Discuss the postmodernist perspective on education and the significance of the "students- as-consumers" model

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Postmodern theorists often highlight difference and irregularity in society. From this perspective, education is a social institution characterized by its permeability. In contemporary schools, a wide diversity of family kinship systems is recognized, and educators attempt to be substitute parents and promulgators of self-esteem in students. Urbanity is reflected in multicultural and anti-bias curricula that are initially introduced in early-childhood education. Similarly, autonomy is evidenced in policies such as school voucher systems, under which parents have a choice about which schools their children will attend. Since the values of individual achievement and competition have so permeated contemporary home and school life, social adjustment (how to deal with others) has become of little importance to many people. Postmodern views of higher education might incorporate the ideas of sociologist George Ritzer, who believes that "McUniversity" can be thought of as a means of educational consumption that allows students to consume educational services and eventually obtain "goods" such as degrees and credentials. College and university administrators are aware of the permeability of higher education and the "student­as­ consumers" model.