Reinterpreting the pedagogy of care through non-affirmative theory in the era of neoliberal education

Abstract Increasing evidence suggests a global shift in education towards market-driven policy has eroded fundamental human virtues including relationships, empathy, responsiveness, and important of collective practices, resulting in a moral crisis of care that affects students, teachers, and families. This shift has led to what Butler terms moral precarity, raising concerns that younger generation may lose their sense of responsibility and commitment to care for others. Drawing on existing literature, this paper suggests that the ethics of care with its relational ontology and maternal epistemology provides a robust ethical framework to address these challenges. However, critics argue that care ethics may inadvertently neglect respect for autonomy, creating a tension between relational interdependence and individual autonomy. This paper posits that non-affirmative theory offers conceptual tools, particularly through the notions of summoning to self-activity and recognition, to address this ontological tension. Summoning reframes autonomy as a relational practice, enabling critical self-awareness and moral agency within caring relationships. This integration transforms the ethics of care from a relational ontology to a relational-autonomous ontology, emphasizing the dynamic interplay of interdependence and autonomy. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of this reinterpretation for school pedagogy and policy, suggesting an ethical reorientation of neoliberal practices to foster a pedagogy grounded in care and autonomy. Future research directions include empirical studies on implementing relational-autonomous pedagogy to promote caring schools where the young generation have the capacity to care for others while respecting their autonomy.