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RELATIONAL PEDAGOGY: NURTURING KOREAN-AMERICAN WOMEN'S RELATIONAL EXPERIENCES TOWARD LEADERSHIP IN THE CHURCH A Dissertation presented to the Faculty of Claremont School of Theology In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy by Jong Mi Na May 2012 ©2012 Jong Mi Na ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ££) CLAREMONT SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY This Dissertation, written by Jong Mi Na under the direction of her Faculty Committee and approved by its members, has been presented to and accepted by the Faculty of Claremont School of Theology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Faculty Committee: Frank Rogers, Jr., Chairperson Sheryl A. Kujawa-Holbrook Jeanyne Slettom Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty: Philip Clayton May 2012 ABSTRACT Relational Pedagogy: Nurturing Korean-American women's relational experiences toward leadership. by Jong Mi Na This study aims at exploring and trying to transform the present reality of underrepresentation and underdevelopment of women leadership in Korean-American churches. To achieve this aim, participatory action research (PAR) was conducted with a group of Korean-American women at Sarang Korean Presbyterian Church (SKPC) in Washing D.C. area. The PAR group met on a weekly basis to attend the seven workshop sessions where I taught eleven adult women utilizing the seven relational principles that were extracted from the literature study of relational cultural theory (RCT) conversing with relationally oriented psychological, theological, and educational theories. The post-workshop interviews with six workshop participants and the interviews with five, non-workshop participants at SKPC were conducted to strengthen the validity of the research. Both workshop sessions and interviews were videotaped, transcribed, and analyzed by a qualitative research tool, the grounded theory. Findings are further elaborated in dialogue with relevant literature and presented in terms of the process analysis and the content analysis of the workshop. The dissertation concludes by suggesting a relational pedagogy to teach Korean women for leadership and mature faith by utilizing the seven relational principles which attend both the process (relational dynamics) and contents (relational images) of teaching and learning experiences. According to the research findings, Korean-American women are the virtual leaders of the church while viewing and exercising leadership differently in helping, serving, and loving rather than leading at the front. The real issues of their leadership is narrow relational breadth. The women do not have other self-definition than mother and wife. Their leadership remains within the boundaries of family and local church. I identified the main cause of Korean-American women's narrow relational interests in their restricted images of God, faith, and church, which are individualistic, self-serving, and lacking communal and social dimensions. The relational pedagogy contributes to Korean-American women's leadership by transforming and enlarging its narrowness to extend beyond the boundaries of local churches. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I thank Professor Frank Rogers Jr. for his direction, assistance, and guidance throughout the doctorate program. He has been a teacher with the utmost relational sensitivity in the classroom. As the chair of the dissertation committee, he provided challenges, affirmation, and unwavering encouragements. I owe a gratitude to my former Professor Carol Lakey Hess who provided the inspiration for women leadership through her courses and her work. I also like to thank those who supported in regard to completing my thesis, Professor Sheryl Kujawa-Holbrook who provided guidance in the process and advising my future scholarly endeavor in women's education. I also like to thank Professor Jeanyne Slettom for sharing the interest of women's wellbeing with her open heart. This dissertation would not have been possible without the commitments of the women participants in my research. They have given their valuable time and the glimpse of their lives to the research. Last but not the least, my families who supported me with prayers and joined in the journey of my life pursuit. I thank my husband Min for his patience and support during the dissertation process. iii CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER I: WOMEN'S RELATIONAL EXPERIENCE FROM A PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE 7 The First Period of RCT: A Self-in-Relation Theory 8 The Second Period of RCT: A Being-in-Relation Theory 11 The Third Period: A Relational Cultural Theory 19 CHAPTER II: RELATIONAL CULTURAL THEORY IN DIALOGUE WITH OTHER RELATION ORIENTED PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES 29 RCT in Dialogue with Chodorow's Theory of Reproduction of Mothering 29 RCT in Dialogue with Gilligan's Ethic of Care 33 RCT in Conversation with Kegan's Theory of Evolving Self 40 RCT in Dialogue with Slee's Theory of Women's Faith Development 46 RCT in Conversation with Rizzuto's Theory of Birth of the Living God 56 RCT in Dialogue with Psychologies of Korean People 64 A Synthesis 72 CHAPTER III: WOMEN'S RELATIONAL EXPERIENCE FROM A THEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE 75 Images of God Reenvisioned by Christian Feminist Theologians 76 McFague: Reimagining God as Mother, Lover, and Friend of the World 76 Johnson: Reimagining God as Sophia-God 80 Images of God's Power Reenvisioned by Christian Feminist Theologians 85 iv Case-Winter: Reimagining God's Power not as Dominion but as Solidarity ...85 Farley: Reimagining God's Power as Compassionate Love 90 Joh: Reimagining the Cross as the Power of Jeong 94 Images of Sin Reenvisioned by Christian Feminist Theologians 99 Brock: Reimagining Original Sin as Original Grace 99 Nelson: Reimagining Original Sin as Original Shame 103 A Synthesis 106 Feminist Theologians in Dialogue with RCT 111 CHAPTER IV: WOMEN'S RELATIONAL EXPERIENCE FROM AN EDUCATIONAL PERSPECTIVE 115 Belenky et al.'s Connected Teaching: Finding Women's Authentic Voices 116 Hess' Conversational Education: Caring for Genuine Relationships in and through the Communities of Faith 122 hooks' Liberatory Classroom: Teaching for Freedom in and through a Classroom Community 128 Russell's Partnering Education: Educating for Partnership through Critical Participation in Communities of Faith 135 Harris: Teaching as the Work of Religious Imagination 141 A Synthesis 149 Feminist Educators in Dialogue with RCT and Feminist Psychologists and Feminist Theologians 158 CHAPTER V: DESIGN OF THE RESEARCH 163 The Researcher's Positionality 163 Emergence of the Researcher's Voice 163 Researcher as "Outsider Within": Children's Pastor in Black Suit 166 Researcher as Insider: Sitting at Men's or Women's Table? 168 Researcher as Outsider: I May Not Be One of Them 169 v Woman Can Not Imagine Herself Preaching 169 The Women at the Kitchen 171 The Research Methodology: Participatory Action Research (PAR) 173 The Basic Principle of the PAR: Never Impose 173 My Research as the PAR: With Emancipatory Interest 174 Two Goals of the Research: To Transform and to Teach 177 How PAR was Applied: Strengthening Collaboration 179 Beginning the Research with My Agenda 180 Negotiating the Power to Speak 181 Negotiating the Agenda: From Not Knowing through Resisting toward Planning 183 From Not Knowing: Tell Me Why We Are Here 183 Through Resistance: Is Leadership a Matter of Faith? 186 Toward an Action Plan Initiated by Women 188 Not Giving Up Both: Methodologically Correct or Ethically Correct? 190 The Research Design 192 Seven Feminist, Relational Principles 192 Designing of Workshop 193 How was the Analysis Done? 200 CHAPTER VI: PROCESS ANALYSIS: RELATIONAL DYNAMICS 203 Empowering Women's Voice 203 Empowered to Speak Through No Right or Wrong Answer Policy 204 "Motivated" to Speak through No Right or Wrong Answer Policy 204 Initial Power Differential between Teacher and Participants 206 Power Differentials among the Participants 207 But Power is Fluctuating 209 vi Empowered to Speak in and through Women Only Group 213 Okja's Case: "But Here, Everyone Understands Me " 213 With Tears and Laughter: "It Is O.K. to Cry Here" 215 Sharing Jung and Han in Women Only Group: "There Isn't Much Jung in Our Lives" 218 Sharing Shimjung : Feeling Heart to Heart 219 Empowered to Be Angry after Mourning 221 Empowered to Speak through Use of Experience 224 Through Use of Life Experience in Giving Tree Exercise: Empowered toward Ownership 224 Limit of Experience: Hard to Go beyond What Is Given 225 Through Use of Experiential Knowledge [Virtual Case Debate]: Empowered to Become Practical Thinkers 228 Multi-purposes of Teacher's Use of Experiential Knowledge 229 Empowered to Speak through Teacher's Form Giving 231 Ten Virgins Exercise: Empowered to Talk Back 232 Prodigal Daughter Exercise: Empowered to Think Creatively 234 When the Silence Occurred? Content Interfering with Process 235 When Teacher Touched the Untouchable 236 Father of Our Flesh vs. Father God The Word 236 A God with Two Hands 237 A Korean Looking Jesus 238 When Students Were Entrenched in the Old 239 A God Who Strikes 240 Sinner or God's Lover 241 Clues from My Two Sermons 243 vii