Online education for social change

This Research & Knowledge Exchange Doctoral Project brief summarises our priority areas of research interest under the heading of: Online education for social change 

We welcome all research degree applications aligned with and in response to this brief.

"…computers manifest human politics and human politics are made manifest in our technologies" (Morris & Stommel, 2018) 

"The answer does not lie in the rejection of the machine but in the humanization of [people]" (Freire, 1974:35) 

Critical educators have recognised the transformative power of education for many years (Freire, 1974; hooks, 1997; Giroux, 1987). Authentic transformative pedagogy works to disrupt established power imbalances, unveiling inequality through a process of critical dialogue (Freire 1970). Its focus on praxis (critical reflection working in combination with action), drives transformation of both people’s perception of the world and the way they physically interact with it (Freire, 1974, hooks 1997). Therefore, transformative pedagogy can result in discernible social change.  

However, with the rise of online education, how can transformative pedagogy work with new technologies to ensure education is a process for good? Online education and advancements in technology, have arguably made education accessible for a broader demographic, enabling those with young children, disabled people and workers to more easily access higher education learning.  However, many have cautioned that technology can also replicate social oppressions (Constanza-Chock, 2020; Nobel, 2018). Therefore, does the move towards online education and the use of technology, enhance the transformative potential of education or does it risk strengthening the opportunity for the elite to use education to oppress? 

In keeping with the ethos of critical dialogue, this brief provides a starting point for conversation and encourages students to develop the idea further with their own proposal. Possible areas to explore include (but are not limited to): 

• The use of VR to enhance understanding and empathy through contemplative pedagogies 
• Does using AI in education support transformation and inclusion or does it serve to replicate social inequalities? 
• Using technology to create global communities of learning through transformative pedagogies 
• Exploring the effect of embedding digital transformative pedagogy into design education courses and the impact on students’ development of conscientization (critical consciousness) 
• What can designers and educators learn from each other regarding inclusive practice? 

Methodology 

This work would be conducted under a critical paradigm and would therefore, benefit from an emancipatory or critical methodology e.g. participatory action research, decolonising methodology, design for social innovation, indigenous methodology, critical ethnography, inclusive design, etc. 

Projects deriving from this brief are expected to sit within the Research & Knowledge Exchange strategy and the following department.

All successful research degree project proposals must emphasise a clear alignment between the project idea and our Research & Knowledge Exchange strategy.