Antonio Gramsci

This book overviews Gramsci s educational theories and pedagogical approach, arguing that both are firmly embedded in his revolutionary political practice and writings, especially during his long incarceration in the 1920s and 1930s, when he theorised a new `philosophy of praxis . Gramsci s view that every relationship of hegemony is necessarily a pedagogical relationship makes it imperative to dismiss narrow and formal interpretations of his educational theories as applying to schooling only. This book argues that what is required rather is an enquiry into the Italian thinker s broad conceptualisation of pedagogy, which he thought as a quintessential political activity, central to understanding and transforming society.
The book is divided in five chapters which examine Gramsci s pedagogical approach within its historical and intellectual context. Chapter one provides the biographical information and historical context informing Gramsci s thinking up to his imprisonment by the Fascist state. Chapter two examines Gramsci s pedagogy in the context of the theoretical framework advanced mainly in the Prison Notebooks. Chapter three investigates Gramsci s ideas on schooling and school reform. Chapter four focuses on Gramsci extensive writings on adult education, which he saw as being central to political change. The last chapter maps out the legacy of Gramsci s ideas on post-war educational theory and pedagogical approaches.