, HED4804 ASSIGNMENT 06 2025 ANSWERS
DUE DATE 2025
BEST ANSWERS FOR THIS ASSIGNMENT. TO BE USED AS GUIDELINES!!
REIMAGINING EDUCATION AS ETHICAL DIALOGUE: DEMOCRATIC PEDAGOGY IN A
SOUTH AFRICAN TEACHER EDUCATION COLLEGE
INTRODUCTION
Education in South Africa is undergoing a paradigm shift that calls for reimagining
teaching and learning as deeply ethical and dialogical practices rather than as
mechanistic processes of knowledge transmission. The growing discourse around
democratic pedagogy emphasizes the need for education to cultivate critical thinking,
moral responsibility, and social transformation within a society still marked by
historical inequities (Biesta, 2010; Freire, 1970). Within the context of a South
African teacher education college, this vision of education as an ethical dialogue
becomes particularly significant because teacher educators are not merely imparting
content—they are shaping future teachers’ conceptions of justice, participation, and
humanity.
Reimagining education as an ethical dialogue entails creating spaces where
teachers and students engage as co-learners in the pursuit of meaning and
understanding (Burbules, 1993). This approach aligns with Paulo Freire’s notion of
dialogical pedagogy, which rejects the “banking model” of education and instead
promotes learning through mutual respect, inquiry, and reflection (Freire, 1970).
Similarly, Gert Biesta (2010) argues that education’s true purpose lies in fostering
the subjectification of learners—the process through which individuals become
autonomous, ethical subjects capable of acting responsibly within a democratic
society.
In the South African higher education landscape, this philosophical framework
resonates with the goals of transformative and decolonial education, which advocate
for contextualised, inclusive, and justice-oriented pedagogies (Le Grange, 2016;
, Heleta, 2018). A teacher education college, therefore, serves as a critical site for
nurturing educators who not only understand curriculum and methodology but also
embody democratic values through ethical engagement and dialogue. This essay
explores how democratic pedagogy and ethical dialogue can be integrated into
South African teacher education, examining the aims of education, pedagogical
roles, curriculum, and the broader relationship between education and society.
OVERVIEW OF CORE THINKERS
The theoretical foundations of democratic and ethical dialogue in education are
anchored in the works of Paulo Freire, Gert Biesta, and Nicholas Burbules, who
each provide distinctive yet complementary insights into the moral, political, and
dialogical dimensions of teaching and learning. Paulo Freire (1970) remains a
seminal thinker in the philosophy of critical pedagogy. His rejection of the “banking
model” of education — where students are treated as passive recipients of
knowledge — introduced the radical idea that education must be a dialogical process
of co-creation between teacher and learner. Freire’s concept of conscientização
(critical consciousness) encourages learners to reflect on their social realities and to
engage in transformative action against oppression. This notion of education as a
dialogical and liberatory encounter forms the moral foundation for reimagining
teacher education in South Africa, where historical injustices continue to shape the
educational landscape.
Gert Biesta (2010, 2013) expands this view by arguing that education should not
only transmit knowledge (qualification) and social norms (socialisation) but must also
enable subjectification — the process through which learners become autonomous,
responsible, and ethical subjects capable of independent judgment. For Biesta, the
ethical task of the educator is to create conditions that allow learners to appear as
subjects, rather than as objects of pedagogical manipulation. This aligns closely with
Freire’s humanistic vision but places stronger emphasis on the relational and
unpredictable nature of education as an encounter with the other. Within a South
African teacher education college, this means preparing future educators to
DUE DATE 2025
BEST ANSWERS FOR THIS ASSIGNMENT. TO BE USED AS GUIDELINES!!
REIMAGINING EDUCATION AS ETHICAL DIALOGUE: DEMOCRATIC PEDAGOGY IN A
SOUTH AFRICAN TEACHER EDUCATION COLLEGE
INTRODUCTION
Education in South Africa is undergoing a paradigm shift that calls for reimagining
teaching and learning as deeply ethical and dialogical practices rather than as
mechanistic processes of knowledge transmission. The growing discourse around
democratic pedagogy emphasizes the need for education to cultivate critical thinking,
moral responsibility, and social transformation within a society still marked by
historical inequities (Biesta, 2010; Freire, 1970). Within the context of a South
African teacher education college, this vision of education as an ethical dialogue
becomes particularly significant because teacher educators are not merely imparting
content—they are shaping future teachers’ conceptions of justice, participation, and
humanity.
Reimagining education as an ethical dialogue entails creating spaces where
teachers and students engage as co-learners in the pursuit of meaning and
understanding (Burbules, 1993). This approach aligns with Paulo Freire’s notion of
dialogical pedagogy, which rejects the “banking model” of education and instead
promotes learning through mutual respect, inquiry, and reflection (Freire, 1970).
Similarly, Gert Biesta (2010) argues that education’s true purpose lies in fostering
the subjectification of learners—the process through which individuals become
autonomous, ethical subjects capable of acting responsibly within a democratic
society.
In the South African higher education landscape, this philosophical framework
resonates with the goals of transformative and decolonial education, which advocate
for contextualised, inclusive, and justice-oriented pedagogies (Le Grange, 2016;
, Heleta, 2018). A teacher education college, therefore, serves as a critical site for
nurturing educators who not only understand curriculum and methodology but also
embody democratic values through ethical engagement and dialogue. This essay
explores how democratic pedagogy and ethical dialogue can be integrated into
South African teacher education, examining the aims of education, pedagogical
roles, curriculum, and the broader relationship between education and society.
OVERVIEW OF CORE THINKERS
The theoretical foundations of democratic and ethical dialogue in education are
anchored in the works of Paulo Freire, Gert Biesta, and Nicholas Burbules, who
each provide distinctive yet complementary insights into the moral, political, and
dialogical dimensions of teaching and learning. Paulo Freire (1970) remains a
seminal thinker in the philosophy of critical pedagogy. His rejection of the “banking
model” of education — where students are treated as passive recipients of
knowledge — introduced the radical idea that education must be a dialogical process
of co-creation between teacher and learner. Freire’s concept of conscientização
(critical consciousness) encourages learners to reflect on their social realities and to
engage in transformative action against oppression. This notion of education as a
dialogical and liberatory encounter forms the moral foundation for reimagining
teacher education in South Africa, where historical injustices continue to shape the
educational landscape.
Gert Biesta (2010, 2013) expands this view by arguing that education should not
only transmit knowledge (qualification) and social norms (socialisation) but must also
enable subjectification — the process through which learners become autonomous,
responsible, and ethical subjects capable of independent judgment. For Biesta, the
ethical task of the educator is to create conditions that allow learners to appear as
subjects, rather than as objects of pedagogical manipulation. This aligns closely with
Freire’s humanistic vision but places stronger emphasis on the relational and
unpredictable nature of education as an encounter with the other. Within a South
African teacher education college, this means preparing future educators to
