Critical Practice in Higher Education - by Karen Gravett (Hardcover)

About the Book

"This book argues that thinking critically with theory is fundamental to meaningful practice in higher education. It explores where and how theory is being used to develop education, and who by, as well as how theory within higher education has evolved over time within a changing sector. It considers the role of ideology, and values, in education, as well as the impact of the move to the digital university upon learning and teaching. Throughout, Gravett argues that critical, thoughtful and ethical approaches to education are vital if we are to respond effectively to the challenges facing the university sector"--

Book Synopsis

What is critical practice; what is critique? And what do these ideas have to do with higher education? This book argues that engaging in critical practice is fundamental to meaningful teaching, learning and research. Critical practice is key to understanding societies, technologies, and the power relations that pervade our practice. Critical approaches are vital for responding meaningfully to some of the knotty questions that we face in higher education. And yet, there is a need to re-examine critical theorising in contemporary times, to address the limitations of current conceptions of criticality, where critique is at risk of becoming stale, redundant, even harmful.
International in scope, this book engages theory and empirical data from recent research to offer new ways of thinking and doing critical practice. Case studies are drawn from teachers and academics working in the UK, Australia, and America, across a breadth of disciplines and learning environments. Specifically, the book proposes a move towards a relational critical practice. After many years of attention that has been paid to cognitive notions of critical thinking, skills and dispositions -assumed to take place within the boundaries of rational, individual, minds - this book takes us beyond thinking about criticality as an individualised activity. Elaborating a critical practice that considers the affective, embodied and relational nature of criticality, this text will explore how we might look more closely at the entanglement of ideas and practice, of mind and body, of thinking, feeling and doing. In doing so, this book argues for a celebration of critique, and for the value of a relational critical practice in higher education.

Review Quotes

In scrutinising the act of 'critical practice', this book challenges readers to reconsider their understandings of critique within complex and connected learning environments. Addressing these topics in an accessible and deeply thoughtful way, provides an opportunity for educators to consider the actual embodied and relational enactment of criticality. Such reflexivity is in dire need in the quest to rethink taken for granted and established practices in higher education, paving the way for renewal and innovation within the academy.

Karen Gravett offers a powerful and passionate argument for the importance of time and space for reflection and thinking in academia. Gravett's vision of relational critical practice is a transformative call to action in higher education-challenging, unsettling, and deeply inspiring.

Karen Gravett's book reminds us why universities need to value their collective ability to embrace theory, to question, to push back on instrumentalism and to advocate otherwise. It is an important piece of scholarship that re-claims critical practice and shows us how to put it to work.

About the Author

Karen Gravett is Associate Professor in Higher Education at the University of Surrey, UK.