Our Schools/Our Selves: Spring 2008

Capitalizing on Crisis in Schools and Society

This issue of Our Schools/Our Selves examines some of the ways in which various crises in education (whether legitimate or manufactured) are taken advantage of—for financial, political or ideological gain. This provides an opportunity to explore versions of “disaster capitalism” from the perspective of education and educational institutions. How has the neo-liberal agenda played out in the education systems in Canada and the U.S.? How is it reshaping universities and academia? Does it have implications for the rise of private tutoring, the Turnaround initiative implemented in “struggling” schools, or the prevalent testing and standardization agenda? This issue also explores the role schools are playing—or have been told they must play—in order to address a number of “crises” (created, perceived or actual) in broader society. Of course, this often has a number of implications, predictable or unintended, for the school and its relationship with students, teachers and the community.