Dr Neil Hopkins is Senior Lecturer in Education at the University of Bedfordshire where he teaches philosophy of education. He is also Branch Secretary of the Bedford Branch of the PESGB. Here, Neil discusses his book, Citizenship and Democracy in Further and Adult Education (Springer, 2013).
Questions: Naomi Hodgson, Reviews Editor, Journal of Philosophy of Education
Why did you decide to write Citizenship and Democracy in Further and Adult Education?
One of my main research interests is the relationship between political philosophy and education. Citizenship education has become prominent in compulsory education in England yet very little has been written about citizenship and post-compulsory education. I wanted to make a contribution to this area of research.
What’s the main aim of the book, and why is it important now?
The book has two aims. Firstly, it attempts to incorporate citizenship education within post-compulsory vocational programmes in England. I argue that vocational education in England is very narrow in scope currently; there is little exploration of the social, cultural and ethical issues associated with professions, trades and crafts. The book makes a case for addressing this imbalance by ‘embedding’ citizenship education into vocational programmes (MacIntyre’s writing on the concept of a ‘practice’ is important here).
Parallel to this, I also explore what I call ‘the self-help tradition’ in adult education. The book looks at how adult students have often created their own educational provision because of a lack of support from the state. This act of initiating and maintaining educational structures is itself a form of citizenship education. The work of Chantal Mouffe was important here, particularly her ideas on democracy as a process of conflict. Adult students have often had to struggle for their right to an education and this finds an echo in Mouffe’s writing.
Secondly, the book makes a case for the need for democratic colleges. I argue that citizenship education is best facilitated within institutions that are themselves democratic. I use Joshua Cohen’s work on deliberative democracy as a model for how colleges could support democratic procedures and practices.
And what is it that draws you, personally, to this area of research?
I worked in further and adult education for 12 years, initially as an adult literacy teacher before becoming a college lecturer in teacher training. As an adult literacy teacher, my work often took me into what would be considered ‘non-traditional’ educational spaces (factories, women’s refuges, etc.) I was fascinated how education can often be a source of genuine empowerment for students in these environments. My role as a teacher trainer required me to carry out observations in a very diverse range of vocational contexts. I suppose the book is partly a way of trying to marry these two educationally formative experiences for me.