Du choc des idées jaillit la lumière: thinking with Eric Broekaert’s integrated and holistic paradigm of education

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to reflect on how Eric Broekaert perceived “Ortho-pedagogy” as an academic discipline. Design/methodology/approach The authors try to get a grasp on Broekaert’s point of view while cross-reading three central articles in which he explains his integrated and holistic paradigm of education. Findings One could argue that, while claiming that the different epistemological, ontological and methodological approaches underlying Eric Broekaert’s paradigm of holistic education are not easily integrated, the potential paradoxes he produced in this claim also enabled a “choc des idées” and challenged and enlightened a wide diversity of researchers and practitioners in taking a partial, locatable, critical, reflexive and temporary stance in educational praxis (Lather, 1991). Originality/value The authors discuss how Broekaert, as a companion in life, enabled them to cautiously embrace tensions, paradoxes and complexities in the development of an educational praxis.