1. Heikki Kinnari, Department of Education, University of Turku
Learning to be a Learner - Lifelong Learning as a Technology of Governmentality
Heikki Kinnari, Department of Education, University of Turku
THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL BACKGROUND
RESEARCH QUESTIONS & MATERIAL
Lifelong learning (LLL) has been seen as an answer to rapid growth of economic, technological and societal pressures at least from the 1960s
Three generations have been divided in the ”history of LLL” - How are they connected to political rationalizations?
”Social” welfare state and neoliberalism are examples of political rationalizations - Political rationalities are relatively systematic discursive matrices within which the activity of government is articulated
Technologies of power – govern the conduct of individuals and their behavior towards desired outcomes and objectivize the subject
Technologies of the self – enable individuals conduct themselves by their own means to transform themselves to get happiness, credibility etc.
Governmentality is a framework and ´a tool´ for analysis that governance is a very widespread phenomenon that goes on whenever individuals and groups seek to shape their own conduct or the conduct of others
Lifelong Learning is connected to different political rationalizations and functions as a technology of governmentality in different historical context. The regimes of truth (rationalisations) define the knowledge of LLL and LLL constructs subjects
Genealogy is an analysis of ideas in the present time – conception of LLL is traced back in time and the circumstances in which they occurred are analyzed – taken for granted ideas of the LLL present in present time are challenged
Foucauldian-inspired analyses of discourse
Historical inquiry – genealogy
Analysis is directed to power relations
Analysis is directed to subjectification
Critical policy sociology, Critical policy analysis, Policy genealogy
How the self of the lifelong learner is constructed and rhetorically justificated in different generations/political rationalities in the discourses by OECD, European Union and UNESCO?
How the lifelong learning as technology of power is constructed and rhetorically justificated in different generations/political rationalities in the discourses by OECD, European Union and UNESCO?
Research material contains over 40 reports from OECD, European Union and UNESCO from 1960s to 2010s.
RESULTS
RESULTS
Humanistic Generation - ”Normal citizenship” – Lifelong Education as an umbrella concept for education, health, alienation, citizenship, economy… etc.
Economist Generation - The governmentality of LLL was based to the human capital theory in the name of ”uncertain” future (economy & social cohesion) – no alternatives
Soft Economist Generation - ”Softening” of the politics is just rhetorics? Responsilibization of the individual? – Growing polarization started to emerge a threat to economic growth