Murphy, Keith C. (2015) To care or not care? What impact if any, does care have on men in their teaching practises within adult education? Masters thesis, National University of Ireland Maynooth.

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Abstract

This paper explores the experiences of men using care as a teaching method within the adult and further education sector and does so through a patriarchy and hegemonic masculinity lens (Connell, 2005). This thesis makes the following arguments in relational to the research questions. Neo-liberal and managerialism lead agenda’s are squeezing the life out of the ethos of adult education. This research has uncovered some interesting findings such as how policy makers and neo-liberal ideologies are impacting significantly on adult education through the antithesis of care, known as managerialism. Consequently, transforming adult education settings from places of learning, to places of training, which in turn are accountable through outcomes and these outcomes, are constantly market driven. These concepts have impacted significantly on the motivation for adults returning to further education and will impact greatly on the human capital versus care debate and how adult educators teach. The research has shown how men are using care within their teaching practices however; these concepts are slowly been eradicated and challenged through the concept of hegemonic masculinity and managerialism. The thesis also explored the ideas emotion, feeling and care within adult education practices and learned that, concern for rational and professional functioning has contributed to keeping care and emotion out of education. The notion is that real professionals do not allow themselves to show emotion within their profession thus, maintaining control over your emotions. The focus on education for competitive advantage has led to a growing lack of attention to the need for care within the educational process as a value, the research has found. This is impacting on male teachers who are using care in their teaching practices as policy makers and state departments are de-valuing care as a method of education. The thesis also shows how we are now defining the purpose of education in terms of personalised human capital and/or making oneself skilled for the economy. It has also shown how patriarchy is not waning rather being administered in a much more subtle and Foucaultian theory of power ideology. The thesis also uncovered that patriarchal and masculinity structures are not been dismantled, moreover, they are just distributing their power in a more subtle way. Despite the emerging resistance to these structures, the impact is still significantly felt within the realm of masculinity and power relations within the adult education sector, the thesis has uncovered.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Keywords:	care; men; gender; male; teacher; teachers; teaching practises; teaching practise; adult education; M.Ed. in Adult and Community Education; M.Ed.;
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Adult and Community Education
Item ID:	9616
Depositing User:	IR eTheses
Date Deposited:	29 Jun 2018 11:28
URI:
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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