What happens to the “social” in psychosocial? Exploring epistemic practices and therapeutic culture in teacher education
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: This paper examines the role of the psychosocial as an influential epistemic category in the context of a globalised therapeutic culture. Drawing on empirical data from fieldwork conducted at a teacher education institution in Norway, we conceptualise the psychosocial as epistemic practice and analyse three interrelated social levels: the individual level, concerned with teachers’ performance as social caretakers; the community level, characterised by a diagnosing gaze on individual pupils; and the societal level, understood as structural threats to well-being. Our study suggests that these epistemic practices favour psychological diagnosis and individual protection over shared knowledge and broader social awareness. • The psychosocial as an epistemic category is characterised by its therapeutic emotional style. • The emotional style blends therapeutic care with instrumental reasoning and popular psychology. • Emotional epistemologies in teacher education are seen as a response to the challenges and risks of late modern society. • Psychosocial practices favour psychological diagnosis and individual protection over open negotiation and knowledge sharing. • Psychosocial practices prioritise internal resilience and disregard social knowledge as central to well-being.
Source: Teaching and Teacher Education
Authors: Gro Mathias, Øyvind Førland Standal
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,770
OpenAlex ID: W4403733689