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At a time when the context of teaching in higher education is difficult for many number of factors such as: reduced funding, changing demographics of students and demands to teach in flexible times and spaces, there are also higher levels of quality control, transparency and accountability over teaching which are exerted by institutions. This paper reframes these demands and difficulties to reclaim the disciplinary expertise of the academic as teacher and following Palmer sees teaching as an entanglement of ‘beings’: the teachers, the learners and the subject and explores what it means to be a teacher within these relationships. We argue for a relational pedagogy in which embodied teaching is guided by listening for and to the subject. Wishing to be consistent in the paper with its theme, we adopt a subject-centred approach. And since our core subject in this paper is teaching, we necessarily include reflections on teaching experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Recent and current changes in higher education have been both top-down and bottom-up, i.e. regulation and control measures from authorities on one hand and increasing numbers of international students on the other. This has led to a dilemma between unification and diversification. There is a marked pressure towards more testing, more streamlining and less autonomy. This development is caused by both top-down regulation and increasing diversity in the student body. This paper will examine the consequent impact on pedagogy and assessment, current practices and educational philosophies. We aim to ask questions pertinent to the substantial values and goals of our higher education institutions and to begin a discussion of the what, why and how of the renewal process. In particular, it discusses the effects in relation to teacher and learner autonomy in an intercultural classroom with multiple languages, expectation and traditions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]