Feminist utopian thinking: solutions to the "gender problem" in education?

Forde, C. (2006) Feminist utopian thinking: solutions to the "gender problem" in education? In: Peters, M. and Freeman-Moir, D.J. (eds.) Edutopias: New Utopian Thinking in Education. Series: Bold visions in educational research, 5 (5). Sense Publishers: Rotterdam, The Netherlands, pp. 145-162. ISBN 9789077874141

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Abstract

Issues of access and attainment, two central concerns in education policy have become deeply gendered ideas. Whether it is a concern about the decline in boys' attainment in western democracies or access to basic education by girls in developing countries, these scenarios highlight the problematic nature of the concept of 'gender' in policy futures in education. The demand for access to education has been a historical claim within feminist thinking. However, there is currently a tendency to caricature improvement to girls' and women's educational opportunities made in the early years of second wave feminism as operating now to diminish the opportunities and achievement of boys. We seem locked into an understanding of "gender" within education policy that focuses on the relative positions and successes of girls versus boys, women versus men. This chapter draws from feminist utopian thinking to explore the possibilities of different ideological constructions of gender and to consider the implications of these for educational policy and practice.

Item Type:Book Sections
Keywords:Gender, feminist utopianism, feminism and education
Status:Published
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Forde, Prof Christine
Authors: Forde, C.
College/School:College of Social Sciences > School of Education
Publisher:Sense Publishers
ISBN:9789077874141
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