No description available.

This work is a philosophical examination of the relevance and function of socio-political myths in education. Central to this work is exploring the antinomy between myth and reason. Drawing on the work of philosopher Hans Blumenberg, I defend his view that one should go beyond the myth and reason antinomy and understand myth as an important and unique mode of symbolic orientation that, along with reason and science, is an essential part of humanity’s symbolic interaction with the world. From this view, I explore how socio-political myths are philosophically and practically relevant to the analysis of society in general and education specifically. Of particular importance, I argue that a philosophical understanding of ‘socio-political myth’ should be integrated as part of the critical democratic conception of education. By integrating a substantive philosophical understanding of socio-political myths into the critical democratic framework, a number of important pedagogical implications are revealed. Specifically, this work reveals how two particularly powerful socio-political myths that are currently embedded in the Canadian education system, the meritocratic and neoliberal myths, ultimately erode and undermine values, beliefs and educational practices that are consistent with democracy. In addition, I contend that socio-political myth should be understood as an important and necessary narrative corollary to critical democratic praxis. As such, I conceptualize and defend what I denote as democratic myth as an essential narrative to the development of critical participatory democracy both in and through education. Finally, I conclude this work by examining how democratic myth may be practically developed by teachers and students.

This work is a philosophical examination of the relevance and function of socio-political myths in education. Central to this work is exploring the antinomy between myth and reason. Drawing on the work of philosopher Hans Blumenberg, I defend his view that one should go beyond the myth and reason antinomy and understand myth as an important and unique mode of symbolic orientation that, along with reason and science, is an essential part of humanity’s symbolic interaction with the world. From this view, I explore how socio-political myths are philosophically and practically relevant to the analysis of society in general and education specifically. Of particular importance, I argue that a philosophical understanding of ‘socio-political myth’ should be integrated as part of the critical democratic conception of education. By integrating a substantive philosophical understanding of socio-political myths into the critical democratic framework, a number of important pedagogical implications are revealed. Specifically, this work reveals how two particularly powerful socio-political myths that are currently embedded in the Canadian education system, the meritocratic and neoliberal myths, ultimately erode and undermine values, beliefs and educational practices that are consistent with democracy. In addition, I contend that socio-political myth should be understood as an important and necessary narrative corollary to critical democratic praxis. As such, I conceptualize and defend what I denote as democratic myth as an essential narrative to the development of critical participatory democracy both in and through education. Finally, I conclude this work by examining how democratic myth may be practically developed by teachers and students.

A central question of political philosophy is this: What does justice demand of us, politically and economically? What is the just way to select our political leaders, arrange the institutions of government, and distribute wealth and income? I argue that justice is a matter of giving people what they deserve, and in the political and economic realms these deserts are usually grounded in merit. This foundational principle of meritocracy can command support across ideological lines and is deeply intuitive--as empirical research demonstrates. When it comes time to distribute a scarce resource, so long as we are free of merit-distorting biases and fair equality of opportunity has prevailed, it is hard to see, ultimately speaking, what principle other than merit could possibly guide us. Meritocracy is an alternative to the theories of justice that have dominated the debate. Egalitarians tend to think that the "fortune" of our genetic and social circumstances precludes the possibility of deserving anything at all. Libertarians rely on the free market to distribute wealth and income, but the market produces gargantuan inequalities which fail to give people what they deserve. The egalitarian and the libertarian are wrong. There is a third, better way to arrange political society--a way in which merit is the centerpiece. In Chapter One I lay the conceptual foundation for my meritocratic theory of justice. Chapter Two is my argument for meritocratic politics. Political influence ought to be wielded by people on the basis of their political knowledge--not on the basis of their popularity, or their wealth, or other irrelevant factors. In Chapter Three I consider the compatibility of meritocracy and public reason. Chapter Four is devoted to distributive justice. I argue that economic reward ought to turn on merit-based contributions to productivity, and that we should commit ourselves to establishing equality of opportunity and fighting the pernicious influences of inherited wealth, pedigree, nepotism, and cronyism. Chapter Five is an independent, epistemic argument for meritocracy. I conclude, in Chapter Six, by considering whether there are fundamental principles of justice other than desert and by providing some public policy recommendations. / acase@tulane.edu

The American political system is currently not as meritocratic or functional as it should be. The reasons for this can be traced to problems in five categories of the political landscape: The System, The Elections, The Electorate, The Media, and The Money. These deficiencies cause less able leaders to be voted into office, and make it harder for politicians to generate positive results for their people. By addressing these problems, American democracy can exist in its healthiest form.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-10T19:07:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERT SILVIO BENITEZ 2.pdf: 3040037 bytes, checksum: 1bc9a648c5eee3e67c3b3642aacdf2c4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-03-23 / The purpose of this paper is to analyze the distortions or side effects and damage the implementation of meritocracy in public schools in Foz do Iguaçu, from the priority setting in municipal politics for achieving and exceeding the goals established and agreed by the government federal and municipal government to the assessment performed by an indicator called the Basic education Development Index (Ideb).As sources we used official data on school results of the students in the municipal Foz do Iguaçu education obtained the city Department of Education that municipality, as well as the reports resulting from a special committee of Ideb created by the city council. It follows that the bounded distortion and denounced by the analysis of the US Diane Ravitch author was also present in Foz do Iguaçu, indicating that the use of large-scale assessment systems causes similar effects, wherever it is deployed. / O objetivo deste texto é fazer uma análise sobre as distorções ou efeitos colaterais e os danos da implantação da meritocracia nas escolas municipais de Foz do Iguaçu, a partir da definição da prioridade na política municipal para o alcance e superação das metas estabelecidas e pactuadas pelo governo federal e pelo governo municipal, para a avaliação realizada por meio de um indicador denominado Índice de Desenvolvimento da Educação Básica (Ideb).Como fontes utilizou-se os dados oficiais sobre resultado escolar dos alunos da rede municipal de educação de Foz do Iguaçu, obtidos na Secretaria Municipal de Educação desse município, assim como os relatórios decorrentes de uma Comissão Especial do Ideb criada pela Câmara Municipal. Conclui-se que as distorções delimitadas e denunciadas pela análise da autora norte americana Diane Ravitche apresentam também em Foz do Iguaçu, indicando que a utilização dos sistemas de avaliação de larga escala provoca efeitos similares, onde quer que seja implantado.

Orientador: Antonio Miguel / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Educação / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-23T20:08:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Silva_Alexandre_D.pdf: 7614967 bytes, checksum: 85745be6c340576d5153ae696e934b94 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 / Resumo: Este trabalho é um estudo de característica histórico-filosófica que busca evidenciar a relação de reforço mútuo entre o conhecimento matemático e os discursos meritocráticos - principalmente no âmbito da educação escolar - e defende a tese de que esta relação constitui um dos principais elementos que justificam a supervalorização do ensino da matemática em relação aos de outras disciplinas escolares. Para isso, buscamos, no capítulo 1, apresentar o modo como o discurso meritocrático moderno se estrutura, pondo em evidência a sua forte relação com a educação formal. Neste capítulo, mostramos também o modo como o discurso meritocrático se utiliza do conhecimento matemático, elegendo-o e elevando-o a instrumento de poder ao conferir-lhe o papel quase exclusivo de elemento objetivo de aferição do mérito individual. Nos capítulos 2, 3 e 4 identificamos e desenvolvemos algumas manifestações relacionais, historicamente situadas, que ilustram, de modo contundente, maneiras como o conhecimento matemático é utilizado como instrumento de medida do mérito individual. De forma um pouco mais detalhada, temos, no capítulo 2, a apresentação de um estudo dedicado ao período grego antigo, período este que antecipa as características fundamentais do culto ao mérito individual moderno (através da transfiguração do longínquo termo areté) e que vai fundar - através do pensamento platônico presente n'A República - os rudimentos da relação entre o conhecimento matemático e a meritocracia. No capítulo 3, enfatizamos dois movimentos que vão defender a meritocracia como base para a reforma social. O primeiro é o projeto republicano francês do século XVIII que, influenciado fortemente pelo pensamento iluminista, vai introduzir o exame de seleção para a École Polytechnique e constitui-lo como o principal símbolo da apologia ao mérito pessoal. O segundo é a criação do exame SAT, nos Estados Unidos da América, que também vai ser um dos signos da meritocracia escolar estadunidense do século XX. De acordo com nossas análises, tais movimentos promoveram o estabelecimento de uma política examinatória com base na qual o conhecimento matemático vai ocupar um lugar de indiscutível reconhecimento e distinção. Já o capítulo 4 é dedicado à questão do conhecimento matemático e a sua relação com os discursos meritocráticos, na conjuntura educacional brasileira. Nele, apresentamos diversas situações relacionais que apontam e contribuem para a defesa do argumento de que a educação básica nacional é fortemente inspirada pelo e para o ideal meritocrático e que a justificação da presença do conhecimento matemático em tal contexto se deve ao fato de atuar, tradicionalmente, como um dos principais elementos de medida do mérito educacional, tanto das pessoas quanto dos sistemas. No capítulo 5, com base em uma perspectiva bourdieusiana, apresentamos uma análise crítica das proposições e pretensões do discurso meritocrático escolar, sobretudo no que se refere ao modo como ele se apropria do conhecimento matemático como elemento aferidor do mérito individual. Finalizamos o trabalho com uma breve reflexão sobre a concepção atualmente corrente de meritocracia, bem como sobre o papel que o conhecimento matemático desempenha como colaborador dessa ordem de organização social. / Abstract: This work is a study of historical and philosophical feature that seeks to highlight the mutually reinforcing relationship between mathematical knowledge and meritocratic discourse - especially in the field of school education - and defends the thesis that this relationship is one of the main elements that justify the overvaluation of the teaching of mathematics in relation to other school subjects. For this, we seek, in chapter 1, to indicate how the modern meritocratic discourse is structured, highlighting its strong relationship with formal education. In this chapter, we also show how the meritocratic discourse using mathematical knowledge, electing him and bringing him to an instrument of power to give you the almost exclusive role of objective element of benchmarking individual merit. In chapters 2, 3 and 4 we have identified and developed some relational manifestations, historically situated, which illustrate so forceful ways that mathematical knowledge is used as a measuring tool of individual merit. In somewhat more detail, we have, in chapter 2, the presentation of a study dedicated to the ancient Greek period, a period that anticipates the fundamental characteristics of the modern cult of the individual merit (by transfiguration of ancient term arete) which will establish - platonic thought this through in The Republic - the rudiments of the relationship between mathematical knowledge and meritocracy. In chapter 3, we emphasize two movements that will uphold meritocracy as the basis for social reform. The first is the design of the eighteenth century French republican who strongly influenced by enlightenment thought, will introduce the selection examination for the École Polytechnique and constitutes it as the main symbol of apology to personal merit. The second is the creation of the SAT exam in the United States of America, which will also be one of the signs of the U.S. school meritocracy of the twentieth century. According to our analysis, such movements have promoted the establishment of a policy of examinations based on which mathematical knowledge will occupy an undisputed recognition and distinction. The chapter 4 is devoted to the question of mathematical knowledge and its relationship with the meritocratic discourse in Brazilian educational scenario. In it, we present several relational situations that link and contribute to the defense argument that the national basic education is strongly inspired by and for the meritocratic ideal and that the justification for the presence of mathematical knowledge in this context is due to the fact that work traditionally as one of the key elements of measuring educational merit, both people and systems. In chapter 5, a perspective based on Bourdieu, we present a critical analysis of proposals and claims of the school meritocratic discourse, particularly with regard to how he appropriates the mathematical knowledge as an element sealer individual merit. We finished the job with a brief reflection on the concept of meritocracy currently underway, as well as on the role that mathematical knowledge plays as a collaborator of this kind of social organization. / Doutorado / Ensino e Práticas Culturais / Doutor em Educação

This thesis presents a case study of how curriculum differentiation operates at Lincoln High School, an urban public school in the Midwestern United States with a highly regarded International Baccalaureate (IB) program. I use a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods to investigate the systems of beliefs and practices that structure Lincoln's tracking system. Like many American high schools, Lincoln has rejected the traditional practice of assigning all students to overarching curriculum 'tracks' on the basis of their measured aptitude, instead allowing students to choose between courses covering different content at different levels of difficulty in most academic subjects. The school thus offers an excellent opportunity to examine within-school stratification in light of the declining popularity of traditional tracking and the increasing degree to which students control their own coursetaking. Within-school stratification is particularly worthy of continued attention because it qualifies the mythology of the American dream, which holds that schools give students from all backgrounds an opportunity to achieve upward social mobility. I use interviews, observations, and document analysis to explore how curriculum differentiation structures academic and social hierarchies at Lincoln, what teachers and students believe about how to achieve school success and upward mobility, and how Lincoln reconciles its egalitarian ideals with the continued existence of de facto tracking. I argue that Lincoln's approach to curriculum differentiation strikes a tenuous balance between academic excellence and equity for all students. Although student choice dominates the course scheduling process, Lincoln's curriculum still bears many of the hallmarks of tracking: the IB structures a clear academic and social hierarchy of courses, and students tend to follow predictable patterns of coursetaking within each subject, with few opportunities for upward mobility. Nonetheless, teachers and students almost unanimously subscribe to the local achievement ideology, which holds that any student, regardless of prior academic achievement, can and should participate in the IB as long as he or she is willing to work hard. This radical promise of equal opportunity allows participants to characterize Lincoln as a force for equality and social justice. However, the school's continued reliance on sorting its students, even in the face of evidence that tracking reproduces racial and class inequalities, suggests that the achievement ideology serves primarily to legitimate stratification, not to undo it. These findings have important ramifications for research in tracking, detracking, and stratification, and for practice in all schools seeking to negotiate the tension between excellence and equity.

The attempts to understand discontent and populist surges in the West, especially in recent years, led to an abundance of research, comments, and speculations. Some thinkers asserted that such events are the symptoms of a cleavage restructuration in liberal democratic societies that would be centered around the question of merit. Research generally links higher education and general success in life to satisfaction and relative support of the established order. On the contrary, lesser educated and successful individuals tend to question this state of affairs. A cleavage revolving around success and education would consequently replace previous divisions, such as the usual right-left opposition, but also come on top of other schisms, mainly spatial ones. This thesis offers to verify the existence of such a cleavage with a case study of the Yellow Vests movement, in France. Analyzing the discourse of the representants of the meritocracy, Emmanuel Macron and his government, it finds trends that support the existence of such an underlying conflict.

No description available.