Topic:Widening Participation: rich pedagogical opportunities, complex challenges
A dissemination of findings from the 2010-2012 United
Kingdom Higher Education Academy National Teaching Fellowship Scheme
“Formations of Gender and Higher Education Pedagogies (GaP)” project and its UK
Fulbright expansion, “Gender and Higher Education Pedagogies in a Comparative
Perspective”
Time: Tuesday, March 19, 2013 1PM-2PM
Place: Reading Room (Moore Hall 3340)
Speaker: Lauren
Ila Jones Misiaszek, PhD
(GSE&IS Social Science and Comparative Education
alumna)
2012-2013 United
Kingdom Fulbright Scholar, Centre for Education Research in
Equalities, Policy and Pedagogy, Department of Education, University of
Roehampton, London; Assistant
Director, Honorary Founder, Paulo
Freire Institute, UCLA; Associate, Paulo Freire
Institute-United Kingdom, Centre for Higher Education and Equity Research
(CHEER) at the School of Education and Social Work, University of Sussex,
Brighton, United Kingdom
Abstract:
Policies in the United Kingdom aiming to
increase equity within and access to higher education (HE) fall under the
national policy domain known as
“widening participation” (WP).The WP agenda has raised questions about pedagogies in HE and the ways
they might be further developed to address issues of inclusion, equity,
participation and diversity (David et al, 2008). Further, concerns with WP have
drawn attention to a gender gap in HE participation, with women now
outnumbering men in a range of subject areas. This has led to claims of the feminization
of HE, including the feminization of teaching and learning. Feminist scholars
have critiqued such claims, highlighting the dangers of an oversimplification
of gender and inequalities in higher education, and emphasizing the need for
nuanced research that draws out the complexities of gendered formations,
learner identities and pedagogical experiences (Burke and Jackson, 2007;
Leathwood and Read, 2009).
This
talk draws on research that aims to develop a detailed understanding of the
relationship between formations of gender, and its intersections with other
social identities, and pedagogical practices and experiences. I will first discuss
findings from a major national project (2010-2012), funded by the Higher
Education Academy’s National Teaching Fellowship Scheme, “Formations of Gender
and Higher Education Pedagogies (GaP)(Principal Investigator: Professor Penny
Jane Burke, University of Sussex, Director, Paulo Freire Institute-UK). I will then discuss an expansion of GaP
through my Fulbright Scholar research in Portugal, Spain, Italy and the United
States. This work highlights that as higher education becomes increasingly
diverse, policy-makers and universities must support HE lecturers in developing
inclusive pedagogical practices that are sensitive to gender differences as
well as other social inequalities and exclusions in higher education.
Audience:
This talk will be of interest to anyone
(interested in) exploring feminist and/or critical pedagogies in higher
education theory and practice, equity within and access to higher education,
(comparative) education policy in England, Portugal, Spain, Italy, and/or the
United States, and/or student/faculty identity issues in HE. In addition, it
may be of interest to anyone considering a Fulbright Scholar award.
