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When Care Becomes Cruel: A Phenomenological Perspective on Educators' Struggles amidst Underfunding in Public Education

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Title: When Care Becomes Cruel: A Phenomenological Perspective on Educators' Struggles amidst Underfunding in Public Education
Language: English
Authors: Lana Parker, Holt Stuart-Hitchcox
Source: Philosophical Inquiry in Education. 2025 32(2):53-69.
Availability: Canadian Philosophy of Education Society. S-FG 6310 Faubourg Ste-Catherine Building, 1610 St. Catherine West, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H4B 1R6. Tel: 514-758-7813; Web site: http://journals.sfu.ca/pie/index.php/pie
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 17
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Phenomenology, Educational Finance, Public Education, Foreign Countries, Neoliberalism, Retrenchment, Individualism, Teacher Attitudes, Affective Behavior, Emotional Response, Grief, Psychological Patterns, Fatigue (Biology), Teacher Burnout, Educational Change, Resistance to Change
Geographic Terms: Canada
ISSN: 2369-8659
Abstract: Drawing on our empirical study engaging focus groups of highly experienced educators and stakeholders (n = 12) in Ontario, Canada, we examine the cruel refiguration of educational worker care under neoliberalism in public education. Austerity policies have degraded conditions in the schools such that educators are unable to fulfill their attachments to education as a public good. In addition, the neoliberal individualization of responsibility asks workers to address worsening conditions as individuals, collapsing structures of solidarity. In this paper, we explore the phenomenological aspects of how neoliberal individualism structures educator moods, examining educators' affective interplays of grief, rage, despair, determination, and exhaustion as they struggle to independently uphold or repair a system under duress. We argue that neoliberal conceptions of care are insufficient--and indeed Sisyphean--as singular efforts cannot address the current widespread systemic problems. Instead, we suggest educational workers should disavow individualism, refusing to bear personal responsibility for systemic issues, and should instead seek broader, collective organization against further neoliberal education reforms. [Note: The volume and issue numbers (v33 n1) shown on the PDF are incorrect. The correct volume and issue numbers are v32 n2.]
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: EJ1489662
Database: ERIC
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  Data: Canadian Philosophy of Education Society. S-FG 6310 Faubourg Ste-Catherine Building, 1610 St. Catherine West, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H4B 1R6. Tel: 514-758-7813; Web site: http://journals.sfu.ca/pie/index.php/pie
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  Data: Drawing on our empirical study engaging focus groups of highly experienced educators and stakeholders (n = 12) in Ontario, Canada, we examine the cruel refiguration of educational worker care under neoliberalism in public education. Austerity policies have degraded conditions in the schools such that educators are unable to fulfill their attachments to education as a public good. In addition, the neoliberal individualization of responsibility asks workers to address worsening conditions as individuals, collapsing structures of solidarity. In this paper, we explore the phenomenological aspects of how neoliberal individualism structures educator moods, examining educators' affective interplays of grief, rage, despair, determination, and exhaustion as they struggle to independently uphold or repair a system under duress. We argue that neoliberal conceptions of care are insufficient--and indeed Sisyphean--as singular efforts cannot address the current widespread systemic problems. Instead, we suggest educational workers should disavow individualism, refusing to bear personal responsibility for systemic issues, and should instead seek broader, collective organization against further neoliberal education reforms. [Note: The volume and issue numbers (v33 n1) shown on the PDF are incorrect. The correct volume and issue numbers are v32 n2.]
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        PageCount: 17
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      – SubjectFull: Affective Behavior
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      – SubjectFull: Emotional Response
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      – SubjectFull: Grief
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      – SubjectFull: Psychological Patterns
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      – SubjectFull: Resistance to Change
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      – SubjectFull: Canada
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      – TitleFull: When Care Becomes Cruel: A Phenomenological Perspective on Educators' Struggles amidst Underfunding in Public Education
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