The contribution of Ivan Illich to contemporary schooling theory and practice

Master of EducationThis thesis examines the extent to which Ivan Illich's educational thought retains relevance for the present day. The approach taken is to examine his writings in detail before conducting a review of some of the criticisms it provoked. This is followed by an examination of his proposed educational alternatives in the light of the perceived roles generally ascribed to schools in modern society. Finally, the potential of achieving his vision of a convivial society is compared with some other perspectives on modern society and some post-industrial themes. Despite extensive criticism, his work represents an incisive critique of the state of schooling at that time. However, it also suffers from a series of defects in relation to his particular form of exposition and the limited opportunity it offered for practical action by those involved in education. In addition his alternatives to schooling are poorly elaborated. It is therefore necessary to resort to a comparison with other educational theories and experiments in order to illustrate the faults embodied in Illich's work. It is argued that Illich is incorrect in his assumption that eliminating schooling will bring about his convivial society. Consequently it is necessary to seek parallels with his work in the writings of other social analysts and in some post-industrial projections in order to distinguish the possibility for convivial social forms. It will be further argued that there are some indications of changes conducive to at least partial aspects of his convivial social forms and that these have implications for current educational theory and practice