[Ex] changing pedagogies (original) (raw)
Related papers
Towards a sociology of teaching and learning: politicising pedagogic praxis
Giving this paper has been an opportunity for us to bring together ideas we have been thinking about together for some years now. Our preoccupations have grown both out of our educational development work in the university sector and out of our day-to-day experiences as practising academics who have had non-traditional career trajectories including plenty of short contract work. Generally we focus on three broad areas: policies and discursive practices as they impact on learning and teaching; the professional identity of academics and academics in the making; and, the role of the university. We have attempted to make sense of these areas by examining them through social theories. We have no strong allegiances but we are interested in examining the possibilities for alternative futures in opposition to official 'social pathways' (Cooper, 2001).
Educational research for social change, 2016
This article is an attempt to bring the social complexity of education into a conversation with what is referred to as a humanising pedagogy. In the article, I work with a definition of humanising pedagogy based on a three-dimensional conception of social justice. Drawing on Nancy Fraser (2009), I suggest that such a pedagogy should involve 1) the question of knowledge redistribution, 2) recognition of the knowledges, literacies, and identities of students, and 3) an emphasis on participation that brings process pedagogical orientations back into view to counter the rigid pedagogical orientation that informs South Africa's curriculum approach. The article unpacks what it means to insert a conception of the social-subjective into educational theorising in South African education academic work. I argue that this dimension is largely absent in hegemonic educational academic orientations, the consequence of which is a thinned-out focus on curriculum and pedagogy, devoid of how the complex social-subjective frames the subject's access to education. Based on my ethnographic work in urban sites, the article offers a view of the social-subjective that is aimed at disrupting South African educational theorising and provides a "pedagogical justice" view of education that may, conceptually, be able to account for the complex social-subjective in education-and thereby better enable the emergence of a humanising pedagogy in our educational discourses.
Rulers of consciousness: the university and the Pedagogic Device
2009
Over the last five years we have been engaged with a highly theorized research project in South African curriculum reform that created an abstract holding space where very different communities, interest groups and specialist players engaged in the process of curriculum reform were placed together. Theoretical and empirical research within the esoteric space of university practice constructed a playing field where all the major contributors to curriculum reform, ranging from those involved in conceptualization to those directly working on implementation, could come together under an overarching conceptual educational form called the Pedagogic Device. It was a curious space – the different strata worked with various and sometimes conflicting logics, each concentrating on fulfilling their own mandate, often not lifting their heads to see what those above and below them were doing. Using the Pedagogic Device as an orienting tool we were able to walk through the post apartheid education...
A humanising pedagogy: Getting beneath the rhetoric
Perspectives in Education, 2012
In this article, the authors situate and make an argument for a humanising pedagogy in response to the legacy of a dehumanising past in South Africa. They describe the inquiry into a humanising pedagogy by means of mining stories of living and learning in South Africa. The authors explain how the meanings and praxis of a humanising pedagogy unfold as the story of the work unfolds. One result of the work has been a working collection of “Statements of awareness” that are authentic and significant, though still evolving, which frame a humanising pedagogy. Keywords: Humanising pedagogy, humanising praxis, narrative inquiry, liberatory education, emancipatory methodology
Appropriate pedagogy for practice, the ha-ha in the higher education landscape
In this paper I argue that appropriate methods and approaches in university teaching require an on-going ontological and epistemological debate. A pedagogic orientation implies a framework for educational decision making and participation that can result in strategic educational failure if it is poorly understood. Pedagogy is a universal educational concept and is part of every constructed educational endeavour. From my perspective as an educator in a vocational educational setting, the understanding of educational concepts is generally scant. Educational terminology is rarely used amongst the educators and words such as pedagogy are ambiguous and foreign to the practitioner educator. Maybe educators fear being wrong educationally, not adhering to the rules of education and therefore not engaging constructively with the concepts. This paper might not demystify the topic completely, but an attempt will be made to narrow the gap, or the ha-ha in the applicable landscape. The educational reference in the paper is that of a University of Technology (UoT) within the Higher Education (HE) setting in South Africa, and will be briefly contextualised. The ha-ha is metaphorically applied to illustrate the possibility of similar hidden landscaped illusions in higher educational settings. Accountability therefore lies with the architects of the HE landscape and their influence on the educational approach, as well as the teacher-academic who needs to facilitate individual learning towards economic sustainability.
In the context of the complex challenges facing higher education, this article aims to illustrate how the translation of theoretical insights into a carefully formulated set of questions, can function as a flexible, discipline-specific developmental framework for curriculum development. Drawing primarily on Bernstein's (2000) concept of the pedagogical device and also on the work of Maton and Muller , Muller , , and Wheelahan , the authors argue that this process, without either alienating or patronising staff, has the potential to strengthen the theoretical understanding of their curricula by raising awareness about differentiated knowledge domains and the extent to which this impacts on curriculum design. This facilitates a collaborative process of critical discussion and debate which highlights the importance of access to knowledge, and encourages exploration of the nature of disciplines; their shaping values; the kinds of curricula that emerge from them; and the associated student and staff identities.
An expanded definition of "pedagogy": An essay review
Education Review, 2007
Citation: Fassbinder, Samuel Day. (2007). An expanded definition of "pedagogy": An essay review. (2007) Pedagogy and praxis in the age of empire: Towards a new humanism. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
A (De) Humanising Pedagogy: Let the Teachers Speak
2019
Given the nature of South Africa's linguistically and culturally diverse classrooms, it is inevitable that teaching and learning from a social justice perspective be prioritised to address injustices and inequities. Paulo Freire (1970), who laments the state of dehumanization in education argues "the only effective instrument in the process of re-humanization is humanizing pedagogy." In this case study I draw on conversations with teachers in which I explore their understandings of a humanising pedagogy to answer questions 'What does a humanizing pedagogy encompass? What does it require of us in the context of teaching and learning environments?' I conclude that a humanizing pedagogy is crucial for both teacher and student success and critical for the academic and social resilience of students. The work emanates from a project between universities in South Africa and Brazil.
For over four decades, Basil Bernstein researched 'the internal organisation and educational context of the school' specifically, and educational systems generally. In particular, he was interested in the powerful forms of knowledge transmitted through schooling systems; who gained access to these forms of knowledge; how they did so; and with what consequences. His research began by examining the differences between language and communication patterns in the institutions of the home/family and of the school, and extended to examining the structuring of pedagogic discourse from the level of the state to the classroom. This collection brings together chapters by researchers from South Africa, Portugal, the United Kingdom, United States, and Australia, to build on the theoretical concepts developed by Bernstein to explore issues of access and acquisition to school knowledge. In addition, contributors explore the strengths and limitations of Bernstein's work for understanding the structuring of educational institutions, as well as the potential of the theory for assisting educators to make a difference in the lives of students.