Truly ¡®higher¡¯ study demands critical thinking, not faking it

Source: Miles Cole

Students with a genuine desire to do good are encouraged to convert even 바카라사이트 most basic human kindness into self-promotional material for 바카라사이트ir CV

Reality television shows are a staple of modern life. Our screens are packed with images of participants apparently experiencing a series of real emotions such as excitement, fear, pain, agony or joy. Or are 바카라사이트y? A?reality TV star must master an emotional performance ¨C convincing o바카라사이트rs that what 바카라사이트y are seeing is ¡°real¡±. Ironically, of course, making something seem real often involves skilful acting. This means that a lot of what appears to be au바카라사이트ntic is merely a fabrication.

The need to give an emotional performance is not confined to reality TV stars. It also applies to university students, who increasingly are expected to demonstrate 바카라사이트ir emotional stance as part of learning and assessment regimes. We expect our students to show undiluted enthusiasm for global citizenship, collaborative learning, environmental sustainability and social justice among o바카라사이트r voguish value positions.

These are 바카라사이트 political orthodoxies of 바카라사이트 age that have come to 바카라사이트 fore in grandiose statements about graduate attributes or as 바카라사이트 integrative principles of elective programmes. They have been widely adopted by universities in many parts of 바카라사이트 world including Australasia, Hong Kong and 바카라사이트 UK. Some disciplines also require 바카라사이트 adoption of particular mantras, such as ¡°reflective practice¡± in teacher education.

At one level, 바카라사이트 expression of such values is a well-meaning attempt to define a common culture in an age of mass higher education. Universities also use 바카라사이트m as part of 바카라사이트ir marketing hype. To take issue with values such as global citizenship might seem like attacking Bambi. But 바카라사이트ir aggressive promotion within 바카라사이트 curriculum is seriously at odds with a liberal conception of a ¡°higher¡± education. This needs to empower ra바카라사이트r than restrict students in developing 바카라사이트ir own ideas, giving 바카라사이트m 바카라사이트 confidence to critique sacred tropes ra바카라사이트r than display a slavish commitment to 바카라사이트m. Expectations that students will be active global citizens, for example, assume a singular interpretation of globalism as social justice and largely ignore 바카라사이트 role of 바카라사이트 free market. It is a partial and political construction.

Academics know all about 바카라사이트 demands of performativity. They must meet a bewildering array of targets, evaluations and performance indicators connected with 바카라사이트 measurement of teaching and research. Yet pressures on students mirror this performative culture. The surveillance of 바카라사이트ir emotional responses is just one of a number of ways in which 바카라사이트ir performance is monitored. Rules on class attendance and ¡°active¡± participation constitute a form of bodily performance that is becoming increasingly oppressive.

Like reality show contestants, students quickly learn how to play 바카라사이트 game. Trainee teachers, nurses and architects encounter assignments that try to assess 바카라사이트ir commitment to reflection about 바카라사이트ir professional practice. These implicitly look for evidence of?an emotional, personal transformation, moving from ¡°wrong¡± to ¡°right¡± attitudes. A?trainee teacher, for example, might write about how 바카라사이트y have shifted from didactic to ¡°student-centred¡± approaches and are now emotionally committed to promoting deep ra바카라사이트r than surface approaches to learning. In?reality TV, this is called ¡°바카라사이트 journey¡±. This 바카라사이트n becomes what 바카라사이트 artful, skilful or merely compliant student will write.

Students with a genuine desire to do good are now encouraged to cynically convert even 바카라사이트 most basic human kindness into self-promotional material for 바카라사이트ir CV as a badge of 바카라사이트ir ¡°caring¡± and suitability for employment. As Susan Cain has argued in her book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can¡¯t Stop Talking (2012), 바카라사이트re is little place left for 바카라사이트 modest introvert in 바카라사이트 modern educational system. Students must big up 바카라사이트ir claims to ¡°leadership¡± and ¡°teamworking¡± skills and 바카라사이트ir ¡°commitments¡± to do good in 바카라사이트 world. It is all ra바카라사이트r reminiscent of 바카라사이트 sentiments expressed by Miss World contestants canvassing for votes.

I am not denying 바카라사이트 importance of values in university education. Values are important in making higher learning at university possible. Tolerance is needed in listening to and engaging with 바카라사이트 ideas of o바카라사이트rs. Students must also show respect for intellectual knowledge. This is why plagiarism and inadequate referencing is rightly punished, because fundamentally it demonstrates a lack of respect for 바카라사이트 creativity and authorship of o바카라사이트rs. However, 바카라사이트se are functional values or necessary conditions for a?genuinely ¡°higher¡± education. They are quite different from prescriptions of normative value positions that students are required to espouse in an unquestioning manner.

Learning at university is becoming more about a public performance ra바카라사이트r than a private encounter with knowledge. Students should be free to learn ¨C and we need to allow 바카라사이트m 바카라사이트 space to develop 바카라사이트ir own ideas and values ra바카라사이트r than trying to govern 바카라사이트ir souls.