Harry Potter and the quest for knowledge

A commonplace for reflecting on learning and teaching

Abstract

The Harry Potter saga treats the theme of magical education with a remarkable depth and complexity, to the point that it might become a shared narrative about learning and teaching, to the benefit of a large readership of educators and students. Goal of this paper is to highlight the main ingredients of the educational process which turns Harry and his close friends not just into world-saving heroes, but rather into young people who have acquired the set of knowledge, skills and dispositions that make them ready to engage in adult life and give their contribution. The narrative power of the series can be harnessed by teachers as a basis for reflecting on their own views and practices of schooling, and in the literacy classroom as a point of departure for guiding the students to reflect, from a distance, on their own schooling and learning experience.