Stephen Cowden – författare

The Routledge Handbook of Critical Pedagogies for Social Work traverses new territory by providing a cutting-edge overview of the work of classic and contemporary theorists, in a way that expands their application and utility in social work education and practice; thus, providing a bridge between critical theory, philosophy, and social work.Each chapter showcases the work of a specific critical educational, philosophical, and/or social theorist including: Henry Giroux, Michel Foucault, Cornelius Castoriadis, Herbert Marcuse, Paulo Freire, bell hooks, Joan Tronto, Iris Marion Young, Karl Marx, Antonio Gramsci, and many others, to elucidate the ways in which their key pedagogic concepts can be applied to specific aspects of social work education and practice. The text exhibits a range of research-based approaches to educating social work practitioners as agents of social change. It provides a robust, and much needed, alternative paradigm to the technique-driven ‘conservative revolution’ currently being fostered by neoliberalism in both social work education and practice.The volume will be instructive for social work educators who aim to teach for social change, by assisting students to develop counter-hegemonic practices of resistance and agency, and reflecting on the pedagogic role of social work practice more widely. The volume holds relevance for both postgraduate and undergraduate/qualifying social work and human services courses around the world.

The Ethical Foundations of Social Work offers an engaging, theoretically rigorous and practice-orientated grounding in social work ethics. Fully revised and expanded, with the addition of four new chapters on Decolonial Ethics, Social Work and Radicalisation, the Ethics of Recognition and Epistemic Injustice, this book examines when, how and why principles and debates have historically emerged, and explicitly map them onto everyday ethical challenges and situations in social work practice. By presenting and explaining key theories and applying them to real-world practice examples from different regions, The Ethical Foundations of Social Work guides social work students and practitioners in developing ethical reasoning to support ethical decision-making in diverse contexts.Promoting an ethically 'conscious' approach in which principles are integrated flexibly and confidently as tools for critical problem solving, this book serves as a core or supplemental textbook for Social Work Ethics courses at undergraduate or postgraduate levels.

The Ethical Foundations of Social Work offers an engaging, theoretically rigorous and practice-orientated grounding in social work ethics. Fully revised and expanded, with the addition of four new chapters on Decolonial Ethics, Social Work and Radicalisation, the Ethics of Recognition and Epistemic Injustice, this book examines when, how and why principles and debates have historically emerged, and explicitly map them onto everyday ethical challenges and situations in social work practice. By presenting and explaining key theories and applying them to real-world practice examples from different regions, The Ethical Foundations of Social Work guides social work students and practitioners in developing ethical reasoning to support ethical decision-making in diverse contexts.Promoting an ethically 'conscious' approach in which principles are integrated flexibly and confidently as tools for critical problem solving, this book serves as a core or supplemental textbook for Social Work Ethics courses at undergraduate or postgraduate levels.

The Routledge Handbook of Critical Pedagogies for Social Work traverses new territory by providing a cutting-edge overview of the work of classic and contemporary theorists, in a way that expands their application and utility in social work education and practice; thus, providing a bridge between critical theory, philosophy, and social work.Each chapter showcases the work of a specific critical educational, philosophical, and/or social theorist including: Henry Giroux, Michel Foucault, Cornelius Castoriadis, Herbert Marcuse, Paulo Freire, bell hooks, Joan Tronto, Iris Marion Young, Karl Marx, Antonio Gramsci, and many others, to elucidate the ways in which their key pedagogic concepts can be applied to specific aspects of social work education and practice. The text exhibits a range of research-based approaches to educating social work practitioners as agents of social change. It provides a robust, and much needed, alternative paradigm to the technique-driven ‘conservative revolution’ currently being fostered by neoliberalism in both social work education and practice.The volume will be instructive for social work educators who aim to teach for social change, by assisting students to develop counter-hegemonic practices of resistance and agency, and reflecting on the pedagogic role of social work practice more widely. The volume holds relevance for both postgraduate and undergraduate/qualifying social work and human services courses around the world.

This provocative book's starting point is a deep and profound concern about the commodification of knowledge within the contemporary university.Acts of Knowing aims to provide readers with a means of understanding the issues from the perspective of Critical Pedagogy; an educational philosophy which believes that 'knowing' must be freed from the constraints of the financial and managerialist logics which dominate the contemporary university. Critical Pedagogy is important for three key reasons: it conceptualises pedagogy as a process of engagement between the teacher and taught; secondly that that engagement is based on an underlying humanistic view about human worth and value; and thirdly that the 'knowing' which can come out of this engagement needs to be understood essentially as exchange between people, rather than a financial exchange.Cowden and Singh argue that the conception of education as simply a means for securing economic returns for the individual and for the society's positioning in a global marketplace, represents a fundamentally impoverished conception of education, which impoverishes not just individuals, but society as a whole.

This provocative book's starting point is a deep and profound concern about the commodification of knowledge within the contemporary university.Acts of Knowing aims to provide readers with a means of understanding the issues from the perspective of Critical Pedagogy; an educational philosophy which believes that 'knowing' must be freed from the constraints of the financial and managerialist logics which dominate the contemporary university. Critical Pedagogy is important for three key reasons: it conceptualises pedagogy as a process of engagement between the teacher and taught; secondly that that engagement is based on an underlying humanistic view about human worth and value; and thirdly that the 'knowing' which can come out of this engagement needs to be understood essentially as exchange between people, rather than a financial exchange.Cowden and Singh argue that the conception of education as simply a means for securing economic returns for the individual and for the society's positioning in a global marketplace, represents a fundamentally impoverished conception of education, which impoverishes not just individuals, but society as a whole.

This book is the first to focus specifically on the highly original contribution to the field of Critical Pedagogy made by the sometimes «irritable» French philosopher Jacques Rancière. The book represents a significant addition to the growing body of work on Rancière as well as to the field of Critical Pedagogy. While introducing and contextualising Rancière for those unfamiliar with him, the book also develops an understanding of the singularity of his conception of pedagogy for those already acquainted with his work. Central to the book is Rancière’s vision of education as a «practice of equality» – a method grounded in an assumption of intellectual equality between students and teachers. Throughout the chapters of the book, the contemporary relevance of this vision is drawn out for educators in schools and universities, adult and popular educators, as well as for political activists. For anyone and everyone with an interest in teaching and learning, this book contains vital insights for the survival and development of education as a democratic, critical and emancipatory project.

«I am deeply grateful to the author for clarifying the task of education reform in South Korea by capturing the distorted framing of ‘political neutrality of education’ as the core problem of Korean education, and empirically exploring its anti-educational consequences.»(Minjung Kang, Member of the 21st Parliament of South Korea)«The Neutral Education Trap provides a fascinating insight into how the laws and ideologies of teacher neutrality or educational neutrality have made students and citizens de-political and conformist.»(Dongchoon Kim, Professor of SungKongHoe University in South Korea)Despite the remarkable growth of Korean education, this book sheds light on ‘repressive’ Korean education where critical thinking and action, which are essential for living in a democratic society, are considered as threats to society and thus regulated.Drawing on research findings and many case examples, the author particularly highlights that the concept of educational neutrality has been used by conservative forces as a means of shrinking space for the critical in the field of education, which mirrors the very Korean war-political situation.

An extraordinary tribute to the visions of Joyce Canaan, a vibrant academic activist who touched so many with her intellect, her acuity, her humanity and her love. Anyone interested in critical pedagogy has to read this inspiring book that takes so many slices on what the university has become and what it still might be.(Professor Michael Burawoy, University of California, Berkeley)This Festschrift is a beautiful tribute to Joyce Canaan, a woman whose revolutionary intellect and commitment should be treasured and studied, not only remembered. Each contribution illuminates her voice and expands on her spirit. The result is a volume that traces how we learn in the pursuit for justice, through building and sharing knowledge within a community of struggle. This is an important volume for any student of revolutionary and feminist education.(Sara Carpenter, Department of Educational Studies, University of Alberta)After the great global «pause», this volume presents an exciting look forward through the memory of boundary crosser, Joyce Canaan, whose life’s work scrutinized the impact of neoliberal regimes of accountability and the academy’s compliance with these processes. Collectively, the contributors warn of cultural myopia: that cultural near-sightedness that stands in the way of critical engagement with exclusionary mechanisms at both the pedagogic and economic levels.(Sheila Landers Macrine, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth)Joyce Canaan’s life illustrates what it means to be angry at social injustice and to challenge it through theory and practice, spirit and emotion, intellectual rigour, love and humour. This collection movingly and rigorously celebrates her personal contribution through engaging with contemporary issues for critical pedagogy today.(Jim Crowther, Honorary Fellow, University of Edinburgh)Critical Pedagogy and Emancipation: A Festschrift in Memory of Joyce Canaan offers its readers a powerful vision of how radical educational praxis based on genuine dialogue and solidarity can «humanise» both learners’ and teachers’ experience of education and invigorate revolutionary and socialist democratic politics of the Left. The book is written as a celebration of the legacy of Professor Joyce Canaan (1950–2018), a radical intellectual and feminist. The contributors take her project of critical pedagogical scholar-activism as their common point of departure, developing themes – drawing in particular on public sociology, social movement and popular education, as well as critical pedagogy – around critiques of the neoliberal university, popular and working-class educational movements, feminism, anti-racism, climate justice, critical theory and politically engaged teaching, learning and research.

«In a world where environmental challenges, education and activism converge, this is an important addition to the field of art and early childhood education. It identifies a post qualitative research approach and provides an ethical alternative to the difficult and urgent challenges facing future artist educators and researchers in Ireland today.»(Dr Dervil Jordan, Emeritus Professor of Education, NCAD)«This thought-provoking book is an essential read. Lucy’s aesthetic lens offers a fresh perspective for early years professionals’ as it reveals the infinite richness of children’s learning with materials. It is full of AHA moments on the artfulness of everyday moments, you will think differently about the material world.»(Mary Skillington, Lecturer, Atlantic Technical University, Ireland)This work suggests that art has more to offer education than diverting activities grounded by ideas of human exceptionalism. Posthuman perspectives of everyday playful activity in Early Childhood Education and Care, can offer alternative ways of seeing and understanding nature/culture entanglements. Tuning in to young children’s play with materials through a posthuman theoretical lens, can orientate adults’ attention toward the innate artfulness of young children’s everyday moments of learning and growth. This perspective reveals how such moments of intensity and learning always occur in complex relation with diverse others, human and non-human, natural and technological, living and non-living. This emphasises the undeniably rich, yet easily overlooked, relationship with the material and social complexities of the world, upon which all human learning and growth relies.

Mike Neary was a renowned critical educator, Professor of Sociology at the University of Lincoln, and a founding member of the Social Science Centre, Lincoln. He died in January 2023, and in the months prior to his death, the editors of this book met with Mike and, with his guidance, worked with him on a collection of his writings. Mike was once asked why he wrote and he responded, «I write for the future» This book gathers some of his key writings to keep alive the critical legacy which Mike’s life and work embodied. It contains a body of work written by Mike on his own, with his close collaborators, as well as contributions written about him. The work gathered here in this book attests to Mike’s lifelong critical engagement with the work of Karl Marx, and as his work shows, this is an engagement on terms which are uniquely his own, reflecting Mike’s unique vision, his deep egalitarianism, his personal warmth, and his critical intellect.

The Ethical Foundations of Social Work provides an engaging, theoretically rigorous and practice-based grounding in social work ethics. The authors examine when, how and why principles and debates historically emerged, and then explicitly map them onto everyday ethical challenges and situations in social work practice. As such, the book promotes an ethically 'conscious' approach whereby principles can be applied flexibly and confidently as tools for critically responding to problems. Key features: 'Real life' case studies illustrate contemporary ethical dilemmas and help explore the process of critically analysing a situation. Demonstrates the relationship between ethical theory and practice. Shows how contemporary Codes of Practice have emerged from debates. Looks at how individuals and groups relate to each other as well as to social institutions. Boxed material focuses on key issues and summary points, and further reading supports and extends the reader. The Ethical Foundations of Social Work is essential reading for social work students and practitioners looking for a thorough grounding in ethical issues and practice. It will also be of interest more widely in social care and the social sciences.