Philosophy and policy in higher education

November 2011

George RobertsOxford Brookes University

That’s all very well in practice, but how does it work in theory?

Do you use theory as a drunk might use a lamp post:

more for support than illumination?

Objectives

By the end of this discussion, you should be able to:• Elaborate a general “theory of theory”• Explain some of the uses of theory for

understanding educational development and be able to point the way to others

• Locate higher education in the context of the wider institutions of society

• Apply the concept of a “hidden curriculum” to explaining higher education practices

... learning can be enhanced through: a consideration of the context and experience of others, familiarity with received wisdom, reflection on these, and the use of the first hand experience of the learner.

[however]

Discussions of reflection in learning often emphasise the first hand experience of the learner rather than

- the role of formal theory, - the importance of the broader social context - and the experience of others

(Dyke 2006)

Reflective practice?

LEARNING THEORYA THEORY OF THEORY

Why do people learn and teach differently?How can we build on this observation and subsequent explanation to develop our own learning and teaching practice?

2 different orientations towards acquiring knowledge& … 2 functions of theory

Inductive: from observation to theoryTheory building explanatory

Theory attempts to answer the question: “Why?”

Deductive: from theory to observationTheory testing

predictiveTheory attempts to answer the question: “What happens next?”

another orientation towards acquiring knowledge& … another function of theory

holistic

generative

So… theory is:

predictive

explanatory

generative

and, which reminds me… theory is:

Nomotheticoops!

TypicalOr typifying

Or typologising

Or generalising

Here we are typifying “theory”

So, we have a typology of theory…

a nomothetic theory of theory

explanatory

predictive

generative

typifying

And the last bit?

FalsifiableTheory vs.. ideology:

Ideology may well be predictive and explanatory, but instead of generative it is restrictive, instead of typical it is normalising and instead of falsifiable it is enforced. (Popper, 1996)

• Theory “proves” nothing

• Things/the world/observation challenges theory

So, we have a typology of theory…

a theory of theory

Theory is:

explanatory

predictive

generative

typical

falsifiable

TheorySystematic codification or abstraction of:• Accumulated observations (or assertions)• Beliefs

Conceptual framework• Model

An attempt to answer the question, “Why...?”

An approach or a perspective, e.g.:• Positivist• Socio-cultural

See De-localized Production of Scientific Knowledge. (Galison 2007, October 7). Retrieved from http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/mediaberkman/2007/09/21/de-localized-production-of-scientific-knowledge-2/

Learning Theory Discussion

• An attempt to answer the question, “Why...?” or "How?" with a statement: "Because...”

• Why and how do we learn?

• How is it that we come to know things?

• How is it that we come to know things by or in different ways?

HISTORY OF IDEAS“PURPOSE”

Institutions of societyHidden curriculumCritical theory

Visual triggers

• The images on the next two slides are taken from a discussion of higher education in South Africa stimulated by the arts movement Blackwash in the Journal Arts Review, “Africa's Premier Arts And Culture Online Magazine” in 2009. (http://www.artsreview.co.za/)

Discussion

• In light of those pictures• What [the heck] use is “A theory of learning”?– Discuss on the VLE,• By Friday 2 December, post (at least) one idea, that, for

you, is central to this question.• Then, respond to at least one other idea posted by a

colleague.• By Friday 9 December summarise the on-going

discussion in your own words: where did you get to with this?

INSTITUTIONS OF SOCIETY

Institutions of society

• Institutions of production

• Institutions of reproduction

Institutions of production

• Primary– Agriculture, mining, hunting, gathering, etc

• Secondary– Manufacturing, transforming

• Tertiary– Supply, distribution, marketing, banking

Institutions of reproduction

That is cultural reproduction• The family– kin, clan, folk, nation, etc

• Religion• Education• Defense and security– Military, police, etc

• In the last 300 years or so, there has been an inversion

– In the past (when? where?) institutions of production were subordinated to institutions of reproduction

• We enter into this endeavour “for the glory of God” or the “defense of the nation”

– Recently (when? where?) institutions of reproduction have become subordinated to institutions of production

• The function of higher education is to serve industry• The family provided the stable base from which

empolyability skills may be acquired

OECD Purpose of HE?

• Higher education institutions are expected to provide education and training relevant to labour market demands, conduct research activities that will build a knowledge-based economy, as well as contribute to social cohesion, regional development and global well-being. They must also strive constantly to fulfil their multiple missions, improve the quality of the education provided, increase their efficiency and demonstrate their contribution to society.

http://www.oecd.org/document/33/0,3746,en_21571361_47736552_48511009_1_1_1_1,00.html

The real university?

• The real university has no specific location … [it] is a state of mind. It is that great cultural heritage of rational thought that has been brought down to us through the centuries … which is regenerated throughout the centuries by a body of people who traditionally carry the title of [academics] … The real university is nothing less than the continuing body of reason itself.

(Pirsig 1974: 143)

HIDDEN CURRICULUM

• Overt curriculum of the early modern age– “3 Rs”: Reading, ‘Riting and ‘Rithmatic– Reproduction of these cultural goods, universal

literacy and numeracy, would benefit both the individual as well as society

• Today’s overt curriculum (perhaps)– Flexibility– Community/team work– Individualisation or personalisation

Industrial era covert curriculm

• Set against the “3 Rs”– Reading, ‘Riting and ‘Rithmatic

• Schools taught– Punctuality– Tolerance of repetition– Subordination

Post industrial“knowledge economy” covert curriculum

• Set against– Flexibility, community and individualisation

• We see– Piecework, precarity, competition– Normalisation– Surveillance

CRITICAL THEORY

Stephen Brookfield’s four “critical reflective lenses”

1. our “autobiography as teachers and learners”, i.e.

through our own eyes

2. through our students eyes

3. through our colleagues’ experience and peer

review

4. through the theoretical literature

Theoretical literature helps us to name our practice

and to find that it is not idiosyncratic

Expose hidden assumptions

Structured reduction of complexity• What is left out of the model?

Indirect object of learning• Hidden curriculum

Creative appropriation

Critical theory

• anti-essentialist/critical realist: the basic givens of existence are fluid and unstable

• heteroglossic/dialogic: all thinking is largely determined by prior cultural experience

• language is an actor (weak linguistic determinism)

• meaning is characterised by ambiguity

• context is everything

• grand narratives v petits recipts

Typical critical theory

Positivism: an orthodoxy?

• Anti-metaphysical/clericalist, accumulist theory of knowledge based on observation plus logic.

• Theory is simply the codification of accumulated knowledge and not of particular importance.

• Logic plus observation can lead to a grand unification of all knowledge. (Galison, 2007)

Socio-culturalism:the new orthodoxy?

Social constructivism• The simplest utterance, far from reflecting a constant,

rigid correspondence between sound and meaning, is really a process. … the inner relationship we were looking for was not a prerequisite for, but rather a product of, the historical development of human consciousness. (Vygotsky)

• All observation is theory laden (Popper)• Disciplines are like ships passing in the night (Kuhn)• Cultures parse the world differently (Galison)

Most academics - in the humanities and social sciences, particularly - come at their subject these days from a relativist perspective: knowledge is "in here"; there is no knowledge without the knower; knowledge is "constructed" in cultural contexts; knowledge is not "given" or "out there". There is no "absolute truth".

This position is quite different from the classical approach: knowledge is "out there"; the "laws of nature" are independent from the mind of the investigator; there is "truth" to be discovered. This approach depends on the "independent, objective observer", who can stand aside from the observed phenomenon and form an unbiased view.

This classical approach is the traditional position of many scientists, as well the commonsense view of how knowledge is produced, which (according to Scollon) is held by an international public discourse of commerce and government.

(Scollon 2003: 71)

In Discussion: Consider this

The classical approach

– Can you illustrate how this classical approach is held by a “common sense”, “international public discourse of commerce and government”?

– Or, perhaps, to rephrase the question, what is the purpose of university?

APPROACHES TO TEACHING

Kolb’s Learning Cycle

Honey and Mumford• Activitists (Do)

– Immerse themselves fully in new experiences– Enjoy here and now– Open minded, enthusiastic, flexible– Act first, consider consequences later– Seek to centre activity around themselves

• Reflectors (Review)– Stand back and observe– Cautious, take a back seat– Collect and analyze data about experience and events, slow to reach conclusions– Use information from past, present and immediate observations to maintain a big

picture perspective.• Theorists (Conclude)

– Think through problems in a logical manner, value rationality and objectivity– Assimilate disparate facts into coherent theories– Disciplined, aiming to fit things into rational order– Keen on basic assumptions, principles, theories, models and systems thinking

• Pragmatists (Plan)– Keen to put ideas, theories and techniques into practice– Search new ideas and experiment– Act quickly and confidently on ideas, gets straight to the point– Are impatient with endless discussion

Teaching Perspectives

• Transmission• Apprenticeship• Developmental• Nurturing• Social Reform

http://teachingperspectives.com/

Results

This is the second time I did this. The first time my Dv score was equal to my Nu score. Like all these sorts of inventories, the results are not fixed nor do they represent any absolute characterisation of the individual.

Wider aims:a theory of good practice?

These items have been shown to explain and predict successful learning outcomes

• student-tutor contact • student-student co-operation• active learning• prompt feedback• time on task• high expectations• diverse talents and ways of learning

(Chickering & Gamson, 1987)

independent of the mode of engagement

THANK YOU

George RobertsSenior Lecturer, Educational DevelopmentOCSLDWheatley CampusOxford Brookes UniversityOxford, OX33 1HX

groberts@brookes.ac.ukhttp://www.google.com/profiles/georgebroberts