Neoliberalism in Websites of Schools of Education and Teacher Education Programs: Comparison between Canadian and American Public Universities

Authors

  • Doron Yosef-Hassidim Lakehead University
  • Manu Sharma University of Wisconsin-River Falls

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11575/ajer.v64i4.56594

Keywords:

schools of education, teacher education programs, websites, marketing

Abstract

This study analyzes websites of university-based Schools of Education and Teacher Education Programs, and points to the (intentional or unintentional) active role these institutions play in maintaining and supporting neoliberal ideology. The study uses a qualitative method to examine websites of 30 public universities, 15 American and 15 Canadian. Using a grounded theory approach, five neoliberal-related features are identified: marketing, business terminology, employability, economic orientation, and outcome-based approach. The latter two features were found only in the American websites. The paper discusses implications for each of the features, as well as for the differences between American and Canadian institutions. Teacher educators are encouraged to take the findings seriously as there is a concern that neoliberal trends and practices will continue to seep more deeply into Teacher Education Programs.

Cette étude analyse les sites Web de programmes universitaires de formation des enseignants et fait ressortir le rôle actif (intentionnel ou non) que jouent ces institutions dans le maintien et l’appui du néolibéralisme. L’étude emploie une méthode qualitative pour examiner les sites Web de 30 universités publiques, dont 15 américaines et 15 canadiennes. Une approche théorique à base empirique a permis d’identifier cinq éléments liés au néolibéralisme : le marketing, le vocabulaire commercial, l’employabilité, l’orientation économique et une approche axée sur les résultats. Les deux derniers éléments étaient présents seulement dans les sites Web américains. L’article discute des retombées de chacun des éléments et évoque les différences entre les institutions américaines et canadiennes. On encourage les formateurs d’enseignants de prendre ces résultats au sérieux car on craint que les tendances et les pratiques néolibérales continueront à s’infiltrer de plus en plus dans les programmes de formation des enseignants.

Mots clés: établissements de formation, programmes de formation des enseignants, sites Web, marketing

Author Biographies

Doron Yosef-Hassidim, Lakehead University

Doron Yosef-Hassidim is an Instructor at Lakehead University in the Department of Graduate Studies and Research in Education. He has academic and professional background in engineering and in education, with a M.A. in Education and B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering. Within his professional experience he was a high-school STEM teacher in Israel and in Canada, and also served in several teacher leadership and professional development positions. He was a visiting scholar at the University of New Mexico and at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His research interests include educational theory, foundations of education, teacher education, and political and social philosophy of education. His new book, K–12 Education as a Hermeneutic Adventurous Endeavor: Toward an Educational Way of Thinking, has been published by Routledge.

Manu Sharma, University of Wisconsin-River Falls

Manu Sharma is an Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls in the Teacher Education Department, where she teaches foundational courses which focus on equity and diversity issues in education. Dr. Sharma has previously taught a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses and supported field placements at Brock University, University of Toronto, and University of Windsor; in addition, she has also worked for the Toronto District School Board and in international settings as a public educator. Her research interests and publications in the field of teacher education are based on equity initiatives, teacher development, social justice pedagogy, deficit thinking, and international teaching experiences. Dr. Sharma has recently published in Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, Education and Urban Society, and Teacher Learning and Professional Development.

Downloads

Published

2019-03-07

How to Cite

Yosef-Hassidim, D., & Sharma, M. (2019). Neoliberalism in Websites of Schools of Education and Teacher Education Programs: Comparison between Canadian and American Public Universities. Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 64(4), 411–440. https://doi.org/10.11575/ajer.v64i4.56594

Issue

Vol. 64 No. 4 (2018): Winter: (Theme Issue)

Section

ARTICLES

License

UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA COPYRIGHT LICENSE AND PUBLICATION AGREEMENT

If accepted, authors will be asked to sign a copyright agreement with the following points:

A. Where there is any inconsistency between this Copyright License and Publication Agreement and any other document or agreement in relation to the same subject matter, the terms of this Agreement shall govern.

B. This document sets out the rights you are granting in relation to publication of your article, book review, or research note entitled (the “Article”) through inclusion in the academic journal titled Alberta Journal of Educational Research (the “Journal”) published through the Faculty of Education, representing the Governors of the University of Alberta (the “Journal Editor”).

C. There will be no payment to you for this publication and grant of rights. In consideration of the agreement to publish the Article in the Journal:

1. You are warranting that:

  1. the content of the Article is your original work, and its content does not contain any material infringing the copyright of others; or, where the Article is not entirely your original work, you have obtained all necessary permissions in writing to grant the rights you are giving in this agreement;
  2. the content of the Article does not contain any material that is defamatory of, or violates the privacy rights of, or discloses the confidential information of, any other person;
  3. the Article has not been published elsewhere in whole or in part, and you will not allow publication of the Article elsewhere without the consent of the Journal Editor;
  4. the names of all co-authors and contributors to the Article are:

2. You agree to license the copyright in the Article to the Journal Editor, on a worldwide, perpetual, royalty free basis; and to the extent required by the terms of this agreement. You shall retain the right at all times to be acknowledged as the/an author of the Article.

3. You further agree that the Journal Editor has the entitlement to deal with the Article as the Journal Editor sees fit, and including in the following manner;

  1. The right to print, publish, market, communicate and distribute the Article and the Journal, in this and any subsequent editions, in all media (including electronic media), in all languages, and in all territories, ing the full term of copyright, and including any form of the Article separated from the Journal, such as in a database, abstract, offprint, translation or otherwise, and to authorize third parties to do so;
  2. The right to register copyright of the Journal;
  3. The right to edit the Article, to conform to editorial policy as the Journal Editor sees fit.

4. If any co-author or contributor to the Article does not sign this agreement, the Journal Editor reserves the right to refuse to publish the Article.