Friend or Foe: Progressive Social Work and the Neoliberal University in Canada

Henry Parada, Sarah Todd, Lisa Barnoff, Ken Moffatt, Melanie Panitch, Mandeep Mucina, Jake Pyne

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Two of the four major objectives are:

1. Clarify how new managerialism influences administrative and pedagogical practices in Canadian schools of social work

2. Investigate how social work educators who adhere to critical pedagogy negotiate and/or resist new managerialism

Research Project

Completing first round of interviews at three of five sites

Collecting and reviewing key texts/documents from three of five sites

Analyzing and presenting preliminary data from first round of interviews and key texts and documents.

Preliminary Work

National Study

Rather than understanding neoliberalism as a monolithicpolicy bloc, emphasis must be laid on contextual, specificity and broader generalizability (Fannelli and Meades, 2012: 218) .

By its nature neoliberalism is contradictory and polymorphic. The closest one can get to understanding its nature is to follow its movements, and to triangulate between its ideological, ideational, and institutional currents [in other words] between philosophy, politics, and practice (Peck, 2010: 8).

Neoliberalism

It is not just a production of knowledge or degreesbut also an attempt towardsa neoliberal production of subjectivity, in the sense thatthe neoliberal restructuring of the university is ‘as much a matter of practices, modes of living and subjectivity, as it is of policy’ (Read 2009: 152).

Neoliberalism and Higher Education

1. Efficiency, effectiveness and flexibility are extensively pursued in the field of educational delivery (Farrell & Morris, 2003).

2. New relationship between universities and government, between academics and the State, trust in professional values and practices was no longer the basis of the relationship

Institutional Practices of NM

1. Productivity with “Excellence”

2. Forms of Negotiating◦ Building and Leveraging Relationships◦ Building Social Work “Special Qualities”◦ Performing Citizenship

3. Accommodating

Preliminary Findings

1. Productivity coupled with ‘Excellence’At the institutional level, it’s definitely about your productivity and that being assessed in terms of whether or not you’re worthy of being there. And then in the community, in the research community, it’s also about productivity (Instructor)

The criteria feels clear to me. The criteria is that you have to have lots of publications, lots of funding and be an amazing teacher. You have to be all of those things equally amazingly well. I think there’s accounting (instructor.

Preliminary Findings

well I think I’m right now not as productive as three or fours ago but I think I’m productive enough, right. But again I know a lot of folks in other disciplines are so productive so sometimes I even doubt if they have time for themselves or for their family (Professor)

2. Forms of Negotiating

◦ Building and Leveraging Relationships

A great deal of time was spent “educating”, “befriending”, “supporting”, “negotiating”, and “meditating” in relationship with administrators. This work was regarded as vital but fragile as it relied on individual knowledge and the work began anew whenever there was turnover among administrators (Director).

◦ Building on Social Work ‘special’ qualities

consistently reintroducing the unique values of social work to the greater institution. Increases in admissions and class sizes were resisted by making the case for a distinct set of objectives for a school of social work.( Director)

Performing Citizenship

They performed “good citizenry” and “engagement” within the institution by getting involved in committees and performed as skilled professionals by leading institution-wide teaching initiatives. (Director)

4. Accommodation I’m very pragmatic so I don’t try to deconstruct what the value base is of what’s coming at me from up there because otherwise I’ll be in constant depression or anger or whatever (Professor).

Social Work Academics:

1. Social Work Academics are constituted and managed successfully to be increasingly responsive to externalised economic relations.

2. Neo-liberal new managerialism is the episteme or context within which faculty now live. There is no longer an ‘ outside’ position within the university

3. Academic social workers’ subjectivities, have been reshaped through practices that emphasise and privilege some relations and performances and foreclose others.

4. Affect and emotion are an indicator of the subjective reconstruction of academic work life

5. The imperatives of the governing practises of the university result in Social Work academic subjects being governed so that intellectual work of critique, resistance and solidarity is affected by managing workloads as measured through publication outputs, research funding, the establishment of relationships with business partners.

Preliminary conclusions

Ultimately

Davis, B. (2003). Death to Critique and Dissent? The Policies and Practices of New Managerialism and of "evidence- based Practice. Gender and Education, 15, 89-101.

Fannelli, C., & Meades, J. (2011). Austerity, Ontario and Post-Secondary Education: The Case of "Canada's Capital University". Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies, 9(2).

Farrell, C., & Morris, J. (Feb. 2003). The Neo-Bureaucratic State: Professionals, Managers and Professional Managers in Schools, General Practices and Social Work. Organizations, 10, 129-156.

Kirkpatrick, I., & Martinez Lucio, M. (1995). The Politics of Quality in Public Sector. London: Routledge.

Le Grand, J., & Bartlett, W. (1993). Quasi-Markets and Social Policy. London: McMillan.

Margenson, S. (2002). Towards a Politics of the Enterprise University. Arena, 17/18, 109-136.

Margenson, S. (2006). Dynamics of National and Global Competition in Higher Education. Higher Education, 52, 1-39.

Peck, J. (2010). Construction of Neoliberal Reason. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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Read, I. (2009). Auditors of Managerial University: Neoliberal Business Advisors or Paternal Controllers. Globalization, Society and Education, 7(3), 337-355.

Rose, N. (1999). Powers of Freedom. . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Singh, M. (2011). The Place of Social Justice in Higher Education and Social Change Discourses. Compare, 41(4), 481-494.

References