Boundaries of the Educational Imagination

Wayne Hugo

Description

The educational imagination is the capacity to think critically beyond our located, daily experiences of education. It breaks away from the immediacy of personal understanding by placing education within wider, deeper and longer contexts. Boundaries of the Educational Imagination develops the educational imagination by answering six questions: What happens when we expand continuously outwards from one school to all the schools of the world?; What happens if we go inside a school and explore how its material equipment has changed over the past 300 years?; What is the smallest educational unit in our brain and how does it allow an almost infinite expansion of knowledge?; What is the highest level of individual development we can teach students to aspire towards?; What role does education play in a world that is producing more and more complex knowledge increasingly quickly?; How do small knowledge elements combine to produce increasingly complex knowledge forms? Each question goes on a journey towards limit points in education so that educational processes can be placed within a bigger framework that allows new possibilities, fresh options and more critical engagement. These questions are then pulled together into a structuring framework enabling the reader to grasp how this complex subject works.

Sujets

• Education

Informations

• Publié par: African Minds
• Date de parution: 02 février 2016
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9781928331025
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

w a y n e h u g o boundaries of the educational imagination

Boundarîes o the Educatîona ïmagînatîon

WAY N E H U G O

AFRïCAN MïNDS

Pubîshed în 2015 by Arîcan Mînds 4 Ecceston Pace, Somerset West, 7130, Cape Town, South Arîca îno@arîcanmînds.org.za www.arîcanmînds.org.za

CC2015 Wayne Hugo A contents o thîs document, uness specîIed otherwîse, are îcensed under a Creatîve Commons Attrîbutîon 4.0 ïnternatîona Lîcense

ïSBN 978-1-928331-01-8 Prînt 978-1-928331-02-5 Ebook 978-1-928331-03-2 ePub

ORDERS: Arîcan Mînds îno@arîcanmînds.org.za www.arîcanmînds.org.za For orders rom outsîde Arîca: Arîcan Books Coectîve PO Box 721, Oxord OX1 9EN, UK orders@arîcanbookscoectîve.com

Contents

ïntroductîon 1

Chapter 1A the schoos o the word 12

Chapter 246Unpackîng cassrooms

Chapter 366How the ‘braîn’ earns

Chapter 4101Chartîng the space between demons and anges

Chapter 5121Hîstory o the word în a chîd

Chapter 6From one-word cassroom to one earnîng sequence 140

Chapter 7156Concusîon: exercîsîng the educatîona îmagînatîon

Reerences 168

Endnotes 172

ADEA BRïCS HDï ïQ LEDC MEDC MîRTLE MïT MïT SACMEQ

TED UNE UNESCO

Abbreviations

Assocîatîon or the Deveopment o Educatîon în Arîca Brazî, Russîa, ïndîa, Chîna and South Arîca human deveopment îndex înteîgence quotîent ess economîcay deveoped countrîes more economîcay deveoped countrîes mîxed reaîty teachîng and earnîng envîronment Massachusetts ïnstîtute o Technoogy mutîpe înteîgence theory SouthernandEasternArîcanConsortîumorMonîtorîng Educatîon Quaîty Technoogy, Entertaînment, Desîgn Unîversîty o New Engand Unîted Natîons Economîc, Socîa and Cutura Organîsatîon

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Introduction

The educatîona îmagînatîon îs not ree to wander and drît wîthout dîscîpîne. ït has to work wîth what îs specîIcay educatîona, earn to push îts boundarîes, twîst and eap wîthîn and beyond îts rues în ways that îumînate. There îs a dîscîpîne to the educatîona îmagînatîon and thîs book sets out to make expîcît îts buîdîng bocks and processes, as we as demonstrate ît în actîon. To stretch the educatîona îmagînatîon means Irst beîng abe to recognîse îts boundarîes. We can start întuîtîvey wîth a natura eve o ocus: a teacher wîth earners în a cassroom workîng through a esson. The probem îs that we quîcky Ind ourseves în a kînd o Russîan do sîtuatîon: dos wîthîn dos wîthîn dos. ït îs hard to work out what the bîggest and smaest dos shoud be and how they a reate în educatîona terms. The cassroom îs part o a schoo wîthîn a dîstrîct. Learners are în a grade: et’s take grade 6 as a mîdde poînt. A more compex grade awaîts them and a sîmper grade îs aready competed. They are în stages o deveopment wîth înteectua, înguîstîc, emotîona, mora, aesthetîc and physîca dîmensîons that are not necessarîy harmonîsed; and they îve wîthîn dîferent communîtîes revovîng around amîy and rîends. The teacher îs eîther stî înexperîenced în her specîaîsatîon, experîenced, or an expert carryîng a the traces o her own educatîona experîences. The esson has îts eementary components and îs a part o a arger subject currîcuum that îs sequenced or încreasîng compexîty. ït îs aso ocated în a day that has moved rom a prevîous esson towards another esson or break. At îts sîmpestBoundarîes o the Educatîona ïmagînatîonasks you to contînuousy move between arger and smaer sets whîst ookîng or connectîons and înks. We can catch these eementary operatîons dîagrammatîcay. Dos wîthîn dos wîthîn dos (Igure î.1): the argest încudes the smaest. The educatîona îmagînatîon has to earn how to cîmb through these eves rom smaest to argest, rom concrete to abstract, rom partîcuar to genera, rom part to whoe.

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Boundarîes o the Educatîona ïmagînatîon

Hierarchical

Fîgure î.1 ïncusîve hîerarchîca eves

Dos wîthîn dos wîthîn dos are înked together în compex patterns (Igure î.2). The educatîona îmagînatîon has to earn how to negotîate the dîferences and înter-reatîonshîps between dîferent systems.

Heterarchical Fîgure î.2 Dîferent sets o hîerarchîca eves connected together

The patterns sketched out above contînue to expand outwards, upwards, înwards and downwards. The schoo dîstrîct expands outwards to provînce, country, subcontînent and contînent; deveopîng or deveoped regîon; east or west, north or south; and on a goba scae. The schoo aso exîsts în a space that expands outwards to the suburb, communîty and ocaîty wîth a the compexîtîes o cass, race, gender and cuture attached. The teacher brîngs more than her growîng expertîse: she has networks that operate across the grades she teaches, the subjects she specîaîses în, the admînîstratîve and eadershîp roes she occupîes, and the proessîona bodîes to whîch she beongs. Her pedagogy îs a mîxture o deep habîts deveoped over her own engthy perîod în schoo as a earner, the practîces encouraged as she specîaîsed în the proessîon and the embedded tradîtîons o

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