The emperor's new clothes: Globalisation and e-learning in higher education

Journal article


Clegg, S., Hudson, A. and Steel, J. 2010. The emperor's new clothes: Globalisation and e-learning in higher education. British Journal of Sociology of Education. 24 (1), pp. 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425690301914
AuthorsClegg, S., Hudson, A. and Steel, J.
Abstract

Two closely related and over-determining myths have shaped government inspired policy towards Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and education: the one is the irresistible power of globalisation, the other is the determining effect of technology. The result of both is to present the acceptance of e-learning throughout the education system as inevitable. The space left for practitioners in Higher Education is either to embrace the new media enthusiastically or to stand aside and watch its inevitable unfolding. In this paper we develop a critical stance towards the dominant discourse and suggest that the shape of new media in education can be, and is being, contested. We argue against both technological determinism and the passive acceptance of the neo-liberal globalisation paradigm. No technologies are neutral. They are always the products of real historical social relations as well as the emergent technical capacities they provide. ICTs as artefacts and social processes are already inscribed with gendered assumptions and the accumulation strategies of their purveyors. Moreover, the conditions under which e-learning is being introduced into education are shaped by managerialist agendas. Placing pedagogy at the forefront is therefore to struggle over the terms and shape of the media adopted. We can see this at both the micro and macro level. Our paper exposes the emperor's new clothes while arguing that there is space for critical discourses that can more meaningfully engage with socially available technologies.

KeywordsICT; education system; higher education ; socially available technologies
Year2010
JournalBritish Journal of Sociology of Education
Journal citation24 (1), pp. 1-17
PublisherRoutledge - Taylor and Francis
ISSN1465-3346
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1080/01425690301914
Web address (URL)http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-0037292858&partnerID=MN8TOARS
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01425690301914
Output statusPublished
Publication dates28 Jun 2010
Publication process dates
Deposited22 Apr 2022
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https://repository.derby.ac.uk/item/96124/the-emperor-s-new-clothes-globalisation-and-e-learning-in-higher-education

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