Subjects Invite Subjects - Education in Dialogue between Students and Teachers

Abstract

IntroductionHigher education of today demands pedagogical spaces where students and teachers enter authentic dialogues. In professional universities; in the authors' case, the social field, students meet societal demands and develop life quality with clients and their environment. A reflective and intuitive practitioner employs competences that comprise knowledge, practice repertoires and values. This is why education cannot be described in neutral, so called objective rhetoric. At Arcada we see that a creators of these spaces must take into consideration subject takes from both teachers and students. However as students enter Higher Education they are used from previous studies to be objectified in their own learning processes. Experiences from their previous studies have often made student detached from their learning as knowledge creation. Finding means to foster students' subjective take is related to teachers own position of being subjects in their role as teachers.Problem StatementTreating each other as subjects with mutual respect has traditionally been a part of the process of Edification (Bildung) in Higher Education. However, in today's educational climate of efficiency Higher Education has become more of a service producing institute. Students in Higher Education often lack experience of being subjects in their own studies while teachers still presuppose both self-regulation and ability to reflect. This lack of experience of being subjects in own learning also tease teachers in higher education to treat not only student but rather the whole learning process very objectified. Thus, we argue that the problem is that objectified stance to learning invites objectified interaction something that does not foster deep learning, reflection and ability to believe in changes. Instead we have sought alternative and different learning approaches that would break down the objectification in learning.To overcome the dilemma teachers' own subjectivity and ability to act as committed agents in mentoring and fostering students is problematized. Pedagogical tools when becoming routines function as straitjackets but pedagogy holds a potential for an educational purpose of subjectification. Our choice when creating pedagogical spaces with aesthetic means proposes as an alternative practice in Higher Education.Research QuestionsOur research questions are two folded:1) How could pedagogical spaces when creatively charged be created to invite subjective stance (rather than objectified) for both teachers and students in Higher Education?2) How aesthetic means trigger and enable students to become change agents to their own learning?Purpose of the StudyThe overall purpose of our study is to create learning opportunities where students and teachers are enabled to build upon their own subjective stance in order to professional competence requirements set by our diverse society and the demands of Higher Professional Education. Our aim in the case study is to identify and detect subjective dimensions in objective educational contexts through creative means for the creation of dialogical pedagogical spaces Bringing aesthetic expressions into education and professional development is in the case study related to a specific professional course for students in social services.Research MethodsMethod for collecting data was done by;a) Documentation of a participatory action research approach throughout the process of study design. Action research has great potential in inviting subjective positions in learning processes. The participatory action research was undertaken as a philosophy for the whole module. From a team teaching approach, where the examination of knowledge was seen as the first step in a pedagogical design, followed up by choosing study activities such as drawing, drama, storytelling, field notes were documented. A progressive portfolio was framed by a professional problem based setting for the students. …