Learning the unknown: The potential of liminal space for adult education

Abstract

The following paper is an attempt to speculate about the potential of liminality for adult learning by relating it to the existing concept of the “pedagogy of the event” which challenges the imperative for pedagogy to maximize the effects of teaching and learning by achieving predefined learning outcomes. As opposed to outcome-based education, “pedagogy of the event” is concerned with the unknown, and learning involves a move into a new or modified ontological state. Within this paper, a philosophical basis for the idea of threshold for learning process is outlined and some of the implications on education are presented. We conclude with the notion that liminality in education, as understood within the concept of pedagogy of the event, challenges normalizing and disciplining educational practices by creating radical openness towards the unknown.