Education Commons^™

At The Altar Of Educational Efficiency: Performativity And The Role Of, Jennifer Hennessy Phd, Patricia Mcnamara Phd

Dr. Jennifer Hennessy

This paper critiques the impact of neo-liberalism on postprimary education, and in particular on the teaching of English. The paper explores the implications of performativity and exam-driven schooling on the teaching and learning of poetry. The authors argue that meeting the demands of an education system dominated by technicism and standardisation poses considerable challenge to teacher autonomy and pedagogy. They also draw attention to the uncontested dominance of this social contract in education and suggest it to be a catalyst for the standardisation and commodification of knowledge that has resulted in considerable de-professionalisation of English teachers. The paper proposes that …