Rent strikes in the neoliberal university: Critical pedagogy for reimagining educational futures

Conference presentation


Young, H. and Wenham, L. (2022). Rent strikes in the neoliberal university: Critical pedagogy for reimagining educational futures. Education Across the Divide 2022: Reimagining Educational Futures. online 24 - 24 Mar 2022
AuthorsYoung, H. and Wenham, L.
TypeConference presentation
Abstract

Against the backdrop the Covid-19 pandemic, student rent strikes took place in many universities in England. Students were at times required to pay rent for accommodation they were unable to occupy, or which offered significantly reduced amenities. These students were largely first-year undergraduates, housed in accommodation owned, overseen or marketed by their university. They often did not know other students even within their accommodation blocks. Nonetheless, these students joined together to resist, to act collectively and to refuse to pay their rent. Their action resulted in at least partial victory, in some places, for some moments.
 
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with students involved in these rent strikes and the data were analysed thematically. Through the lens of Freire’s critical pedagogy, we examine students’ lived experiences of participating in the rent strikes and of imagining alternative educational futures. Ideas of dialogue and praxis pervade the data. Exploring this particular coming-together through political action and resistance, elucidates a tangible thread, fleshing-out the stages which interweave and coalesce to raise critical consciousness. The research neatly illustrates every step of the process of raising critical consciousness and shows how students can learn through action to bring about change in the neoliberal university.

Year2022
Web address (URL)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6UPOM-vFrM
Accepted author manuscript
License
File Access Level
Open
Publication dates
Print24 Mar 2022
Publication process dates
Accepted24 Feb 2022
Deposited12 Apr 2022
Permalink -

https://openresearch.lsbu.ac.uk/item/8zv02

Download files


Accepted author manuscript
Rent Strikes Ed4SJ 2022 - Haplo.pdf
License: CC BY 4.0
File access level: Open

  • 165
    total views
  • 39
    total downloads
  • 1
    views this month
  • 1
    downloads this month

Export as

Related outputs

Beyond tick boxes: re-imagining education for sustainable development in higher education
Young, H. (2024). Beyond tick boxes: re-imagining education for sustainable development in higher education . Professional Development in Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2024.2394879
A hidden curriculum of certainty: Inadequate education in an uncertain world
Young, H. and Jerome, L (2024). A hidden curriculum of certainty: Inadequate education in an uncertain world. British Educational Research Association (BERA).
Student Rent-Strikes: Hope through unplanned critical pedagogy
Wenham, L and Young, H. (2024). Student Rent-Strikes: Hope through unplanned critical pedagogy. Critical Education. 15 (3), pp. 43-61. https://doi.org/10.14288/ce.v15i3.186806
Ambivalent systems: Tick box frameworks and holistic education
Young, H. (2023). Ambivalent systems: Tick box frameworks and holistic education. UKFIET Conference 2023 - Education for Social and Environmental Justice: Diversity, Sustainability, Responsibility. Oxford 07 - 14 Sep 2023
Questioning Student Voice Practices
Young, H. (2023). Questioning Student Voice Practices . Fostering Meaningful Student Voice. Online 29 - 29 Mar 2023 NERUPI.
Rent Strikes and Resistance: An Illustration of Raising Critical Consciousness
Wenham, L and Young, H. (2021). Rent Strikes and Resistance: An Illustration of Raising Critical Consciousness. 3rd International Conference Paulo Freire: The Global Legacy November 29-December 2, 2021. online 29 Nov - 02 Dec 2021
HRER WERA 7 Talking about rights without talking about rights
Jerome, L., Liddle, A. and Young, H. (2021). HRER WERA 7 Talking about rights without talking about rights. Human Rights Education Review Webinar 7. online 13 - 13 Oct 2021
Teaching controversial issues: Talking about religious freedom and the imagined ‘other’
Jerome, L., Liddle, A and Young, H. (2021). Teaching controversial issues: Talking about religious freedom and the imagined ‘other’. British Educational Research Association. online 13 - 16 Sep 2021 British Educational Research Association.
Book review: The Good Ancestor: How to think long term in a short-term world, by Roman Krznaric
Young, H. (2021). Book review: The Good Ancestor: How to think long term in a short-term world, by Roman Krznaric. London Review of Education. 19 (1). https://doi.org/10.14324/LRE.19.1.20
Talking Tolerance: Being Deliberative about Fundamental British Values
Jerome, L, Liddle, A and Young, H. (2021). Talking Tolerance: Being Deliberative about Fundamental British Values. PRISM. https://doi.org/10.24377/prism.ljmu.0302204
Talking about rights without talking about rights: on the absence of knowledge in classroom discussions
Jerome, L., Liddle, A. and Young, H. (2021). Talking about rights without talking about rights: on the absence of knowledge in classroom discussions. Human Rights Education Review. 4 (1), pp. 8-26. https://doi.org/10.7577/hrer.3979
Student voice in higher education: Opening the loop
Young, H. and Jerome, L. (2020). Student voice in higher education: Opening the loop. British Educational Research Journal. 46 (3), pp. 688-705. https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3603
Podcast with Prof Helen Gunter about ''Knowledge, Experts and Accountability in School Governing Bodies"
Young, H (2017). Podcast with Prof Helen Gunter about ''Knowledge, Experts and Accountability in School Governing Bodies".
Ambiguous Citizenship: Democratic practices and school governing bodies
Young, H (2014). Ambiguous Citizenship: Democratic practices and school governing bodies. PhD Thesis University of London Institute of Education
Questioning Education
Young, H and Shah, H (2008). Questioning Education. London DEA.
Knowledge, Experts and Accountability in School Governing Bodies
Young, H (2018). Knowledge, Experts and Accountability in School Governing Bodies. BELMAS Annual Conference: Education Policy and Sustainability: global perspectives from the field of educational leadership. Windsor 06 - 08 Jul 2018 BELMAS.
Student Voice in Higher Education: Opening the Loop
Young, H (2018). Student Voice in Higher Education: Opening the Loop. 38' Coloquio Interdisciplinario de Educación. Universidad Diego Portales, Santiago, Chile 12 Sep 2018
What do ‘skills’ mean for school governing bodies? [blog post]
Young, H (2016). What do ‘skills’ mean for school governing bodies? [blog post]. British Educational Research Association.
Asking the ‘right’ questions: the constitution of school governing bodies as apolitical
Young, H (2015). Asking the ‘right’ questions: the constitution of school governing bodies as apolitical. Journal of Education Policy. 31 (2), pp. 161 - 177. https://doi.org/10.1080/02680939.2015.1062145
Knowledge, Experts and Accountability in School Governing Bodies
Young, H (2015). Knowledge, Experts and Accountability in School Governing Bodies. Educational Management Administration & Leadership. 45 (1), pp. 40-56. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143215595415
'Privatisation, Education and Social Justice', edited by Geoffrey Walford
Young, H. (2016). 'Privatisation, Education and Social Justice', edited by Geoffrey Walford. London Review of Education. 14 (3), pp. 101-102. https://doi.org/10.18546/lre.14.3.10
Busy yet passive: (non-)decision making in school governing bodies
Young, H (2016). Busy yet passive: (non-)decision making in school governing bodies. British Journal of Sociology of Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2016.1158641
Book review of 'Privatisation, Education and Social Justice', edited by Geoffrey Walford
Young, H (2016). Book review of 'Privatisation, Education and Social Justice', edited by Geoffrey Walford. London Review of Education. 14 (3), pp. 101-102. https://doi.org/10.18546/LRE.14.3.10
A constituição da subjetividade docente no Brasil: um contexto global
Ball, S.J., Bailey, P., Mena, P., del Monte, P., Santori, D., Tseng, C., Young, H. and Olmedo, A. (2013). A constituição da subjetividade docente no Brasil: um contexto global. Revista Educação em Questão. 46 (32), pp. 9-36. https://doi.org/10.21680/1981-1802.2013v46n32ID5114
Naming the world: Coming to terms with complexity
Young, H. (2010). Naming the world: Coming to terms with complexity. Policy & Practice-A Development Education Review. 10, pp. 99-104.