Aesthetic development in higher education : an interdisciplinary dialogue

Aesthetic literacy can be understood as a mode of cognition or a way of knowing. However, the concept of aesthetics is often absent from conversations about learning and curriculum, particularly in higher education settings. In this paper the nature of aesthetic education is discussed, as are the merits of its inclusion in a tertiary curriculum. The concept of aesthetic literacy is also discussed, along with the challenges associated with the inclusion of aesthetic learning in higher education settings. These issues are explored through the medium of a narrative inquiry study examining perspectives of lecturers who use aesthetic learning in their practices. In this study, all participants are teacher educators, lecturing in pre-service education disciplines. They discuss the aesthetic dimensions of their discipline areas, as well as the successes, challenges and limitations associated with introducing aesthetic learning strategies. The participants come from a range of subject disciplines and give us insight into the ways that aesthetic learning can be addressed in a range of tertiary settings.