in 1985. ‘Europe‘ and the EEC seemed to be virtually synonymous for the majority of our population and the ambivalent feelings many people have about the Community, together with the consistently bad press it received in the UK, seemed to engender a hostility in educational circles towards teaching about Europe as a whole. However, if one of the aims of education is to increase children’s awareness, tolerance and understanding of the world about them; to widen their experience and horizons; then teaching about the wider world must have a place in the curriculum. This book argues for education about Europe, not necessarily in favour of Europe, breaking down the national insularity of the UK curriculum and using Europe as one convenient ‘window on the wider world’.

Originally published in 1988. The history of curriculum has now become an extremely important area of curriculum research. The rehabilitation of historical studies has challenged mainstream psychological and philosophical theories of curriculum and it argues for a reformulation of the current dominance of scientific management models of curriculum changes. This book presents comparative data from a range of countries which help define the methodologies employed in curriculum history. It also explores some of the major curriculum issues uncovered in historical studies.

Originally published in 1985. ‘Europe‘ and the EEC seemed to be virtually synonymous for the majority of our population and the ambivalent feelings many people have about the Community, together with the consistently bad press it received in the UK, seemed to engender a hostility in educational circles towards teaching about Europe as a whole. However, if one of the aims of education is to increase children’s awareness, tolerance and understanding of the world about them; to widen their experience and horizons; then teaching about the wider world must have a place in the curriculum. This book argues for education about Europe, not necessarily in favour of Europe, breaking down the national insularity of the UK curriculum and using Europe as one convenient ‘window on the wider world’.

Originally published in 1988. The history of curriculum has now become an extremely important area of curriculum research. The rehabilitation of historical studies has challenged mainstream psychological and philosophical theories of curriculum and it argues for a reformulation of the current dominance of scientific management models of curriculum changes. This book presents comparative data from a range of countries which help define the methodologies employed in curriculum history. It also explores some of the major curriculum issues uncovered in historical studies.

In recent decades, there has been a substantial turn towards narrative and life history study. The embrace of narrative and life history work has accompanied the move to postmodernism and post-structuralism across a wide range of disciplines: sociological studies, gender studies, cultural studies, social history; literary theory; and, most recently, psychology. Written by leading international scholars from the main contributing perspectives and disciplines, The Routledge International Handbook on Narrative and Life History seeks to capture the range and scope as well as the considerable complexity of the field of narrative study and life history work by situating these fields of study within the historical and contemporary context. Topics covered include: • The historical emergences of life history and narrative study• Techniques for conducting life history and narrative study • Identity and politics • Generational history • Social and psycho-social approaches to narrative history With chapters from expert contributors, this volume will prove a comprehensive and authoritative resource to students, researchers and educators interested in narrative theory, analysis and interpretation.

This book offers a remarkable range of research that emphasises the need to analyse the shaping of curricula under historical, social and political variables. Teachers’ life stories, the Cold War as a contextual element that framed curricular transformations in the US and Europe, and the study of trends in education policy at transnational level are issues addressed throughout. The book presents new lines of work, offering multidisciplinary perspectives and provides an overview of how to move forwards.The book brings together the work of international specialists on Curriculum History and presents research that offers new perspectives and methodologies from which to approach the study of the History of Education and Educational Policy. It offers new debates which rethink the historical study of the curriculum and offers a strong interdisciplinary approach, with contributions across Education, History and the Social Sciences.This book will be of great interest for academics and researchers in the fields of education and curriculum studies. It will also appeal to educational professionals, teachers and policy makers.

Well-being studies is an exciting and relatively new multi-disciplinary field, with data being gathered from different domains in order to improve social policies. In its reliance on a truncated account of well-being based implicitly on neoclassical economic assumptions, however, the field is deeply flawed. Departing from reductive accounts of well-being that exclude the normative or evaluative aspect of the concept and so impoverish the attendant conception of human life, this book offers a new perspective on what counts normatively as being well. In reconceptualising well-being holistically, it presents a fresh vista on how we can consider the meanings of human life in a manner that also serves as a source of constructive social critique. The book thus undertakes to invert the usual approach to the social sciences, in which the research is required to be objective in terms of methodology and subjective with regard to evaluative claims. Instead, the authors are deliberately objective about values in order to be more open to the subjectivities of human life. Happiness, Flourishing and the Good Life thus seeks to move away from economic considerations’ domination of all social spaces in order to understand the possibilities of well-being beyond instrumentalisation or commodification. A radical new approach to the human well-being, this book will appeal to philosophers, social theorists and political scientists and all who are interested in human happiness.

In recent decades, there has been a substantial turn towards narrative and life history study. The embrace of narrative and life history work has accompanied the move to postmodernism and post-structuralism across a wide range of disciplines: sociological studies, gender studies, cultural studies, social history; literary theory; and, most recently, psychology. Written by leading international scholars from the main contributing perspectives and disciplines, The Routledge International Handbook on Narrative and Life History seeks to capture the range and scope as well as the considerable complexity of the field of narrative study and life history work by situating these fields of study within the historical and contemporary context. Topics covered include: • The historical emergences of life history and narrative study• Techniques for conducting life history and narrative study • Identity and politics • Generational history • Social and psycho-social approaches to narrative history With chapters from expert contributors, this volume will prove a comprehensive and authoritative resource to students, researchers and educators interested in narrative theory, analysis and interpretation.

Education, Capitalism and the Global Crisis focuses on Andrew Gamble’s book The Spectre at the Feast and its analysis of the background to, conduct of, and possible consequences and opportunities brought about by, the current global economic crisis. The views expressed represent a range of responses to Gamble’s analysis and examination of the crisis, both in different locations and from different perspectives. They reflect upon the broader social, political and even emotional dimensions of what is taking place as well as trying to understand the true nature of the crisis. What is key is how the state sets about ‘managing’ this crisis. The authors seek to answer a wide range of pertinent questions, such as: to what degree will the state continue to balance between economic and fiscal management as against the needs of the weak and vulnerable? What should be and what is the role of state welfarism in a time of recession? How will different nation states respond to this crisis? What is the role of education policy in these complicated times? What is the role of the education state?This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Education Policy.

Ivor Goodson and Scherto Gill analyse and discuss a series of trans-disciplinary case studies from diverse cultures and argue that narrative is not only a rich and profound way for humans to make sense of their lives, but also in itself a process of pedagogical encounter, learning and transformation. As pedagogic sites, life narratives allow the individual to critically examine their ‘scripts’ for learning which are encapsulated in their thought processes, discourses, beliefs and values. Goodson and Gill show how narratives can help educators and students shift from a disenfranchised tradition to one of empowerment. This unique book brings together case studies of life narratives as an approach to learning and meaning-making in different disciplines and cultural settings, including teacher education, adult learning, (auto)biographical writing, psychotherapy, intercultural learning and community development. Educators, researchers and practitioners from diverse disciplines will find the case studies collected in this book helpful in expanding their understanding of the potential of narrative as a phenomenon, as methodology, and as pedagogy.