In the history of Brazilian education, it is only since the 1980s, during the redemocratization of Brazil, that proposals for public education in a socialist perspective have been presented. The past two decades have been marked by a growing interest in Gramscian thought, mainly in the educational field, making possible the elaboration of…

The proponents of critical pedagogy criticize the earlier Neo-Marxist theories of education, arguing that they provide only a "language of critique". By introducing the possibility of human agency and resistance, critical pedagogists attempt to develop not only a pedagogy of critique, but also to build a pedagogy of hope. Fundamentally, the aim of…

John Hull's recent educational writings have included several on what he calls the "money culture". This is analysed and criticised in this article. Hull offers a Marxist and a neo-Marxist account of the role of money in western societies utilising the labour theory of value, false consciousness and the materialist interpretation of history. It is…

The title of this article comes from the editorial written for this journal by Olive Banks, Len Barton, Roger Dale, David Hargreaves, Roland Meighan, Ivan Reid and Graham Vulliamy (Banks et al. 1980, 4) that appeared in its first issue, and set out its remit. The seven scholars who wrote that editorial pledged to "publish high quality work of…

In this essay, Scott Ellison examines a line of critical thought in educational theory that has unapologetically sought transcendence in the face contemporary social and political conditions. Under the banner of critical pedagogy, Peter McLaren sees this current period of globalization as representing a worldwide historical crisis requiring a…

The author argues for a restrictive conception of ideology which is rationally tenable within a broader framework of Marxist educational studies. (MT)

In this essay, the author argues that the potential for achieving the goals of critical pedagogy would be enriched if teachers had a fuller understanding of the ties between critical pedagogy and Christian liberation theology. While many are familiar with Paulo Freire's roots in Marxism, the fact that his vision of praxis and conscientization…

The death knell has not been rung, nor have the conceptual boundaries of Marxism been delineated. Giroux has overlooked many of the more sophisticated strands of Marxism. (MT)

The author discusses how the Marxist tradition bridges the fact-value dichotomy in curriculum studies and how the bridging affects explanatory and prescriptive analysis. (MT)

Argues that the potentially powerful concept of writing as a social activity might become an instrument for the reproduction of existing social relations. Summarizes Lev Vygotsky's ideas about "self." Argues that the increasing interest in the social dimensions of writing can cultivate strategies for scholars and teachers to resist…

The global agro-food system relies heavily on inorganic nitrogenous fertilizers. In addition to consuming enormous amounts of energy, this manufactured input contributes to the accumulation of reactive nitrogen in the biosphere and undermines the biological basis of agricultural production itself. While technological inefficiency and population…

This article focuses on research about welfare state restructuring in education and its implications for the teaching profession. Several things are described and discussed. However, amongst the most important are pan-European developments in the social relations of production in education over the past 50 years with respect to the…

This article analyzes Dale's attempt to reconstruct a classical version of Marxist ideology and finds its onesided. Dale replies in an immediately following article. (MT)

It is said that aestheticians today, including art critics and philosophers, are yearning for some kind of salvation for contemporary art. This salvation would come in the form of a return to aesthetic experience that would act as a foundation enabling resistance to pure discursive reflection and intertextuality. These debates concerning…

In this article, the author presents his views on Mike Cole's and Heather Mendick's comments on his book titled "Education and Society: Issues and Explanations in the Sociology of Education." In his review, Cole stated that the author's critical realism is seen as an advance on Marxism, of which the author is dismissive. The author refutes that…