Education for Social Justice Seminar: Prof Helen Gunter

Research Seminar: Investigating Critical Education Policy Studies

Prof Helen M Gunter, University of Manchester, UK.

Wednesday, 18th May 12.15 pm

In this paper I provide a conceptualisation of thinking criticality in education policy studies. I do this through a review of projects I have been involved within over the past 40 years, and I develop a number of themes regarding system and workforce redesign through to intellectual histories and methodological matters. I focus on what it means to do criticality as a researcher in regard to ontological and epistemological positioning, where I present an approach based on description, science, entrepreneurialism, and scholarship. I bring this up to date by arguing for a political sociology of education policy, where I examine how these projects and themes have generated major issues for research and debate.