Monthly talks on contemporary issues, open to anyone interested in serious discussion

The Dangerous Rise of Therapeutic Education with Kathryn Ecclestone

Image Above: Book cover of The Dangerous Rise of Therapeutic Education by Kathryn Ecclestone
Thursday, 24 September 2009 - 7:30am to 9:00am
Open House Pub
Springfield Road
Brighton

Today, it is not a knowledge deficit that is addressed by education but an emotional one, where building self esteem and emotional well-being rather than engaging in ideas and concepts is the goal.

Is this a progressive step toward a more enlightened and compassionate society? Or is it a trap that is stifling creativity, undermining independance and deflecting subjectivity?

"'The Dangerous Rise of Therapeutic Education' is eye-opening reading for every teacher, student teacher and parent who retains any belief in the power of knowledge to transform people's lives. Its insistent call for a serious public debate about the emotional state of education should also be at the forefront of the minds of every agent of change in society... from parent to policy maker."

 

Brighton has been closely linked to more inward looking and emotional approaches to life. For this reason we would very much like to hear your views on this compelling subject.

 

Recommended Readings

No Touchy-Feely? How Macho

Affect: Knowledge, communication, creativity and emotion

Culture Wars - Knowing Me Knowing You - Dolan Cummings

Speaker

Dr Kathryn Ecclestone is Professor of Education and Social Inclusion at the University of Birmingham. She has published and spoken widely on the effects of education policy on everyday assessment and teaching activities and attitudes to learning in further, higher and adult education.

Her most recent book, with Dennis Hayes, is ‘The Dangerous Rise of the Therapeutic Education’, a controversial critique of the ways in which education policy and practice focuses increasingly on the emotional vulnerability of children, young people and adults. She is currently directing an ESRC-funded seminar series on emotional well-being and social justice, sponsored by the RSA and a keynote session ‘Therapy Culture Re-visited’ at this year’s ‘Battle of Ideas’ conference.

Publications

2009 (with Gert Biesta and Martin Hughes, editors) Transitions and learning through the lifecourse (London, Routledge)

2009 (with Dennis Hayes) Changing the subject: the educational implications of developing emotional well-being, Oxford Review of Education, 35, 3, 37I-39I

2008 (with Dennis Hayes) The dangerous rise of therapeutic education (London, Routledge)

2007 Resisting images of the ‘diminished self’: the rise of emotional well-being in education policy, Journal of Education Policy,22, 4, 429-455

2007 Learning assessment: students’ experiences in post-school qualifications, in Boud, D. and Falichov, N. (eds) Rethinking Assessment in higher education (London, RoutledgeFalmer)

Chair

Dan is the Director of the Brighton Salon and has has written extensively about the Criminal Records Bureau checks on volunteers working with children and other problems facing competitive sport in the UK. Dan has published several articles and has had numerous Televison and Radio appearances in the UK and around the English-speaking world on the interplay between sport and society. He has also campaigned against public drinking restrictions and is currently writing a book on the decline of elite distance running and mass participation in time for the London Olympics. He has been a tennis coach for many years and runs a digital marketing firm.