ABSTRACT

This article explores the ethical dilemmas encountered by two ethnographers in adult education research in a context where neoliberalism impacts on education settings, policies, and social justice. Everyday ethical dilemmas arise in thorny situations in which the general ethical principles ethnographers are regulated by cannot help them react or respond in the heat of the moment. The three technological processes through which neoliberalism in education is operationalised (the market, management, and performance) are used to analyse two ethnographic research contexts in adult education settings in Québec, Canada. The empirical data generated from these two separate investigations are used to construct six vignettes illustrating how neoliberal technologies influence social justice in those settings. Neoliberalism, precarity and social justice are closely related both theoretically and in our results. The data show the sensitivity required by the ethnographer to navigate the precarious situations that individuals and organisations face vis-a-vis neoliberalism in adult education.

摘要

本文探讨了在新自由主义影响教育环境、政策和社会正义的背景下，两位民族志学者在成人教育研究中遇到的伦理困境。日常的道德困境出现在棘手的情况下，在这种情况下，民族志学家所遵循的一般道德原则无法帮助他们在当下的热潮中做出反应或回应。新自由主义在教育中得以运作的三个技术过程（市场、管理和绩效）被用来分析加拿大魁北克成人教育环境中的两个民族志研究背景。从这两个独立调查中产生的经验数据被用来构建六个小插图，说明新自由主义技术如何影响这些环境中的社会正义。新自由主义，不稳定和社会正义在理论上和我们的结果上都密切相关。数据显示了人种学家需要的敏感性，以应对个人和组织在成人教育中面对新自由主义所面临的不稳定情况。