2011 International Koers Conference on “Worldview & Education” BOOK OF ABSTRACTS
Antagonistic Worldviews? From Cartesian Domain to Möbius Contour
Nyna Amin
School of Education Studies
University of KwaZulu-Natal
Amin@ukzn.ac.za
This paper draws on three studies that reflect on contested worldviews between competing
constituencies. The worldviews are contested through manifold discourses that generate reality
and truth as functions of language. In the first study, it is a battle between discourses of knowing
and not knowing in a high school beset by multiple adversarial conditions; in the second, the
parent-child binary within a context of poverty; and in the third, between discourses of critique
and of care in higher education assessment. Each study seemingly presents a binary
opposition, an opposition, I argue, set up by language which masks the ways differences are
produced and perpetuated. A closer interrogation in each of the three instances reveals the
interconnections between reality and perspective. Reality, viewed on a Cartesian plane,
confounds and conceals the ways in which language masks singularities in binary oppositions.
Consequently, in each instance, I set into play a post-structural analysis informed by discourse
theory about the battles in and through discourse, and turn to the sociopolitical contours of the
Möbius strip to unveil the paradoxes spawned by language.
Christian approaches to science and scholarship: the role of worldviews
Renato Coletto
School of Philosophy
North-West University
Potchefstroom
Renato.Coletto@nwu.ac.za
This paper starts from the recognition of the diverse approaches to science and scholarship
implemented by the different Christian traditions. In an attempt to identify the reasons behind
such differences, it is argued that the different attitudes and approaches may stem from what
has been called Christian worldviews (or religious ground motives).
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The traditional worldviews of the main branches of Christianity have been identified by R.
Niebuhr by means of a few formulas. Most Christian worldviews are characterised by the
distinction between a sphere of grace and a sphere of nature.
For example, the Roman
Catholic approach has been defined as “grace above nature”. Other approaches are labelled as
“grace alongside nature” (Lutheranism), “grace in conflict with nature” (Anabaptism) and “Grace
within nature” (Liberalism).
In addition to the nature-grace approaches, the reformational
worldview is characterized by the threefold biblical motif of “Creation-fall-redemption”.
It is argued that the main approaches to science and scholarship adopted in different Christian
traditions correspond to a considerable extent to the basic matrix supplied by the worldview or
religious ground motive. On this basis, the work of several authors is analyzed (e.g. Polanyi,
Barbour, Van Huyssteen, Peacocke, the Theonomic movement) and several trends are
distinguished.
This preliminary taxonomy may be refined and used to understand at a deeper level both
individual authors and trends, and also to develop a sort of “map” of the different movements,
contributors and available options. In addition, it may help to predict developments in Christian
scholarship and education.
In the African and South African contexts it may help lecturers and students to gain a greater
deal of consistency. In fact, it is not rare for Christian academics and educators to live in
“multiple worlds”, for example being members of a Reformed church while adopting a Lutheran
approach in education, then supporting Liberal politics, and so on. Such “eclectic” attitudes are
often due to lack of understanding of the nature and implications of the different worldviews.
A Holistic Learner-Centred Ontology for Education as an Interdisciplinary Social Science
Christo J. Els
Faculty of Education Sciences
North-West University
Potchefstroom
christo.els@nwu.ac.za
In his 1926 work Holism and Evolution, South African scholar and statesman, Jan Christiaan
Smuts, describes “holism” as the tendency in nature to form wholes that are greater than the
sum of the parts that arise through creative evolution. Today, this ingenious work is recognised
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as the foundation theory of systems thinking, complexity theory, neural networks, semantic
holism, holistic education, and the general systems theory in ecology. This theoretical paper
proposes a Holistic Learner-Centred Ontology for education as an interdisciplinary social
science, and explores the holistic organisational structure of education through a learnercentred developmental perspective. Applying Carl Jung’s theory of Psychological Types, each
individual learner is approached as a multi-dimensional holistic unity, consisting of various
developmental domains, including physical, emotional, moral, spiritual, cognitive, and social
dimensions, which through creative processes, develop into even more complex and significant
wholes.
Scholars in the marketplace: ethical and educational dilemmas
Elize du Plessis & Petro Marais
Department of Teacher Training
UNISA
dplesec@unisa.ac.za
maraip@unisa.ac.za
Since the end of the legislation that determined that a child could only attend school in a certain
area, great competition has arisen between schools to increase their numbers. There is now a
tendency to regard specific children as commodities, especially if learners show a talent for
sport and have outstanding sporting achievements behind their names which will be an asset to
the school. Accordingly, the following questions arise: What ethical example is given to children
when adults apply financial power to promote the image of the school?
What educational
dilemmas are presented when children with special talents are more welcome in a school than
those who do not reach the same level of achievement? What is the long-term effect and
psychological impact on learners who are “taught” that “anything can be bought”? And how will
those favoured learners function in a society and community where they are regarded as
respected and privileged? What impact will it have on them when they go to university? Do
they regard themselves as superior, as being “above” other learners and do the other learners,
in turn, experience themselves as inferior? Do the parents act in an ethically correct manner by
placing a price on their talented children? The aim of this study is to find answers to these
questions.
A socio-constructivist approach and a norm theory approach are used as the
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theoretical framework for this study. School principals, Grade 7 learners who shine in sports
and academics, and their parents were purposefully selected because these learners are the
ones who are approached by high schools. Data was collected by using qualitative research in
the form of interviews and document analysis. Semi-structured questionnaires were used to
conduct interviews with school principals, parents and learners.
The importance of ethical issues in natural science and engineering education
Jean du Toit
School of Philosophy
North-West University
Potchefstroom
20405219@nwu.ac.za
The fields of the natural sciences and engineering are increasingly moving away from
theoretical approaches to knowledge and are instead looking for real-world applications of
research projects; this phenomenon is seen even in the academic setting. These developments
are deemed necessary in a worldwide economy that is driven more by practical results and less
by simple contribution to discipline-specific facts and knowledge.
However, this shift in
research-perspective means that science and engineering are faced with a host of ethical and
social issues that extend beyond the confines of the laboratory. The importance of ethical
grounding of graduate students becomes ever more pressing. This paper will attempt to look at
the influence that a purely scientific worldview has on ethical and value-related education of
university students of the natural sciences and engineering. It will also attempt to show how the
dearth of sufficient training in the application of ethics to the issues faced by the abovementioned disciplines can only lead to disaster in terms of scientific and technological progress,
and also how the lack of such training indeed limits the individual scientist or engineer.
Additionally it will attempt to show how the teaching of ethical approaches need not be seen as
an obstacle for the training of the potential scientist or engineer, but rather as an opportunity for
growth of the individual as part of society and as a contributing member in his/her immediate
community. Some attention will be given to attempts to integrate philosophical aspects into the
graduate training of researchers by different institutions.
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A vision for a Reformed-Christian college for South Africa
Johannes Froneman
School of Communication Studies
North-West University
Potchefstroom
JD.Froneman@nwu.ac.za
Since the effective termination of the Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education by
the government in 2004, there has been a yawning gap in the South African educational
landscape. The North-West University, which was formed through the merger of the PU for
CHE and the University of Northwest, has been positioned as a value-driven university, but for
all its good intentions and successes, it cannot (and never was intended to) continue the PU for
CHE’s tradition of Christian higher education.
Given the growth of Christian schools in South Africa, the question is what options pupils from
these and other schools have when they choose an institution of higher education. Apart from
the St Augustine College (Catholic) and the Helderberg College (Seventh Day Adventist) there
is no college or university where students can further their studies in an environment which will
nurture them academically, intellectually and spiritually in a manner consistent with their
Reformed background.
This paper will argue that piecemeal attempts at reserving small enclaves of Christian-Reformed
thinking at the NWU (or any other state university) will not suffice. What we need is a new
Christian college where the Reformed worldview has a central place, a college which, perhaps
in a very modest way at first, will fill the gap left by the demise of the PU for CHE.
It will be argued that a new “Calvin College” will provide a refuge to those who support the idea
of starting anew: the mistakes of the PU for CHE should be avoided. Strong, direct links with
like-minded institutions world-wide should be fostered from the outset. This should not be a goit-alone enterprise.
The concept of a new Christian college should find favour amongst Reformed Christians from all
denominations, races, ethnic groups and language groups in South Africa. The paper will argue
that the time is now ripe for such an initiative.
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Competence building as normative practice
Gerrit Glas
Faculty of Philosophy
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
The Netherlands
glasg@xs4all.nl
Education of professionals has undergone important changes in some Western countries. I will
take the reform of medical specialist education in Holland as an example. The Dutch medical
specialist curriculum has been transformed on the basis of a competency-oriented model
(borrowed from Canadian specialists) that focuses on modeling by experienced clinicians,
gradual and controlled immersion into a wide variety of practices, exercise of skills (in skills
labs), frequent rehearsals and discussion of literature by peers, feedback on self-recorded
videotapes and so on. I will discuss this transformation from the perspective of the so-called
normative practice model that was developed by Christian philosophers in the Netherlands and
that is currently used in a variety of settings. I will give a short analysis of the concept of
competence and highlight the philosophical issues that are involved in the introduction of
competency based education from the perspective of a Christian worldview.
Education for transformation
Emmanuel Ande Ivorgba
NEEDCSF: New Era Educational Charitable Support Foundation
Nigeria
eivorgba@needcsi.org
It has been said that in order to produce change in the world, the individual citizens that
populate the world must first be educated for that change. This sentiment is more crucial today
than ever before.
We live in a time when the forces that shape our human desires and
experience are not always hospitable to the positive development of character or the human
qualities of empathy, compassion and stewardship of the environment. This is to say that we
need to think about how to educate for change that will ensure a positive future for humanity.
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Edmund O’Sullivan (1999) deems this point in history to be equivalent to the “major shift that
took place from the medieval into the modern world.” If so, then like it or not change is upon us,
but what kind of change will that be? It is significant that this is also a time when we actually
have enough knowledge about the transformation of species to have a choice about the future
we are creating.
This paper specifically examines the problems, challenges and prospects of education in
Nigeria and proffers suggestions and solutions, which, if accepted in good faith and translated
into positive actions, could become the foundation for change that would bring about a new,
more humane, secure and affluent civil society.
We begin with the understanding that education is the foundation of any society. It directs the
development and maintenance of social and economic order, and is the basic instrument for
change and the alleviation of suffering. Hence, the aim of education should be to develop the
capacities and talents latent in a human being, and to coordinate their expression for the
enrichment and progress of society. This means we must attend to equipping our students to
become global citizens with technical, ethical and spiritual competencies.
Education must develop our inherent capacities, promote our analytical abilities and instill
individual self-confidence.
This will help us to develop the will and vision to become self-
motivating citizens, serving the best interests of our communities. This paper will consider
education in its largest sense of “any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind,
character or physical ability of an individual,” to be as important as education in the sense of
“the process by which society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills and
values from one generation to another.”
We will argue that genuine education must not only instill information and skills and prepare
individuals for jobs; it must also empower us to use our minds creatively, find and follow our
passions and create a deeper understanding of how and why our long-term wellbeing depends
on the wellbeing of others. Using education to simply transmit information and skills is not good
enough.
We must also attend to emotional, behavioral and spiritual values.
The paper
concludes that the final aim of education must be the inner transformation, and development of
a well-integrated human being who is able to think clearly, not only about his/her own good, but
also the well-being of others. It is only when we have the capacities of mind and essential skills
to creatively solve the challenges confronting us, and the inclination to use our innate gifts for
the betterment of society that Africa and the world can be transformed into habitats of peace.
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An assessment of the impact of Christian foundation courses on students’ emotional
intelligence: the case of Uganda Christian University
Isaac Wasswa Katono
Faculty of Business
Uganda Christian University
ikatono@ucu.ac.ug
Christian universities in Africa offer Christian foundation courses in the hope that these courses
will transform students into responsible citizens that can regulate their emotions and recognize
the emotions of others, and thus help them to act wisely in their relationships others. Using the
Student Relationship Assessment Tool, this study will collect data from a systematic sample of
1000 students from Uganda Christian University to test the hypothesis that Christian foundation
courses raise the emotional intelligence of students. The emotional intelligence of students who
have not received tuition in any such Christian foundation courses (First Year) will be compared
to that of students who have received such training (Second and Third Years). Four emotional
intelligence dimensions, namely self-awareness, self-management, relational awareness and
relational management, will be used. Data will be analyzed by means of t tests and ANOVA to
evaluate the study’s hypothesis. Findings from this study will contribute to the literature on
emotional intelligence and provide guidance to African Christian universities on how best to
position the Christian foundation courses.
Jonathan Jansen’s ‘Knowledge in the Blood’ as a model for institutional transformation in higher
education
Leandri Kleinhans
School of Languages
North-West University
Vaal Triangle Campus
20321783@nwu.ac.za
Jonathan Jansen’s ‘Knowledge in the Blood’ is an account of the University of Pretoria’s
transformation from an enclave of Apartheid ideology to an inclusive centre of higher learning.
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What is significant about the UP’s transformation is the fact that the changes were not only
political by nature; as Jansen aptly points out, institutional knowledge and institutional identity
underwent radical transformation as well.
transformation.
This paper deals with the “how” of institutional
How does one succeed in facilitating such transformation in a discordant
environment?
Literature on instances of epistemological change in institutions of education predominantly
describe such transformations as occurring from without, i.e. by abandoning the current context
and setting up a new model as standard of excellence. The success of externally mediated
institutional transformation lends support to what Rorty calls the role of “strong poets” in
facilitating worldview change: we do not abandon the safe haven of our personal “vocabularies”
because we are convinced to do so by means of rational argument. No. We only do so if and
when a “strong poet” inspires us with a vision of an alternative reality.
Jansen’s method of facilitating change is exceptional because he facilitates change from within.
In so doing, ‘Knowledge in the Blood’ raises the possibility that worldview change need not be a
wholly irrational phenomenon, that transformation can be negotiated within bounds of the
particular logic provided by the worldview in question.
The Integration of Indigenous Knowledge Systems Into the Education System
Motheo Koitsiwe
School of Social Sciences
North-West University
Mafikeng
motheo.koitsiwe@nwu.ac.za
There is a growing awareness of the importance of integrating Indigenous Knowledge Systems
(IKS) into the education system in South Africa. For instance, the Revised National Curriculum
Statements has infused IKS into its subject statements. However, the sustainable promotion
and development of this process poses dynamic and complex challenges and prospects,
especially in the education sector. In the past, a large number of conventional scholars have
undermined African knowledge systems because they thought these knowledge systems to be
inferior to Western knowledge systems and to have no place in the education system. The
paper argues that IKS, which is underpinned by an African epistemology, is as valuable as any
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other form of knowledge anywhere in the world. However, there is an increasing realization
within the African continent and the world at large that it is pertinent to develop well-coordinated
and holistic approaches for the transformation of education through the recognition of other
ways of knowing, languages, and approaches to science. The author posits that for institutions
of higher learning, schools, academics, researchers, innovation centers and government to be
operational and relevant in the process of integrating IKS into the education systems and the
science agenda of the country, there should be enactment of sui generis which recognizes IKS
and the indigenous knowledge holders / practitioners as accredited and certified communities of
practice.
These laws and policies should incorporate diverse views including those of the indigenous
knowledge holders or organic intellectuals with regard to the recognition and integration of IKS
into the education systems.
In the final analysis there has to be a building of networks,
collaboration, and partnership at local, national, continental and global level to address the
issues relating to the historic exclusion of IKS in the education system and to advocate the
mainstreaming of IKS into both research and curricula initiatives.
Transformation and responsibility in South African Education
Hendrik Kriek
School of Education
UNISA
Kriekhj@unisa.ac.za
This paper focuses on the transformation or changes that have taken place, and will probably
still take place in South African Education.
Furthermore it addresses the importance of
responsibility in education; with specific reference to accountability in the transformation of
education.
Since 1994 transformation and change have been part of the South African scenery. Major
interventions and radical changes have taken place in the educational sphere. According to
Pityana (The National Consultative Conference on Education, Durban 2005), “… change should
be undertaken, but without, at the same time disrupting the orderly character of education”.
The vision for schooling in 2025 contained in The Department of Basic Education’s Action Plan
2014: Towards realization of schooling 2025 (The SA Government: 2010) is for learners “(to)
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attend school on time, every day, and take their schoolwork seriously”; and for teachers: “(to be)
confident, well-trained, and continually improving their capabilities”.
It is clear that the Government envisages major changes and improvements in our education for
times to come. However, it should be done in a responsible and accountable manner.
Responsible choices and actions imply the willingness to be accountable for the consequences
of those choices and actions. A person behaves responsibly in obeying the norms and values
agreed upon by the society (as stipulated in a constitution, code of conduct or bill of rights), and
in setting the correct example through his/her words and deeds.
According to the Department of Education’s Manifesto on Values, Education and Democracy
(The SA Government: 2001), the importance attached to accountability in preference to
authoritarianism signifies the shift from apartheid education to education for democracy.
Through value-based conduct, there ought to develop a fellowship between educators, learners,
administrators and professional associations in order to ensure quality in education.
When people talk about values in education they want more than mere compliance. They want
educators and learners to engage with each other and the world around them in ways that make
the values real. They want schools that are secure and where there is a healthy ethos with an
awareness of, and commitment to, ethical practices.
What is this anti-oppressive education we expect student teachers to embrace? Unpacking the
assumptions, commitments and uncertainties to make teaching anti-oppressive.
Adré le Roux
School of Education Studies
Faculty of Education
University of the Free State
lerouxad@ufs.ac.za
In 1995 the White Paper on Education and Training (DoE, 1995: Chapter 3, Section 16)
anticipated that all new education policies will be based “on the constitutional guarantees of
equal educational rights for all persons and non-discrimination”.
In alignment with the
Constitution’s (RSA, 1996) equation of social justice and equity with the capacity to realise one’s
full potential, and central to all education acts and policies that followed 1995, is the call for
teachers to advocate for social justice, human rights and inclusivity.
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National policy
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subsequently requires all teachers to be socially just educators who trouble their classroom
pedagogies and educational practices to work against different forms of oppression.
As a teacher educator, my interest is in the essential role teacher education has to play in the
development and realisation of student teachers’ capacity to work in areas of social justice.
Bearing in mind that all teachers have to be socially just educators, one would expect that
teacher education courses will focus on the principles of social justice. However, the aim of this
paper is not to dwell on the implications of anti-oppressive education for teacher education.
Rather, instead of conceptualising and framing teacher education within the context of antioppressive education, I will attempt to unpack the assumptions underpinning anti-oppressive
education; the commitments stemming from anti-oppressive education; and the uncertainties
surrounding anti-oppressive education. The focus of this paper is informed by my assumption
that an understanding of the underlying assumptions and claims of anti-oppressive education
can have a two-fold purpose: on the one hand, it can serve as a conceptual framework for
teacher educators to create a “landscape” in which student teachers can start to trouble the
many approaches to challenging oppression in and beyond their classrooms. On the other
hand and, on a more personal note, it can help me as a teacher educator to continuously
complicate my own work as a teacher educator when working in the area of anti-oppressive
education.
Student Teachers’ Understanding of African Philosophy
Matsephe Letseka & Elza Venter
Department of Teacher Training
UNISA
letsemm@unisa.ac.za
ventee1@unisa.ac.za
The question ‘what constitutes African philosophy?’ shot to prominence in the social sciences
with the publication of Placide Temples’ seminal work Bantu Philosophy in 1945. Inevitably
Temple’s book elicited a lot of critical responses by African philosophers and culminated in a
wide range of publications such as Kwasi Wiredu’s (1980) Philosophy and an African; Paulin
Hountondji’s (1983) African Philosophy: Myth and Reality; Odera Oruka’s (1990) Philosophy of
History and Culture; Augustine Shutte’s (1993) Philosophy for Africa; DA Masolo’s (1994)
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African Philosophy in Search of Identity, and Kwame Gyekye’s (1995) An Essay of African
Philosophical Thought: The Akan Conceptual Scheme, to mention a few. Over 60 years after
the publication of Temples’ book there continues to be serious contestations regarding
conceptions of African philosophy.
This paper contributes to this enduring debate on
conceptions of African philosophy, but with a focus on the challenges of teaching African
philosophy to philosophy of education students at the University of South Africa. The paper
grapples with a tendency among undergraduate philosophy of education students to conflate
and reduce African philosophy to African cultures and traditions, and to the notion of Ubuntu.
The paper seeks to understand the reasons for students’ inclination to conflate African
philosophy the way they do. It inquires into the students’ background knowledge of African
philosophy, their critical thinking skills and ability to read for understanding, and whether the
students’ official reading materials – the prescribed textbook, the recommended books, the
study guides and tutorial letters – are selected and packaged in a manner that could contribute
to the challenges students face.
In the last instance the paper explores ways in which
philosophy of education lecturers can adapt their pedagogy in a manner that facilitates a better
understanding of African philosophy in their students.
Some characteristics and functions of epistemic frameworks
Ananka Loubser
School of Philosophy
North-West University
Potchefstroom
Ananka.Loubser@nwu.ac.za
Contemporary philosophy of science presents a wide and sophisticated terminology seemingly
pointing towards a multitude of different epistemic frameworks (directing our scientific
investigations). Such a multitude of- and difference between terms may be taken to evidence
helpless lack of consensus among scholars. This study, however, analyses several prominent
20th century philosophers of science (both in the humanist and reformational traditions) to show
that a level of consensus can be reached regarding the characteristics and functions of
epistemic frameworks. This study finds that (on the pre-scientific level) fundamental motives and
worldviews and world pictures are recognised as necessary pre-theoretical frameworks. On the
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scientific level, philosophy and other epistemic frameworks can also be regarded as theoretical
frameworks which are widely recognised and considered necessary for scientific investigation.
Overall, this paper proposes an epistemic model containing a number of frameworks
characterized by commitment to a fundamental (religious) motive. However, it also recommends
the avoidance of patterns of mediation between frameworks and promotes equal “access” of all
frameworks to all parts of the network. The paper concludes with the further recommendation
that none of the frameworks should be regarded as “absolute”, since they are all conditioned by
the structural order for reality, a normative direction and the cultural context in which they are
elaborated.
The Youth, New Media, Worldview & Education: Connected and Plugged in? Yes. Switched on?
Perhaps not …
Bertie Loubser
Department of Communications
Faculty of Human and Social Sciences
North-West University
Mafikeng
22391789@nwu.ac.za
In 1990, Saxby had the following to say about Global Communication and New Media:
New technologies are changing the way people learn, create and process information. It
continues to alter the way a person views their community and their standing in the world.
Today, twenty-one years later, these sentiments ring increasingly true. The author believes this
to be especially true of the youth, considering their enthusiastic adoption and usage of the latest
new media technologies. In considering this ever-growing (global) network society, and with
reference to the title’s “Connected-ness and Plugged in-ness”, the question of whether the youth
is truly “Switched on”, i.e. critically aware of, and paying due attention to, the multitude of
influences and information such technology transmits into their daily lives, may legitimately be
asked.
Furthermore, questions concerning connectivity, inter-connectivity, interactivity, convergence,
community, peer interaction, family life and identity (and loss of identity) are raised in this paper.
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With regards to the overlapping of communication channels/technologies and notions of
multitasking, wither education and the formation of a cogent worldview? The way in which
people (students/the youth) acquire and learn new knowledge (epistemologically), process and
understand information (cognitively) and create/formulate personal meaning/significance
(metaphysically), are all modified and informed by their consumption of new technologies.
In their pursuit of an “individually acceptable” worldview, young adults/students grapple with
both the objectively perceived, as well as the subjectively experienced manifestations of their
surrounding world. Munro (2005:6) succinctly describes this dualism thus:
In our pursuit of “objectivity” (and what is objectivity other than the pursuit of the predictable and
the repeatable?) we have to be aware of the two processes –thinking and observing. We
cannot claim objectivity (or truth) simply by observation, nor can we claim truth simply by
[subjective] thinking. It is the sticky intermingling of the two that counts.
Considering characteristics of a life and worldview: how to facilitate change?
Willie Luyt
Faculty of Basic Sciences
North-West University
Vaal Triangle Campus
Willie.Luyt@nwu.ac.za
In the reality that we find ourselves in people must be equipped to deal with constant change
that is happening all the time. A life and worldview provides us with the basic rules to cope with
new information but also binds us subjectively to that which has over time became an anchor or
something to believe in. Coping with change in life can sometimes cause people to get caught
up in a compartmentalized life and worldview which can be the reason why a person sometimes
struggles to deal with interpersonal relationships and everyday situations. This means that a
person divides his/her life into compartments where certain values are applicable to one
situation and other values apply to another situation.
Toupin (2004:2) explains people’s reaction to new information as follows: “without any rules,
new information is just tossed into the corner of our minds. Our conscious mind, in an attempt
to organize the information, devises a set of questions that need to be answered. We then
begin to focus on these issues, which eventually bring up other questions, causing us to cringe
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in fear and become stuck in our lives. Our minds are so caught up in these “free floating”
questions that we end up in a state of confusion and, in some cases, overwhelming depression
because life seems to be caving in all around us completely out of control.”
Because the impact of change and the search for answers to new questions is intertwined with
our life and worldview it is of paramount importance to teach our students the nature and
functioning of a life and worldview.
The focus of this paper is thus to highlight the characteristics and functioning of a life and
worldview and to discover how to evaluate and develop a life and worldview to facilitate change
in life.
Source:
TOUPIN, E.B. 2004. The need for a Belief System… a system of organization for your own
experiences! http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Toupin19.html Date of access: 1 March 2011
Worldview as integral part of edifying education
Siebren Miedema
Faculty of Psychology and Education & Faculty of Theology
VU University Amsterdam
The Netherlands
s.miedema@psy.vu.nl
It is my claim that all edifying education (‘Bildung’) is inherently worldview laden. In formulating
the aim of education in schools as being the identity development of pupils, their personhood,
the fostering of the worldview (religious) component of this identity developing process should
be pedagogically taken up as an integral part of such a developmental process.
Pedagogy with a focus on learning to live together, already in the school, as an embryonic
society, thus combining individuality and sociality/solidarity, also includes learning to live
together religiously. In that way schools can stimulate what I coin as “religious citizenship
education” in which encounter and dialogue have a prominent place in dealing with cultural,
ethnic and worldview diversity.
Although the formation of personhood has its own right (sui generis), and thus should not be
used in an instrumental way for societal ends, the pupils may of course profit from the
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experiences, knowledge, and insights gained participating in school practices when later taking
part in, and contributing to, society at large and its cultural practices.
The Christian wordview as the most comprehensive paradigm for transformative education in
Africa
Aidan G. Msafiri
Department of Philosophy and Ethics
Saint Augustine University of Tanzania
Tanzania
msafiriaidan@yahoo.com
Amidst present day debates and discussions on worldview and education, it remains that the
Christian model is one of the most comprehensive and transformative models. How and why?
As a unique model, it tries to address and form the entire person: humanly; religiously
(transcendentally); and worldly (secularly).
It goes beyond the ordinary horizontalist
dimensions. It accentuates that God exists. And, in turn, our way of translating this conviction
gives a far deeper theocentric flavour and bearing to human action. Conversely, it embraces all
of the tertiary aspects together with the transcendental trajectories. Faith in God or in Jesus
Christ becomes the very engine of, and motivating principle for, the acquisition of knowledge.
This becomes vivid particularly in the way in which a Christian scholar translates theory to
praxis; information to formation; knowledge to action, etc. Hence, as a process, value-oriented
and scientific endeavour or methodology, a Christian worldview in education reaffirms the truth
that the Christian God became one of us! He is not an abstract entity somewhere out there.
God exists here and now! Indeed, this underpins the reformatistic and revolutionistic nature and
character of this worldview. He therefore orients us in our actions and gives them deeper
purpose, implication, destiny, and unique motivation.
Further, the Christian worldview stresses the fact that God, as the creator of all, attaches equal
value to all human beings, regardless of their colour, nation, gender, status, ability, worldview
etc. Such a Christian worldview has far-reaching implications and consequences. He who
understands the world as created by God must by ipso facto express deep respect for it and
his/her fellow human beings. Where do we learn or acquire such a worldview? Definitely from
a Christian family, kindergarten, primary school, secondary school, college and university. A
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Christian worldview, as a whole, encompasses more strengths and excellence than any nonChristian secularist or scientific model.
The Emergence of Philosophy in Scottish Secondary School Religious Education
Graeme Nixon
School of Education
University of Aberdeen
Scotland
g.nixon@abdn.ac.uk
This paper considers changes in the subject Religious Education within the context of Scottish
secondary schools, charting a development towards the increasing use of philosophical skills
and content in the course of the last four decades. Before considering the nature, extent and
timing of this development, this paper provides a broader context within which to understand
educational change in Scotland, including reference to international framings for Religious
Education. Subsequent sections in the review of literature explore the emergence of philosophy
in Religious Education and the social, educational and epistemological changes that have
precipitated such a development.
The emergent hypothesis is that Religious Education has become more philosophical as a
result of changes in society (particularly secularisation); changes in education (particularly the
move to more democratic and reflective pedagogy), and also as a result of the close relationship
between the epistemological areas of philosophy and religious education. This paper adopts an
interpretative research paradigm and considers quantitative and qualitative data drawn from a
survey of 126 secondary schools and seventeen key informant interviews. Taken alongside the
review of policy and research literature, this data demonstrates that the three interlinked
hypothetical strands have been at the heart of the move towards more philosophical Religious
Education, although other possibilities are also raised and considered.
Considering the data collected as a case study in curricular changes also allows the researcher
to consider educational policy change in Scotland, particularly in a a post-devolution context.
Based on the above findings, this study makes recommendations and suggests areas for further
research.
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Considering diversity policy and practice at NWU, South Africa.
Kiran Odhav
School of Social Sciences
North-West University
Mafikeng
16416058@nwu.ac.za
This paper aims to address the theme of this conference, worldview and education, from the
perspective of diversity, or more specifically institutional diversity. Notions of 'worldview' are so
much tied to modernism, universalism, meta-narratives or foundational thought that their
theoretical formulations need to be reconsidered. One offshoot of the resistance to such '-isms'
is the renewed interest in narratives of diversity. An examination of the discourses of diversity
may yield some interesting accounts of practices and highlight the consequences of such
practices. But diversity is not a simple or uni-definitional notion. It may refer simply to notions
of 'difference' or the more theoretical 'differance' (Derrida), or even to 'deferral' as in delaying,
rescheduling or suspending, but it may also involve 'forms of life' (Winch). This means that the
terms and limits of what is being done here need to be set out at the start in order to examine
diversity. This paper sets such limits within the following parameters.
Diversity is too vast a phenomenon to examine in all its complexity and in all its practices and
forms. I will contextualize it here at NWU, both through its past, its recently merged history and
its current institutional form. In doing so, I will first outline NWU's policy of diversity (it's logo
mentions diversity) as stated in its mission, vision and general statements and policies. This will
entail a sum of its professed institutional polices, its structural and conjunctural practices, and its
gains and stumbling blocks as an institution as far as diversity is concerned. Second, I will
assess how its institutional discourses may be useful or problematic in implementing particular
aspects of policy or practice. In this regard, I will use selected 'practices of diversity' to reflect
on how well the policy fits (or does not fit) into the new macro-institutional merger (NWU). Third,
I will venture to suggest policy and practical changes to contribute to a more balanced, more
open, and more developing and sustained notion of diversity policy for NWU.
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Worldviews: A blessing or a curse?
Bert Olivier
Department of Journalism, Media and Philosophy
Nelson Mandela Metropol University
Bert.Olivier@nmmu.ac.za
The concept of a worldview has a long history, despite being arguably a modern phenomenon
that has been subject to proliferation in postmodernity. Nevertheless, this paper will argue that
its 'possibility' goes back as far as Plato's Republic.
Heidegger is a reliable guide to
understanding what a worldview is, as well as why the modern epoch is its time of provenance.
Consequently, an analysis of Heidegger's essay, 'The time of the world as view/picture' will
provide the framework within which it will be argued that worldviews are both blessings and
curses in the current era of postmodernity: blessings, because we have been disabused of the
modern idea of ONE encompassing worldview or ideology, so that one can no longer believe in
only one 'correct' (ideological) view of the world; curses, because they bedevil those wellintended cross-cultural attempts at communicating with understanding. Moreover, the advent of
what Baudrillard calls 'hyperreality' has raised the spectre of fatally being alienated from social
and natural reality. The question is: how does one address this state of affairs? Education at all
levels, but especially at tertiary level, is one of the most important avenues to explore. That
there is therefore a way of addressing this state of affairs with some hope of transcending the
causes of alienation, will be the burden of this paper to provide.
A Vision of/for Love: Toward a Christian Post-postmodern worldview
Jim Olthuis
Institute for Christian Studies
Toronto
jimo@icscanada.edu
Rene Descartes’ “I think, therefore, I am” has served as the epitome of modernism, and “I think,
but I don’t know who I am” could be said to express a cardinal precept of post-modernism. “I
was loved, therefore I am” is at the heart of a Christian post-postmodern worldview. In the Spirit
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of Christ, I know that in spite of sin and evil, in spite of the killing fields, we are not alone, Godis-with-us, Emmanuel. Love is happening in the world. God’s love is the creative, sustaining,
and redemptive energy at the heart of reality, making and remaking connections. And we are
invited –still more, we are called– as heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, to be, in the Spirit,
partners in God’s ministry of reconciliation.
Critical Discourse Analysis of Iranian Children’s Literature, in terms of Gender Bias and
Stereotyping
Forough Rahimi & Zahra Shirazi
Islamic Azad University
Iran
rahimi.forough@yahoo.com
The present study is an attempt to delineate the underlying socio-cultural agenda behind the
representation of specific genders in children's literature, in the context of Iran. In particular, the
paper at hand is a critical discourse analysis of a random selection of children's books written
for children in grade 3 and 4 of primary school.
The authors have made an attempt to systematically analyze the content of these books (both
pictures and texts) under four main categories of stereotyping, namely visibility vs. invisibility,
sex roles or activities, appearance (color and outfit), and language behavior. Each classification
is enriched by a variety of supplement instances from the text or the pictures to back up the idea
of how and why gender-wise stereotyping is manifested in children's literature.
The qualitative discourse analysis of the selected books indicated the representation of a
gender-biased language in children's literature in terms of social roles and activities,
appearance, and language behavior. However, in terms of male vs. female visibility, some sort
of asymmetry was observed. The results made us conclude that although male and female
characters were equally visible in texts and pictures, the choice of language used for children of
this age aimed at stereotyping various activities, social roles, norms, and even outfits, according
to gender.
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Aesthetics in Sciences: Economic and Social
Jackie Ramdhani & Sarita Ramsaroop
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
University of Johannesburg
jramdhani@uj.ac.za
saritaram@uj.ac.za
Recent literature suggests that art and aesthetics are evident in ancient times in Islamic, Indian,
Chinese, African, and Western medieval traditions. However, literature on the incorporation of
art and aesthetics into economic and management sciences and social science is not so readily
available. This paper seeks to explore this issue by means of a case study of two lecturers’
interpretation of the sensory contemplation or appreciation of aesthetic judgement within their
academic programs at a Higher Education Institution. Do we stop to consider the importance of
teaching aesthetically in module design and in the delivery of lectures? Stimulating creativity,
passion and imagination is just one of an array of characteristics that prospective educators will
need to develop in their teaching.
Research has indicated that to become a reflective
practitioner, educators should be able to continuously assess and explore the success of their
practices. It is this freedom to continuously imagine, assess, explore and reflect on new ways of
doing things that ultimately leads to praxis.
Teaching aesthetically also requires a strong
grounding in pedagogical content knowledge. Using a qualitative interpretative approach, the
exploration will undertake to look at the understanding of the aesthetic domain within the two
disciplines and then practical examples are provided to indicate the variety of possible ways to
view the arts as pedagogy within the disciplines. The main thrust of this paper is to determine
how we develop and embody these qualities in ourselves and in the modules we teach. In so
doing, two lecturers from the department of Curriculum and Instruction seek to interrogate the
conceptual understanding and implementation of aesthetic engagement in their modules. The
findings indicate that students have a real appreciation for the incorporation of the aesthetic
domain within the disciplines.
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Feminist post-structuralism and South African school History texts
Sonja Schoeman & Jill Fardon
Department of Teacher Education
UNISA
shoes@unisa.ac.za
A feminist post-structuralist perspective offers an alternative paradigm for the study of gender
bias in History texts. The following two research questions were formulated: a) What new
knowledge does feminist post-structuralism bring to the gender debate in History as a school
subject? and b) How does feminist post-structuralist discourse analysis open up space for plural
gender interpretation of school History texts? The aim of the paper is to discuss feminist poststructuralism as an innovative approach to History as a school subject, and to demonstrate its
implications for the analysis of school History texts. An example of the empirical application of
the feminist post-structuralist perspective is provided. A qualitative intrinsic case study was
conducted to determine the gender representation in a post-1994 South African school History
text. The non-probability purposive sampling technique was used to identify the textbook and
text sample from the working population. It was decided to investigate an exemplar text from a
textbook that could be used throughout the country, by P Ellis and P Olivier (eds), entitled
Shuters History. Grade 10. Learner’s Book, published in 2005 in Pietermaritzburg by Shuter and
Shooter. Systematic sampling was used to select the sample text, which appears on page 259
of the textbook. A detailed feminist post-structuralist analysis of the gender representation in
the above text was conducted, drawing on various approaches. The exemplar text analysed
supports a masculine historical narrative, using a neutral and naturalising style, and renders
women and the feminine meaning invisible. It is suggested that non-traditional forms of writing
will help to dislodge the inherent hegemony in History texts and will challenge the masculine
status quo in school History texts.
Religion and Moral Education: Problems and Prospects for Civil Society
Frederico Settler
Department of Religious Studies
University of Cape Town
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FEDERICO.SETTLER@uct.ac.za
For more than a decade and a half South Africans have proudly celebrated and believed in the
values of their Constitution. This “faith in constitutionalism” that emerged with the advent of
democracy in South Africa led many to assume that the judicial processes, born out of the
country’s negotiated revolution, would not only facilitate the transformation of the society and its
citizens, but would also transform the day-to-day relations in the street, workplace and in the
classroom. In the area of religion and citizen education the debate focused on freedom from
religious coercion and freedom to practice one’s religion. A recent study reported that between
2004 and 2008 there was a significant decrease in the number of people who had never had
contact with someone of another race, and those who had never had informal contact across
racial boundaries –decreased from 36% to 21%, and 57% to 41%, respectively. The study also
revealed a significant (20%) year-on-year decline in optimism that races would enjoy a peaceful
coexistence in South Africa.
So despite increased contact between people of different
backgrounds, there remain significant anxieties about the prospect of being able to get along.
We have been conducting research to ascertain prejudice and increased tolerance.
Early
indication is that religion education remains critical for producing social inclusion but it also
remains a hotly contested field between families, faith communities and the postcolonial state. I
will argue that the rolling back of the policy has produced ‘sites of exception’ where the laws of
the country are disregarded by religious communities, school governing bodies and parents,
and the values of the constitution are undermined.
So while some may suggest that this is a sign of a healthy and critical civil society, I argue that
these ‘sites of exception’ and the state’s drive for more of a national citizenship education are
ultimately undermining the prospect of a vibrant civil society for the future.
The academic writing course as initiation into Academia
Marlies Taljaard
School of Languages
North-West University
Potchefstroom
11843802@nwu.ac.za
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At the North-West University we are currently engaged in research into the philosophical aims of
our academic writing course for first year students, which is part of our Academic Literacy
course and also includes consultations at the Writing Laboratory. Our hypothesis is that this
course acts as a kind of initiation into Academia and that students show signs of liminal
personae, as described by Turner in "The ritual process" (1969).
The proposed paper is
concerned with the way in which students experience their academic writing at the beginning of
their academic career and how this perception shapes their world view and accordingly their
identity construction.
The postmodern world view, which is held by many students when they enter university, is often
associated with uncertainty, confusion and an absence of the linear. While it is hard to deny the
reality of this world view, the metaphor of liminality is an apt way to describe a search for
coherence, which is also the aim of our writing course. The liminal presupposes the existence
of discrete stages and even a destination. According to Sutton ("A place that is not a place",
2000) certain actions characterize liminality: 1. awakening to the fact that zone A is in some way
or other inadequate and insufficient and the intuitive knowledge of the existence of a transliminal zone B; 2. movement in the direction of the limen; 3. transgression of the limen in order
to scout or to be initiated; 4. transformation as a result of actions in the liminal space.
The aim of our study is to determine, with the help of questionnaires, interviews and discourse
analyses of students' metatexts, how they experience the writing process at the beginning of
their studies. Scrutiny of the above mentioned texts indicate that even by the end of the first
semester, first year students’ writing already shows signs that the norms and values of
academic writing practices have been transferred, as students start to affirm their academic
identity, and accordingly indicate slight changes in their world view.
A Christian Vision for Africa
Yusufu Turaki
International Bible Society Africa
Nairobi
byturaki@yahoo.com
Given the state of affairs in all fields of human endeavor in Africa today, one may pose to ask:
“Which way Africa?”. Africa seems to have lost a sense of direction and identity and is at a loss
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as to what to do and how to solve her multitude of problems. Africa has too many advisers that
seem to mislead her. Since independence in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Africa seems to
lack a concrete vision of a good, sustainable and participatory society.
The primary objective of this paper is to develop and formulate a Christian vision for Africa in
order to help Africans in the construction of a viable and conducive society for the wellbeing of
all Africans. This requires a critical examination of the current state of affairs in Africa in order to
identify the foremost problems and challenges facing the continent.
Christian and biblical
foundations are then developed into a theoretical framework for addressing these problems and
challenges.
The Christian and biblical presuppositions and principles are offered as an
alternative to modern theories of socio-political development. This paper will argue for the
viability and desirability of this worldview as a transformational-educational model for
development in Africa.
Singing for your Supper:
Staff singing for transformation and teambuilding in a bank: a template for multilingual education
Aletta van As
WITS
Aletta.VanAs@wits.ac.za
Transformation entails meaningful change and requires new mindsets, behaviours and
worldviews. In South Africa (as is increasingly the case in Europe and elsewhere), such change
hinges on interaction and communication between citizens of differing cultures, ethnicities and
languages. Where the inability to speak the others’ language(s) could inhibit real interaction
and genuine communication, choral singing proffers unique opportunities for shared
communicative experiences. In 2005, Dr. Steve Booysen, then Group Chief Executive of the
Absa Group, initiated an internal choir festival as a platform for social interaction and
teambuilding for staff across all cultures, age groups and post levels in the bank.
This
happened during the process of Barclays’ investment of billions of rands that would translate to
its controlling share in Absa. Recognising the merge as a potential threat to the morale of the
bank’s workforce, Booysen envisaged the choir project as a means of moral support during this
challenging time of uncertainty and change.
Supplemented by video footage to allow the
audience authentic glimpses of the choral experience, this paper looks into choral singing as
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social capital and reports on the results of a Doctoral investigation into the extra-musical
benefits of this project for Absa. The Absa choir project could serve as a microcosm of larger
multicultural, multilingual macrocosms. The benefits attained through communal singing in this
project could pose possibilities for the process to “consolidate and enrich …citizenship …
together with an awareness of shared values and belonging to a common social and cultural
space” as visualized for Europe in the 1999 Bologna Declaration.
AN EVANGELICAL VOICE IN AFRICA
The worldviewish background of the theology of Tokunboh Adeyemo (01-10-1944 - 17-03-2010)
Bennie van der Walt
School of Philosophy
North-West University
Potchefstroom
Hannah@intekom.co.za
Our continent was blessed with a son of Africa of the calibre of dr. Tokunboh Adeyemo. Since
he only recently passed away, we do not yet have – as far as the author is aware – an
assessment of the legacy of this eminent Christian leader. This paper is the first preliminary
evaluation written from a Reformational worldview perspective.
The set-up of the investigation is as follows: First a brief outline is given of his life history,
especially his training in the Evangelical tradition.
Then the décor (the overall situation of
African Christianity) against which he lived and worked is painted. This is followed by the
strengths and weaknesses of Evangelical Christianity of which Adeyemo was a representative.
Fourthly it is indicated how Adeyemo thought in line with post-Lausanne Evangelicalism. The
paper concludes with a preliminary worldviewish evaluation of his legacy.
A reorientation of the usual typologies of the Christian worldview
Bennie van der Walt
School of Philosophy
North-West University
Potchefstroom
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Hannah@intekom.co.za
For many years (since its first publication in 1951) H. Richard Niebuhr's Christ and culture (New
York, Harper & Row) served as the guide to many students and scholars to distinguish between
different types of Christian worldviews. He distinguished between the following five types: (1)
Christ against culture; (2) Christ off culture; (3) Christ above culture; (4) Christ and culture in
paradox; (5) Christ transforms culture.
Niebuhr's typology was modified by thinkers in the Reformational tradition. Examples are J.H.
Olthuis: Must the Church become secular? (In: Olthuis, J.A., Hart, H., Seerveld, G.C. and
Olthuis, J.H: 1970. Out of concern for the church. p. 105-125. Toronto: Wedge Pub. Foundation)
and A.W. Wolters: Christianity and the classics; a typology of attitudes. (In Helleman, W.E., ed.
Christianity and the classics. p. 189-203. Lanham: Univ. Press of America).
However, fifty-five years after the first publication of Niebuhr's famous classic, C.A. Carter, in his
book of 2006 Rethinking "Christ and culture"; a post-Christian perspective (Grand Rapids,
Michigan: Brazos Press), expressed penetrating critique on the erstwhile guide’s categorising of
worldviews. A brief summary of his critique will be given.
Since I regard (from my own Reformational background) Carter's critique (from an AnabaptistEvangelical background) as not going deep enough, an attempt is made to provide a new
typology (more in line with D.H.Th. Vollenhoven's historiography and systematic philosophy).
In conclusion, the implications of my suggested typology will be illustrated with an application to
how Christians may view their educational task differently.
Bullying in schools: the educator’s role
Elza Venter & Elize du Plessis
Department of Teacher Training
UNISA
ventee1@unisa.ac.za
dplesec@unisa.ac.za
Most schools have some kind of problem with traumatic incidents such as bullying. Bullying
means to repeatedly harm a person psychologically, physically, and/or emotionally. There are
different types of bullying –some more overt than others.
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Bullying behaviour cannot be ignored by parents and teachers, because the victims of bullying
often report physical and mental problems.
They may, for instance, develop self-esteem
problems and in some cases may even contemplate suicide. The future of the bully is also at
stake, because such a person could turn out to be an abuser in his/her adult years.
The research done for this paper focuses on the challenges associated with guidance or
counselling at whole school level of learners who experience some form of bullying.
The
specific aims of the study are to discuss bullying as traumatic experience and to investigate
whether teachers are equipped to deal with learners who are victims of bullying.
Recommendations will be made as to the role of the whole school, but more specifically every
teacher’s role in reducing bullying in schools.
Schools should adopt an anti-bullying policy and devise strategies to reduce incidents of
bullying. The input of all teachers will play a role. Teachers should give more attention to
classroom rules and opportunities to discuss bullying in a non-threatening environment.
A
bullying helpline could be introduced. Teachers should teach non-aggressive strategies such as
problem solving and conflict resolution skills. Assertiveness training is important, as well as the
teaching of a spirit of kindness, tolerance and understanding of diversity.
The researchers will research the problem from a socio-constructivist approach. Data for this
study will be collected by means of document analysis and questionnaires.
Teachers as
respondents will answer fifteen open-ended questions indicating their experiences in schools
regarding bullying and the prevention thereof.
Worldviews and methods of targeting: inimical methodologies
Ponti Venter
Faculty of Basic Sciences
North-West University
Vaal Triangle Campus
ponti.venter@nwu.ac.za
Machiavelli developed a scholarly method to heroicise the ancient militarists and to denigrate
Christian uprightness.
He was followed in this by Hobbes and Voltaire, and of course
Nietzsche. The Nietzsche followers of today are working in the same mold.
Two Modern
thinkers attempted to resist this trend: Locke and Vico. The real contributions they have made
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have been hi-jacked by secularism. Thinking about worldview and scholarship, means also
thinking about the teaching of method, for prejudice often is deeply hidden in methodological
training.
Applied linguistics beyond postmodernism
Albert Weideman
Department of English
University of the Free State
WeidemanAJ@ufs.ac.za
Viewed historically, applied linguistics clearly has modernist roots. The expectations awakened
by its inception of a ‘scientific’ approach to solving language problems have, however, steadily
been eroded by postmodernist views and the approaches associated with those. This battle
has been fought over a number of decades, at times with truly radical fervour, often using
opposites to characterise the intellectual conflict, such as quantitative and qualitative, or
positivist and postpositivist. Given the recent predominance of postmodernist views in applied
linguistics, this paper asks whether it is possible for modernist paradigms again to begin to
influence the field, by looking at the rise of a new paradigm that will affect both linguistics and
applied linguistics.
In terms of foundational distinctions, a dynamic or complex systems
approach will certainly be noteworthy for drawing our attention to at least two truly complex
linguistic ideas that have not adequately been analysed in linguistic theory. These are, first, the
complex linguistic idea of the origin, growth, maturation and possible loss of language, and,
second, the idea of the complex relationship between lingual subject and object. The serious
consideration of these in a number of recent analyses done from a complex or dynamic systems
point of view is an indication that a foundational analysis, though wholly necessary and
illuminating, rarely moves at the forefront of theoretical discovery.
Like all philosophical
analysis, it should therefore adopt a fittingly humble stance. That kind of humility, however,
applies across paradigms as well: the arrival of a new paradigm in the field is a timely reminder
that enduring domination of a single paradigm in a field remains unlikely. What a philosophical
analysis can, in such a case, accomplish is to provide a foundational framework for assessing
the relative merits and contributions of each successive paradigm.
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