Systems of thought in education and school inclusion (and exclusion) policies: Interview with Thomas S. Popkewitz

Abstract

In contemporary pedagogical discourses, the defense of the right to education appears almost always associated with statements of psychological and / or sociological content on the importance of respecting and taking into account individual differences in education, condition considered essential to make the school become inclusive. How are this belief spread in the educational field? Which are its effects on educational reforms, in the formulation of the curriculum, the work of teachers and the experiences of the students? From these and other issues, we had the opportunity and the joy of interview Thomas S. Popkewitz, Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has as one of its main research interests the historical formation of systems of reason, in particular the ways in which ideas are produced, disseminated and implemented in the educational field, through the formulation of curricula and educational reforms. In this conversation, the author employs the concept of alchemy to think about the ways in which the curriculum operates the conversion of scientific disciplines in school subjects. Popkewitz considers that curricula and educational reforms express fears of children who seem refractory to schooling, which are seen as a threat to the future. Notes that these children are the target of inclusion policies, which, in the same movement, include and exclude them, by naming and making visible their “differences”, perceived as disadvantages.