The Emperor's New Clothes

Globalisation and e-learning in Higher Education

Datos Bibliográficos

ID5820173
AutoresSue Clegg (Sheffield Hallam University), Alison Hudson (0000-0002-4278-2536, Sheffield Hallam University), John R Steel (0000-0001-5967-0699, Sheffield Hallam University), John Steel (0000-0003-1217-0990)
Año2003
Volumen24
Número1
Páginas39-53
Fecha de publicación2003-01-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaBritish Journal of Sociology of Education (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0142-5692 • E-ISSN: 1465-3346
EditorialTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/01425690301914
OpenAlexW2162182379
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas27
Referencias citadas22

Two closely related and over-determining myths have shaped government inspired policy towards Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and education: the one is the irresistible power of globalisation, the other is the determining effect of technology. The result of both is to present the acceptance of e-learning throughout the education system as inevitable. The space left for practitioners in Higher Education is either to embrace the new media enthusiastically or to stand aside and watch its inevitable unfolding. In this paper we develop a critical stance towards the dominant discourse and suggest that the shape of new media in education can be, and is being, contested. We argue against both technological determinism and the passive acceptance of the neo-liberal globalisation paradigm. No technologies are neutral. They are always the products of real historical social relations as well as the emergent technical capacities they provide. ICTs as artefacts and social processes are already inscribed with gendered assumptions and the accumulation strategies of their purveyors. Moreover, the conditions under which e-learning is being introduced into education are shaped by managerialist agendas. Placing pedagogy at the forefront is therefore to struggle over the terms and shape of the media adopted. We can see this at both the micro and macro level. Our paper exposes the emperor's new clothes while arguing that there is space for critical discourses that can more meaningfully engage with socially available technologies

Emperor · Technological determinism · Critical Theory and Philosophy · Global Educational Policies and Reforms · Higher Education Governance and Development