Shree Prasad Devkota

M. Phil. (Development Studies)

First Semester

Power and Pedagogy

Kathmandu UniversitySchool of EducationBalkumari, Lalitpur

2013

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• Power and its dimensions

• Pedagogy • Language as means of power• Types of power in pedagogy• Hidden power in pedagogy (Nepalese context)• Consequences of power in pedagogy (Nepalese context)• Conclusion and further discussion

Presentation outline

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Power means the ability to make decisions and put them into practice – to be in control.

Power is the vital part needed to make policies and institutions work effectively.

(CARE Nepal, 2004)

The ability or capacity to perform or act efficiently and have some kind of control in the respective environment.

Power

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Sources and types of power

Sources of power:Politics, property and prestige (education, position, status etc)

Types of power: political and social, economical, religious and cultural; and ancestral

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Level of power relation:There exist a power relation between people at household, community and national level. This relationship is historic and deep rooted.

Form of power relation:The power relation exists in terms of :Gender, Caste, Class, Ethnicity, Religion, Region/geography

Level and Form of power relation

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•Pedagogy is the integrated form of curriculum, teaching learning activities, hidden curriculum, instructional strategies, theories and so forth. • The principles, practice, or profession of teaching• The activities of educating or instructing; that impart knowledge or skill

(http://www.thefreedictionary.com/pedagogy)

Pedagogy

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• Language that reinforces knowledge can come through the way of stories, memories, songs, proverb etc• Language, Culture and Biotic factors are intrinsically linked or have mutual relationship.• Language as medium to understand particular culture and/or manifestations of behavior, (L. D. Awasthi, 1st April, 2011, M. Phil. class lecture)• With the gradual loss of some language, we will be loosing priceless knowledge.

Language as means of pedagogy

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Types of power in pedagogyIntrinsic (what it is?) - being powerExtrinsic (what it has?) – having powerFunctional (what it can do?) – position/ use power

According to Awasthi, 2004,Nepali language “is” rich, high class, standard, graceful, diverse, noble, pure, sweet, interesting.Nepali “has” textbooks, reference materials, dictionaries, rich literature, authors, writers, poets, trained teachers, experts, scholars, state support, money and so on.“can do” are people-to-people contact, mass communication, religion etc. moreover it is mean to promote national identity.04/13/23 8spdevkota@kusoed.edu.np

Understanding Pedagogy and Power

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• National anthem (particularly of previous national anthem of Nepal)

• Photograph of King and Queen in the text book.

• History of Shah dynasty in the curriculum and course book

• State ruling system as a separate and compulsory course i.e. “Panchayat” during Panchayat era.

Hidden power in pedagogy (Nepalese context)

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• Due to dominating role of Nepali language, the gaps between ruler and ruled have widen leading to social, economic and political inequalities. • Linguistic diversity is at risk and minority languages are in threat.• Medium of education as medium of power• NNS student's dropout, repetition and failure rates is higher• Contradiction and inconsistency between the constitution and the education act: “The medium of instruction shall be Nepali. However, education at the primary level may be provided through mother tongues…” (Clause 7 of the education act)

(Awasthi, 2004)

Consequences of power in pedagogy (Nepalese context)

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• The choices of language and pedagogy are contributing to the reproduction of present power relation in the education system ( Bourdieu and Wacquant, 1992 as cited in Awasthi, 2004)

• If policies or government is strong it can have Positive result while it may undermine the creativity, wider thinking of pupil.

Conclusion and further discussions

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• It cannot create just society if the education only serves reproduction of present power relations.• Pedagogy in the critical sense illuminates the relationship among knowledge, authority, and power.  • How can we see power in pedagogy in current context of nation restructuring? (for further discuss)

Conclusion and further discussions

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Awasthi, L. D. (2004). Exploring monolingual school practices in multilingual Nepal. An Unpublished Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Danish University of Education, Copenhagen, Denmark.

CARE Nepal, 2004. RBA training manual. Author

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/pedagogy

http://pedagogyandpower.blogspot.com/

References:

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE…

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