In this episode prof. emeritus Anders Lindseth talks about his work in the committee for Bildung in higher education (“Dannelsesutvalget - om dannelses perspektiver i høyere utdanning”, 2009) and the fundamental perspectives that this committee brought forward. Furthermore, he discusses the intention of The Research Council of Norway to have more practice-near research and how the Center for Practical Knowledge at Nord University, where Lindseth was professor, met this intention in terms of Reflective Practice Research. In the further conversation, Lindseth gives an in-depth account of why and how this research approach is deeply rooted phenomenology and hermeneutics and why it is legitimate for practitioners to conduct research on their on practice.

00:01:12 – What is the role of Bildung in professional studies and research?
00:02:51 – What are experiences of discrepancy and how to investigate them in terms of research?
00:05:08 – The “personal” in research
00:06:30 – What is Reflective Practice Research?
00:11:45 – Methodologies that can be used within the research approach of Reflective Practice Research
00:23:52 – What is “response-ability” (or “respondability” as Anders also calls it) and why is it important for professionals like nurses, teachers etc.?
00:25:10 – ResponsAbility (or “respondability”) and the practitioner’s search for meaning
00:26:59 – On the theoretical reflection- the third phase of the research process in Reflective Practice Research.
00:29:32 – On the relationship between reflection and meditation
 
Between Theory and Practice – Questions for Reflection

How might the insights from this dialogue inspire your own practice? The following questions are intended to inspire further inquiry, whether explored individually or in conversation with colleagues, students, or peers.

1.  Anders Lindseth states that learning, development, and research often begin with an experience of discrepancy—a situation in which reality does not unfold as expected. Reflect on a recent situation in your professional life that surprised, challenged, or unsettled you. What might be at stake in this experience (e.g. what themes, topics, values)?
2. Lindseth suggests that genuine thinking requires moments of stillness in which we step back from immediate reactions, calculations, and ready-made answers. How do you create space for reflection in your own life, and how might such moments of silence strengthen your capacity to respond wisely to the people and situations you encounter?

Literature:

-              Lindseth, A. (2020). Dosenten i et FoU-perspektiv. Refleksiv praksisforskning som en vei mot dosentkompetanse. I C. C. Bachke & M. Hermansen (Red.), Å satse på dosenter. Et utviklingsarbeid (Kap. 4, s. 75–101). Oslo: Cappelen Damm Akademisk. 

-              Lindseth, A. (2021): Diskrepanserfaring og svarevne. In: Fuglseth, K. S. & Halås, C. T. (eds.): Innføring i praktisk kunnskap. Anerkjennende, kritisk og konstruktiv praksisforskning 

-              Lindseth, A (2009), Dannelsens plass i profesjonsutdanninger. Kunnskap og dannelse foran et nytt århundre. Innstilling fra Dannelsesutvalget for høyere utdanning

Steen Nepper Larsen is associate professor at the Department of Education Sciences at the Danish School of Education at Aarhus University. He is a renowned Danish intellectual and author of many publications. Among them is book together with John Hattie in which Steen challenges the Visible Learning approach. How this book came into life and what Steen assumes to be severe flaws of the education system today, is examined closer in this podcast episode, where Steen also gives an in-depth account of Bildung and why it is so fundamentally different from education. 

00:01:02 – Working with John Hattie on the book project “The Purposes of Education”
00:04:13 – Steen's main critique of John Hattie’s Visible Learning approach
00:07:06 – What is Bildung?
00:12:26 – How have the themes of Bildung come under pressure?
00:16:36 – Steen's main arguments against evidence-based teaching
00:21:56 – What would an education without “evaluation fever” and the chase for evidence look like?
00:26:09 – Is the concept of Bildung relevant for today’s professional studies?
00:30:11 – Is there a relation between Bildung and responsibility as presented in the European Qualifications Framework?
00:35:41 – What is needed from us to become truly “seeing”?
00:40:00 – Bildung as the “God-given” in humans?

Between Theory and Practice – Questions for Reflection

How might the insights from this dialogue inspire your own practice? The following questions are intended to inspire further inquiry, whether explored individually or in conversation with colleagues, students, or peers.

1. Steen Nepper Larsen argues that education should be more than preparation for predefined goals, performance indicators, or labor market demands. Reflect on your own professional life: Which ideas, values, texts, experiences, or encounters have genuinely shaped who you are—not merely what you can do—and how do they continue to influence your work today? 
2. Throughout the conversation, Larsen presents Bildung as the cultivation of independent judgment and the courage to think critically, even when prevailing systems, routines, or expectations push in another direction. Where in your own practice do you feel called to question assumptions, challenge taken-for-granted ways of thinking, or open up new possibilities for yourself and others?

Literature:

-              Hattie, J. & Larsen, S. N. (2020): The Purposes of Education: A Conversation between John Hattie and Steen Nepper Larsen. New York, NY: Routledge. 

-              Larsen, S. N. (2022): Evalueringsfeber og evidensjagt. Copenhagen: Samfundslitteratur  

-              Larsen, S. N. (2019): Blindness in Seeing: A Philosophical Critique of the Visible Learning Paradigm in Education. Educational Science 9(1) 47. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci9010047 

-              Larsen, S.N (2016). At ville noget med nogen – filosofiske og samtidskritiske fragmenter om dannelse og pædagogik. Turbine akademisk. 

In this episode we welcome professor Gert Biesta as our guest. Gert is author of the book “The Beautiful Risk of Education” and a well-renown scholar in the field of educational theory. In our talk with him, he explicates why the shift of focus from teaching to learning is unfortunate and why a world-centered approach in education is to be chosen over a student-centered approach. He also describes why it is important for an educator to take risks and why the development of practical wisdom in professional studies is mandatory, so that the students do not only become competent but good practitioners. 

00:00:58 – On the difference between educational theory and philosophy of education
00:02:50 – On the unfortunate focus shift from teaching to learning
00:07:41 – Why teaching and learning should be more world-centered than student-centered
00:14:23 – On “subjectification” as one of the three main objectives of education
00:22:37 – What is phronesis and why is it important in professional studies?
00:24:29 – What is virtuosity, in relation to phronesis?
00:27:29 – Is virtuosity teachable?
00:31:18 – Is there a connection between the notion of “responsAbility” and phronesis?

Between Theory and Practice – Questions for Reflection

How might the insights from this dialogue inspire your own practice? The following questions are intended to inspire further inquiry, whether explored individually or in conversation with colleagues, students, or peers.

1. Gert Biesta describes education as a process through which people become subjects of their own lives rather than objects of external forces and expectations. Where in your own life and work do you experience the freedom to act from your own judgment, and what responsibilities arise from that freedom?
2. Biesta argues that meaningful education always involves risk because neither teachers nor learners can fully control what will emerge. Where in your own practice might you need the courage to let go of certainty, trust the process, and remain open to unexpected possibilities?

 
Literature:

- Biesta, G.J.J. (2015): “How does a competent teacher become a good teacher? On judgement, wisdom and virtuosity in teaching and teacher education.” In: Heilbronn, R. & Foreman‐Peck, L. (eds.): Philosophical perspectives on the future of teacher education. Oxford: Wiley Blackwell. 

- Biesta, G.J. 2013. The beautiful risk of education. Routledge. 

- Biesta, G,J. 2017. The Rediscovery of teaching. Routledge. 

- Biesta, G.J. 2020. Risking Ourselves in Education: Qualification, Socialization, and Subjectification Revisited. Educational Theory, v70 n1 p89-104 2020