Table Of ContentSPRINGER BRIEFS IN EDUCATION
Neil Hopkins
Democratic
Socialism and
Education: New
Perspectives on
Policy and Practice
SpringerBriefs in Education
We are delighted to announce SpringerBriefs in Education, an innovative product
type that combines elements of both journals and books. Briefs present concise
summaries of cutting-edge research and practical applications in education.
Featuring compact volumes of 50 to 125 pages, the SpringerBriefs in Education
allowauthorstopresenttheirideasandreaderstoabsorbthemwithaminimaltime
investment. Briefs are published as part of Springer’s eBook Collection. In
addition, Briefs are available for individual print and electronic purchase.
SpringerBriefs in Education cover a broad range of educational fields such as:
Science Education, Higher Education, Educational Psychology, Assessment &
Evaluation, Language Education, Mathematics Education, Educational
Technology, Medical Education and Educational Policy.
SpringerBriefs typically offer an outlet for:
(cid:129) An introduction to a (sub)field in education summarizing and giving an over-
view of theories, issues, core concepts and/or key literature in a particular field
(cid:129) A timely report of state-of-the art analytical techniques and instruments in the
field of educational research
(cid:129) A presentation of core educational concepts
(cid:129) An overview of a testing and evaluation method
(cid:129) A snapshot of a hot or emerging topic or policy change
(cid:129) An in-depth case study
(cid:129) A literature review
(cid:129) A report/review study of a survey
(cid:129) An elaborated thesis
Both solicited and unsolicited manuscripts are considered for publication in the
SpringerBriefsinEducationseries.Potentialauthorsarewarmlyinvitedtocomplete
and submit the Briefs Author Proposal form. All projects will be submitted to
editorial review by editorial advisors.
SpringerBriefsarecharacterizedbyexpeditedproductionscheduleswiththeaim
for publication 8 to 12 weeks after acceptance and fast, global electronic
dissemination through our online platform SpringerLink. The standard concise
author contracts guarantee that:
(cid:129) an individual ISBN is assigned to each manuscript
(cid:129) each manuscript is copyrighted in the name of the author
(cid:129) theauthorretainstherighttopostthepre-publicationversiononhis/herwebsite
or that of his/her institution
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/8914
Neil Hopkins
Democratic Socialism
and Education: New
Perspectives on Policy
and Practice
123
Neil Hopkins
Faculty of Education andSport
University of Bedfordshire
Bedford, UK
ISSN 2211-1921 ISSN 2211-193X (electronic)
SpringerBriefs inEducation
ISBN978-3-030-18936-5 ISBN978-3-030-18937-2 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18937-2
©TheAuthor(s),underexclusivelicencetoSpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG2019
Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsaresolelyandexclusivelylicensedbythePublisher,whether
thewholeorpartofthematerialisconcerned,specificallytherightsoftranslation,reprinting,reuseof
illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and
transmissionorinformationstorageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilar
ordissimilarmethodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publicationdoesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexemptfrom
therelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this
book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the
authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained
hereinorforanyerrorsoromissionsthatmayhavebeenmade.Thepublisherremainsneutralwithregard
tojurisdictionalclaimsinpublishedmapsandinstitutionalaffiliations.
ThisSpringerimprintispublishedbytheregisteredcompanySpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG.
Theregisteredcompanyaddressis:Gewerbestrasse11,6330Cham,Switzerland
How can the bird that is born for joy
Sit in a cage and sing?
How can a child, when fears annoy,
But droop his tender wing
And forget his youthful spring?
O! father and mother, if buds are nipp’d
And blossoms blown away,
And if the tender plants are stripp’d
Of their joy in the springing day,
By sorrow and care’s dismay,
How shall the summer arise in joy,
Or the summer fruits appear?
Or how shall we gather what griefs destroy,
Or bless the mellowing year,
When the blasts of winter appear?
William Blake, from ‘The Schoolboy’,
SongsofInnocenceandofExperience(1794)
for Dara
Acknowledgements
IwouldliketothankmyHeadofSchool,JulietFern,forresearchtimeinwhichto
complete the first draft of this book and colleagues at the University of
Bedfordshire’s Faculty of Education for their support and encouragement during
the writing of this project. Constructive criticism from reviewers during the peer
review process was invaluable regarding improvements made to the text. I also
would like to thank Astrid Noordermeer for her editorial support at Springer.
As always, this book couldn’t have been completed without the loving support
offamily and friends.
Hertfordshire, UK Neil Hopkins
March 2019
ix
Introduction
This book’s main aim is to reintroduce ideas associated with democratic socialism
and their application to current trends in state education across jurisdictions. Over
the past several decades, there has been a trend towards neoliberal policy and
practice in relation to education. This has shown itself through the increasing
emphasis on competition between educational institutions on the issue of parental
and student choice, and the ranking of these institutions according to measurable
outcomes and achievements. Indeed, such rankings have now escalated to the
internationallevelthroughthecoordinationofPISA,TIMSSandotherinternational
education assessments. Alongside this, there has also been a particular focus on
education as a way of ensuring students are employable at graduation and that the
institutions themselves adhere to tight monetary efficiencies and responsibilities.
Paradoxically, neoliberalism has often led to increased government control, par-
ticularly in the area of the curriculum, to ensure the agenda of employability,
efficiency and measurability is carefully maintained.
Ademocraticsocialistperspectiveseekstochallengemanyoftheseideas.Inthe
book,Iwillarguethatviewingschoolsascompetitorsdiminishestheirroleashubs
oftheirgivencommunities.Theneoliberaltrendoftenpushestotheperipherythose
public goods that schools and colleges facilitate and epitomise. If we are hoping
that state education, in the manner of John Dewey, acts as a laboratory in which
students learn to collaborate and cooperate as emerging citizens in both the edu-
cationalcommunityandthewidercommunity,thenitsconsumerisationpotentially
negatesthathope.Myview,asademocraticsocialist,isthateducationissomething
more than institutional competition and student employability and I will make the
case that citizenship and other social/public goods are at least as important in any
student’scompulsoryeducation.Tothatend,thecommunitiesinwhichschoolsand
collegesliveneedtobegiventheagencytocontrolanddecideaspectsofeducation
in their area—the education system needs to reflect and enhance the wider demo-
cratic culture.
IhaveusedtheworkofNorbertoBobbio,ChantalMouffeandAxelHonnethas
important thinkers in the democratic socialist tradition. Norberto Bobbio was an
academic at the University of Turin and was an important interpreter of Marx and
xi
xii Introduction
Gramsci in relation to contemporary ‘western’ democracies. His books include
LiberalismandDemocracy(2006)andWhichSocialism?(2007).Bobbio’sworkis
influential inthedebate between liberalism anddemocratic socialism, anditisthis
part of his work I will draw upon particularly. Chantal Mouffe has taught at a
number of universities (including the University of Essex and the University of
Westminster) and, like Bobbio, has worked on the interface between democratic
socialism and liberalism. Mouffe can be distinguished from Bobbio in her critique
of philosophical liberalism (in the work of John Rawls and others) and her advo-
cacy of radical democracy. Mouffe is an important voice for ‘agonism’, the belief
that democracies are inherently in tension between competing groups and that,
historically, political progress and emancipation has been as a result of conflict
rather than consensus. Mouffe has also explored how democratic socialism and
liberalism interact with current strains within feminist political theory. I will be
using The Return of the Political (2005) and Agonistics: Thinking the World
Politically (2013). Axel Honneth is currently a Professor at the University of
Frankfurt and Columbia University. In his book, The Idea of Socialism (2017),
Honneth has challenged the over-emphasis socialism has placed, as a tradition, on
economicrelationsandtheownershipofthemeansofproduction.Becauseofthis,
in Honneth’s view, concepts such as individual rights and democratic systems of
governance have played a minor role in the struggle for economic emancipation.
Democraticsocialisminthetwenty-firstcenturyneedstograpplewithapoliticsthat
ismoreidentity-basedandcentredaroundrights.Honneth’sdiscussionofDeweyis
especiallypertinentintherelationshipbetweendemocraticsocialismandeducation.
I will be using the work of these three thinkers in a dialogue with other
philosophers and educationalists to explore how contemporary democratic social-
ismcaninformthecurrenteducationallandscape.EachofthewritersIhavechosen
tofocusonhasvitalthingstosay,whetherit’sregardingthepoliticalinfrastructure,
therelationshipsbetweenpeopleorouraimsandgoalsascommunities.Aswillbe
shown, there are varying levels of agreement and disagreement between them on
the nature of democratic socialism and its place in contemporary societies. My
intention in the chapters that follow is to extend this conversation to the specific
area of state education.
*
In Chap. 1, I will set the scene with regard to education and educational systems.
One of the main questions under discussion will be how far educational systems
have followed a ‘neoliberal’ or marketised path in their endeavour to meet indi-
vidualstudentneeds,fosterasenseofcommunity,improvestandardsandmaintain
a competitive ‘edge’ vis-à-vis their perceived competitors. Are these educational
aims and ideals mutually compatible or incompatible? In what sense is a state
education there to meet the needs of individual students and in what sense is it a
vehicle for perceived national priorities? I will use this chapter to explore the
current educational landscape before moving onto an exploration of the political
and philosophical theories I will adopt to critique education systems.
