TY - JOUR
T1 - Control and Responsibility
T2 - Taking a Closer Look at the Work of Ensuring Well-Being in Neoliberal Schools
AU - Matthiesen, Noomi
PY - 2018/9/1
Y1 - 2018/9/1
N2 - This paper argues that the neo-liberal work of schooling includes a focus on producing subjectivities with a high level of well-being. This is done by drawing on evidence based therapeutic techniques that are adjusted to a school setting. These are termed ‘therapeutic socio-educational technologies. It is argued that these practices adhere to the neo-liberal logic of increased competition, standardization and testing, focusing on the individual child. There are a number of problems connected to these well-being enhancing technologies. These include the risk of producing passive and submissive subjectivities, that are understood as needing therapy by default; pathologizing the discomfort and struggles that are an inherent part of learning; the fragmentation of the child, focusing directly on the child rather than on the content matter at hand; producing an overly mechanic and technified pedagogy, focusing on output, as well as laying claim to much control in a risk-filled relational endeavor.
AB - This paper argues that the neo-liberal work of schooling includes a focus on producing subjectivities with a high level of well-being. This is done by drawing on evidence based therapeutic techniques that are adjusted to a school setting. These are termed ‘therapeutic socio-educational technologies. It is argued that these practices adhere to the neo-liberal logic of increased competition, standardization and testing, focusing on the individual child. There are a number of problems connected to these well-being enhancing technologies. These include the risk of producing passive and submissive subjectivities, that are understood as needing therapy by default; pathologizing the discomfort and struggles that are an inherent part of learning; the fragmentation of the child, focusing directly on the child rather than on the content matter at hand; producing an overly mechanic and technified pedagogy, focusing on output, as well as laying claim to much control in a risk-filled relational endeavor.
KW - Neo-liberal education
KW - Therapeutic education
KW - Therapeutic socio-educational technologies
KW - Well-being
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85045147440&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s12124-018-9418-x
DO - 10.1007/s12124-018-9418-x
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85045147440
SN - 1932-4502
VL - 52
SP - 438
EP - 448
JO - Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science
JF - Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science
IS - 3
ER -