Critical social science as a research methodology in universities in times of crisis
- Authors: Smyth, John
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Qualitative Research Journal Vol. 20, no. 4 (2020), p. 351-360
- Full Text: false
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- Description: Purpose: To consider what a criticalist qualitative research methodology might look like for universities in the context of the contemporary COVID-19 crisis. Design/methodology/approach: This polemical paper explores the rationale for a dramatic recasting of the approach needed in qualitative research methodology to address the challenges of the crisis-ridden times we live in. Broadly conceived of as an “evolving criticality”, to borrow from Kincheloe, the paper addresses the kind of disposition, orientation or state of mind required that provides the space and opportunities in universities within which this strategic methodological reinvention might occur. After explaining what a research methodology committed to the notion of “criticality” might look like, the paper argues that to enact this we need to start with the immediacy of our own academic work and then emanate to other public spheres. Findings: The polemical exchange engaged in by this paper presents the underpinnings of how critical social science might be deployed in both reconceiving how we understand the purpose of research in universities and changing the nature of academic work. Research limitations/implications: These exist only in so far as university academics are prepared to embrace what is being argued for to change the status quo. Practical implications: The broader critical social science methodology being argued for in this paper is using a wider framing to a form of critical ethnography that has the potential to enable academic workers to extricate themselves from the ruinous situation brought on by the neoliberal paradigm that has been so drastically exacerbated by COVID-19. Originality/value: While the paper rehearses some existing ideas of critical social science, the novelty of the papers lies in the way these are applied to the COVID-19 crisis within which universities have become embroiled. © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited.
Teachers doing their 'economic' work
- Authors: Smyth, John
- Date: 2004
- Type: Book chapter
- Relation: The RoutledgeFalmer reader in sociology of education Chapter 12 p. 240-261
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Listening to student voice in the democratisation of schooling
- Authors: Smyth, John
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Political Approaches to Educational Administration and Leadership Chapter p. 240-251
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Debating new labour education policy
- Authors: Smyth, John , Gunter, Helen
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Radical Reforms : Perspectives on an Era of Educational Change Chapter p. 182-195
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Student voices 'echo' from the ethnographic field
- Authors: Robinson, Janean , Down, Barry , Smyth, John
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Leaving the field : methodological insights from ethnographic exits Chapter 8 p. 126-138
- Full Text: false
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The Iraq war, 'sound science,' and 'evidence-based' educational reform : How the Bush Administration uses deception, manipulation, and subterfuge to advance its chosen ideology
- Authors: Gordon, Stephen , Smyth, John , Diehl, Julie
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies Vol. 6, no. 2 (2008), p.
- Full Text: false
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- Description: In this article we describe how the Bush administration has used deceptive techniques and subterfuge to force its ideology upon the American people. We provide examples of similar techniques used to manipulate public opinion and national policy in three broad areas: national defense, science, and education. Our example from national defense policy, as one might guess, relates to the centerpiece of the Bush Administration, the Iraq War, and in particular the gathering and presenting of 'evidence' on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction in order to gather public support for the war. The build up to the war provides examples of fabricated evidence, dire warnings, and manipulation of U. S. intelligence agencies, all orchestrated by the White House. The breadth of deception and manipulation of science by the Bush Administration is quite amazing, cutting across policy on endangered species, climate change, reproductive health, stem cell research, dietary science, and environmental pollution. This is a story of suppressing and tampering with scientific findings, intimidating scientists, manipulating the membership of scientific committees, and allowing representatives of industry and social conservative groups to write Administration policies or legislative proposals. We go on to show how many of the same techniques used by the Bush Administration in the build up to the Iraq War and in science have been adapted to control education in the U. S. under the guise of "evidencebased educational reform." We document Administration efforts to "scrub" educational documents to delete content that does not agree with the "Administration"s ideology, promote private management and private schools at the expense of public schools, andforce schools to adopt commercial curricula favored by the Administration. Bush's attempts to control public education are explained by his allegiance to two major constituencies, social conservatives and the corporate sector, and his commitment to what we refer to as neoconservative federalism. We show how these three factors merge as the underlying basis of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and an array of other Administration efforts to control education.
- Description: 2003006323