Résumé
In this article, I take a critical stance against the individualist and essentialist conceptions of self embedded in educational policy and practice in the contemporary west and global north. To envision an alternative, I draw from relational and multiple conceptions of self that acknowledge how lived experience becomes integrated into our subjectivity. I will argue relational and multiple conceptions of self offer a more accurate account of what is involved in living as a subject, something our educational work needs to take seriously. The article offers an account of the limitations of the individualist account in terms of its historical origins and explanatory weakness and then positions relationally constituted conceptions as meaningfully address these limitations. After outlining these views, I proceed to explore some implications for our educational work with selfs, and frame these as reflecting a public quality.