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Pedagogical Voice: An Empowering Force

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Postformal Education

Part of the book series: Critical Studies of Education ((CSOE,volume 3))

Abstract

No matter where we live in the world today, the human voice is mediated by technology. Children born in the last fifteen to twenty years in affluent countries have never known a world without communication technologies of all kinds. And yet Marshall McLuhan claimed decades ago that every advance in technology dulls a former human capacity. What human capacities are we in danger of losing in the age of screens? I propose in this chapter that even an education that is caring, lively and wise will fail in the long run if young people are not empowered to find their voices. I reiterate the evolutionary theme and related postformal reasoning qualities and pedagogies before the philosophical discussion. I then discuss the educational approaches that awaken voice and language awareness and share some examples from my own and others’ teaching experience, finishing with personal reflections.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Family resemblances was used by Wittgenstein (1968) to refer to the “complicated network of similarities, overlapping and criss-crossing” found in different word uses and meanings (Wittgenstein 1968, p. 32).

  2. 2.

    The full quote from Gebser on this idea can be found in Chapter 9.

  3. 3.

    Gebser uses the term concretion to mean an experiencing in fully awake consciousness of all the previous structures in the same moment.

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  1. Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, Australia

    Jennifer M. Gidley PhD

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Gidley, J.M. (2016). Pedagogical Voice: An Empowering Force. In: Postformal Education. Critical Studies of Education, vol 3. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29069-0_11

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