Exploring Biesta’s notion of pointing: teacher educators collaborating to resist the status quo

Leslie, Pippa ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3513-5995 , Cochrane, Janet, Heck, Deborah, Robertson, Ann, Smith, Karyn and Marshman, Margaret (2024) Exploring Biesta’s notion of pointing: teacher educators collaborating to resist the status quo. In: TEAN (Teacher Education Advancement Network) Conference 2024, 22-23 May 2024, Manchester, UK. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

This paper has its origins in our membership in an ITERC Biesta reading group collaboration, centred around discussions of Gert Biesta’s (2022) book, ‘World-Centred Education’. As academics working in teacher education across Australia and the UK, our collective examination of Biesta's idea of 'pointing' has reshaped our professional outlook, steering us away from the conventional pursuit of a secure, predictable education system (Biesta, 2014) towards one that acknowledges the inherent complexity and risk of treating students as subjects rather than objects. Our reading group provided a forum to resist the normative, controllable aspects of academia and, instead, promote a collaborative exchange of ideas, in line with Lewis’s (2020) advocacy for study groups. Our work emphasises 'pointing' as teaching that prioritises methodology over educational goals and objectives. 'Pointing' holds a moral dimension, calling educators to exercise their professional judgments regarding what students might find understandable, appropriate, and connectable to their lives (Biesta, 2022). The reading group allowed us to reconsider our own practices as we delved into Biesta’s belief that educators should (re)direct students’ attention (by pointing) to the (potential) embrace of their subjectivity in the world. Our discussions also addressed the ethical obligations of truth, respect, and liberty that ensue from framing teaching through the lens of communication rather than control, and considered ways we might shift our educational practices to prioritise practical judgement and wisdom over control and measurable outcomes.

Our presentation will share how our commitment to 'pointing' provides a canvas for us to rethink our educational roles, challenging the predominant education paradigms centred on control, outcomes, and techniques. As educators our roles include: tutoring, course coordinating, advising and supporting school leaders, and influencing education policy. In sharing our work as educators embracing this shift, we highlight the significance of 'pointing' in fostering educational experiences that resonate deeper than policy directives. Through exploring the 'beautiful risk of education' (Biesta, 2014), we are challenging ourselves to embrace inherent unpredictability as not just an integral part of the educational process but also as an opportunity for educator autonomy and agency. This risk becomes the very element that injects meaning into education and empowers us as educators to act as public intellectuals (Heck, 2022), influencing education beyond the confines of policy implementation. We seek to inspire a renaissance of the educator's role, one that transcends traditional constraints and reimagines the impact of our practice in the broader educational landscape.

Key References:
Biesta, G. (2023). Outline of a theory of teaching: what teaching is, what it is for, how it works, and why it requires artistry. In Theorizing teaching: current status and open issues (pp. 253-280). Springer International Publishing.
Biesta, G. (2022) World-centred education: A view from the present. London: Routledge.
Biesta, G. (2014) The beautiful risk of education. London: Routledge.
Heck, D. (2022) Teacher educators as public intellectuals: exploring possibilities, Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 50(2), pp. 118-129.
Lewis, T. E. (2020). Profaning the university apparatus: A plea for study groups. In Hodgson, N., Vlieghe, J. and Zamojski, P. (eds.), Post-critical perspectives on higher education: Reclaiming the educational in the university (pp. 133-143). Springer International Publishing.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Departments:	Institute of Education > School Direct General
Additional Information:	Presentation 79 at this conference.
Depositing User:	Anna Lupton
Date Deposited:	21 Jun 2024 11:10
Last Modified:	21 Jun 2024 11:15
URI:	https://insight.cumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/7756

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