Disciplinary intuition as praxis: The role of intuition in social education

This chapter examines how the concept of Disciplinary Intuitions can be enacted in social education. It draws on the work of Bergson to develop a notion of Disciplinary Intuitions that can be useful as an approach to teaching. This conception of Disciplinary Intuitions emphasises the role of experience and intuition as foundational for learning in the disciplines of the humanities and social sciences. The idea of Disciplinary Intuitions highlights the value of immersing young people fully in social experiences and the tensions or problems that are fundamental to living in society. The chapter outlines some key reasons educational practice needs to give greater emphasis to experience and intuition rather than reified forms of disciplinary knowledge. This makes possible a view of disciplinary experience and intuition as necessary prior stages of educational practice in the disciplines and subject matters central to social education. The chapter also offers an initial overview of what Disciplinary Intuitions might look like in social study classrooms. This suggests that curriculum and instruction should provide greater opportunities for authentic experience and then guide students to examine experience as a way to help them develop disciplinary understanding.