Events

25 June 2010

Reflections on critical education studies at Deakin University 1977-1999

Lecture

A seminar by Professor Richard Tinning, School of Critical Studies in Education:

During the years 1977–1999 I worked at Deakin University in the Faculty of Education. Across that time Deakin established a considerable national and international reputation in critical education studies. Scholars like Stephen Kemmis, Richard Bates, Jane Kenway, Fazil Rizvi, Jill Blackmore, John Smyth and many others built the reputation across the decade 1977- 1987. In 1987, the Australian Government introduced what it called the Unified National System (UNS), the purpose of which was to create a one-tier tertiary education system. The effect of the UNS was to precipitate numerous institutional amalgamations and restructures which in turn reshaped the working environment at Deakin and other universities around the country.

In this seminar I will discuss the context that nurtured the productive period of research and scholarship at Deakin during the decade 1977-87. I will then discuss the post 1987 context that gave rise to some 20 academics leaving Deakin to take up chairs or senior academic posts in other universities. Many of these individuals, and some who stayed at Deakin, have contributed to a forthcoming book Education, social justice and the legacy of Deakin University: Reflections of the Deakin diaspora. I will use some of their reflections and my own experiences to provide a window into life at Deakin during those two decades and what can be learned, if anything, regarding building and sustaining a critical intellectual community in increasingly difficult times.

Please RSVP to Stacey Davis by Friday 25 June

Education

Organisation:

Faculty of Education, University of Auckland