Product Description

There is an extraordinary but largely unnoticed phenomenon in higher education: by and large, students persevere and complete their studies. How should we interpret this tendency? Students are living in uncertain times and often experience anxiety, and yet they continue to press forward with their studies. The argument here is that we should understand this propensity on the part of students to persist through a will to learn.

This book examines the structure of what it is to have a will to learn. Here, a language of being, becoming, authenticity, dispositions, voice, air, spirit, inspiration and care is drawn on. As such, this book offers an idea of student development that challenges the dominant views of our age, of curricula understood largely in terms of skill or even of knowledge, and pedagogy understood as bringing off pre-specified ‘outcomes’.

The will to learn, though, can be fragile. This is of crucial importance, for if the will to learn dissolves, the student's commitment may falter. Accordingly, more than encouraging an interest in the student's subject or in the acquiring of skills, the primary responsibility of teachers in higher education is to sustain and develop the student's will to learn. This is a radical thesis, for it implies a transformation in how we understand the nature of teaching in higher education.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #357414 in Books
• Published on: 2007-10-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

About the Author
Ronald Barnett is Professor of Higher Education at the Institute of Education, University of London, UK, where he is Pro-Director for Longer Term Strategy. From 1994 to 2001, he was Dean of Professional Development. His books include The Idea of Higher Education, The Limits of Competence, Higher Education: A Critical Business, Realizing the University, Beyond All Reason, Engaging the Curriculum in Higher Education (with Kelly Coate) and an edited collection, Reshaping the University. He is a past Chair of the Society for Research into Higher Education.

Customer Reviews

A will to read
I have read a number of Ron Barnett's works, though I do not pretend to have fully understood them. This present work is somewhat of a challenge to the reader. It has an unconventional beginning (one, I must confess, that slightly irritated me but I guess that it might well inspire others). Ron follows a number of motifs and skilfully embroiders them - this is not intellectual 'fast food' it has to be read, and digested, slowly if indigestion is to be avoided. For me the highlight comes from little nuggets of inspiration that have to be found rather than sought and I guess that that thought itself is written into the pages. One particular one related to assessment - something that was somewhere in the back of my mind as I was reading but came to the front in the context of student anxiety. These were not new thoughts but Ron's writing had helped the process of crystallisation. The book is intended to be philosophical rather than psychological or sociological but I fear that that means that it underplays some of the peer-peer learning that is surely important. Not a book to be taken lightly - perhaps a spoonful once or twice a day!

The Will to Learn: Inspiration and Hope for Education
I have read Ron Barnett's book, A Will to Learn, with enthusiasm and hope that there are others who believe as he does that as educators we must balance skill and will. NCLB unbalanced our world by creating a global marketplace for education that demands merit in skill areas only. I happen to believe that what America has always imported as its strongest product is creativity. Without the will to learn, develop, think, inquire and reason, creativity dies. Bravo, Dr. Barnett. Your inspirational look at the student rather than the product recenters education; once again we can say we care about the learner.