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Context – and Emma’s tale
A present context: the unemployed graduate
‘Last year, I created a new society for the University, for my course. That involved
quite a lot of responsibility and taking control and I’ve never been in that, sort of,
leadership position before. … the society stuff definitely helped my degree – if
no other reason than just feeling more accessible to the lecturers and the tutors.
‘I’m [also] an artist .. I tend to do [large] landscapes in acylics.
Q Do you see that as something quite separate or do you think it spills over in any
way?
‘Yeah, I think it does in a way because I was thinking about how long it takes me to
do the paintings, I think that’s, kind of, patience and the motivation to do it
because there’s times when I think, I just want to give up.’](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/ronaldbarnettconf10-101108053453-phpapp02/75/Ronald-barnett-conf_10-2-2048.jpg)
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More from Educational Development Division, University of Liverpool
Ronald barnett conf_10
- 1. A Curriculum foran Uncertain World Ronald Barnett, Institute of Education, London Annual conference on Learning and Teaching University of Liverpool, 23 June 2010 Centre for Higher Education Studies Sub-brand to go here
- 2. 2 Context – andEmma’s tale A present context: the unemployed graduate ‘Last year, I created a new society for the University, for my course. That involved quite a lot of responsibility and taking control and I’ve never been in that, sort of, leadership position before. … the society stuff definitely helped my degree – if no other reason than just feeling more accessible to the lecturers and the tutors. ‘I’m [also] an artist .. I tend to do [large] landscapes in acylics. Q Do you see that as something quite separate or do you think it spills over in any way? ‘Yeah, I think it does in a way because I was thinking about how long it takes me to do the paintings, I think that’s, kind of, patience and the motivation to do it because there’s times when I think, I just want to give up.’
- 3. 3 Beginning questions So fromthis starting point: Just what is it to be a graduate in the C21? Just what might we hope for from our students? What might they want of themselves? Employability? Career? But, NB, global recession, graduate unemployment, weak and fluid patters of transition from HE-world of work, successively shorter periods of employment in any one area, ‘portfolio’ work patterns Being a citizen, contributing to the social, political and cultural fabric So, what is it to learn in a university? What are the responsibilities of a university towards its students?
- 4. 4 Changing answers Built successivelyaround the themes of: - knowledge/ understanding (‘initiation’) - skills (‘employability’) Problems: - Neither my knowledge nor my skills may be adequate tomorrow - I may have all the knowledge or skills in the world but (a) I many not be inclined to use them; (b) I may use them inappropriately and may even harm the world.
- 5. 5 The twenty-first century •Challenge • Change • Uncertainty – of/in the world; in one’s very being • Complexity/ supercomplexity • Division – differences – of values, of resources, of perspectives • Global dimension
- 6. 6 Employability – aninadequate concept • ‘Employability’ – a concept that denotes the transition from higher education to the wider world • Inadequate concept, a thin concept • But the ‘world of work’ is a troublesome concept • Not merely graduate unemployment • Or rapid transitions – from accountancy to primary school teacher – a fluid world • But implies the wider world & the world of work are coterminous • But there is a wider world beyond wld of work that exerts its calling
- 7. 7 Being in theworld • Not just being in the world but being in the world; • What is it to be in the world? • In a world that is changing and contestable at that? • We have to be in certain kinds of way; • Persons of a certain kind • So is emerging a (renewed) concern with students as persons
- 8. 8 A schema • Acting •Being • Knowing NB: even knowledge and action require engagement, ultimately; they cannot be inert.
- 9. 9 Forms of inquiry(Liu) • Intellectual inquiry • Practical inquiry • Emotional inquiry – Being oneself; placing one’s being into the inquiry (cf the personal pronoun (‘I’) in PhD theses)
- 10. 10 Crossing the disciplines -The weightings of the three dimensions vary - Characteristically, one is dominant - Compare sciences/ humanities/ professional/ creative arts fields - Other dimensions (Bigland; Becher; Liu): - Hard/soft (quantitative/ qualitative) - Academic/ professional
- 11. 11 Reclaiming the student •Both knowledge and skills are exterior • Now, the student as person is being called forth • Reflective logs; attitudes; values; ‘global citizen’; personality structure; group projects • Sense in post-modernity that the individual has to give of herself; always remaking herself • A heavy burden (that is too much for some)
- 12. 12 The re-birth ofbreadth • Formerly, breadth – a matter of breadth across disciplines • Then a mix of knowledge and skills • Now: the insertion of the student into the process of inquiry – ‘Personalisation’ • But unduly technologicised, eg: – Personal tutoring systems; – Problem-based inquiry; – Interactive WLEs
- 13. 13 Lifewide learning • Distinguishlifelong learning/ lifewide learning – And the C21 calls for both • Lifewide learning – explicitly connects with the life-world of the student • Many students are lifewide learners • - with learning experiences that are demanding • - and are contributing to their learning within the U (Emma’s tale) – thro the formation of their Ds and Qs • And LW lng is also helping their formation as global citizens • So: what is special about the student’s academic learning? • How are universities to respond?
- 14. 14 Students as GlobalCitizens • A care/ concern for the world • A sense of interconnectedness • Not living in one’s own world • Helping to bring about a better world (cf ‘wisdom’) • A project of ‘engagement’ • Implies first-handedness; genuine (critical) thought & action • Impact on curricula • And on opportunities while a student
- 15. 15 The ideas of‘graduate attributes’ & ‘graduateness’ • (So) the world presents human being with considerable challenges – technical, social, communicative, personal • We look to graduates esp to be human beings who can live purposively in the face of these challenges • Even to be exemplary human beings • Such a world requires, in the first place, neither knowledge nor skills but human beings of certain kinds • Searching for a language – ‘graduate attributes’; ‘graduateness’ • My own suggestion: ‘dispositions’ and ‘qualities’
- 16. 16 Dispositions for aworld of challenge • A will to learn • A will to engage • A preparedness to listen • A preparedness to explore • A willingness to hold oneself open to experiences • A determination to keep going forward
- 17. 17 Qualities for aworld of challenge • Carefulness • Courage • Resilience • Self-discipline • Integrity • Restraint • Respect for others • Openness (Qs are extendable; & offer a palette of pathways to a worthwhile identity)
- 18. 18 The (higher) educationalsignificance of the dispositions and qualities • The dispositions and qualities are concomitants of a genuine higher education • Curricula and pedagogies could nurture them • But often fall short • Students are denied curricula space, and pedagogical affirmation and encouragement • But the dispositions and qualities (above) are logically implied in a ‘higher’ education.
- 19. 19 The ecological curriculum Promotes: •Beingin the world •Sensitive to its interconnectedness •Not inert but engaged •- in its sustainability and even its improvement •A care for the world •The student as global citizen •An active empathy for the world Contains •Spaces for reflection; critical self-reflection •And spaces for engagement, with self, society and the world (problems) • Multidisciplinary - a demanding set of experiences
- 20. 20 The ecological graduate •Self-sustaining, yes, but • a self-understanding on different levels – global/ local; personal/ professional; systems/ ideas/ persons; • Different ecological registers (networks & nodes) • - and having a care/ concern towards them and their wellbeing • Recognizing the call of responsibilities towards not merely their sustainability (including one’s own sustainability) but also their improvement • (cf the financial crisis and the banking ‘industry’ – devoid of an ‘ecological’ perspective – business as usual) • The Ec G works in and for the interests of the world.
- 21. 21 Conclusions: conditions ofa contemporary curriculum Spaces for K/ A and B; and their interconnections Encourages the student to K/ A and B on different levels Including the global context Encourages student to reflect on his/ her LWL Includes the language of ‘responsibility/ responsibilities’ Nurtures the Ds and opens spaces for the flourishing of the student’s own Qs Not just matters for the curriculum - but also crucially for pedagogy, for the student-teacher relationship But also raises qs as to what we take a university to be in the modern age – can the university identity and live out its responsibilities in the world? Institute of Education University of London 20 Bedford Way London WC1H 0AL Tel +44 (0)20 7612 6000 Fax +44 (0)20 7612 6126 Email [email protected] Web www.ioe.ac.uk