Educating feminists - Sue Middleton

This work aims to bridge the increasing philosophical gap between teacher-educators and their students who, experiencing restructured schools in a recessionary environment of the new right, do not necessarily recognise the place and validity of theory. Central to this book is the use of life-history methods in the feminist classroom to embody abstract sociological, educational and feminist theories and to give them dimension. Middleton weaves autobiography throughout her discussions of pedagogy, sociology and policy, thereby taking up the postmodern challenge that educators and researchers should reveal the personal history of their accounts. She draws upon Foucault as well as the generational, class and cultural differences of course members, concretising her pedagogical theory. Furthermore, she writes from New Zealand, questioning the appropriateness of the theoretical tools and conceptual apparatuses of the northern hemisphere for social scientists, feminists, and teachers.;Of particular interest to educators employing life-history methods, this book should also appeal to researchers in teacher education, and professors of sociology, women's studies, the philosophy of education and professional development and leadership.