A will to learn: being a student in an age of uncertainty: Being a Student in an Age of Uncertainty (Society for Research Into Higher Education) - Softcover

Barnett, .

Softcover

ISBN 10: 033522380X ISBN 13: 9780335223800

Publisher: Open University Press, 2007

Synopsis

There is an extraordinary but largely unnoticed phenomenon in higher education: by and large, students persevere and complete their studies. How should we interpret this tendency? Students are living in uncertain times and often experience anxiety, and yet they continue to press forward with their studies. The argument here is that we should understand this propensity on the part of students to persist through a will to learn. This book examines the structure of what it is to have a will to learn. In the explorations here, a language of being, becoming, authenticity, dispositions, voice, air, spirit, inspiration, passion and care is drawn on.As such, this book offers an idea of student development that challenges the dominant views of our age, of curricula understood in terms of skills and even of knowledge and pedagogy understood as bringing off pre-specified 'outcomes'. The will to learn, though, can be fragile. This is of crucial importance, for if the will to learn dissolves, the student's commitment may falter. Accordingly, more than encouraging an interest in the student's subject or in the acquiring of skills, the primary responsibility of teachers in higher education is to sustain and develop the student's will to learn. This is a radical thesis, for it implies a transformation in how we understand the nature of teaching in higher education.

About this title

About the Author:

Ronald Barnett is Professor of Higher Education at the Institute of Education, University of London where, from 1994 to 2001, he was also Dean of Professional Development. His books include The Idea of Higher Education, The Limits of Competence, Higher Education: A Critical Business, Realizing the University and Beyond All Reason (all published by Open University Press).

Kelly Coate is Research Officer in the School of Lifelong Education and International Development at the Institute of Education, University of London. Her research interests are in the areas of teaching and learning in higher education, the higher education curriculum, and social justice and equity issues.

About this edition

• Publisher: Open University Press
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 033522380X
• ISBN 13: 9780335223800
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224