Inclusive spaces: Re-imagining critical pedagogy as an experiential approach within the neoliberal university
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.71957/7jynnt14Abstract
In this paper, I explore the potential of critical pedagogy as an experiential approach within the neoliberal university to support inclusivity. I argue that the university is neoliberal in its promotion of individual and self-interested self-gain at the expense of a more democratic and collective understanding of success. Critical pedagogy is founded on principles of democratic ways of working for social justice, and I argue that operationalised through active experiential learning, it can be used to support students to develop the skills to be democratic and inclusive both in the classroom and beyond.
References
Ball, S. (2012). ‘Performativity, Commodification and Commitment: An I-Spy Guide to the Neoliberal University’ British Journal of Educational Studies, 60(1), p.17-28.
Ball, S. J. (2015). ‘Living the Neo-liberal University’ European Journal of Education, 50(3), p.258-261.
Biesta, G. (2015). ‘On the two cultures of educational research, and how we might move ahead: Reconsidering the ontology, axiology and praxeology of education’ European Educational Research Journal, 14(1), p. 11-22.
Evans, M. (2020). ‘Navigating the neoliberal university: reflecting on teaching practice as a teacher-researcher-trade unionist’ British Journal of Sociology of Education, 41(4), p.574-590.
Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. London; Penguin Books.
Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. London; Penguin Books.
Giroux, H.A. (2020). On Critical Pedagogy (Second Edition). London; Bloomsbury.
Kolb, D. A. (2015). Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development (Second Edition). Pearson Education Inc.
Marginson, S. (2024). ‘Problems of the public good in higher education: building the common amid sovereign individualism, capital and the state’ Higher Education, 89, p.29-52.
Naidoo, R. and Williams, J. (2015). ‘The neoliberal regime in English higher education; charters, consumers and the erosion of the public good’ Critical Studies in Education, 56(2), p.208-223.
Olssen, M. and Peters, M.A. (2005). ‘Neoliberalism, higher education and the knowledge economy: from the free market to knowledge capitalism’ Journal of Education Policy, 20(3), p. 313-345.
Peseta, T., Barrie, S. and McLean, J. (2017). ‘Academic life in the measured university: pleasures, paradoxes and politics’ Higher Education Research and Development, 36(3), p.453-457.
Pye, J. (2025). ‘Practising in an evaluative culture: an autoethnographical study of pedagogical practice in higher education’ Teaching in Higher Education https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2025.2449648
Seal, M. and Smith, A. (2021). Enabling Critical Pedagogy in Higher Education. St. Albans; Critical Publishing.
Shor, I. (1996). When Students Have Power. London: The University of Chicago Press.
Tight, M. (2019). ‘The neoliberal turn in Higher Education’ Higher Education Quarterly, 73, p.273-284.
Watson, D. (2014). The Question of Conscience: Higher education and personal responsibility. London; IOE Press.
Wildson, J. Allen, L. Belfiore, E., Campbell, P. Curry, S., Hill, S. Jones, R. Kain, R. Kerridge, S. Thelwall, K. Tinkler, J., Viney, I., Wouters, P., Hill, J. and Johnson, B. (2015). The Metric Tide: Report of the Review of the Role of Metrics in Research and Management [online] Available at: https://www.ukri.org/publications/review-of-metrics-in-research-assessment-and-management/ Accessed 2nd June 2025.
Zembylas, M. (2013). ‘Critical pedagogy and emotion: working through ‘troubled knowledge’ in posttraumatic contexts’ Critical Studies in Education, 54(2), p.176-189.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Jane Pye (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
