Presentation on the work of Karl Maton, epistemological access and social justice from Brenda Leibowitz
Those who attended the seminar were convinced that issues of knowledge and access to knowledge are key to a research project on social justice in higher education. This framework was said to be a useful 'toolkit' for analyzing curriculum and even classroom practice. There were some questions, however, about whether this line of thinking is sufficient to pave the way for students to gain 'access' to knowledge. Are constructs such as legitimation code theory able to pave the way for lecturers to successfully induct students into powerful knowledges and academic practices? This is especially the case when some writers in the same fold as Maton, for example Wheelahan, are rather critical of more experiential approaches to teaching and learning. (see Lisa Wheelahan, 2012, Why Knowledge Matters in Curriculum: A social realist argument. Routledge.)
What do others think?
Those who attended the seminar were convinced that issues of knowledge and access to knowledge are key to a research project on social justice in higher education. This framework was said to be a useful 'toolkit' for analyzing curriculum and even classroom practice. There were some questions, however, about whether this line of thinking is sufficient to pave the way for students to gain 'access' to knowledge. Are constructs such as legitimation code theory able to pave the way for lecturers to successfully induct students into powerful knowledges and academic practices? This is especially the case when some writers in the same fold as Maton, for example Wheelahan, are rather critical of more experiential approaches to teaching and learning. (see Lisa Wheelahan, 2012, Why Knowledge Matters in Curriculum: A social realist argument. Routledge.)
What do others think?