Analysis of teaching practice from the perspective of the pedagogy of otherness: A qualitative and comparative research

Abstract

In recent years, Lévinas’ thought has become the theoretical support for a new ethical current in education. The aim of this article is to analyses the meeting points between the theoretical model of the pedagogy of otherness and the teaching practice of the Early Childhood and Primary Education teacher. This is a qualitative and comparative study, which adopts the design of a case study, in which 44 interviews were conducted with teachers selected using the snowball technique in two different contexts: Region of Murcia in Spain and Ensenada in Mexico. The interview, which was designed and validated by experts, asks about the seven dimensions or categories that make up the pedagogy of otherness: testimony, welcome, contextualization, heteronomy, justice, responsibility and compassion. The results show that some elements of the theoretical model such as witnessing, welcoming and contextualization are more present in the teachers’ discourses and praxis than others such as compassion and responsibility. There are no significant differences between the two contexts (Spain and Mexico) in terms of the categories of the pedagogy of otherness considered to be closer and more relevant to daily classroom practice. We conclude by highlighting that the interpersonal links created in the school go beyond the strictly curricular, leaving room for other factors of an ethical nature that converge to define the educational relationship.