This paper is an investigation of pedagogical tact in terms of vigilance. It is based on a close reading of a passage from Rousseau's "Emile:" a (problematic and troubling) narrative account on the art of hosting a dinner party. Working with the narrative of the dinner party, distinctions are drawn between contrasting ways of knowing,…

While attention has long been a concern in western philosophy and eastern spirituality, technologies (e.g., social media, gaming) and pathologies (e.g., attention deficit disorders) have recently foregrounded the issue specifically in education. Issues of "student" absorption and diversion have been widely discussed; comparatively less…

This article aims to articulate the richness of the pedagogical relation and pedagogical tact in an age of the near ubiquitous presence of digital education. Drawing on Citton, we argue that there is an ecology of attentional influence that is pedagogically decisive. Our argument proceeds as follows: first, we introduce Citton's theoretical frame;…

In recent years, reflection on pedagogical tact has made a comeback in the international debate. Tact is a fundamental disposition of the educator, albeit one that is scarcely addressed in the training of teachers and educators. The question is whether it is possible to treat this pedagogical propensity as a teachable habit, and to what extent.…

My reflections direct a performativity-theoretical perspective on the pedagogical tact, which in its systematic breadth should consider both the application approach for practice and the connectivity to theory. Regarding these dimensions, terms such as 'context sensitivity" and "reflective competence" oscillate around the nature of…

Our survey of literature on moral dilemmas in teaching reveals that scholars declare the need to unequivocally resolve them yet refrain from doing so. This phenomenon is rooted in falure to distinguish between the different moral conflicts. The methods of resolving abstract hypothetical dilemmas, advocated but not implemented by the scholars, are…

The article discusses the figure of pedagogical tact in its cultural and social entanglements and transformations. Tact is reconstructed from a dialectical-relational perspective as a utopian figure which arises both within pedagogical relationships and from the relationships to the respective cultural and social conditions -- more precisely: from…

Since the publication of Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Paulo Freire has been important for disseminating the concept of dialogue in education. Dialogue is often framed as the kind of interaction that educators should enact in their practice, to right historical and socio-political wrongs. With this, speaking and assuming one's voice has a special…