Getting a feel for the work
mythopoetic pedagogy for adult educators through phenomenological evocation
pp. 245-263
in: Timothy Leonard, Peter Willis (eds), Pedagogies of the imagination, Berlin, Springer, 2008Abstract
Education for vocational development has to combine a focus on career opportunities on the one hand with realistic attention to the learners' capacities and inclinations on the other. Such a curriculum needs to have something for the head and the heart. It is contended in this chapter that evocative representative pedagogy has such a holistic agenda. Evocative representation in vocational and career development draws on two complementary sources. The first is mythopoetic reflection, in which learners imagine being in various work situations of a particular career and dwell on their "gut" reactions to them, looking to see to what extent such experiences feel appropriate to their sense of self—their private myths or generative self-stories—with its aspirations and capabilities. The second is expressive phenomenology in pedagogy, through which attempts are made to present to potential participants in some life pursuit in an animated and lifelike way the lived experience of predictable events and practices in such a pursuit as a contribution to the person's mythopoetic reflection. A case study of predictable events presented for contemplation in adult education practice is provided to ground the processes.