Hello Annebelle

This is dependent to a large degree on context, in particular, national context. In Norway, for example, where I work as a social, health and educational researcher, I see little evidence of creeping neo-liberalism in schools. A minority of students attend private senior high schools in order to obtain higher grades and there are a few private schools for students from, for example the UK, whose parents are working in Norway. Otherwise education is free at all levels, including at university. 

However, the curse of jump-the-queue private healthcare is everywhere to be seen. From personal experience, I was shocked to find that on 2 separate occasion, two state GPs (i.e. general practitioners who do not take private patients) referred me to private medical specialists., even though I received the treatment provided free of charge. As a staunch opponent of private medicine, I do not approve of this, but had no choice in the matter. In the cases referred to, the Norwegian state paid private doctors to treat me.

Some private medical clinics and insurance companies are openly advertising opportunities, at a price of course, for patients to get same day or next day referral to a private specialist who may or may not also be working in the public sector. The upshot is that clinical need is relegated to a lower position because money trumps it. Invariably, the poorest suffer, and please believe me when I tell you that one in ten Norwegians are officially poor, based on the very reliable EU median poverty line. 

All best wishes and good luck in your important research.

PS. I have just one thing to add. Neo-liberalism in the public sector, compromises social justice because it not only places money above clinical, educational or other need, it also forces, for example,  public sector patients to wait longer for diagnosis and treatment, sometimes with tragic results.

Yes. Ariful Haq Kabir in my contacts list will answer this question better. He's working on neoliberalism in education, although at the HE level

Anna:

I think yes. Here's a link to current research in RG that confirms my yes:

https://www.researchgate.net/publicliterature.PublicLiterature.search.html?type=keyword&search-keyword=neoliberalism+in+education&search-abstract=&search=Search

Best regards,

Debra

I am puzzled  that you use the word "still" in the question.

It implies that there was a time when it was.  Was it?

I am of the opinion that teachers should have general knowledge across disciplines and domains. Yet, I do not think that ITE/pre-service teachers truly need it, as though it is a requirement. But this is just my hunch.  Perhaps it could be found out with a research.

The point is not if the teaching is still relevant or not but more if this topic remains one of the students need?.. if your assumption is that neoliberalism is influencing the people's life  including your students (ITE) for instance access to health and education then you may want your students develop some competencies to critical reflect on this domain and be able later to teach about it .. the other consideration concerns  your learning objectives and this is probably a  more complex step when developing a curricula ...

In a general manner, the implications of neo-liberalism may be interesting to analyze with pre-service teachers, namely concerning the current aims and meaning of education. Indeed, subjects such as competitiveness in class, the effects of notes and of standardized test on pupils' performance, etc. are an important part of the processus vs. results debate on education. However, whether it is more relevant than other subjects, I don't know...

Wow Debra, 738 publications found!  Thanks.  Interesting particularly to see the different perspectives given from the many locations they focus on - and important to remember to see the effects of neoliberalism in global as well as local terms.  

Thanks for everyone's responses, and thanks Raqib, I'll follow up your lead.  I'm not so much wanting to focus on 'neoliberalism' as a 'subject', but as a way to help teachers build a critical and historically informed perspective on how education policy and practice has led us to today's realities.  

Jae, the 'still' comes from my recognition that the effects of neoliberalism have become the new 'norm', and that student teachers find it very difficult to critique this new norm - it is much easier to accept the practices that have helped you to get to where you are (in higher education, on the way to a life long, well respected career, all on your own merits...).   

Valerie, yes, but I am seeing it as more of a part of the sociological aspect of pre-service teaching with which I am involved - and in relation to pedagogy, assessment, to teaching in inclusive ways, which, I believe, requires an understanding of how our system(s) can become inherently exclusive.  I guess this also relates to Marion's comment, and yes, back to the impacts on the world order.

Perhaps I could also ask, does anyone else draw from neoliberal theory with similar ends in mind?  And if so, which theory in particular?  (I still draw primarily from Harvey 2005, Stephen Ball's and Michael Apple's work with education, and other scholars writing critically about the perils of neoliberalism since the 1980s).  Is it about time to move on/away from this work?

I really like Christine Sleeter's work on neoliberal assaults on teacher education and equity. Check out this article. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0742051X08000656

 Thank you Christine Yeh, really helpful article I haven't seen, with an excellent lot of references too.  Certainly relevant to my interests.

Is teaching about neoliberalism and its effects still relevant to Initial Teacher Education (ITE/pre-service) students?

Kia ora Annabelle,

I believe it to be very relevant especially in adult teaching and learning environments, and with pre service teachers. Neoliberalism is a discourse and one that has absolutely no regard for social impact. Student teachers need to learn about privatisation etc and the impact this has on the education of the masses.

 Hi Sheryl Lee Ferguson, thanks for your response.  Yes, I believe that too, my issue is the impact that teaching about it has on pre service teachers who have done very well out of the current system, and in fact cannot really see any reason to critique what it is that has worked well enough for them.  Whether it needs to be approached differently, or whether we need to find a better way to problematise the current milieu, that resonates better with (particularly) our younger students.. 

Kia ora Annabelle

,In an indigenous environment, neoliberalism serves as a reminder of past injustices and ensures that we as a people don't make or try our best to avoid making decisions that could impact on us, socially, culturally, spiritually and emotionally. Although not a subject to be taught within the primary or early childhood sectors, relevance is clear for the adult learner.

I think that neoliberalism failed as a historic project and therefore you need your education to young people

I'm wondering now, whether naming this milieu as 'neoliberalism' is helpful, or whether in fact I am really wanting to teach the skills of 'critical reflexivity', of teaching for and about 'social justice', and of being able to critically analyse and question the system in which we work.  Perhaps we become distracted by the title, when we really should be questioning the policy and practices?

Not sure I understand the question in the sense of depends on who is being taught? Also in which location.  In England we witness some of the most pervasive neoliberal policies with an opening up of teacher education to the 'market'.  Stephen Ball's use of the terms 'endogenous' and 'exogenous' forms of privatisation are, sadly, increasingly becoming helpful when trying to unpack what is happening in ITE in England.  

Hello Gerry. Would you please clarify Balls´ two forms of privatization. All best wishes Paul

Hello Annebelle

This is dependent to a large degree on context, in particular, national context. In Norway, for example, where I work as a social, health and educational researcher, I see little evidence of creeping neo-liberalism in schools. A minority of students attend private senior high schools in order to obtain higher grades and there are a few private schools for students from, for example the UK, whose parents are working in Norway. Otherwise education is free at all levels, including at university. 

However, the curse of jump-the-queue private healthcare is everywhere to be seen. From personal experience, I was shocked to find that on 2 separate occasion, two state GPs (i.e. general practitioners who do not take private patients) referred me to private medical specialists., even though I received the treatment provided free of charge. As a staunch opponent of private medicine, I do not approve of this, but had no choice in the matter. In the cases referred to, the Norwegian state paid private doctors to treat me.

Some private medical clinics and insurance companies are openly advertising opportunities, at a price of course, for patients to get same day or next day referral to a private specialist who may or may not also be working in the public sector. The upshot is that clinical need is relegated to a lower position because money trumps it. Invariably, the poorest suffer, and please believe me when I tell you that one in ten Norwegians are officially poor, based on the very reliable EU median poverty line. 

All best wishes and good luck in your important research.

PS. I have just one thing to add. Neo-liberalism in the public sector, compromises social justice because it not only places money above clinical, educational or other need, it also forces, for example,  public sector patients to wait longer for diagnosis and treatment, sometimes with tragic results.

Hi Paul Stephens, thanks for your response.  Interesting as your perspective from Norway translates very well to Australian conditions - that is, in contrast - our education system and policy environment has been shifted irreparably by neoliberal doctrine, with privatisation, testing, standardised measurement and competition being primary concerns for teacher practice.  It is not all bad news, equity and diversity is certainly emphasised, but social justice and the overall imbalance between those at the top and bottom of the heap need much ongoing critically informed work.  Many critical researchers in Australia do look to places such as Norway with envy!

I certainly agree health brings up many comparable issues, and it is interesting to hear that in your experience, healthcare is particularly inequitable and unfair.  As someone with personal experience also with the health system, I think we are generally lucky in Australia, but there are still problems and the public health system needs advocates to keep up the fight for health equity and access.  And as for our pitiful statistics regarding our indigenous people, (both in terms of education and of health) we must never stop considering the necessity of being constantly vigilant that everyone is entitled to the bast care available.

Hello Annebelle

I conducted research recently, published in a collection of essays (flyer available on my RG publications) on the rights of undocumented immigrants to free healthcare in Europe. Our (there were 3 researchers; two of them human rights lawyers in Norway) findings surprised us. In the UK, my home nation, but I work in Norway) it is illegal for a doctor to ask any patient for evidence of nationality; e.g. a passport. Clinical need is the one and only criterion.

The prime minister, Cameron, recently asked National Health Service professionals to watch out for so-called health tourists; namely, persons who allegedly travel to the UK in order to obtain free operations etc. To their credit, the doctors and nurses told Cameron: "We are health professionals; not border control. So forget it mate!" In the UK and Australia, I think that neoliberalism, although widespread, is having a tough time - thank goodness! - in most public sector areas. 

In Norway, however, neoliberalism, though insidious and creeping, is universally hated by the Norwegian population; and rightly so. I earn a good income as a researcher and I pay hight taxes. The upshot is you get what you pay for: universal, very low cost childcare (in theory, from birth, if parents choose this option) and nominal charges in health services. All education, including university, is free. Pensions and unemployment benefits are generous; yet unemployment rates are very low. Yes, things could be better. I would like to see, as the French economist Thomas Pickety (tipped for a Nobel prize)  does, proportional tax on capital gains, which today is a mere fixed rate of only 28%, whereas income tax from employment is rightly progressive, so that the more you earn, the more you pay.

Finally Annabelle, I would say that neoliberalism in Norway is generally very unpopular because the state purse has built a better and more socially just alternative: an egalitarian welfare state. Best wishes, Paul

I think it is very important for teacher education students, indeed for all citizens, to learn more about, and critically reflect on, the effects of neoliberalism.  Henry Giroux has written eloquently and extensively on this topic.

I agree with the to colleagues above. It is essential that we as teacher educators thisis from my upcoming chapter in Springer, Simon; Birch, Kean; MacLeavy, Julie (2016). The Handbook of Neoliberalism. London: Routledge.Chapter 26-Pedagogies of Neoliberalism by Sheila L. Macrine.

This chapter responds to Giroux’s (2006) call to all public intellectuals to take action and to develop democratic emancipatory projects that challenge neoliberalism’s power, dominance and oppression, and to defend democracy, democratic public life and the public sphere in these uncertain times. In response, academics, scholars, and activists are asked to be seen and to see themselves as public intellectuals who provide an indispensable service to the world, and to resist the narrow confines of academic labor by becoming multi-literate in a global democracy in ways that not only allow access to new information and technologies but also enable us to become border-crossers.