Suffering and the Work of Emancipation through Education

Abstract

It is argued that for those who are not the successful beneficiaries of the system, schooling creates the conditions for lifelong suffering, in both psychological and social terms, without serious recourse to a vital and effective public sphere of debate, decision and action where their voices may be heard and taken into account. The authors develop this argument in terms of three foci. (1) the example of the reduction of professional work to assessable performances in the continuing professional development (CPD) of medical professionals; (2) the experience of self-harm at school; and 3) the role of the private sector in schooling. Their final argument is that the solution is not to reform the lifelong schooling of people but to emancipate through education. They argue that bringing about young people's engagement with adults in the work of education as a democratic activity requires the kind of openness and tolerance, and also the suspension of authority of those in charge, that is antithetical to the forms of organisation found throughout the private, public and military sectors. Their conclusion, therefore, is not optimistic.