Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The purpose of this book is to bring together in one collection essays from a group of international scholars who have worked with Thomas S. Popkewitz colleagues and former students from the US, Latin America, Europe, and Asia as well as those whose own research agendas build on ideas and concepts that he has advanced. In this section briefly explores some arguments about educational phenomena contained in Popkewitz's research agenda. Popkewitz is a very keen observer of the contemporary educational landscape and often directs his research toward issues that have particular currency. In this final chapter Popkewitz's concept of social epistemology is considered essential to this form of analysis through suggesting that objects of knowledge circulating in the educational arena are products of historically constructed patterns that bind well to social practices and generate principles that order action and participation.