PDU3701 Assignment 3 Semester 1 2026 - Due 17 July 2026

PDU3701 Assignment 3 Semester 1 2026 - Due 17 July 2026 Question 1.1 a) Write a brief reaction (your thoughts, interpretation and understanding) on the following: a) Hermeneutics and truth b) Hermeneutics and education Hermeneutics approaches truth not as an objective, fixed entity that exists independently of human beings, but as something that emerges through understanding and interpretation. From a hermeneutic perspective, truth is always mediated by language, symbols, history and culture. This means that human beings do not simply “discover” truth in the way scientific rationalism suggests; instead, they interpret reality within the context of their lived experience and community traditions (Higgs & Letseka, Question 1.2 a) My views on interdisciplinarity in education I strongly agree with Norbert Weiner’s view that education should be interdisciplinary. Excessive specialisation fragments knowledge and limits learners’ ability to see connections between disciplines. When subjects operate in isolation, learners may QUESTION 2 Educators such as Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Max van Manen and Shaun Gallagher usedphenomenology to make sense of education and educational systems. Select one educator whose ideas about education appeal to you the most. Justify why the selected educator's ideas appeal to you. Explain how such ideas would be applied to the classroom context or the education system of your country Phenomenology is a philosophy that focuses on lived experience and the meaning that individuals attach to their experiences. In education, phenomenology rejects the idea that learners are passive recipients of knowledge and instead views learning as a deeply human, relational, and embodied process (Higgs & Letseka, 2024). Among phenomenological educators, the ideas of Shaun Gallagher appeal to me the most because of his emphasis on learning as an interactive, embodied, and relational activity rather than a purely cognitive or mechanical process.