What is critical for transforming higher education? The transformative potential of pedagogical framework of phenomenography and variation theory of learning for higher education

Abstract

This article reviews some key literature of Phenomenography and Variation Theory of Learning as an outline of a pedagogical framework for transforming higher education. Transformation implies change in ways that can deliver on the promise of social justice or what we call socially just pedagogies. It implies that one must understand what needs to transform and how transformation can be made possible in higher education. This process requires an understanding of how the object of transformation appears to people before and after change; what individuals, communities and societies need to learn to act as agents of transformation in and across societies. It is this specific question of ‘what is to be learnt?’ that is the key focus of the proposed framework in relation to specific groups of people, educational contexts, and educational purposes, rather than generic processes of teaching, learning, teacher education or generic skills, such as thinking skills, teacher competencies, teaching styles and methods.