Exploring Shadows: Letter Writing as a Pathway to Counter Authoritarianism in Education?

Authors

  • Åse Løfblad Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences
  • Odd Rune Stalheim Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0522-2588
  • Kari Lerbak Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences

Keywords:

Letter writing, shadows, neoliberalism, early childhood education, subjectification, resonance

Abstract

Our society is influenced by neoliberalism and new public management, and the education system is no exception. Students are navigating a system characterized by market fundamentalism, resulting in the prevalence of standards-based educational policies and an intense focus on assessments and quality measures, making higher education more of an assembly line. As a response to the acceleration in society, which can cause alienation, this article is inspired by Rosa (2022) ideas of resonance and Biestas's (2021) work on subjectivity in education. Our response is based on a search for the students' experiences by looking in the shadows for hidden perspectives guided by the following question, What moves in the shadows of teaching among students, and how can letter writing contribute to counteracting authoritarian structures and conventional discourses in higher education? We have used letter writing as an approach to uncover tacit thoughts and meanings from the students, aiming to provide an opportunity for developing a context and path for uncovering insights and make room for the students' dialogue with the world, subjectification as well as empowering the students to fight authoritarianism partly by raising awareness of resonance as one way to counter neoliberalism in our education and society.

Downloads

Published

2025-10-27

Issue

Vol. 12 No. 3 (2025): Engaging Early Childhood Education in Times of Chaos and Authoritarianism. Part II

Section

Theme Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Kari Lerbak, Odd Rune Stalheim, Åse Løfblad

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

    1. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

 

  1. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).