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The Problems with the Future: Educational Futurism and the Figural Child
Author(s) -
Greteman Adam J.,
Wojcikiewicz Steven K.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of philosophy of education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.501
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1467-9752
pISSN - 0309-8249
DOI - 10.1111/1467-9752.12110
Subject(s) - temporality , argument (complex analysis) , sociology , epistemology , philosophy of education , set (abstract data type) , focus (optics) , work (physics) , education theory , pedagogy , aesthetics , higher education , political science , philosophy , law , mechanical engineering , chemistry , biochemistry , physics , optics , computer science , programming language , engineering
This article contributes to work on temporality in education. Challenging the future‐oriented focus in contemporary education, the authors question how ideas and assumptions regarding the future—centred on the Child—can set narrow boundaries around children in schools. In carrying out this task, we employ the work of L ee E delman and J ohn D ewey to examine the educational ramifications of the focus on the future, which we call ‘educational futurism’. The argument seeks specifically to explore how educational futurism imposes limits on educational discourse and privileges a certain future—making it unthinkable to imagine ways outside of such a privileged future. Juxtaposing L ee E delman and J ohn D ewey, we draw out connections and disconnections between their disparate philosophies, illustrating the ways in which educational futurism ignores or overlooks the lived experiences of children. We conclude by briefly noting the queerness of children and the impact of such queerness on broadening discussions of the future of children and their educations.