The end of anti-oppressive education? A differentialist critique

This paper outlines the current crisis in the anti-oppressive problematic in English schooling in the mid-1990s. Locating the argument within a socio-historical context, the development of the anti-oppressive problematic is critiqued from a differentialist position exploring its limits within the inter-related arenas of theory, practice and policy. It raises questions about the central explanatory framework of representing social collectivities in terms of a fixed oppressed/oppressor duality. A key element of the anti-oppressive position is its predictive ability, in which outcomes can be logically read off from institutional infrastructures. This position has been particularly influential among 'progressive' educationalists in providing a comprehensive account of differential schooling achievements/outcomes, with reference to class, gender and racial divisions. In contrast, through an analysis of the conceptual framework of an anti-oppressive position, critical events related to our own fieldwork and a commentary on future policy moves, we argue for the need to map out some of the more intricate and intimate social positions within the local arena of educational sites, as they articulate the shifting boundaries of gender, sexuality, ethnicity and generation.