Intellect, Emotion, and Will: A Duoethnography on Human Education

Abstract

We engaged in duoethnographic research to deepen our understanding of Japanese educator Daisaku Ikeda’s notion of ningen kyōiku, or “human education,” a lifelong process of transformation based on commitments to dialogue, value creation, global citizenship and creative coexistence. In particular, we examine the cultivation of intellect, emotion, and will from Ikeda’s human education perspective, focusing on our experiences both as students and as teachers in K-12 schools. Data sources included notes and transcriptions of video conferences and past conference presentation scripts. We found that our own education neglected some aspects of human education. Our student experiences propelled us as teachers toward creating educational experiences that support the development of intellect, emotion, and will through building trusting and caring relationships and creating structure to support student autonomy. Further, we realized that when one becomes aware of the interconnectedness of all life, the three aspects of human education—intellect, emotion, and will—transform into wisdom to use knowledge, compassion to maintain an imaginative empathy, and courage to take action. In our explorations, we worked to articulate an alternative to the current culture of schooling, and the study has helped us imagine future possibilities by explicating the lived curriculum, or currere, of human education. We hope that this study might encourage more educators to focus on guiding their students’ holistic growth as human beings in their unique contexts.