Francesca Lorenzi

Interplay of Rhizome and Education for Sustainable Development

Abstract One of the central challenges within education for sustainable development (ESD) is in empowering learners to reframe mindsets, particularly those that result in unsustainable behaviours and/or actions. This paper introduces the concept of rhizome articulated by Deleuze and Guattari (1987) and proposes that it can act as a framework for re-conceptualising processes of ESD. Key constructs within the rhizome, such as assemblages, nomadism, war machines and lines of flights, are discussed to highlight their relevance to ESD. The principles of the rhizome (connection, heterogeneity, multiplicity, signifying rupture, cartography and decalcomania) are then examined in the context of six processes necessary for effective ESD outlined by Tilbury (2011), namely, collaboration, dialogue, ‘whole system’ engagement, innovation within curricula, teaching and learning and active and participatory learning. The final section critically considers how this weaving of rhizomatic principles with the processes of ESD impacts on educating for sustainability. The rhizome has the potential to inspire educators and learners alike to become more critically aware of the interconnectivity and disruptive influences within sustainability. In this regard, the discussion ends by concluding that the reconceptualisation of ESD as rhizome or rhizomatic can foster an ontological shift towards perceiving the nature of reality as complex interconnected multiplicities.

Performance anxiety in academia: Tensions within research assessment exercises in an age of austerity

The current recessionary economic climate in Ireland has (re-) awakened a neoliberal agenda that is changing the dynamic of what is being valued within research assessment exercises, specifically across Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (AHSS) disciplines in higher education. Research assessment exercises in AHSS disciplines now place a greater emphasis on measuring performance in terms of quantitative research metrics (such as: bibliometrics, impact factors and/ or citation indices), in an attempt to demonstrate greater accountability and value-for-money within this age of austerity. This practice has the potential to impact negatively on the quality and diversity of research, as well as on the independence and autonomy of those undertaking AHSS research in Ireland and elsewhere. This article critically reviews research assessment exercises, with particular reference to the assessment of educational research in Ireland. It examines issues in the assessment of research within the neoliberal agenda that is evident in Ireland, and elsewhere. For example, in other jurisdictions, the neoliberal drive for accountability has been accompanied by an increase in ‘citation clubs’, a malpractice involving a group of researchers consistently citing each other’s work to increase their citation index. It also challenges the validity of utilising predominantly quantitative research metrics in light of the recent move towards the online publication of research, where the manipulation of meta-data (key words that describe the research) has the potential to unfairly increase the citation indices of those researchers with a better understanding of search optimisation techniques within online contexts. The discussion concludes by summarising some of the emerging and emergent anxieties in relation to assessing research performance within assessment exercises.

The unquantifiable as a measure of good education

This paper develops a dialogue on value and measurement in education that began at a special symposium at ECER in September 2015. The paper seeks to continue the dialogue by commenting on the main respondent’s contribution from Network 9. We hope to clarify how different sides of the assessment debate can be misunderstood by others. What emerges in our paper is suggestive but nonetheless points to how thinking in opposing camps can limit our understanding of assessment as a human activity. Taking up key points made by the respondent to the symposium, we focus on the comparison between the requirements of design in technological problem-solving situations and those that arise when we take seriously the requirements of assessment and valuing as a human activity. This discussion sets up a wider analysis of the problem of ethics across the sciences and humanities historically. While remaining tentative, the discussion points to a particular problem related to our ability to defend practical rationality against the dominance of technical rationality in modern European society. As a way of counteracting the preponderance of more technical measures, the paper concludes by offering a heuristic metaphor for understanding an unquantifiable living practice like education.

Fighting words as revolutionary pedagogy: a Freirean reading of young people’s experiences of a socially-engaged creative writing centre

ABSTRACT The present climate of standardisation and quantification compels schools to deliver outcome-based curricula that measure educational success in terms of academic attainment and students’ ‘ability’ to perform according to set criteria. Efforts to tackle educational inequality encourage conformity rather than address the underlying issues of the varied economic, cultural and social capital of diverse populations. Drawing on Paulo Freire’s theory of critical pedagogy, this paper examines the impact of a Freirean-inspired Dublin-based participatory arts initiative on youth from lower socio-economic backgrounds in Ireland. Focusing on the Freirean concepts of dialogue, democratic relations, voice, creativity and imagination, the authors present a case study of Fighting Words Creative Writing Centre, a socially-engaged participatory arts organisation currently operating in the non-formal education sector in Ireland. The research, a qualitative study conducted over a 12-month period, presents data gathered from participants and other key stakeholders through interviews and questionnaires. The findings indicate that participants in Fighting Words demonstrate increased levels of engagement and motivation, improved confidence and self-esteem, recognition of and pride in creative ability, a stronger sense of self, a greater ability to work collaboratively, and improved literacy.