Learning and Unlearning from School to College to University: Issues for Students and Teachers

Authors

  • Bonnie Vandesteeg

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22582/ta.v2i1.329

Keywords:

Transition, anthropology, unlearning

Abstract

This paper is based on research carried out on transitions in the educational lives of students. The paper will argue that the problem of transition is a challenging one: students have certain challenges in making the transition between stages of education, and educational institutions are not sufficiently aware of the need to address the question of “unlearning” involved in transitions. The word “transition” in this context indicates a process of unlearning what was known in the previous stage and learning what is required in order to be an effective student in the next stage. This is partly because of the nature of the examination system that frames pre-university education in the UK. The problem of transition is not just a question of telling students what was less effective about how they did things before and how they should now do things differently, but of understanding the student perspective holistically. Teachers need to understand that the students have been engaged in a number of activities that are not just intellectual, but also social and embodied. Unlearning and learning therefore is a much more complex process than might appear on the surface. Students of the new A- level in anthropology face these same challenges but anthropology provides the potential for meeting these challenges - partly because of the nature of the subject matter and how it needs to be taught, and partly because of the close relationship between the A-level and the wider anthropology community.

Author Biography

Bonnie Vandesteeg


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Published

2012-01-01