The Purposes of Education by John Hattie and Steen Nepper Larson

In December we are delighted to welcome long-time Reading Network member Winne O’Connell Wong to open our discussion. Winne is a PhD candidate at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland. Her research is a philosophical/theoretical exploration of receptivity in the face of diversity and divisions, with emphases on epistemic virtues such as humility and trust, and listening and reading as modes of reception in educational settings.

She has concentrated particularly on Chapters 6, 8, 10 and 11 to compose the following provocations:

1) Should teachers be perceived as factors? Resources? Facilitators? Fremdenführer? Parts of a composite? Do you work from/embrace any of these positions/roles as an educator? (Ch. 6)

2) Will it be possible to revitalise Bildung in today’s educational institutions? Is Bildung for everyone? I am thinking not only in terms of social class, but also in pedagogical settings which are culturally diverse. Will the incorporation of Bildung reinforce the Eurocentric nature of knowledge and further marginalise knowledges that are not privileged by the people in power? Can the concept of Bildung be adapted to accommodate diversity? (I lifted part of the questions from the end of chapter 8 as I think they are really good questions.) 

3) In chapters 10 and 11, Hattie and Larsen discuss education as a national(ist) project, citizenship and decentering. How critical is it for teachers to consider these notions? I am thinking particularly of what teachers can or should do when they are charged with the teaching of “stories” which might contribute to the strengthening of national myths, as Hattie and Larsen point out.