6533b7d8fe1ef96bd126a166

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Teaching and the dialectic of recognition

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Abstract In this article, the processes of recognition within education are discussed. Frequently, recognition is reduced to polite behaviour or etiquette. Another narrow view of recognition is, behaviouristically speaking, to regard it as mere feedback. We claim that authentic recognition is a different matter. Receiving recognition, as Charles Taylor has put it, is ‘a vital human need’. Educational practices are in many ways associated with the processes of recognition. In this article, we develop Axel Honneth's three-level theory of struggle for recognition. Subsequently, we introduce our ideas of positive and negative circles of recognition. At the level of the community, a positive circle of recognition creates a sense of solidarity and satisfaction with one's job. A negative circle of recognition, in contrast, destabilises the working community. Lack of solidarity undermines individuals' motivation for teamwork and, consequently, compromises its results. In education, a positive circle of recognitio...