'This book tackles some of the most important educational questions of the day... It is rare to find a book on education which is theoretically sophisticated and practically relevant: this book is.' From the Foreword by Hugh Lauder What is it in the twenty-first century that we want young people, and adults returning to study, to know? What is it about the kind of knowledge that people can acquire at school, college or university that distinguishes it from the knowledge that people acquire in their everyday lives everyday lives, at work, and in their families? Bringing Knowledge Back In draws on recent developments in the sociology of knowledge to propose answers to these key, but often overlooked, educational questions. Michael Young traces the changes in his own thinking about the question of knowledge in education since his earlier books Knowledge and Control and The Curriculum of the Future. He argues for the continuing relevance of the writings of Durkheim and Vygotsky and the unique importance of Basil Bernstein’s often under-appreciated work. He illustrates the importance of questions about knowledge by investigating the dilemmas faced by researchers and policy makers in a range of fields. He also considers the broader issue of the role of sociologists in relation to educational policy in the context of increasingly interventionist governments. In so doing, the book: provides conceptual tools for people to think and debate about knowledge and education in new ways provides clear expositions of difficult ideas at the interface of epistemology and the sociology of knowledge makes explicit links between theoretical issues and practical /policy questions offers a clear focus for the future development of the sociology of education as a key field within educational studies. This compelling and provocative book will be essential reading for anyone involved in research and debates about the curriculum as well as those with a specific interest in the sociology of education.
Author(s): Michael Young, Michael F. D. Young
Edition: 1
Year: 2004
Language: English
Pages: 232
Book Cover......Page 1
Title......Page 4
Copyright......Page 5
Dedication......Page 6
Contents......Page 10
Foreword......Page 12
Acknowledgements......Page 14
Introduction......Page 16
Part 1: Theoretical Issues......Page 22
1 Rescuing the sociology of educational knowledge from the extremes of voice discourses......Page 24
2 Knowledge and the curriculum in the sociology of education......Page 39
3 Durkheim, Vygotsky and the curriculum of the future......Page 56
4 'Structure' and 'activity' in Durkheim's and Vygotsky's theories of knowledge......Page 86
5 Curriculum studies and the problem of knowledge: Updating the Enlightenment?......Page 102
6 Education, knowledge and the role of the state: The 'nationalization' of educational knowledge?......Page 114
7 Rethinking the relationship between the sociology of education and educational policy......Page 124
Part 2: Applied studies......Page 140
8 Contrasting approaches to qualifications and their role in educational reform......Page 142
9 Conceptualizing vocational knowledge......Page 158
10 Professional knowledge and the question of identity: an analytical framework......Page 172
11 Academic/vocational divisions in post-compulsory education and the problem of knowledge......Page 180
12 Further education and training (FET) college teachers in South Africa and England: A knowledge-based profession of the future?......Page 193
13 Experience as knowledge?: The case of the recognition of prior learning (RPL)......Page 202
14 The knowledge question and the future of education in South Africa......Page 207
Part 3: Next steps......Page 216
15 Truth and truthfulness in the sociology of educational knowledge......Page 218
Endword: Basil Bernstein: a personal appreciation......Page 240
Notes......Page 242
References......Page 250
Original sources of previously published papers......Page 260
Index......Page 262
