A phenomenological psychology study of university teachers' lived experience of being pedagogical in neoliberalism

Li, Y. and Liu, X. (2022) A phenomenological psychology study of university teachers' lived experience of being pedagogical in neoliberalism. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 895635. (doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.895635) (PMID:35936349) (PMCID:PMC9354741)

Abstract

Against a background of promoting the industrialization of higher education in Macau due to COVID-19's damage to the territory's major industry—gambling, the present study adopted phenomenological psychology to explore teachers' lived experience of being pedagogical in a university with a neoliberal vision and mission. Using a general structure, the findings revealed that teachers encountered challenges being pedagogical. These challenges emerged not only due to the university's corporate management, but more importantly because of a shift in perceptions—where students became like customers and teachers became self-interested—which made pedagogical relationships difficult to establish. Furthermore, teachers were found to develop negative emotions when their pedagogical actions or intentions conflicted with neoliberalism. The findings suggest that pedagogy in higher education is being challenged and transformed.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This study is funded by Guangdong Planning Office of Philosophy and Social Science (GD21YJY08).
• Keywords: Phenomenological psychology, pedagogical tact, lived experience, casino capitalism, neoliberalism.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Li, Yulong
• Authors: Li, Y., and Liu, X.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Education
• Journal Name: Frontiers in Psychology
• Publisher: Frontiers Research Foundation
• ISSN: 1664-1078
• ISSN (Online): 1664-1078
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2022 Li and Liu
• First Published: First published in Frontiers in Psychology 13: 895635
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License