Weak Utopianism in Education: From Political Theory to Pedagogical Practice

Arment, Ainsley

Pryor, Caroline

The Fourth Mid Term Conference of Heads of Universities was hosted by Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand and took place between November 12th and 14th 1997. The occasion brought together heads and representatives of universities and of major national, regional and international bodies whose concern lies with higher education world-wide and in all its manifestations. The purpose of their meeting was to debate the general theme 'The Universities' Responsibilities to Society'. It is a theme which over the past decade has been gathering weight and momentum. Higher education is taking on more students, employing more teachers and researchers and is advancing the frontiers of knowledge at an ever-increasing pace. Included in this publication are all the keynote and plenary addresses which dealt with the three broad sub-themes of the Conference. These are: university and development: anticipating change&#x3b; universities and the international knowledge enterprise&#x3b; academic freedom and university autonomy: pre-requisites for the university meeting its responsibilities.

This book opens up new theoretical perspectives and practical possibilities to analyze the learning opportunities emerging in the transitional zones between educational institutions and workplaces. International contributors draw on a range of ideas developed within constructivistic, socio-cultural and activity theory and focus in different ways on the processes of transition, transfer and boundary crossing as central to learning, especially in vocational and professional education contexts. The book begins with four chapters which locate the renewed interest in transfer and the emerging interest in boundary crossing in the context of knowledge society in terms of the following: the historical development of learning theories, the theoretical advances made in socio-cultural approaches as regards learning, transfer and boundary crossing, and sociological approaches to links between school and workplace learning. Part II contains seven chapters that present studies on learning and transfer in different domains of vocational and professional education. Part III presents three studies that describe and analyze learning in workplaces. The chapters of these three parts report on a range of empirical and developmental studies which have developed new 'tools for learning and transfer' in vocational education. The book ends with an epilogue consisting of a critical reflection on the earlier chapters in relation to how they approach two key transfer issues - the relationship between school knowledge and the knowledge acquired in working life, and the relationship between transfer and boundary crossing at the individual and collective levels. The chapters of this book are based on original research undertaken by members and invited experts of a European COST Action A 11 Working Group 2 which includes researchers from twelve different countries.

Paul, James

Ozmon, Howard