University Education and Deliberation: In Defence of Practical Reasoning

Abstract

In this article I argue that the use of practical reasoning in university classrooms is necessary to establish conditions under which university teachers and students can move beyond the dominant “transmission mode” of education (teaching and learning). This mode of education had been, and in many cases remains to be prevalent in several (South African) university classrooms. I argue what it could mean for university teachers and students to reason together with one another in classroom practices. Central to reasoning together is the idea of deliberation which provides opportunities for teachers and students to experience “intelligent action” (Biesta 2004a) that could enhance educational problem solving in (and beyond) university classrooms.