Anita Olds

This chapter focuses on the relationship between philosophy, pedagogy, and practice when designing programs/units/courses for transitioning students to new spaces in higher education. It offers both theoretical perspectives and case studies that reveal the successes and challenges of using philosophically driven pedagogies with diverse transitioning cohorts. The University of Newcastle published a report that detailed the ethos, values, and practices that constituted enabling pedagogies in their own enabling programs and proposed that enabling pedagogies are necessary across all areas of higher education. The term ‘transition’ in the context of higher education is used to describe the academic as well as social movement and acculturation of students into new educational spaces. Most poignantly educational philosophies provide “a holistic conception of people making and world-making”. Reflecting on educational philosophies allows one to examine which educational values are promoted and which are marginalised.

This chapter offers readers a way through the mire of complex choices when working in the transitional education space, and endeavours to distil the shared foundational philosophies held by a multidisciplinary team working in enabling education in Western Australia. Drawing on superhero metaphors, it outlines the benefits of explicit reflection on philosophies that inform pedagogy and practice. It proposes that pedagogies underpinned by philosophies of social justice and flourishing can emancipate enabling students from limiting self-beliefs, and build their academic skills and self-efficacy, which in turn can help them flourish in their transition to higher education. The chapter provides an example of how to enact such philosophies in practice by exploring the implementation of the ‘enabling transition’ pedagogy model and an innovative pedagogy we call the Engagement Zone. This three-pronged approach or ‘trident’ as seen in action in Murdoch University’s OnTrack and OnTrack Sprint enabling programs, sponsored engagement, belonging and learning.

This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the concepts covered in the preceding chapters of this book. The book offers the critical pedagogies and the practices, such as the right range of supports, in order to move closer to social justice goals. Pedagogies of care also deeply align with philosophies of social justice and flourishing, support widening participation agendas and repel neoliberalist agendas that see students as profit rather than people. The book argues that establishing successful learning communities is key to flourishing students in transition, through lifting their engagement, sense of belonging, confidence, and motivation for learning. Critical pedagogies and opportunities for transformative learning featured heavily as a response to the desire of educators to enact social justice, emancipate their students from past disadvantage and push back against neoliberalist agendas. The book explains that empowering students enabled flourishing.