Endowing Mediocrity: Neoliberalism, Information Technology, and the Decline of Radical Pedagogy
Published in The Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies, 2004
Abstract
This article situates the decline of radical pedagogy within the context of neoliberal transformations in higher education. It critiques the way universities, under the influence of neoliberal funding models and technological discourse, abandon critical pedagogy in favor of market-driven “efficiency” and corporate-style endowments.
Key Points
- Neoliberal restructuring: Universities increasingly align with market logics, prioritizing endowments, corporate partnerships, and branding over critical scholarship.
- Technological discourse: Information technology is framed as a neutral driver of efficiency, but in practice reinforces neoliberal control and marginalizes dissenting pedagogical practices.
- Impact on pedagogy: Radical, critical, and transformative pedagogies are displaced by standardized, commodified approaches that reproduce inequality and suppress intellectual challenge.
- Critical intervention: Calls for reclaiming education as a space of resistance, advocating for pedagogical practices that challenge neoliberal hegemony and promote emancipatory learning.
The article offers a trenchant critique of the neoliberal university and highlights the need to defend spaces for radical pedagogy.
Recommended citation: Sosteric, Mike. (2004). "Endowing Mediocrity: Neoliberalism, Information Technology, and the Decline of Radical Pedagogy." *The Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies*, 26(4), 339–362. https://doi.org/10.1080/10714410490886935
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