REDEFINING THE BASICS: WHAT REALLY MATTERS IN EDUCATIONGert Biesta

Brunel University London – ArtEZ Institute of the Arts, the Netherlands

where do I come from?physics teacher for about 10 years

studied education (pedagogiek) and philosophytaught education (pedagogiek) in the Netherlands (1990-1999)

Professor of Education in Engeland, Schotland, Luxemburg (1999-2014)visiting professor Sweden and Norway

now: Brunel University London (education) and ArtEZ (art education)member of the Education Council of the Netherlands

focus of my work: theory and policy of educationwith an ongoing interest in democracy and democratisation

and I write a lot . . .

REDEFINING THE BASICS – Denmark February 2015

TWO OF MY FAVOURITE ENGLISH EXPRESSIONS

“If you stand for nothing, you will fall for anything.”

“To teach your grandmother to suck eggs.”↓

I don’t claim that I say much that is new.

but perhaps we have lost a language to talk about these things,so that there is a need to rediscover and reclaim a different language for education

and perhaps we have ended up in a system that prevents us from thinking and talking about what really matters in education

What matters in education?What should matter in education?

What’s it all about?

A FEW DIFFERENT ANSWERS

LEARNING?a very popular option

for example: learning environments, learning communities, personalised learning, collaborative learning, learning to learn, lifelong learning, and so on

DEVELOPMENT?also a popular option

for example: education as supporting the child’s development, letting children develop all their talents or their full potential, and so on

FORMATION?perhaps an old and old-fashioned concept, but nonetheless . . .

[there may be a translation issue, as formation is not the same as Bildung][let’s leave Bildung to the Germans!]

↓education as the ‘encounter’ of child and world

in which the child comes “into the world” and “into a worldly form”↓

which requires that we also give a place to what is ‘out there’“world-centred education”

A FEW STEPS BACK: THE ‘LEARNIFICATION’ OF EDUCATION

the rise of a ‘new language of learning’

in Englishpupils/students/children/adults → learners

teaching → facilitating learningschools → learning environmentsadult education → lifelong learning

but also in (many) other languages

and the school that didn’t want to call itself a schoolbut ‘a place for learning’

WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?

the point of education is not that children/students learn . . . ... but that they learn something, that they learn this for a reason, and that they

learn it from someone

education always raises questions about content, purpose and relationships

the language of learning makes it far more difficult to keep this into view

THE QUESTION OF PURPOSE IS CENTRAL AND FUNDAMENTAL

if you do not know what you seek to achieve, you cannot decidewhat the most appropriate content is, how relations should be utilised,

and what kind of educational forms are the most appropriate ones

but . . . unique for education is that the question of purpose is multi-dimensional

↓all education functions in relation to three domains

qualification: knowledge & skills (specific or broad/general)socialisation: traditions and practices, ways of doing and being

socio-cultural, political, professional, religious, and so onsubjectification: the formation of the persone.g., responsible, grown-up, compassionate

hence we need to take explicit responsibility for what may happen in these domains

three functions of education AND three domains of purpose

a detail: socialisation = identity (who am I?)subjectification = subject-ness (how am I?)

A SIMPLE PICTURE (1)

an encompassing conception of educationwhere there is attention subject-matter, tradition and the person

also shows what the problem is when we reduce education to only one domain(three possible reductions – hence three problems)

↓education that is out of balance (which much education policy is)

good education is in balanceit requires three-dimensional thinking and doing

and three-dimensional policy and research

A SIMPLE PICTURE (2)

which reveals the complexity of the work of the teacher

THE QUESTIONS THAT KEEP COMING BACKat all levels, from the classroom all the way ‘up’ to policy (and research)

[1] WHAT DO WE WANT STUDENTS TO ACHIEVE IN EACH OF THE DOMAINS?What should they know and be able to do?

Which traditions and practices do we want to make them part of?What kind of qualities of persoonhood do we want to foster?

always working with the tension between connecting and ‘letting go’engagement and emancipation

[2] WHICH EDUCATIONAL FORMS AND EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES ARE MOST APPROPRIATE FOR THIS?

this is not just a question of effectivenessbut it is also a question of educative quality

reward and punishment may be effective but not necessarily educativefor example: Why shouldn’t we pay students for what they produce?

effectiveness and educative quality also need to be consideredin the far too hyped discussion about digital technology

and perhaps the most important question of all

[3] HOW TO ENGAGE WITH THE INEVITABLE TENSION BETWEEN THE THREE DOMAINS?

‘achievement’ in one domain often limits what is possible in other domains↓

see particularly the one-side emphasis on qualification

How do we get/maintain a meaningful balance?

in the short term there can be temporary one-sidednessbut in the longer term we need keep the educational endeavour in balance

THE NECESSITY OF JUDGEMENTwith each question (purposes, forms, tension)

the answer does not come from research or evidence or policybut requires judgement

↓normative judgement – judgement that involves values

based upon/informed by a vision about good educationand a vision about being human and living together

WHICH VALUES? WHICH POINTS OF REFERENCE?

an often-told story . . .

society is changing at a very high paceglobalisation, digitalisation, individualisation, and so on

we do not know what the future will look liketoday’s knowledge will quickly be out-dated

we use a 20th century (or even 19th century) educational systemto prepare students for the 21st century

↓hence education needs to be completely transformed

give students skills instead of knowledgeso that they can flexibly adapt to a rapidly changing environment

(for example 21st century skills)

TRUE? or FALSE?

OR HALF TRUE?

“society is changing at a very high pace”

for some, in some domains and some parts of the world this is true

but for others, elsewhere and in other domains things have changed very little

we do not know what the future will look liketoday’s knowledge will quickly be out-dated

for some, in some domains and some parts of the world this is true

but other challenges remain remarkable constant

DEMOCRACY ECOLOGY CARE

because they have to do with living and living together (not with survival),about which our knowledge does not become out-dated that quickly

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR EDUCATION?

in many countries there is a strong tendency to approach education in terms of the (global) economy – competition – survival

which often inform what are considered to be ‘the basics’ of education

we need a broader frame of reference↓

democracy – ecology – care

THE REAL BASICS – OF SOCIETY AND EDUCATION

we need to think and do economy differently(sustainability)

we need to shift from competition to collaboration, dialogue and solidarity(sustainability)

and we need to shift from survival to life(sustainability)

↓WHAT DOES THIS THEN MEAN FOR EDUCATION?

DOES THE SHIFT FROM SURVIVAL TO LIFE REQUIRE THATWE FOCUS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF ALL THE CHILD’S TALENTS?

developing ‘the full potential’ of the child

an educational mistake?every child has a talent for doing right and doing wrong;

morality and criminality are both the outcome of developmental processes

the educational task is not to develop the full potential of the childbut to interrupt development: to raise questions, to examine

Is what is desired indeed desirable? Is what I desire indeed desirable?for my own life, and our life with others on this planet

↓transition from an ego-centric/infantile to an

other-centred/grown-up way of being in the world

grown-up-ness: being in the world, without being in the centre of the world

transforming our desires so that they can sustain a grown-up being in the worldparticularly important in a world that just wants us to have more desires,

but is not interested in having the right desires↓

democracy – ecology – care

TO SUM UP

WHAT IS GOOD EDUCATION?

education that knows that qualification is not the only thing that matters

education that seeks to achieve a balance betweenqualification – socialisation – subjectification

WHAT SHOULD REALLY MATTER IN EDUCATION?

learning? development? formation!↓

formation towards a grown-up way of being in the worldin which we acknowledge and care for what and who is other

grown-up-ness is at stake indemocracy – ecology – care

these are the real basics of education

THANK YOU

www.gertbiesta.comwww.twitter.com/gbiesta