Distance learning and the transformation of working conditions in teaching

ICTs and the commodification of education in Brazil

Bibliographic Data

ID21189790
AuthorsSpencer Wolff (0000-0003-0243-2504, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul), Simone Wolff Simone Wolff, Sergio Antunes de Almeida Sergio Antunes de Almeida, Sergio Antunes de Almeida (Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul)
Year2013
Volume7
Issue1
Publication date2013-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueWork Organisation Labour & Globalisation (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1745-641X • E-ISSN: 1745-6428
PublisherPluto Journals (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.13169/workorgalaboglob.7.1.0051
OpenAlexW2753503931
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited3

As capital transforms education into one more site of investment and accumulation, it has been attempting to introduce into the teaching-learning process methods of work management that combine the Japanese Toyotist philosophy of participative management with Taylorist practices of work organisation. This paper draws on research conducted at a Brazilian private institution providing digitally-supported distance learning to show the connection between capital and labour in this process. It examines how the reification of the teacher contributes to the commodification of education. Teaching is just one example of a sphere in which creative labour is being commodified. These methods thus have parallels in other sectors, and the paper concludes that there is a need for further research into other activities in which capital is attached to creative work in order to generate value, Such research could contribute to a better general understanding of the capital-information process

Business · Commercialization · Commodification · Economics · Market economy · Pedagogy · Political science · Public relations · Sociology · Management and Organizational Studies · Social and Economic Solidarity · Marketing