Teaching Philosophy Statement

My teaching philosophy has evolved from creating a classroom of warmth, curiosity, and consistency to shaping learning as a transformative, creative, and equity-driven practice. While my earlier statement reflected my desire to inspire students by modelling positive traits, my current philosophy recognises that teaching is not only about nurturing individuals but also about reshaping knowledge systems and the spaces where learning occurs.

I now see teaching as an act of transformation—of students, of myself, and of the wider communities we engage with. This requires moving beyond the walls of the classroom into living labs, public squares, and community ecosystems where knowledge is co-created. Transformation emerges when students encounter not only new information but also new ways of seeing themselves as agents of change in health and society.

Creativity has become central to my pedagogy. I use arts-based and digital methods such as storyboarding, photovoice, immersive VR, and narrative approachesto make abstract concepts tangible and to democratize learning. Creativity disrupts hierarchies in the classroom: it allows every learner, regardless of background, to bring their voice, their culture, and their imagination into the knowledge-making process.

Equity drives every teaching choice I make. Teaching for health equity means ensuring that students not only learn about disparities but also practice ways of dismantling them. It means engaging with indigenous epistemologies alongside biomedical sciences, making space for marginalised voices, and equipping students with the reflexive tools to examine their own power and positionality. My classroom is designed as a microcosm of an inclusive research ecosystem, where respect, humility, and collaboration are not abstract ideals but lived practices.

In moving from my 2022 philosophy to the present, I have shifted from focusing on what I bring to students: warmth, curiosity, high expectations, to emphasising what we co-create together: spaces of belonging, creativity, and transformation. 

Teaching, for me, is no longer only about encouraging students to adopt positive traits, but about enabling them to re-imagine research, health, and equity in ways that ripple far beyond the classroom, because it has been instilled into their value systems. Teaching is transformation.

Prof L Hendricks

2025

Core Principles

Teaching is learning how to creatively and innovatively be inclusive.

Theorising My Teaching Philosophy: From Warmth to Transformation

1 September 2025

My teaching philosophy has evolved from creating a classroom of warmth, curiosity, and consistency to shaping learning as a transformative, creative, and equity-driven practice. While my earlier statement reflected my desire to inspire students by modelling positive traits, my current philosophy recognises that teaching is not only about nurturing individuals but also about reshaping knowledge systems and the spaces where learning occurs. This shift reflects an engagement with global and African pedagogical theories that emphasise critical reflection, creativity, cultural responsiveness, and communal knowledge building.

Teaching as Transformation

At the core of my philosophy lies the understanding of teaching as an act of transformation of students, of myself, and of the wider communities we engage with. Transformative learning theory provides a theoretical anchor here. Mezirow (1997) defines transformative learning as the process by which learners critically examine their assumptions, leading to a profound shift in perspective. Such change often begins with disorienting dilemmas and grows through dialogue, introspection, and action (Taylor & Cranton, 2012). For me, transformation extends beyond individual cognition. It encompasses the social dimension of preparing learners to act as change agents in their communities.

This relational dimension resonates with Paulo Freire’s (2005) notion of dialogical pedagogy, where teachers and students co learn through problem posing and critical inquiry. Freire insisted that education must empower learners to develop critical consciousness, enabling them to analyse and transform their social reality. In my teaching, this translates into moving beyond classroom walls into living labs, public squares, and community ecosystems, where students engage directly with communities, thereby transforming both their own perspectives and the realities of those they work alongside.

I have applied this philosophy in concrete ways. With medical students, I design culture and diversity modules where they reflect on how their own cultural frames of reference influence their practice. Activities such as cultural self-reflection, face off challenges, and scenario-based learning help them recognise positionality and intersectionality as central to their future roles as health care professionals. With undergraduate students, I facilitate body mapping exercises where learners create visual and narrative representations of their identities, fears, skills, and aspirations. These embodied practices invite students to see learning as situated in their own bodies, histories, and communities. With postgraduate students, I use simple yet profound exercises such as asking pairs to look at one another silently for three minutes. The discomfort of silence often gives way to reflection on presence, power, and vulnerability in qualitative research. These practices demonstrate that transformation in learning emerges not only from new knowledge but also from embodied experiences that shift self-perception and awareness of others.

Creativity as Pedagogy

Creativity is central to my pedagogy. Arts based methods such as storyboarding, photovoice, drama, and digital storytelling provide learners with multiple avenues of expression and reflection. Leavy (2015) argues that creative pedagogy disrupts linear, text heavy approaches by privileging imagination, multimodality, and embodied ways of knowing. In South Africa, Ntlokwana (2018) demonstrated that creative approaches enhance inclusive education by affirming learners’ cultural identities and encouraging active engagement across diverse contexts.

Creativity also creates spaces of safety. When students map their bodies or sit in stillness with one another, they are invited to slow down, reflect, and simply be. In these spaces, hierarchies soften and students can bring their whole selves into the classroom. Greene (1995) describes this as cultivating “wide awakeness,” a condition in which learners perceive reality differently and imagine alternative futures. Creative pedagogy is therefore not only a method but also a political act of inclusion, ensuring that marginalised forms of knowledge and expression are valued equally.

Equity and Inclusive Pedagogies

Equity is not an outcome I hope for, but a principle that drives every teaching choice. Banks (2016) defines equity pedagogy as instructional strategies that enable students from diverse cultural and racial groups to succeed academically while also cultivating skills to create a democratic and just society. Such pedagogy moves beyond assimilation to value learners’ identities and equip them for civic engagement. Gay (2010) similarly emphasises that culturally responsive teaching requires adapting curriculum and pedagogy to the lived experiences of students, ensuring that learning is meaningful and affirming.

In my teaching, equity manifests in pairing biomedical sciences with indigenous epistemologies and elevating voices often marginalised in academic spaces. By acknowledging the legitimacy of African knowledge systems, I design classrooms as microcosms of inclusive research ecosystems. Reflexivity is key. Both students and I examine how power, privilege, and positionality shape the knowledge we produce and use. In practice, this means that a session on qualitative research becomes more than a lesson in methodology. It is also an exploration of identity, presence, and ethical responsibility.

Ubuntu and African Centred Pedagogies

African philosophy further grounds my pedagogy. Ubuntu, encapsulated in the phrase “I am because we are,” positions education as inherently relational and community-oriented. Research shows that Ubuntu-informed classrooms foster kindness, solidarity, and shared responsibility (Letseka, 2013; Waghid & Smeyers, 2012).

Recent scholarship deepens this foundation. Choane (2025) illustrates how Ubuntu pedagogy transforms higher education through participatory action research. Maphalala and Nkosi (2025) show its integration into teacher education through curriculum design, experiential learning, and community engagement. Mthimkhulu (2024) introduces Ubuntugogy as a framework that cultivates collaboration and moral values, while Yende (2024) applies it to music education, embedding indigenous traditions in pedagogy. These perspectives highlight how Ubuntu-informed practice creates communal learning spaces where students listen deeply, honour one another’s contributions, and co-construct knowledge that is both personal and collective.

Participatory, Decolonial, and Emancipatory Pedagogies

My philosophy also draws on participatory, decolonial, and emancipatory approaches. Freire’s model of co-intentional education emphasises that teachers and students become co-learners, jointly responsible for knowledge creation (Freire, 2005). Decolonial pedagogy extends this ethos by interrogating the colonial legacy in curricula and making space for excluded knowledge systems. Ajani (2025) demonstrates how socially just pedagogies can be integrated into South African teacher education by combining Indigenous Knowledge Systems with decolonial curriculum design. Mignolo and Walsh (2018) argue that education must confront ongoing coloniality by restoring dignity to Southern epistemologies.

Emancipatory pedagogy builds on these traditions by cultivating critical consciousness and democratic participation to challenge oppressive systems (Giroux, 2020). In my practice, this translates into structuring learning activities that invite discomfort and reflection, such as body mapping and silent face-to-face exercises. These methods encourage students to grapple with positionality, vulnerability, and power, thereby embodying social justice within the classroom.

From Nurturing to Co-Creation

In moving from my 2022 philosophy to the present, I have shifted from focusing on what I bring to students—warmth, curiosity, high expectations—to emphasising what we co-create together: spaces of belonging, creativity, and transformation. Education for me is no longer primarily about encouraging students to adopt positive traits. It is about enabling them to reimagine research, health, and equity in ways that ripple far beyond the classroom. By embedding transformative, creative, equity-driven, African-centred, and decolonial pedagogies, my teaching has become not only a personal practice but also a collective act of social transformation.

Teaching is transformation.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/reflecting-theorising-my-teaching-philosophy-from-warmth-hendricks-wjlvf 

References

Ajani, O. A. (2025). Towards socially just pedagogies in pre-service teacher education: A South African perspective. Postdigital Science and Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-025-01088-8

Banks, J. A. (2016). Cultural diversity and education: Foundations, curriculum, and teaching (6th ed.). Routledge.

Choane, M. (2025). The significance of Ubuntu pedagogy: Transforming teaching and learning at the University of the Free State in South Africa. Journal of Culture and Values in Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.46303/jcve.2025

Freire, P. (2005). Pedagogy of the oppressed (30th anniversary ed.; M. B. Ramos, Trans.). Continuum. (Original work published 1970)

Gay, G. (2010). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, and practice (2nd ed.). Teachers College Press.

Giroux, H. A. (2020). On critical pedagogy (2nd ed.). Bloomsbury Academic.

Greene, M. (1995). Releasing the imagination: Essays on education, the arts, and social change. Jossey-Bass.

Leavy, P. (2015). Method meets art: Arts based research practice (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.

Letseka, M. (2013). Educating for Ubuntu/Botho: Lessons from Basotho indigenous education. Open Journal of Philosophy, 3(2), 337–344. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojpp.2013.32051

Maphalala, M. C., & Nkosi, N. (2025). Fostering Ubuntu in teacher education for South African higher education: A systematic literature review. Journal of Teacher Education for Sustainability. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.2478/jtes-2025-0010

Mezirow, J. (1997). Transformative learning: Theory to practice. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 1997(74), 5–12. https://doi.org/10.1002/ace.7401

Mignolo, W. D., & Walsh, C. E. (2018). On decoloniality: Concepts, analytics, praxis. Duke University Press.

Mthimkhulu, T. (2024). Ubuntugogy as a pedagogical framework in higher education. Journal of Culture and Values in Education, 7(1), 56–70. https://doi.org/10.46303/jcve.2024.7.1.4

Ntlokwana, T. (2018). Arts-based pedagogies for inclusive education in South Africa. South African Journal of Education, 38(4), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v38n4a1622

Taylor, E. W., & Cranton, P. (2012). The handbook of transformative learning: Theory, research, and practice. Jossey-Bass.

Waghid, Y., & Smeyers, P. (2012). Reconsidering Ubuntu: On the educational potential of a particular ethic of care. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 44(2), 6–20. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-5812.2011.00796.x

Yende, S. (2024). Ubuntugogy and the Africanisation of music education. Journal of African Music Studies, 19(2), 211–228.