Proletarianization of Professional Employees  and Underemployment of General Intellect in a “Knowledge Economy”

Livingstone, D. W.

doi:10.1353/llt.2019.0035

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 63 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Having a high school diploma has since been designated as a safeguard for the Canadian economy, placing greater emphasis on students to finish high school in order to be employable. Requirements for jobs, however, have dramatically changed over the last 20 years, requiring more people to complete their high school education (and beyond) than in previous generations (Livingstone, 2019). The greater emphasis on high school completion has been accompanied by a dramatic decrease in the proportion of students leaving school early, an increase that continues today.…”

Section: Changes In High School Graduation Over Timementioning

confidence: 99%

A Comparison of High School Graduation Predictors Between Two Ontario Student Cohorts

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

While a number of factors have already been shown to impact variations in graduation rates among students in Canada, there is little research examining the changing impact of these factors on Ontario students’ secondary education completion over time. This research draws on data from two Grade 9 cohorts (2006 and 2011) from the Toronto District School Board in order to unpack how predictors of high school graduation change over time. In particular, we use multivariate analysis to examine whether predictors (including gender, race, parental education, household income, suspension, academic achievement, special education needs, and Grade 9 absenteeism) are significant by cohort of students and if there are gaps in secondary school success between subgroups. Findings demonstrate that high school completion is increasing over time and that there is a diminishing importance of parental education and neighbourhood household income as a predictor of high school graduation. However, we do find evidence of persistent under-achievement among students of certain racial backgrounds, lower academic streams, and those with high rates of absenteeism. We argue that additional data infrastructure in Ontario and beyond are necessary to identify how our findings generalize to the province as a whole.

show abstract

Section: Changes In High School Graduation Over Timementioning

confidence: 99%

A Comparison of High School Graduation Predictors Between Two Ontario Student Cohorts

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In studying faculty, the current research seeks to gain insight into a broader group of employees including autonomous professionals, knowledge workers, and tech employees. Employees in these groups are highly trained, have valuable skillsets, adhere to professional values, and are often intrinsically motivated (Bodla and Ningyu 2017;Livingston 2019;O'Toole and Lawler 2006). Integrating employees into a quality ecosystem contributes to organizational effectiveness by facilitating their performance and satisfaction and improving retention.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An exploration of the academic ecosystem: faculty perspectives

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In an exploratory study, the current research applies the ecosystem concept to frame and understand the academic context and faculty experiences. Cluster analysis and follow-up hypothesis testing provide a compelling and consistent pattern of findings confirming that the nature of the ecosystem varies, with faculty experiences differing across clusters. As part of an ADVANCE-IT grant, full-time faculty at a small, private, comprehensive university were invited to complete a survey on work experiences, with 137 complete responses. To discern the nature of the ecosystem, a cluster analysis examined six elements reflecting the quality of the context: role clarity, research valued, minority respect, communication, conflict management and empowerment. Results revealed five types of work experiences ranging from very good (Vested) to quite challenging (Fringe). Three groups in-between had mixed experiences (Team Players, Disenfranchised, and Free Spirits). The Vested group found their work to be empowering, clear, with a good communication network, and with conflict well managed. In contrast, the Fringe group felt disempowered and found the work climate to be more negative and ambiguous. Subsequent analyses confirmed that women and faculty of lower rank were over-represented in the Fringe group and under-represented among the Vested. Faculty outcomes of job satisfaction, intention to leave and work-life interactions varied predictably across clusters: Better outcomes accrued to Vested compared to Fringe, with other groups falling between them. To improve the ecosystem for all, policies should particularly attend to the Fringe group experiences, with the goal of cultivating an ecosystem that is more uniformly positive and supportive.

show abstract

“…It argues that neoliberalism deprives teachers of autonomy and power over the labour process of teaching, forcing them to handle a heavy load of work that they do not value and rendering them unable to change the situation (Smyth et al., 2000). As a Marxist theory, it captures the technical dimension of the disempowerment of professionals, which is the deprivation of power over labour process, and shows how technical disempowerment drains the value out of the labour power of professionals and makes their work become menial through, for example, new forms of organisational development and new information and communication technologies (Buyruk, 2014; Livingstone, 2019). However, recent literature on the neoliberal environment of education suggests that teachers also encounter what we call ideological disempowerment, which is the deprivation of one’s power to identify the meanings of his/her work (e.g.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Ideological disempowerment as an effect of neoliberalism on teachers

Tsang

Qin

2020

Power and Education

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In works based on deprofessionalisation/proletarianisation theory, teachers are described by researchers as technically disempowered because of the entry of neoliberalism into the institutional environment of education. Technically disempowered teachers suffer not only from work stress but also from other kinds of negative emotional experiences. This article contributes to deprofessionalisation/proletarianisation theory by introducing the concept of ideological disempowerment to explain why teachers complain that they are overloaded by ‘non-instructional work’ that is instructional in nature. It shows that the inability of teachers to identify the instructional meanings of ‘non-instructional work’ stems from neoliberalism’s tendency to ideologically value the managerial purposes of teachers’ work over its instructional purposes. This leads teachers to break away from ‘non-instructional work’ and devote themselves only to work that appears to be directly related to teaching. Accordingly, ideologically disempowered teachers may have a narrowed concept of teaching, resulting in them being discouraged from performing various tasks that are likely to be conducive to the whole-person growth of students. By explaining neoliberalism in both technical and ideological terms, this article advances deprofessionalisation/proletarianisation theory and contributes to a better understanding of the process of teacher disempowerment that results from neoliberalism.

show abstract

Proletarianization of Professional Employees and Underemployment of General Intellect in a “Knowledge Economy”

Abstract: Ce document est protégé par la loi sur le droit d'auteur. L'utilisation des services d'Érudit (y compris la reproduction) est assujettie à sa politique d'utilisation que vous pouvez consulter en ligne.

Cited by 4 publications

References 63 publications

A Comparison of High School Graduation Predictors Between Two Ontario Student Cohorts

A Comparison of High School Graduation Predictors Between Two Ontario Student Cohorts

An exploration of the academic ecosystem: faculty perspectives

Ideological disempowerment as an effect of neoliberalism on teachers

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About