Teachers and teaching: The politics of respect

Teachers and teaching: The politics of respect

A lecture by Professor Martin Mills

In interviews with teachers and students over many years and on many different topics, the word ‘respect’ comes up regularly. In this lecture I want to explore the meaning of ‘respect’ in the context of contemporary constructs of the ‘ideal teacher’ and in relation to school exclusions. It will be argued that a lack of ‘respect’ is damaging to the teaching profession, and that such a lack is evident in the ways teachers are currently being constructed by policy. Respect is also something that many young people marginalised in schools claim has been denied them. The notion of respect is tied closely to matters of inequality (Sennett, 2003), thus underpinning this talk will be a strong commitment to social justice and to enhancing the place of respect in schools – both as workplaces and as sites of learning. In particular there will be a focus on Paul Gomberg’s (2007) work on ‘contributive justice’ and Kathleen Lynch’s (2009) concerns with affective justice.

The lecture will be followed by a wine reception.

About the speaker

Martin is Professor of Education and the inaugural Director of the Centre for Teachers and Teaching Research at the UCL Institute of Education. He researches in the area of social justice, pedagogies, teachers’ work, teacher education, alternative education and gender. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences Australia, and has held Visiting Professorships at Kings College London, Roehampton and Queen’s Belfast. He is a former President of the Australian Association for Research in Education. Martin was also Head of the School of Education at The University of Queensland, Australia, where he holds an Honorary Professorship. He recently stepped down as an editor of Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education and was appointed as an editor of Teachers and Teaching: Theory and practice.

Access Profile

• There is step free access into the lecture theatre.
• Wheelchair accessible toilets can be found on Level 3 & 4.
• There is not fixed furniture within the lecture theatre.
• This venue does not have a working hearing loop facility available.
• BSL interpreters can be organised with advance notice.

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