A Critique of Mainstream Student Engagement

Abstract

MainstreamStudent engagement andMainstreamstudent engagement, with its affinity with neoliberalism, can arguably be called an academic orthodoxy. It focuses on what works in the classroom, relies heavily on psychology research, largely ignores ethical and political considerations, assists in the development of a knowledge economy, is used to measure the performance of institutions, managers, teachers and students, and uses accountability systems to do the measuring. These critiques are discussed in this chapter both to add to a paucity of critique of engagement in the literature, and to set the stage for subsequent chapters which seek to find ideas and practices that go beyond the hegemony of the mainstream.