It Is Not What Is Said, But Who Says It: Implications for Classroom Dialogic Education

Abstract

The principle of dialogue is the innovative teaching and learning practices with a transformative agenda. This paper argues that through dialogue lecturers can stimulate students to think and argue for themselves, rather than defer to tradition and authority. However, the context that is conducive for dialogic education, especially in a country such as South Africa that needs to come to grips with the presence of people who differ by ethnicity, class, gender, age and religion, is not known. The paper aims to share the teaching experience emanating from a lecture hall engaging in difficult topics to talk about, followed by reflection on its implication for transformative educational agenda. Emerging from the analysis of the case study is the competing dichotomy of "us" and "them". I therefore argue for a nuanced context specific process facilitation model to help participants rise above the default codes of "us" versus "them" and look at issues in broad social contexts, irrespective of who is talking.