How Neoliberal Education Design is Reflected in Classrooms: The Many Faces of Neoliberalism in a 4th Grade Classroom

Sahin S., Acar M.

JOURNAL FOR CRITICAL EDUCATION POLICY STUDIES, vol.16, no.3, pp.101-136, 2018 (ESCI) identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 16 Issue: 3
  • Publication Date: 2018
  • Journal Name: JOURNAL FOR CRITICAL EDUCATION POLICY STUDIES
  • Journal Indexes: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Scopus
  • Page Numbers: pp.101-136
  • Keywords: Neoliberalisation, Hidden curriculum, Classroom rules, Teacher approval and reward, Turkey
  • Ankara University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

This study examines how the neoliberal education design operates in classrooms by observing in-class practices in a fourth-grade classroom of a public primary school. It is an attempt to illustrate the current structure of the public primary education system in Turkey. It discusses the faces of neoliberalism in the context of classroom practices, routine practices, rules, and teacher approval. The sample classroom in this study is located in a rural school in the Eastern Marmara, in the West of Turkey. Thirty-three students attending the observed classroom come from low socio-economic background families. Data for this paper came from a larger investigation on hidden curriculum employing a case-study methodology. A fourth-grade classroom was observed through a two-and-a-half-month period and interviews with the teacher and students were conducted. The observations and interviews took a period of two and a half months in the spring semester of the 2012-2013 academic year.