BSW4802 Assignment 2 2026
Due Date: 16 July 2026
SELF, AGENCY AND ETHICS IN EDUCATION: HOW TEACHERS AND LEARNERS
PRACTISE CONVICTIONS THROUGH UBUNTU AND SELF-CARE
1. Introduction
Education is not only about passing knowledge from teachers to learners, because it also
shapes how people understand themselves, their values, and their place in society. In a
classroom, both teachers and learners bring personal histories, family beliefs, cultural
practices, religious commitments, and moral ideas that influence how they act and respond to
others. Agency becomes important because it shows how people make choices within real
limits, instead of acting as if they are completely free from social pressure or school rules.
Agency is shaped by past experience, present conditions, and future goals, which means that
teachers and learners act from what they have lived through and from what they hope to
become (Priestley et al., 2015). This essay argues that ethical education should help learners
and teachers practise agency in ways that protect personal convictions while also building
respect, critical thinking, and shared responsibility in diverse school spaces (Biesta & Tedder,
, SELF, AGENCY AND ETHICS IN EDUCATION: HOW TEACHERS AND
LEARNERS PRACTISE CONVICTIONS THROUGH UBUNTU AND SELF-CARE
1. Introduction
Education is not only about passing knowledge from teachers to learners, because it
also shapes how people understand themselves, their values, and their place in
society. In a classroom, both teachers and learners bring personal histories, family
beliefs, cultural practices, religious commitments, and moral ideas that influence how
they act and respond to others. Agency becomes important because it shows how
people make choices within real limits, instead of acting as if they are completely
free from social pressure or school rules. Agency is shaped by past experience,
present conditions, and future goals, which means that teachers and learners act
from what they have lived through and from what they hope to become (Priestley et
al., 2015). This essay argues that ethical education should help learners and
teachers practise agency in ways that protect personal convictions while also
building respect, critical thinking, and shared responsibility in diverse school spaces
(Biesta & Tedder, 2007).
2. Self, agency, and ethics within educational contexts
2.1. Self
The self in education can be understood as the way a person sees who they are,
what they value, and how they relate to other people in the school community. The
self is not formed only inside an individual mind, because family background,
language, religion, culture, race, gender, and school experiences all influence how
learners and teachers understand themselves. In this sense, a learner who follows a
religious practice, or a teacher who values ubuntu, does not enter the classroom as
a neutral person without history (Emirbayer & Mische, 1998). Foucault’s idea of self-
care is useful here because it presents the self as something that is shaped through
reflection, discipline, and ethical practice, rather than something that is simply fixed
from birth (Foucault, 1985).
2.2. Agency
Due Date: 16 July 2026
SELF, AGENCY AND ETHICS IN EDUCATION: HOW TEACHERS AND LEARNERS
PRACTISE CONVICTIONS THROUGH UBUNTU AND SELF-CARE
1. Introduction
Education is not only about passing knowledge from teachers to learners, because it also
shapes how people understand themselves, their values, and their place in society. In a
classroom, both teachers and learners bring personal histories, family beliefs, cultural
practices, religious commitments, and moral ideas that influence how they act and respond to
others. Agency becomes important because it shows how people make choices within real
limits, instead of acting as if they are completely free from social pressure or school rules.
Agency is shaped by past experience, present conditions, and future goals, which means that
teachers and learners act from what they have lived through and from what they hope to
become (Priestley et al., 2015). This essay argues that ethical education should help learners
and teachers practise agency in ways that protect personal convictions while also building
respect, critical thinking, and shared responsibility in diverse school spaces (Biesta & Tedder,
, SELF, AGENCY AND ETHICS IN EDUCATION: HOW TEACHERS AND
LEARNERS PRACTISE CONVICTIONS THROUGH UBUNTU AND SELF-CARE
1. Introduction
Education is not only about passing knowledge from teachers to learners, because it
also shapes how people understand themselves, their values, and their place in
society. In a classroom, both teachers and learners bring personal histories, family
beliefs, cultural practices, religious commitments, and moral ideas that influence how
they act and respond to others. Agency becomes important because it shows how
people make choices within real limits, instead of acting as if they are completely
free from social pressure or school rules. Agency is shaped by past experience,
present conditions, and future goals, which means that teachers and learners act
from what they have lived through and from what they hope to become (Priestley et
al., 2015). This essay argues that ethical education should help learners and
teachers practise agency in ways that protect personal convictions while also
building respect, critical thinking, and shared responsibility in diverse school spaces
(Biesta & Tedder, 2007).
2. Self, agency, and ethics within educational contexts
2.1. Self
The self in education can be understood as the way a person sees who they are,
what they value, and how they relate to other people in the school community. The
self is not formed only inside an individual mind, because family background,
language, religion, culture, race, gender, and school experiences all influence how
learners and teachers understand themselves. In this sense, a learner who follows a
religious practice, or a teacher who values ubuntu, does not enter the classroom as
a neutral person without history (Emirbayer & Mische, 1998). Foucault’s idea of self-
care is useful here because it presents the self as something that is shaped through
reflection, discipline, and ethical practice, rather than something that is simply fixed
from birth (Foucault, 1985).
2.2. Agency
