ERIC ED387478: Case Studies of the Dialogue Journal in Multicultural Education. Working Draft.

36 Pages·1992·0.64 MB·English

by  ERIC

DOCUMENT RESUME
SP 036 261
ED 387 478
McFarland, Katherine
AUTHOR
Case Studies of the Dialogue Journal in Multicultural
TITLE
Education. Working Draft.
PUB DATE
92
36p.; Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the
NOTE
National Association for Multicultural Education
(2nd, Orlando, FL, February 13-16, 1992).
Research/Technical (143)
PUB TYPE
Reports
Speeches/Conference Papers (150)
MFOI/PCO2 Plus Postage.
EDRS PRICE
Case Studies; *Dialog Journals; Education Courses;
DESCRIPTORS
Elementary Education; Higher Education; Interpersonal
Communication; *Journal Writing; *Multicultural
Education; Preservice Teacher Education; Reflective
Teaching; *Student Journals; Teacher Education
Programs; *Teacher Student Relationship; *Teaching
Methods
Cultural Sensitivity; Educational Diversity;
IDENTIFIERS
Reflective Practice; *Reflective Writing
ABSTRACT
This study examined reflective writing as a vehicle
for learning through the use of dialogue journals to synthesize
relevant classroom materials and help students examine multicultural
issues. Thirty-one elementary education students enrolled in a course
titled "Foundations of Education in a Multicultural Society"
participated in the study. The dialogue journals are analyzed in
terms of literal understanding, lack of understanding, self in
context, evaluation, implementation, new insights, and heightened
awareness, with eight case studies summarized in detail. Analysis
showed that students preferred to write showing literal
understanding, while they less frequently explored issues in terms of
new insights and heightened awareness. Many students reported having
trouble finding the time for the journals. The expected written
conversation between student and instructor did not happen, as the
instructor's feedback questions seemed to encourage reflection rather
than written response; still some students found the journal a
valuable way to communicate one-on-one with the instructor. The
journals did not hold the same value for all students, though the
journals were perceived by all students as a safe environment in
which to vent frustrations and explore feelings. Some students seemea
to lack an understanding of reflection and never went beyond a
literal level in their journals. Based on the findings, the following
(1) the dialogue journal has the
conclusions are suggested:
capability to allow both the preservice teacher and teacher educator
(2) trust is an important element in the
to work together closely;
(3) students need
collaboration between teacher educator and student;
a definition of reflection and should be taught how to use reflection
in their journals; and (4) the dialogue journal provides an important
voice for the preservice teacher to share thoughts one-on-one with an
interested listener. Specific recommendations and suggestions for
using dialogue journals are included. (Contains 33 references.)
(ND)
without the
Working draft only - May cite paper but do not quote
Any comments or suggestions are
written permission of the author.
welcomed.
Case Studies of the the Dialogue Journal
in
Multicultural Education
Presenter:
Katherine McFarland
Texas A & M University
308 Harrington Towers
EDCI
College Station, TX 77801-4232
[phone]
'PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS
DEPARRIENT Of FDUCATION
MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY
I niCAT IONAT RESOURCES INF ORMATION
CENTER ,FRIC
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TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
INFORMATION CENTER IERICI
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Presented at the Second Annual
National Association for
Conference
Multicultural Education
16, 1992
Vebruary 13
Orlando, Florida
4.0
BEST COPY AVAILABLE
Case Studies of the the Dialogue Journal in
Multicultural
Education
Introduction
investigate the
The purpose of this
naturalistic research was to
This
dialogue journal within the context of multicultural education.
study examined reflective writing as a vehicle for learning through
synthesize relevant classroom
of the
dialogue journal
to
use
the
materials and to help students examine multicultural issues. Dialogue
Journals are an ongoing, written "conversation" between the student
and the instructor back and forth for an extended period of time.
Although the the teacher may direct the topic, the student has some
A definition of "reflection" for
freedom in response to the given topic.
the purposes of this paper would be to connect/interpret/define/
conceptualize/compare/contrast/analyze/classify/evaluate
old constructs of knowledge into new constructs for the purposes of
understanding, changing, and storing information.
question that framed this study was, What was the effect of the
The
First, the
multicultural education?
dialogue journal on students in
Instrument given the
pre and post scores on a Cultural Sensitivity
Such a
first and last day showed a mean difference of +3.68.
difference indicates a positive effect, but not a large effect.
The
as +21 and -13 mean
scores from eight case studies
were as varied
us with much
a score does not provide
yet such
difference;
For a more
information on the effects of the dialogue journal alone.
it would be necessary
comprehensive view of the dialogue journal,
Much like the Cultural
to turn to a content analysis of the entries.
Finally, a
Instrument, the results are disappointing.
Sensitivity
summation of eight case studies are presented which may help to
explain many of the reasons why the mean difference increased
slightly and why such discrepancies would appear among students.
the case studies and other findings are explored; however,
a
Before
study
this
brief summary of
supports
that
the background
is
necessary
.
3
3
Background
training.
multicultural
of
dire
in
America's
are
teachers
need
90 percent of teachers are Anglo, and
in
elementary
Currently,
schools, 80 percent are Anglo and female, (Sleeter and Grant, 1988, p.
23) who have not been exposed to cultures other than their own
Steiner and Leacock (cited in Banks and Banks, 1989)
(Grant, 1989).
find that when the background of the teacher is different from the
students, the classroom becomes a center of tension and anxiety that
is felt by both.
that
shows
a
preparation
teacher
multicultural
Research
in
of
semester class in multicultural education can provide a baseline
attitude require more in-depth training
information but changes in
(Baker 1972, 1977; Grant and Koskela, 1986; Bennett et al, 1988,
most teacher preparation departments across the
1989). Yet,
in
country, one semester course is all that is offered.
we prepare our preservice
stated, How can
The initial
question
Before such research could
teachers for the multicultural classroom?
why some students
set in motion, a fundamental understanding of
be
make it in the educational system while others do not was needed.
explanation on why
little
alone, provides
Multicultural education,
educational
inequalities
the
pervade
cultural
academic
and
Critical Pedagogy, as a theoretical framework, helps to
classroom.
explain such discrepancies to both preservice and seasoned educators
who need to look for answers to such disturbing questions.
Theoretical Frameworks
objectives,
questions,
framework,
Critical
provides
pedagogy
a
assumptions, and model to explain how power and politics enter
the..
As a theoretical framework, critical pedagogy
nation's classroom.
inequalities
helps both teacher and student develop an awareness of
such
(within the school as a microcosm of society), understand why
tools
to
inequalities exist, and encourage methods and language as
The teacher in this context can be seen as a
become empowered.
cultural transmitter and agent who serves the purpose of a critical
examiner to help students explore individual and societal roles
in
In the laboratory of the
which the classroom becomes a laboratory.
students learn to analyze their reality and the reality of
classroom,
The dialogue journal may be one such tool that may help
others.
students become critically examine their roles and the roles of others
through writing.
Critical pedagogy also places great emphasis on the importance of
language to understand the fundamental relationship of how power
Freire,
and politics play important roles in one's position in society.
third world Countries,
his work in
well known for
in
literacy
that critical pedagogy begins with the power of the word
believes
interpretive meaning based on the individual's scope of
its
and
Language then becomes a vehicle to make meaning of
experiences.
Freire believes that comprehending the written word can
the world.
"critical
and
transformation
social
individual
to
lead
an
(Freire, 1985; Freire and Macedo, 1987).
consciousness"
the
stressing
critical
pedagogy
by
overlap
theories
Vygotsky's
importance of the developmental process of thought and language.
that language grows developmentally based on
Both views
state
(1962)
Vygotsky
interpretations.
their
experiences
and
one's
explained that "inner speech" was a cognitive process that must
be
meaning
be pulled apart, analyzed, and reworked into more explicit
of particular
What is
be turned into written communication.
to
of the "Zone of Proximal
theory
(1978)
interest
Vygotsky's
is
Development" which states that the learner has two different levels:
leveL of potential development.
a level of actual development and .a
Potential development is guided by the assistance of one with more
Through Vygotsky's "Zone of Proximal Development," the
expertise.
ability
thought, and problem-solving
of language,
students'
level
such as a teacher-educator.
grow with the help of a trusted expert
5
language
are
thought
that
theory
and
(1962)
Vygotsky's
If
therefore changing, then thought and
constantly developing and
language hinge on one's experiences and interpretations of meaning.
teacher-educator can encourage
students
to
that
here
the
is
It
in class
connect facts, concepts, and strategies that they are learning
of the dialogue
to their own personal experiences through the use
journal (Hettich,
1990).
The researcher chose to investigate the use of the dialogue journal
of the valde of the
versus any other form of journaling because
the
educator
and
teacher
relationship
between
the
mentorship
Other researchers using the dialogue journal
preservice teacher.
beneficial
be
relationship
to
have found
collaborative
such
a
(Bullough & Gitlin, 1989; Knowles, 1991).
Methodology
Data was collected during the Spring semester of 1991, from thirty-
INST
322:
enrolled
in
students
education
elementary
one
Foundations of Education in a Multicultural Society, a required course
taken in the senior year. The course focuses on the historical, social,
pluralistic
in
education
a
regarding
concerns
philosophical
and
The course met two hours each day for four weeks.
The
society.
students were also enrolled in a social studies methods course during
As part of a new program in teacher
the same four week period.
for four weeks
education, students met for four hours each day
before entering ten weeks of student teaching.
first group of "new program"
Upon the
of
this
initial
meeting
teacher/researcher
This
collected.
data
was
students,
much
administered the Daly-Miller Test for Writing Apprehension and a
day) to
Cultural Sensitivity Inventory (post test followed on the last
would be chosen
research.
further
for
determine which
students
eight
Based on a comprehensive analysis of the data on the first day,
students were selected for case studies.
6
6,
Dialogue journals were collected from, all students once a week, read,
categories were developed
with comments. Journal
returned
.and
The analysis did not
inductively after the research was collected.
inductive
used
instead
hypotheses,
theories
or
but
begin with
reasoning to interpret and analyze data into meaningful categories.
Such "grounded theory" does not precede data but rather such theory
emerges as a consequence of the data.
study, categories were developed by the
For the purposes of this
"constant comparative method" developed by Glaser and
Strauss
Using this method, coding is directly compared to previous
(1967).
a comparison and
the same and different categories
as
data
in
be
properties
to
the
forms
that
eventually
analysis
contrast
Glaser and Strauss, however, go beyond the initial stages
classified.
of classifying data for the purposes of generating "grounded theory."
Triangulation (Lincoln & Guba, 1985) was accomplished through the
Besides the
for the case studies.
use of multiple data sources
profile
dialogue journal, personal data was obtained through initial
Other sources included
surveys, autobiographies, and interviews.
daily course work (collected and analyzed for grading throughout the
course), and course evaluations (collected during the midterm, final
class had ended). An ongoing
and eight weeks after
the
class,
Peer
analysis of the data was conducted by the teacher/researcher.
debriefing and member checks (Lincoln & Guba, 1985) were used
throughout the study to check validity of all documents.
original design of the
What had not been anticipated within the
study was the impact that a new teacher education program (Texas
The researcher had noted from
Senate Bill 994) had on the class.
the new program
about
complaints
anxieties
and
the
students
students animosity tow ards
Often the
throughout the four weeks.
the new program got in the way of their learning. Such changes
had
this research; therefore, the researcher
not been anticipated prior to
during the collection of data.
was forced .to make many changes
7
Categories in Journal Entries
For a more comprehensive view of the dialogue journal,
it
is
entries
necessary to turn to a content analysis of the entries.
The
that were
study included any topics
that were selected
this
l'or
covered in class as well as the students' background knowledge and
of the
(Several
issues.
relate
multicultural
that
experiences
to
bilingual education
students had
strong
with
prior
a
courses
in
The length of the entries was
emphasis in multicultural education.)
In some cases the
confined to the kernel of multicultural reference.
kernel was one paragraph; in other cases, one page. The selection
process of the entries emerged from within the data
simultaneously
with the necessary decision-making required of the researcher.
The following classification scheme begins with examples that show
understanding for various reasons
multicultural
of
display
no
literal
shows examples
of
category
second
stated.
The
a
understanding.
The third category of examples, self in context
reference to self or to family within a multicultural context.
makes
evaluations,
of
category
examples
next
shows
The
observations. Evaluations allow the
implementations,
and
students to react to the readings, discussions, lectures, or videos.
Implementation allows students to focus on what they would do as
With Observations, students write
a practitioner in the classroom.
what they see and critique what they have noted in the elementary
All of the examples listed under New Understandings
classroom.
specify what new knowledge students have learned and explored in
Awareness,
The last category, Heightened
their revelations.
contains examples of students who show some struggle only to arrive
(Please note that many
at some greater multicultural understanding.
Writing is a complex
of the entries can span two or more categories.
activity that often is difficult to categorize.)
6
CATEGORIES OF MULTICULTURAL UNDERSTANDING
multicultural
of
NO DISPLAY OF UNDERSTANDING-No demonstration
display:
student
understanding
may
the
which
in
multicultural
of
understanding
interpretation
that
shows
-naive
no
issues
multicultural
understanding
of
that
-personal
view
shows
no
education.
multicultural
error
that
in
-incorrect
information
shows
understanding.
know only one
interesting how we learn.
that
ashamed
feel
I
find
it
I
I
I want to learn
I want to become fluent in other languages as well.
language.
want to speak these languages so they can
and then when
have children,
I
I
cannot learn
I know this cannot happen though because
learn them naturally.
I
the language in full in order to be able to use them with my kids although I
will
If I
try because it is actually a lacking quality to be fluent in only one
language.
language, we could become fluent
the environment & speak the
can provide
I also want to put my child into foreign language classes beginning at
together.
language)
learning
of
a
understanding
the elementary
(naive
ages.
do agree with every
enjoyed the discussion led by the guest speakers, and
I
I
I agree the [that] we should be culturally aware of others so
thing that they said.
but the thing that gets me is
we can understand where they are coming from --
be treated
these people want to
differently
of this
If
rights
stuff.
equal
all
because of their ethnic background then why the heck do they keep fighting
feel that reverse discrimination is a
In alot [a lot] of cases I
about discrimination.
feel this way because I
I guess that I
common practice and an accepted practice.
It
in a culturally diverse society.
was raised with an acceptance of other cultures
Why can't we just look
really mrks me to have discrimination in either direction.
We come from different
as people who are
human beings.
all
ourselves
at
is better than another
backgrounds but we should also recognize that no culture
understanding)
naive
people. period. (personal
view
- we are just
/
So a second language is also
is outside the brain.
When you learn language it
When learning a second language, you usually develop the
outside the
brain.
...
information)
(incorrect
first and then the social
skill.
academic skill
literal
understanding
of
of
Demonstration
a
LITERAL UNDERSTANDING
-
that
involve:
multicultural
issues
many
facts
learned
-repetition
of
or
lectures,
discussions.
readings,
from
information
of
-summary
interpretation.
or
elaboration
classroom
with
no
-observations
in
different
about students'
out
to
find
interesting
very
it
think
is
I
if we all
learning styles. Our learning experience would be dull
learned
types of learning styles to make the
We have to have all
the same way.
After you find
Each learning style is very important.
world go around.
9
activities with
you could do some fun
out the different learning
styles,
(repetition
facts)
of
them.
[Name withheld] talked about students who are 'at-risk' of dropping out
The class decided
He had us brainstorm about who is
'at-risk.'
of school.
Next, the class
'at-risk' of dropping out.
that almost anyone in school is
of dropping out.
began to
put children
Some
at-risk
things
list
that
unemployed
poverty,
single-parent
homes,
were:
things
mentioned
The class
with low education,
pressure.
peer
parents,
and
parents
This part of the
discussed why and how these things affected children.
information)
of
(summary
discussion flowed well.
There are
at South Knoll.
Mrs. Shearon teaches nineteen fourth graders
10 girls and 9 boys, and there is quite a racial mixture in the classroom.
There are two
is from Mexico, and another girl is from Taiwan.
One girl
They are both in the process of
black children, one boy and one girl.
the
classroom
(observations
in
tested
being
education.
special
for
elaboration)
with
no
or
within
family
IN CONTEXT
self
to
Reference
to
a
SELF
-
that
include:
multicultural
context
may
reference
-family
-self-disclosure
future
-past or
decisions
goals
is from France and my mom is
from Germany, which makes
My father
1-10 while living
me a
completed grades
first-generation American.
I
reference)
(family
the Caribbean.
overseas
in
I know I
will be
Kids are labeled incredibly efficient [wrong word].
aware of this;
was labeled
fit
only
athlete,
which
as
an
very
I
I
could see exactly how kids may feel when they
arc
partially,
and
I
give them a chance.
Labels and kids don't match
will!
labeled.
I
--
(self-disclosure)
understand why children can
chose reading as my specialty because
I
I
have been there myself and have had to
have a hard time with
it.
I
(future
I am today.
to become the kind of student
work through
it
goals)
EVALUATIONS/OBSERVATIONS/IMPLEMENTATIONS
or
lectures,
Evaluations - Stated
discussions,
readings,
opinions
of
the
during
class.
videos
used
They must have
[the spcakcrs] gave us were good.
The handouts they
especially liked the story about Teddy.
spent a lot of time on them.
It
I
their
know
teachers
need
get
to to
the
fact that
highlighted
really
of hastily
instead
consideration,
outside
factors
into
take
students
and
(evaluation)
labeling them.
t