COOKIES: By using this website you agree that we can place Google Analytics Cookies on your device for performance monitoring. |
University of Cambridge > Talks.cam > Pedagogy, Language, Arts & Culture in Education (PLACE) Group Seminars > From unlimited to situated: A reappraisal of children’s ‘potential’
From unlimited to situated: A reappraisal of children’s ‘potential’Add to your list(s) Download to your calendar using vCal
If you have a question about this talk, please contact Lucian Stephenson. ‘We want to ensure all young people have the tools and opportunities they need to fulfil their potential, regardless of background or life circumstances.’ (DfE, 2013) But what does it mean to fulfil one’s potential? This talk explores the concept of ‘potential’ in education from a philosophical perspective. We claim that the popular and political uses of the term in relation to childhood have been dominated by two central theories, which we call ‘closed’ and ‘open’, and which are both problematic for different reasons. Rather than advocating abandoning the term – a futile gesture in any case given its emotive force – we argue that the concept of children’s potential must be profoundly rethought to be workable as a philosophical notion in education. In an era marked by the unspoken assumption that ‘unlimited potential’ is always a good thing, we argue that it might be necessary to curb the notion of individual potential. We represent it instead as the negotiated, situated, ever-changing creation of a group of individuals, in a process marked by conflict, and that remains essentially difficult. We will be actively inviting feedback on this talk towards an article submission. Biographies Rupert Higham is a Lecturer in Leadership for Learning at the Faculty of Education. His research revolves around dialogue and student agency. Clementine Beauvais is a Junior Research Fellow at Homerton College in the philosophy and cultural sociology of childhood. This talk is part of the Pedagogy, Language, Arts & Culture in Education (PLACE) Group Seminars series. This talk is included in these lists:
Note that ex-directory lists are not shown. |
Other listsChasing childrens’ fortunes. Cases of parents strategies in Sweden, the UK and Korea. Making Visible project events Visual rhetoric and modern South Asian history Construction Engineering Seminars 11th Cambridge Immunology Forum 23.9.10 Mental Health, Religion & CultureOther talksSmall Opuntioideae Simulating Neutron Star Mergers Regulators of Muscle Stem Cell Fate and Function UK 7T travelling-head study: pilot results Communicating Your Research to the Wider World |