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Kindness, Communication and Academic Responsibility in Higher Education

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Values of the University in a Time of Uncertainty

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to discuss functions of kindness in social practices guided by values in higher education. Definitions of kindness are briefly discussed and kindness is handled as a quality in social interactions between teacher and students, and between students. It is argued that kindness must be seen in a framework of values of higher education that are guiding the social interactions discussed – interactions that in turn are presumed to promote and communicate such values and facilitate an academic development in line with these values. Quality of communication is suggested as an overall value for this purpose, as it is argued that quality of communication in a broad sense is at the core in every academic endeavour, both in research and in higher education. Communication is further related to academic freedom and academic responsibility, seen as two sides of the same coin. The overall discussion focuses on how kindness can promote communication in higher education, and on how kindness as thus can be seen in terms of academic responsibility for both teachers and students. A caveat is that kindness is not about delimiting what can be said in an academic discourse, as this is guided by academic freedom, but of how it ought to be said to enable the best outcome in relation to academic values. It is also discussed how communication and academic freedom, in relation to kindness, are influenced by whether students are seen as customers, as victims, or as free adults being academic partners in the construction of knowledge.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Borås, Borås, Sweden

    Martin G. Erikson

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  1. Martin G. Erikson
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Correspondence to Martin G. Erikson .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. CERS, Middlesex University, London, UK

    Paul Gibbs  & Alex Elwick  & 

  2. University of Greenwich, London, UK

    Jill Jameson

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Erikson, M.G. (2019). Kindness, Communication and Academic Responsibility in Higher Education. In: Gibbs, P., Jameson, J., Elwick, A. (eds) Values of the University in a Time of Uncertainty. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15970-2_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15970-2_12

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