Purpose
Teaching constitutes a crucial activity within education, through which educators achieve educational goals. Should educational activities lack teaching, one might question whether such endeavors truly constitute education. However, in the Chinese context, “教” (jiào) may refer to either education or teaching. Similarly, the English term “teaching” can denote educational practice, a specific teaching professional role, or an event/activity of teaching within a particular period, depending on the context. Whether “教” or “teaching” inherently implies learning is also contentious. What, then, are the meanings of and the potential relationships among education, teaching, and learning? G. Biesta argues that education’s uniqueness lies in the emergence of teaching and the encounter with it, rather than in the phenomenon of learning. Therefore, exploring Biesta’s thoughts on education and teaching can offer insights into the questions posed above.
Specifically, the aims of this study are as follows:
1) To explore Biesta’s thoughts on education as a foundation for understand-ing his ideas of teaching;
2) To elaborate on Biesta’s thoughts on teaching;
3) To further discuss Biesta’s thoughts on education and teaching.
Main Theories or Conceptual Frameworks
Biesta points out that educational reality encompasses both the physiological-neural-social-cultural order and the order of existence. True education should be that of the order of existence, that is, the education that places students’ subjectness as the ones summoned in a crucial position. Therefore, in addition to striving for the goals of qualification and socialization, the purpose of subjectification is to assist the educated in forming their subjectivity and becoming subjects, or to enable the educated to exist within the world and coexist with it while acknowledging its alterity and integrity. Thus, the truly educative teaching aims to guide the educated to encounter others and respond to their addressing, speeches, calls, and summonses, rather than achieving the learning understood as comprehension. Based on this thought framework, Biesta exposes the inappropriateness of educational learnification, that is, gradually most of the discussions on education are conducted in the language of learning. He further emphasizes that the uniqueness of education lies in the emergence of teaching in it and its encounter with teaching, and it is necessary to free teaching, restore teaching, and rediscover teaching. When encountering the givenness of teaching, it demonstrates three gifts that cannot be reduced to learning, namely, being given what you didn’t ask for, double truth giving and being given yourself. In the above-mentioned Biesta’s theory of education and teaching, the interweaving influence of existentialism, phenomenology, and post-structuralism can be found. This article further raises reflections from three major aspects: education and teaching based on the order of existence, non-affirmative education and indirect teaching, the connection between surprise and education/teaching.
Research Design/Methods/Participants
This study employs literature review and conceptual analysis. Using Biesta’s World-Centred Education and The Rediscovering of Teaching as primary texts, supplemented by his other works, it deeply explores his thoughts on education and teaching. It particularly focuses on the meanings and potential relationships among education, teaching, and learning, and further elaborates on three key essentials in Biesta’s ideas of education and teaching: education and teaching within the order of existence, non-affirmative education and indirect teaching, and the connection between surprise and education/teaching.
Research Findings or Conclusions
This study puts forward the following key findings:
1) Biesta points out that education encompasses both the bio-neuro-socio-cultural order and the existential order. Education within the existential order concerns whether the educated can exist as subjects– whether they are afforded opportunities to encounter their own freedom and become subjects of their lives. Thus, he argues that the genuine education lies in the subjectification process conducted within the existential order.
2) Biesta observes a strong contemporary tendency to view learning as an act of comprehension, reflecting an egological cognitive or existential mode. However, to open up existential possibilities for students, education and teaching should adopt an approach that encourages encountering and responding to the call of others. This guides and summons students to engage with the world, drawing their “I” into it.
3) Although Biesta identifies a strong contemporary tendency to view teaching as an act of comprehension, once the meanings of teaching of non-contemporary or non-Biesta’s cultural circles are taken into consideration, this characterization may be limited.
Theoretical or Practical In-sights/Contributions/Recommendations
This study proposes the following recommendations:
1) Beyond assisting the educated in acquiring knowledge to comprehend the world, education and teaching should open up existential possibilities beyond such learning as the act of comprehending;
2) The promotion of subjectification education may consider employing non-affirmative or indirect educational or teaching approaches.
3) Given that the emotion of surprise offers opportunities for learning from experiences, educational or teaching practices should emphasize the connections with surprise.