Resonance as a Conceptual Lever for Transforming Educational Practices and Institutions

Abstract

This article offers a preliminary analysis of how Hartmut Rosa's concept of resonance might meaningfully participate in the transformation of educational practices and institutions, through an exploration of its operational potential. The paper begins by briefly framing the issue of relational vs. individualized educational goals and addressing the complicated relationship between resonance and skill development. Two hypotheses that open up avenues for further research are then explored. The first hypothesis addressed the relationship between resonance theory and moral education through a confrontation with recent literature in education sciences on the development of responsibility, following the idea that, for educational policy to shift away from the skills approach that gels uncomfortably with resonance pedagogy, the latter would need to articulate its capacity to effectively promote a wide range of desirable outcomes beyond the theoretically indigenous aim of dispositional resonance. The second hypothesis posits two ways that resonance theory might affect decision‐making processes within educational institutions, examining the role that teachers might play in securing the institutional conditions of resonant pedagogical relationships and proposing a preliminary practical interpretation of Rosa's idea of a resonance compass. The paper closes with a short reflection on the practical distinction between resonance and responsiveness as conceptual levers for educational change, examining what sets resonance pedagogy apart from other relational approaches.