I. Understanding Homework A Site of Gendered Neoliberal Governance
Homework, a seemingly innocuous aspect of elementary education, has evolved into a complex site where institutions interact, power circulates, and gendered neoliberal governance operates. This article explores the multifaceted nature of homework, drawing from Nicole Elizabeth Deneau Hyndman's thesis 'Doing Homework, Doing Best? Homework as a Site of Gendered Neoliberal Governance'.
1.1. The Evolution of Homework
Hyndman traces the genealogy of homework, examining how it has been established as a 'good' educational practice despite its dubious effects on educational achievement.
1.2. Homework and Gendered Power Dynamics
Homework serves to render women responsible for growing portions of educational labor, highlighting the unequal operation and effects of homework for its main targets.
1.3. Neoliberal Governance through Homework
Modern government works through the routine administration of our lives, with homework being a concrete example of this. It operates through persuasion, incitement, and engagement rather than explicit policy.
II. Methodology A Feminist Governmentality Perspective
Hyndman employs a feminist perspective that incorporates Foucault's concept of governmentality to examine homework as a 'site' where institutions interact and power circulates. She focuses on the daily lives and subjectivities of mothers and teachers in the process of making homework work.
2.1. Foucault s Governmentality
Foucault's concept of governmentality helps understand how power operates through institutions and discourses, shaping the conduct of individuals.
2.2. Feminist Governmentality
Feminist governmentality extends Foucault's analysis, exploring the unequal operation and effects of power on individuals, particularly women.
2.3. Qualitative Research Methodology
Hyndman conducted in-depth interviews with mothers and teachers to gather data and analyze the complex ways homework and parental involvement discourses work on and through people.
III. The Role of Homework in Neoliberal Education Reform
Homework plays a significant role in neoliberal education reform, with mothers and teachers explicitly and implicitly addressed as primary agents for its accomplishment. However, it often fails to achieve its professed educational aims for students.
3.1. Mothers and Homework
Mothers are often ambivalent about homework, sharing frustrations about its effects on family time and relations, yet feeling responsible for ensuring their children complete it.
3.2. Teachers and Homework
Teachers also express ambivalent feelings about homework, doubting its value for children yet recognizing its role in education reform.
3.3. Neoliberal Governance and Education Reform
Neoliberal governance operates through persuasion, incitement, and engagement, with homework serving as a concrete example of this in education reform.
