Dominant Frames for Knowledge

Focus

Intersections of “theories of knowledge/knowing” and discourses on learning

Principal Metaphors

Synopsis

Perhaps the least contentious assertion that might be made about “learning” is that the phenomenon has something to do with changes to “knowledge” or “knowing” – and, so, how knowledge and knowing are interpreted have profound implications for all aspects of education. The purpose of this cluster, then, is to foreground and contrast key metaphors of knowledge and knowing, along with their major consequences for learning and teaching.

Commentary

While focused on matters of knowledge (i.e., Epistemology), each of the columns in the above chart might also be interpreted as anchored to a particular perspective on being and reality – that is, to an ...

• Ontology – variously defined, but most often used in reference to perspectives on the nature of being and reality
• Onto-Epistemology (Ontoepistemology) – any framework that embraces the suggestion that “what is” (i.e., the realm of Ontology) cannot be considered in distinction from “what is known” (i.e., Epistemology).  Subdiscourses include:
  • Ethico-Onto-Epistem-ology (Karen Barad, 2000s) – extending the discourse of Agential Realism (under Realism), the suggestion that one’s knowing and being are always and already matters of ethical accountability
  • Multimodal Onto-Epistemology (2010s) – an integrated philosophical framework that examines how different modes of knowledge (such as visual, auditory, and textual) shape and are shaped by the realities of existence, emphasizing the interdependence of being and knowing across various forms of expression​. In education, Multimodal Onto-Epistemology is sometimes used to foreground the need for flexible, holistic approaches to understand complex phenomena.

See Idealism, Objectivity, Subjectivity, Intersubjectivity, and Interobjectivity.

Subdiscourses:

• Ethico-Onto-Epistem-ology
• Multimodal Onto-Epistemology
• Onto-Epistemology (Ontoepistemology)
• Ontology

Please cite this article as:
Davis, B., & Francis, K. (2024). “Dominant Frames for Knowledge” in Discourses on Learning in Education. https://learningdiscourses.com.