Navigating Ethical Boundaries When Adopting Digital Storytelling in Higher Education

Abstract

Gachago and Sykes highlight important and interesting ethical questions raised by the introduction of digital storytelling into the higher education classroom. Against the background of pre-service teacher education at a South African university, Gachago and Sykes reflect on a series of “snapshots” or anecdotes that highlight the tension between pedagogical and therapeutic project that confronts digital storytelling in higher education. Gachago and Sykes draw on both educational and psychological literature concerning the role of affect and trauma in education to challenge assumptions about students, facilitators and political projects when introducing personal digital storytelling into the curriculum. The questions raised in the chapter explicitly invite further conversation.