The purpose of this paper is to examine how Vygotsky's and Bourdieu's theoretical perspectives contributed to the insights I gained about student teachers' perceptions of seminars and my role as a seminar tutor. The paper is based on the findings from a doctoral study into students' perspectives of learning and participating in seminars. Using a constructive grounded theory approach, I interviewed five 2 nd year teacher education students and consulted relevant institutional documents. From a Vygotskian perspective, the data highlighted the complexity and dynamic nature of seminars where relationships, pedagogical tools and artefacts played an important meditational role. By highlighting the significance of the wider context, however, Bourdieu's theory of practice and in particular his concept of symbolic violence gave a richer perspective of participants' perspectives of seminars. In particular, by drawing attention to the impact of dominant discourses on individuals' practices, it provided a more nuanced view about the meanings they attached to their seminar experiences, and enabled a deeper reflection about my own practice and values as a tutor/lecturer in higher education.
The fundamental aims and outcomes of higher education are increasingly at odds with the accountability and performative agenda in higher education. Pedagogical decisions are often taken with one eye on what students 'want' rather than what they 'need'. In this article, the author shows
how she framed her pedagogical approach in terms of what students 'need' rather than just what they 'want'. The author outlines how she adapted Philosophy for Children, an inquiry-based dialogic pedagogy, to the higher education context, and why, despite the challenges of 'data-driven' practices,
she continues to see it as a necessary pedagogy for higher education.
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