The present study is part of the doctoral research project on the capability-related subjective theories of primary school teachers. It is based on the capability approach (CA) of Martha Nussbaum (2000) and Paul Ricoeur’s (2005; 2006) phenomenology of capable human being.

The capability approach is a normative framework for conceptualization and evaluation of person’s well-being (Robeyns, 2005). In the focus is the question what people are able to do and be, i.e. what their capabilities are. Furthermore, it values education as intrinsic, as a capability in itself as well as the basis for development of other capabilities such as capability of senses, imagination and thought, capability of practical reason and capability of affiliation - to name just a few (Nussbaum, 2000, pp. 79-80).

Ricoeur (2005; 2006) listed ‘capability to say’, ‘capability to act’ and ‘capability to tell’ to be the basic capabilities that lead to ‘capability of imputation’, i.e. a capacity of the person to be responsible for his or her own action. Translated to classroom environment, it assumes pupils’ capacity to identify themselves, to initiate actions, to narrate themselves and to be recognized as responsible (Honerød Hoveid and Hoveid, 2009)

The CA was used as theoretical framework for understanding just education while investigating teachers’ pedagogical thinking in the moments of teacher-pupil interaction. These capability-related moments of interaction were identified based on the interpretation of Ricoeur’s (2005; 2006) capability list made by Honerød Hoveid and Hoveid (2009). This theoretical basis led to raise the questions: (1) What are the subjective theories of primary school teachers about recognizing pupil as a “capable human being” in Ricoeurian sense? and (2) How teachers enhance or hinder development of pupils’ capabilities in the process of teacher-pupil interaction?

Argued on the basis of teachers’ verbal reports and observations, the aim of this paper is to present teachers’ subjective theories pupils’ capability of affiliation reflecting also on the pupils' capability of/for voice.

Honerød Hoveid, Marit; Hoveid, Halvor (2009): Educational Practice and Development of Human Capabilities. In Stud Philos Educ 28 (5), pp. 461–472 Nussbaum, Martha Craven (2000): Women and human development. The capabilities approach. Cambridge ;, New York: Cambridge University Press Ricœur, Paul (2005b): The course of recognition. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press. Ricoeur, Paul (2006): Capabilities and rights. In Séverine Deneulin, Mathias Nebel, Nicholas Sagovsky (Eds.): Transforming unjust structures. The capability approach. Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Springer, pp. 17–26. Robeyns, Ingrid (2005): The Capability Approach: a theoretical survey. In Journal of Human Development 6 (1), pp. 93–117.