Kelvin Smythe has been critically following Hattie’s work for a long time and is almost his absolute antipode. Smythe follows up on the recent publication of methodological flaws in Hattie’s research (see earlier posts on this blog here and here). In addition, he is critical of the connection between Hattie’s rsearch and the neoliberal education agenda.
Several of us on this Blog Collective have been avid critics of neoliberal trends in education. One of the outcomes of that is the book ‘Het Alternatief’ (The Alternative) that has been quite influential in recent education developments in the Netherlands. An international version of The Alternative will be published next Spring.
Smythe is not mild in his criticism of John Hattie. The reader may decide for themselves if he has a point.