Towards Teaching in Public

Reviews / Votes

'This book is an inspiration. It elegantly combines historical, sociological and philosophical analysis of the role of universities with an argument for reconfiguring the teacher-student roles and relationships. Anyone reading it will be convinced of the both the desirability and feasibility of working for university education for the public good.' Monica McLean, Associate Professor of Higher Education, University of Nottingham, UK 'Unlike many books by groups of academics defending universities against government termination of funding for the arts and humanities while tripling fees in a free market that will lead to privatisation, Mike Neary and his colleagues are not striking poses to be more radical than their rivals in publication but are proposing practical ways forward for higher education that will keep inquiry and reason alive in dark times. They are not doing this in an elite university which will continue to attract rich home and overseas students come what may but in a 'Modern University', where they are pioneering student-centred approaches to research and scholarship across the arts and sciences and especially in social science, where they build on the precedents of 'reinvention' and revolt, student-led undergraduate research and Independent Study. Their initiative and example of 'teaching in public', detailed in this book, embodies an ideal for contemporary intellectuality which deserves the attention of students and staff across the sector and also in schools and colleges, as well as of the wider public appalled at the Coalition government's callous cuts and barbaric disregard of the central role of the university in public life.' Patrick Ainley, Professor of Training and Education in the School of Education and Training, University of Greenwich, UK 'A timely book for all who want to step back and reflect on current controversies and debates about the meaning and purpose of higher education. It is a well-informed and wide-ranging exploration of pedagogical issues contextualised in the philosophical question about the meaning and purpose of higher education in the 21st century, and will appeal in particular to all who are committed to learning and teaching in universities and who have ever felt demoralised, demotivated and diminished by current political and economic exigencies. This book challenges the reader to think beyond the current state of higher education to more radical approaches to knowledge sharing, learning and teaching. The authors do not promise an easy route, but they do open up new possibilities for those in academia brave enough to explore them.' Lin Norton, Emeritus Professor, Faculty of Education, Liverpool Hope University, UK 'We have become so used to the idea that the public value of higher education must be tied to state provision that it is refreshing to see a set of authors willing not only to challenge that false piety but also offer some constructive proposals that promise to advance the cause of democratic education in a world where the state is no more dependable an ally than the market.' Steve Fuller, Professor of Sociology and Auguste Comte Chair in Social Epistemology, University of Warwick, UK The question the book raises is whether [public or private institutions] remains an effective endeavor in a perpetually struggling economy. A secondary question concerns higher educational institutions as the loci of learning - teacher, student, and community. In answering these two fundamental questions, the contributors of this volume contend that the university could serve as the central hub of political, societal, and cultural reform. -- Rob O'Lynn, Kentucky Christian University * Reflective Teaching *