ResponsAbility - Dialogues on Practical Knowledge and Bildung in Professional Studies

The Time Magazine listed our guest today among America’s 25 most influential people in 1996. And with that, we are truly honored to welcome Professor Carol Gilligan in this episode! Carol is one of the most influential psychologists and ethicists of our time. She is the author of the groundbreaking book In a Different Voice, which not only reshaped moral development theory but also introduced the now widely recognized ethics of care. Currently based at New York University, she has held distinguished positions at Harvard and Cambridge. Her work has had a lasting impact not only in psychology and philosophy but also in education, gender studies, and democratic theory. In this episode, we speak with Carol about the origins of In a Different Voice, the overlooked abortion study that inspired it, and the paradigm shift she helped initiate—from abstract principles of justice to an ethics rooted in care, relationship, and responsibility. We also explore the role of embodied knowledge, the resurgence of patriarchy, and why helping children—and societies—find their voices is more urgent than ever. 00:01:16 – A bit about Carol’s personal story 00:09:56 – About the abortion decision study which lead to In a Different Voice 00:16:57 – About the paradigm shift towards the ethics of care 00:21:47 – What does responsibility mean to Carol? 00:27:32 – What role does intuition have with regard to the human voice?  00:31:58 – What would it look like in practice if we were to teach teacher students or nursing students in a way that would enhance their intuition? 00:33:16 – What does the voice of resistance sound like? 00:41:50 – Why did Carol call her book Darkness Now Visible? Literature:   Gilligan, C. (1982): In a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Women's Development. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674445444.  Gilligan, C (1991) Women, Girls and Psychotherapy. Reframing resistance.  Gilligan, C. Between Voice and Silence (1996): Women and Girls, Race and Relationships.  Gilligan, C. (2011). Joining the resistance. Cambridge, UK Malden, Massachusetts: Polity Press. ISBN 9780745651705.  Gilligan, C and David Richards (2020). Darkness now visible - Patriarchy`s Resurgence and Feminist resistance  Gilligan, C. (2023): In a Human Voice. Cambridge: Polity Press ISBN 9781509556809.  

Our guest in this episode is Dr. Helgard Mahrdt from the Center for Gender Research at the University of Oslo. She was also Associate Professor at the Department of Literature, Area Studies, and European Languages and Visiting Professor at the University of Ljubljana. Furthermore, she served as a Senior Researcher at the Danish Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities in Copenhagen and has been affiliated with the Humaniora study group at the University of Oslo. In this episode, we explore her long-standing engagement with the political thought of Hannah Arendt, focusing on Arendt’s insights into education, judgment, and responsibility. We discuss Arendt’s concept of the educator’s double responsibility—toward both the child and the world—and what it means to teach in an era marked by alienation, expropriation, and the breakdown of tradition. We also reflect on the role of thinking, remembering, and public discourse in shaping democratic life, and on how educators and universities must respond to rising authoritarian pressures. 00:01:25 – What brought Helgard to study the life and work of Hannah Arendt? 00:03:48 – On the double responsibility of the educator 00:04:09 – On Arendt’s concept of Being-in-the-world and its relevance for education 00:11:45 – On the difference between moral and political responsibility 00:15:52 – What lessons can we draw from Arendt regarding current radical political movements? 00:21:19 – Do universities have a political responsibility? Literature: Arendt, H. (2017): The Origins of Totalitarianism. London: Penguin Books. Arendt, H. (2018): The Human Condition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Arendt, H. (2022): Eichmann in Jerusalem. London: Penguin Books. Arendt, H. (2006): On Revolution. London: Penguin Books. Mahrdt, H. (in progress) Hannah Arendt – to be at home in the world. Vidar Forlag: Oslo.   Mahrdt, H. (2022): Responding to wrong-doing. Ethics and Education. ISSN 1744-9642. 17(2), p. 197–210. doi: 10.1080/17449642.2022.2054541.  Mahrdt, H. (2018): Arendt and the notion of plurality, In: Filosofisk supplement.   Mahrdt, H. (2015): Refugees and Europe: a dilemma or a turning point. In: Studier i Pedagogisk Filosofi. Vol. 4. No. 2.   Mahrdt, H. (2012): Hannah Arendt: Self-disclosure, Worldliness and plurality. Journal of the British Society for Phenomenology. Vol 43. No.3. (pp.250-263). 

The guest of our episode today is the internationally acclaimed wisdom researcher, Monika Ardelt. Monika is Professor of Sociology at the University of Florida and a Founding Faculty Member and serves on the Advisory Committee of the University of Florida’s Center for Spirituality and Health. She is widely recognized in the global wisdom research community for developing the influential Three-Dimensional Wisdom Scale (3D-WS), a pioneering tool that conceptualizes wisdom as a combination of cognitive, reflective, and compassionate dimensions. In this episode, we talk with Monika about how she came to study wisdom, what makes someone wise, and how wisdom can be cultivated across the lifespan. We explore the links between wisdom, well-being, resilience, meaning-making, spirituality, and responsibility—and whether wisdom can be taught in educational settings. Monika also reflects on the challenges of measuring wisdom across cultures and why she believes that wisdom is ultimately not something found in books, but embodied in the way we live our lives. 00:01:19 – How Monika became a wisdom researcher 00:07:00 – The story behind the 3D Wisdom Scale 00:11:32 – Is wisdom universal? 00:11:32 – Wisdom and meaning-making 00:11:32 – Can young people be wise? 00:22:30 – Can wisdom be taught? 00:25:10 – How do students respond to the university course on wisdom? 00:27:05 – On wisdom and spirituality 00:32:00 – On wisdom and responsibility Further literature: Ardelt, M. (2003): Empirical assessment of a three-dimensional wisdom scale. Research on Aging, 25(3): 275-324.  Ardelt, M. (2004): Wisdom as Expert Knowledge System: A Critical Review of a Contemporary Operationalization of an Ancient Concept. Human Development, 47(5), 257–285. https://doi.org/10.1159/000079154   Ardelt, M. (2000): Antecenents and Effects of Wisdom in Old Age: A Longitudinal Perspective on Aging Well. Research on Aging. Volume: 22 issue: 4, page(s): 360-394  Zadworna, M. & Ardelt, M. (2025): Understanding mental health in older adults: exploring the interplay of wisdom, perceived poor health, and attitudes toward agingAging & Mental Health 2025-01-24 | Journal article DOI: 10.1080/13607863.2025.2452943   Ardelt, M. & Kingsbury, J. (2024): Wisdom, Virtues, and Well-Being: An Empirical Test of Aristotle’s Theory of Flourishing. Topoi. 2024-08 | Journal article DOI: 10.1007/s11245-023-10002-x   Ardelt, M.; Kim, J.J. &Ferrari, M. (2023): Does Self-Transcendent Wisdom Mediate the Relation between Spirituality and Well-Being? A Test Across Six Nations Journal of Happiness Studies | Journal article DOI: 10.1007/s10902-023-00637-3   

Our guest in this episode is Bernadette Flanagan, an internationally recognized researcher in the fields of spirituality, contemplative studies, and professional education. Bernadette was Director of Research at All Hallows College, Dublin City University, and is now Director of the Spirituality in Society and the Professions research group at South-East Technological University in Ireland. She is the co-editor of the Routledge International Handbook of Spirituality in Society and the Professions as well as the Routledge Handbook of Research Methods in Spirituality and Contemplative Studies. In this episode, Bernadette shares insights into how spirituality and contemplative practices can foster reflection, resilience, and ethical responsibility among professionals working in fields like education, healthcare, and social care. She explains how contemplative and cooperative inquiry methods open new ways of doing research that connect personal development, professional practice, and social transformation. We also discuss how first-, second-, and third-person research approaches can deepen academic work in spirituality, and how spiritual and contemplative practices can serve as crucial resources for navigating today's global "polycrisis". Finally, Bernadette reflects on how her long career of supervising spirituality research has shaped her own understanding of life, learning, and responsibility. 00:00:59 – What is spirituality? 00:03:02 – What is the role of spirituality in professions and professional studies? 00:05:40 – Why do we need spirituality? 00:07:00 - What is the relationship between spirituality and contemplation? 00:08:17 – What can spirituality and contemplation add to more mainstream, competence-oriented approaches in professional studies? 00:09:46 – Do cooperative inquiry, contemplative inquiry and action research, do they share a common methodological orientation? 00:12:33 – On first-person, second-person and third-person research 00:15:35 - Lies the true potential of spiritual and contemplative practices in second-person research and not in third-person research? 00:18:34 – Was there a personal transformation due to all that research work in the field or spirituality and contemplative studies? 00:22:57 – What brought Bernadette into this field? 00:29:15 – How can spirituality and contemplation foster the responsibility of students of professional studies? Further literature: Flanagan, B. & Clough, K. (eds.) (2025): The Routledge Handbook of Research Methods for Spirituality and Contemplative Studies. Abingdon on Thames: Routledge.  Laszlo, Z. & Flanagan, B. (eds.) (2019): Routledge International Handbook of Spirituality in Society and the Professions. Abingdon on Thames: Routledge. 

Our guest in this episode is Shaun Gallagher, a leading thinker and scholar in the fields of phenomenology, hermeneutics and the cognitive sciences, with several internationally acclaimed contributions. Shaun is the Lillian and Morrie Moss Professor of Excellence in Philosophy at the University of Memphis and he also has a secondary research appointment at the University of Wollongong in Australia. In this episode, he describes one of his neurophenomenological research projects based on astronauts’ experiences of awe and wonder. He also gives a brief account of phenomenology and why the first-person perspective in research can foster a deeper understanding of phenomena which conventional approaches cannot. In our conversation we also delve into the topic of self-knowledge and practical wisdom and Shaun explicates why spiritual experiences of awe and wonder, like the astronauts had, can contribute to the development of responsibility in professional practices.  00:01:10 – Phenomenological research on the spiritual experiences of astronauts  00:05:41– Why is phenomenology a suitable research approach to investigate experiences as such? 00:07:03 – On the practice of phenomenology in other research projects 00:08:39 – On the first-person perspective in phenomenological research  00:11:44 – How does the body shape the mind? 00:14:14 – On hermeneutics, education and human development 00:17:46 – On the role of self-knowledge in professional studies and practices 00:23:42 – On different concepts of the self 00:27:55 – On the role of philosophy in professional studies 00:31:32 – Can spiritual experiences of awe and wonder foster responsibility in professional practices?  Further literature:   Gallagher, S. (2022): Phenomenology. Berling: Springer.  Gallagher, S., Janz, B., Reinerman, L., Trempler, J., Bockelman, P. (2018): A Neurophenomenology of Awe and Wonder. London: Palgrave Macmillan.  Gallagher, S. (1992): Hermeneutics and Education. New York, NY: State University Press of New York  Gallagher, S. (2005): How the body shapes the mind. Clarendon Press, Oxford  Gallagher, S. Ed. (2011): The Oxford Handbook of the Self. Oxford University Press    

In this episode we have one of the most distinguished and well-known thinkers of our times with us: Martha C. Nussbaum. She is currently Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics at the University of Chicago, appointed in the Law School and the Philosophy Department. As a philosopher she published on a wide range of topics like ethics, feminism, political philosophy as well as ancient Greek and Roman philosophy. In our conversation with her, we delve into the Princeton Classics edition of her book Not For Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities, which has just been released. Among other topics, we discuss the vital role of liberal arts and explore why their significance is increasingly diminished and even endangered in higher education. 00:01:26 – Why does democracy need the humanities? 00:05:56 – Why is there a Silent Crisis in Higher Education and what is it about? 00:09:57 – Why is it bad that the humanities are eradicated in certain university programs? 00:11:47 – What is Socratic pedagogy and how can it be practiced with students? 00:18:13 – Do one need specific classes to promote the three abilities that foster citizenship? 00:19:42 – What is meant by the ability to cultivate imagination? 00:24:45 – Is our human capacity of transcendence the key to develop responsibility? 00:29:03 – About the educational approach of the philosopher and poet Tagore 00:34:12 – How can liberal education be integrated in professional studies? 00:37:45 – On academic essay writing 00:41:52 – On Greek tragedies and their relevance for today’s world 00:44:11 – Why do we need to think about anger and forgiveness? 00:49:34 – Why philosophers who only have one single message, have become dead  Further literature:   Callard, A. (2025): Open Socrates. The Case for a Philosophical Life. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company.  Nussbaum, Martha (2024): The Tenderness of Silent Minds. Benjamin Britten and his War Requiem. Oxford: Oxford University Press.  Nussbaum, Martha (2023): Justice for Animals. Our Collective Responsibility. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.  Nussbaum, M. (2024 [2010]): Not For Profit. Why Democracy Needs The Humanities. Princton & Oxford: Princton University Press.  Nussbaum, M. (2016): Anger and Forgiveness. Resentment, Generosity, Justice. New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press.  Nussbaum, M. (2001 [1986]): The Fragility of Goodness. Luck and Ethics in Greek Tragedy and Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.  Nussbaum, Martha (1997). Cultivating Humanity: A Classical Defense of Reform in Liberal Education. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.    

Hilary Bradbury is our guest in this episode. She is a key figure in the vast international movement of action research and editor of The Sage Handbook of Action Research, which is without doubt a cornerstone of action research. Furthermore, she is one of the founders and editors in chief of the Action Research Journal as well as curator of the ActionResearchPlus online platform. In our conversation with her, we investigate central epistemological features of action research and the role of dialogue in this form of research. Last but not least we discuss with Hilary how action research can contribute to change and transformation in face of the climate crises and how spirituality can be approached by this form of research.00:00:52 – How Hilary got involved in action research00:02:42 – A short introduction to action research00:04:55 – What is actionable knowledge?00:07:32 – Different epistemologies between action research and conventional research00:09:36 – On the notion of evidence in action research00:12:54 – On the role of action research in social science and in the humanities00:15:09 – On reflective practice research as a form of philosophical action research and how to deal with critics of action research00:20:14 – How to understand impact in action research?00:26:24 – How can one approach spirituality through action research?00:37:39 – On practical wisdom and responsibilityFurther literature:Bradbury, H. (ed.) (2015): The Sage Handbook of Action Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publishing.Bradbury, H. (2022): Action Research Transformation: ART at a time of ecosocial crisis. Celtenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.Angeltun, Weiss, Helskog & Bloom (forthcoming): “Imagine this…” – Exploring Creativity and Intuition in R&D processes with the Trilogos Method. In: Helskog, G. H. (ed.): The Humanizing Power of Philosophical Practice. Vienna: LIT Publishing.www.actionresearchplus.com

The guest of this episode is John Hattie, one of the world’s best-known and most widely read education experts. In our conversation with him, he explains the cornerstones and intentions of his Visible Learning approach. We also discuss several points of criticism that he received for his approach and how he developed it further based on the critique he faced. Furthermore, John also explicates the concept of intentional alignment and why the practice of this concept needs an ethical dimension in order not to be misused. Finally, he advocates a shift of perspective in education from autonomy towards responsibility.  00:01:12 – What is Visible Learning? 00:02:59 – On “Know thy impact” 00:05:55 – On the impact of Visible Learning 00:07:01 – The main critiques of the Visible Learning approach 00:10:23 – On interpreting and building a story around data 00:12:02 – On “What works best” 00:14:37 – The relevance of self-knowledge in the Visible Learning approach 00:16:38 – The Dodo Bird Verdict 00:21:22 – Intentional alignment 00:27:13 – How does a competent teacher become a good teacher? 00:32:48 – On phronesis, Bildung and ResponsAbility 00:36:32 – From autonomy towards responsiblity Further literature:  Hattie, J. (2023): Visible Learning: The Sequel A Synthesis of Over 2,100 Meta-Analyses Relating to Achievement. New York, NY: Routledge. Hattie, J. & Larsen, S. N. (2020): The Purposes of Education. A Conversation Between John Hattie and Steen Nepper Larsen. New York, NY: Routledge. Hattie, J. & Clarke, S. (2019): Visible Learning: Feedback. New York, NY: Routledge.  

The guest of this episode is professor James McGuirk, Director of the Center for Diaconia and Professional Practice at VID Specialized University and professor II at Nord University, both in Norway. As a philosopher, James gives account of what he means by the notion of “the wise practitioner” and how students of professional studies can develop towards becoming wise practitioners. In order to do so, he explicates the three forms of knowledge of Aristotle and brings forth arguments why using one’s own experiences is as legitimate as using others’ in practice research. 00:00:44 – What are characteristics of a wise practitioner? 00:02:06 – What is the role of habit in practical wisdom? 00:04:59 – What is the role of reason in practical wisdom? 00:06:42 – On the three knowledge forms of Aristotle 00:10:38 – What is phronesis? 00:14:03 – On values in institutions 00:18:54 – How can students of professional studies become wise practitioners? 00:24:28 – On the role of stories and experiences in practice research and developing practical knowledge 00:28:04 – Are there any differences in researching narratives phenomenologically or hermeneutically? 00:30:46 – Is using one’s own experiences as legitimate as using others’ in practice research? 00:36:17 – Is developing phronesis, or responsAbility, rather a matter of research than of teaching?  Further literature:  McGuirk, J. (2021): Den kloke praktikeren. In: Fuglseth, K.S. & Halås, C.T. (eds.): Innføring i Praktisk Kunnskap. Anerkjennende, kritisk og konstruktiv praksisforskning. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.  McGuirk, J. 2017. Experience and the story. I: Catrine Thorbjørnsen Halås, Ingjerd Gåre Kymre and Kari Steinsvik: Humanistiske forskningstilnærminger til profesjonspraksis.  McGuirk, J. og Jan Selmer Methi. (2014); Praktisk kunnskap som profesjonsforskning: antologi over yrkeserfaringen som utgangspunkt for forståelse av kunnskapsutvikling i praksis. Fagbokforlaget.  McGuirk, J. 2016. Phenomenological considerations of habit: Reason, knowing and self-presence in habitual action. Phenomenology and Mind, (6), 112–121. https://doi.org/10.13128/Phe_Mi-19556 McGuirk, J. 2021. Embedded rationality and the contextualization of critical thinking. Journal of Philosophy of Education, (55), 606-20. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9752.12563 McGuirk, J. 2023. Paying attention alone and together: The role of attention in the formation and cultivation of habits. Knowing our ways about in the world: Philosophical perspectives on Practical knowledge, eds. B. Molander, M. Solli, & T. Netland. Oslo. Scandinavian University Press.https://www.idunn.no/doi/10.18261/9788215069135-23-06  McGuirk, J. 2023. On the role of the ‘Call’ in professional work and practical knowledge. Exploring Practical Knowledge, eds. K. Fuglseth, C. Cederberg & E. van der Zande. Leiden. Brill McGuirk, J. 2022.Perspectives on democracy, citizenship, and value education in the Norwegian school. Education in Europe: Contemporary approaches across the continent. New York. Routledge. 

The guest of this episode is Cheryl Hunt, Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the University of Exeter/UK, Director and Trustee of the International Network for the Study of Spirituality (INSS) and the founding editor of the Journal for the Study of Spirituality. Cheryl gives an in-depth account of Reflective Practice and how it developed historically in professional practices. Furthermore, she elaborates the relationship between Reflective Practice, spirituality and meaning-making. Finally, she explicates how spirituality can be studied and researched.  00:01:17 – On Reflective Practice and its history 00:14:29 – On the role of the question “Who am I?” in Reflective Practice 00:17:55 – What does it mean to act authentically in professional practices? 00:20:03 – On the relation between authenticity and spirituality 00:23:14 – Is there a relation between spirituality and meaning-making?  00:26:26 – What is the role of spirituality in professional practices? 00:28:19 – Is there a lack of spirituality in today’s world? 00:31:26 – Is Reflective Practice an approach to promote responsibility in professional practices 00:34:33 – How can spirituality be researched and studied? 00:36:10 – How to facilitate spirituality in terms of a reflective practice Further literature: - Hunt, C. (2024): Discovering Spirituality through Critical Reflection and Autoethnography. In: Flanagan, B. & Clough, K. (eds.): The Routledge Handbook of Research Methods in Spirituality and Contemplative Studies. London & New York, NY: Routledge.  - Hunt, C. (2023): ‘Doing’ reflective practice and understanding spirituality as a way of being: Implications for professional and transformative practice, Journal for the Study of Spirituality, DOI: 10.1080/20440243.2023.2249823  - Hunt, C. (2021). Critical Reflection, Spirituality and Professional Practice 1st ed. 2021. Palgrave MacMillian  Hunt, C. (2016)  ‘Why me? Reflections on using the self in and as research’ In J. McNiff (ed) Values and Virtues in Higher Education Research: Critical issues. (Abingdon: Routledge) pp.48-63 Hunt, C. (2016)  'Spiritual creatures? Exploring a possible interface between reflective practice and spirituality'. In Fook, J., Collington, V., Ross, F., Ruch, G. and West, L. (eds) Researching Critical Reflection: Multidisciplinary perspectives. (London: Routledge). pp.34-47 Hunt, C. (2010): A step too far? From a professional reflective practice to spirituality. In: Bradbury, H., Frost, N., Kilminster, S. & Zukas, M. (eds.): Beyond reflective practice. New approaches to professional lifelong learning. London & New York: Routledge.   Hunt, C. (2009)  ‘Wyrdknowledge: towards an understanding of spirituality through reflective practice and mythopoesis’. In P.Willis, T.Leonard, A.Morrison and S.Hodge (eds), Spiritualty, Mythopoesis and Learning (Queensland: Post Pressed). pp.130-146. Hunt, C. (2006)  Travels with a turtle: metaphors and the making of a professional identity. Reflective Practice 7(3), 315-332.  

In this episode we welcome Finn Thorbjørn Hansen, professor in applied philosophy at Aalborg University. Finn published extensively on the phenomenology of wonder and assumes it a key-dimension in higher education, professional studies and existential pedagogy in general. By means of the question “What would happen if we in the curriculum of higher education took seriously that we should learn our students ‘to stand in the open’, that is, really acknowledge that the future is unknown?” he delves into the concept of philosophical literacy and presents a wonder-based research approach that is strongly in line with the phenomenological-hermeneutical tradition as well as current eco-phenomenological thinking. Finally, he outlines how he conducts such wonder-based research in the form of his Wonder-Labs. 00:00:48 – What is applied philosophy? 00:02:08 – What is existential pedagogy? 00:09:18 – The philosophical life as an ideal of Bildung and learning to stand in the open 00:12:33 – Wonder in higher education and learning to deal with the unknown  00:17:10 – What is wonder-based research? 00:26:44 – What is philosophical literacy? 00:29:36 – The existential, the spiritual and the apophatic  00:32:43 – What is a Wonder-Lab? 00:37:38 – A summarizing view of Finn’s academic work and research  Further literature: Hansen, F. T. (2024): The sense of wonder as a necessary “Philosophical Literacy” in healthcare. In: Ensted, D. & Dellenborg, L. (eds.): Culture, Spirituality and Religious Literacy in Healthcare, p. 217-231. Nordic Perspectives. London & New York, NY: Routledge.  Hansen, F.T. (2024). Wonder and Philosophy as Grounding Sources in Health Humanities. In: Crawford, P., Kadetz, P. (eds) Palgrave Encyclopedia of the Health Humanities, p. 1-15. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26825-1_221-2   Hansen, F. T.; Botnen Eide, S. & Leget C. (eds.) (2023): Wonder, Silence, and Human Flourishing. Towards a Rehumanization of Health, Education and Welfare. London: Lexington.  Hansen, F.T. (2022). What would an Apophatic Action Research look like? International Journal of Action Research, Eikeland (ed.), special issue on «Conceptualizing AR». Vol. 18, Issue 2/2022, pp: 100–115. Thorsted, A.C. & Hansen, F.T. & (2022). At tænke med hjertet: En grundbog i eksistentiel praksisfænomenologi. [To Think With the Heart: Basic Reflections on Existential Praxis Phenomenology]. Aarhus: Klim. Hansen, F.T. (2022). At skrive sig ud mod det gådefulde via undringens fire verdenshjørner. In: Herholdt-Lomholdt, S. (red.), Fenomenologi. å leve,samtale og skrive ut mot det gåtefulle i tilværelsen, s. 47-87Bergen: Fagbokforlaget. Hansen, F.T. & Jørgensen, L.B. (2021). Wonder-inspired Leadership: Or how to cultivate ethical and phenomenon-led health care. Nursing Ethics: Vol. 28, No. 6 (September): 951-966.https://doi-org.zorac.aub.aau.dk/10.1177/0969733021990791  Hansen, F. T. (2019): Learning to Innovate in Higher Education Through Deep Wonder. In: Philosophy and Theory in Higher Education. Vol. 1, 3. pp. 51 - 74 Hansen, F. T. (2017): Sokratisk og fenomenologisk orientert aktionsforskning. In: Allrø, H. & Hansen, F. T. (eds.): Dialogisk aktionsforskning i et praksisnært perspektiv. Aalborg: Aalborg Universitetsforlag.  Hansen, F.T. (2016). At undre sig ved livets afslutning: Om brug af filosofiske samtaler i palliativt arbejde [To Wonder at the End of Life: On the use of philosophical conversations in palliative care]. Copenhagen.: Akademisk forlag. Scientific monography. Hansen, F.T. & Dinkins, C. S. (2016). Socratic Wonder as a Way to Aletheia in Qualitative Research and Action Research. In: HASER. Revista Internacional de Filosofía Aplicada, Nr. 7: 51-88. Hansen, F.T. (2015). The Call and Practice of Wonder: How to Evoke a Socratic Community of Wonder in Professional Settings, s. 217-244. In: Noah Weiss, M. (ed.), Socratic Handbook:Dialogue Methods for Philosophical Practice. Wien: LIT Verlag Hansen, F. T. (2010): The Phenomenology of Wonder in Higher Education. In: Brinkmann, M. (ed.): Erziehung. Phänomenologische Perspektiven, p. 161-178. Würzburg: Königshausen & Neumann.   Hansen, F. T. (2007 [1st edition: 2002]): Det filosofiske liv. Et dannelsesideal for eksistenspædagogikken [The Philosophical Life: A Bildung Ideal for Existential Pedagogy] Copenhagen: Hans Reitzels Forlag.   

In this episode, prof. Catrine Torbjørnsen Halås, former head of the Center for Practical Knowledge at Nord University, reflects on the relevance of practice research for professional studies like teacher education, social work or nursing. By means of personal experiences, she gives an elaborated account of what practical knowledge is and outlines different methodological approaches, how to develop that kind of knowledge. Last but not least, she explains why it is legitimate to use one’s own practice experience as starting point when conducting practice research.  00:00:44 – Catrine's “personal journey” towards research on practical knowledge00:02:20 – What is practice research?00:04:09 – About research on practice, with practice or in practice?00:05:59 - Differences between humanistic and social science research approaches in professional studies00:08:39 – What is practical knowledge?00:13:48 – Your own experience as valuable starting point for practice research00:16:52 – What kind of methodologies can be used in order to develop practical knowledge?00:21:03 – The role of unease in practice research00:26:49 – To what extent is good practice, and with that practical knowledge, a question of the practitioner’s responsibility?00:30:08 - How should we educate practitioners that are able to take responsibility? Further literature: -              Halås, C.T. & Fuglseth, K.S. (2021): Fagområdet praktisk kunnskap. In: Fuglseth, K.S. & Halås, C.T. (eds.): Innføring i Praktisk Kunnskap. Anerkjennende, kritisk og konstruktiv praksisforskning. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.  -              Halås C.T, Kymre, I.G and Steinsvik, K. (eds) (2017): Humanistiske forskningstilnærminger til profesjonspraksis. Gyldendal Akademisk.  -              Halås, C.T (2023) Jakob Meløe’s Praxeology – an ethnographic approach to research in practical knowledge . Antologikapittel i C. Cederberg, K. Fuglseth &  E.vd Zande (eds) "Exploring practical knowledge. Life-World Studies of Professionals in Education and Research. Brill.-              Halås, C.T (2022) Kunnskapsreflektert praxis som tilnærming til å skape sammenheng mellom praktisk og teoretisk virksomhet i sosialt arbeid . i Ø. Henriksen, A. Solstad & G.W. Øydgaard. Sammenhenger i sosialt arbeid. Universitetsforlaget.-              Halås, C.T & McGuirk, J (2021) Det vitenskapelige essayet i profesjonsforskning: en kritisk utprøvende metode.  Tidsskrift for psykisk helsearbeid: Volum 18, s. 5-14. https://doi.org/10.18261/issn.1504-3010-2021-01-02-              Halås, C.T & Lombholdt Herholdt, S.M Podcast about writing essays: https://nord.cloud.panopto.eu/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=5dd3a0f6-39ef-4853-a8c2-b1370076f1d5 

In this episode prof. emeritus Anders Lindseth talks about his work in the committee for Bildung in higher education (“Dannelsesutvalget - om dannelses perspektiver i høyere utdanning”, 2009) and the fundamental perspectives that this committee brought forward. Furthermore, he discusses the intention of The Research Council of Norway to have more practice-near research and how the Center for Practical Knowledge at Nord University, where Lindseth was professor, met this intention in terms of Reflective Practice Research. In the further conversation, Lindseth gives an in-depth account of why and how this research approach is deeply rooted phenomenology and hermeneutics and why it is legitimate for practitioners to conduct research on their on practice.00:01:12 – What is the role of Bildung in professional studies and research?00:02:51 – What are experiences of discrepancy and how to investigate them in terms of research?00:05:08 – The “personal” in research00:06:30 – What is Reflective Practice Research?00:11:45 – Methodologies that can be used within the research approach of Reflective Practice Research00:23:52 – What is “response-ability” (or “respondability” as Anders also calls it) and why is it important for professionals like nurses, teachers etc.?00:25:10 – ResponsAbility (or “respondability”) and the practitioner’s search for meaning00:26:59 – On the theoretical reflection- the third phase of the research process in Reflective Practice Research. 00:29:32 – On the relationship between reflection and meditation  Further literature:-              Lindseth, A. (2020). Dosenten i et FoU-perspektiv. Refleksiv praksisforskning som en vei mot dosentkompetanse. I C. C. Bachke & M. Hermansen (Red.), Å satse på dosenter. Et utviklingsarbeid (Kap. 4, s. 75–101). Oslo: Cappelen Damm Akademisk. -              Lindseth, A. (2021): Diskrepanserfaring og svarevne. In: Fuglseth, K. S. & Halås, C. T. (eds.): Innføring i praktisk kunnskap. Anerkjennende, kritisk og konstruktiv praksisforskning -              Lindseth, A (2009), Dannelsens plass i profesjonsutdanninger. Kunnskap og dannelse foran et nytt århundre. Innstilling fra Dannelsesutvalget for høyere utdanning

Steen Nepper Larsen is associate professor at the Department of Education Sciences at the Danish School of Education at Aarhus University. He is a renowned Danish intellectual and author of many publications. Among them is book together with John Hattie in which Steen challenges the Visible Learning approach. How this book came into life and what Steen assumes to be severe flaws of the education system today, is examined closer in this podcast episode, where Steen also gives an in-depth account of Bildung and why it is so fundamentally different from education.  00:01:02 – Working with John Hattie on the book project “The Purposes of Education”00:04:13 – Steen's main critique of John Hattie’s Visible Learning approach00:07:06 – What is Bildung?00:12:26 – How have the themes of Bildung come under pressure?00:16:36 – Steen's main arguments against evidence-based teaching00:21:56 – What would an education without “evaluation fever” and the chase for evidence look like?00:26:09 – Is the concept of Bildung relevant for today’s professional studies?00:30:11 – Is there a relation between Bildung and responsibility as presented in the European Qualifications Framework?00:35:41 – What is needed from us to become truly “seeing”?00:40:00 – Bildung as the “God-given” in humans?Further literature:-              Hattie, J. & Larsen, S. N. (2020): The Purposes of Education: A Conversation between John Hattie and Steen Nepper Larsen. New York, NY: Routledge. -              Larsen, S. N. (2022): Evalueringsfeber og evidensjagt. Copenhagen: Samfundslitteratur  -              Larsen, S. N. (2019): Blindness in Seeing: A Philosophical Critique of the Visible Learning Paradigm in Education. Educational Science 9(1) 47. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci9010047 -              Larsen, S.N (2016). At ville noget med nogen – filosofiske og samtidskritiske fragmenter om dannelse og pædagogik. Turbine akademisk. 

In this episode we welcome professor Gert Biesta as our guest. Gert is author of the book “The Beautiful Risk of Education” and a well-renown scholar in the field of educational theory. In our talk with him, he explicates why the shift of focus from teaching to learning is unfortunate and why a world-centered approach in education is to be chosen over a student-centered approach. He also describes why it is important for an educator to take risks and why the development of practical wisdom in professional studies is mandatory, so that the students do not only become competent but good practitioners. 00:00:58 – On the difference between educational theory and philosophy of education00:02:50 – On the unfortunate focus shift from teaching to learning00:07:41 – Why teaching and learning should be more world-centered than student-centered00:14:23 – On “subjectification” as one of the three main objectives of education00:22:37 – What is phronesis and why is it important in professional studies?00:24:29 – What is virtuosity, in relation to phronesis?00:27:29 – Is virtuosity teachable?00:31:18 – Is there a connection between the notion of “responsAbility” and phronesis? Further literature:- Biesta, G.J.J. (2015): “How does a competent teacher become a good teacher? On judgement, wisdom and virtuosity in teaching and teacher education.” In: Heilbronn, R. & Foreman‐Peck, L. (eds.): Philosophical perspectives on the future of teacher education. Oxford: Wiley Blackwell. - Biesta, G.J. 2013. The beautiful risk of education. Routledge. - Biesta, G,J. 2017. The Rediscovery of teaching. Routledge. - Biesta, G.J. 2020. Risking Ourselves in Education: Qualification, Socialization, and Subjectification Revisited. Educational Theory, v70 n1 p89-104 2020