within dialogue and without: how has

208 Pages·2011·1.39 MB·English

WITHIN DIALOGUE AND WITHOUT: HOW HAS 'BEING IN
THE UNKNOWN' BECOME A VALUE IN MY DEVELOPING AS
A BETTER DIALOGICAL EDUCATOR?

Anat Geller
A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Education
University of Bath
School of Education
December
2010
For a master said: Let thy tongue acquire the habit of saying, 'I know not' lest thou be
led to falsehoods (Talmud Bavli, Berachot, 4A)
ABSTRACT
This is an autobiographical study using a Living Theory Action Research
methodology supported strongly by storytelling and visual data as a means of
analysing, illustrating and generating a living educational theory concerning the
attributes 'good enough' (Winnicott, 1965:140-152) dialogical educators might strive
for in light of the Buberian 'I – Thou' dialogical encounters (Buber, 1955).

This thesis is concerned with 'I' as an early childhood pedagogy instructor, an Israeli-
Jew from a Hebrew-speaking culture, working mainly in three educational
frameworks in three cultures: an Israeli-Arab college which is predominately Muslim;
secondly, as director of a course for Druze care-givers on the occupied Golan Heights
and, thirdly, as pedagogy instructor in an academic Teachers' Training College that is
affiliated with the Zionist Kibbutz movement, servicing the multicultural and
multinational sectors of the Israeli society.

The originality of the thesis lies in the process of synthesising and acknowledging
instances of 'being in the unknown'; in revealing the values that enabled me to
recognise and see beyond the socially constructed discourse, values, ethics and morals
in varied cultural contextual and educational settings and move beyond their
limitations, enhancing my ability to be a better dialogical educator.

Although the issues of 'Dialogue' and 'Thou' have been elaborately discussed, the
process of revealing the 'I' and the resultant attributes one has to possess in order to be
in dialogue with the 'Thou' is not explicit (Buber, 1955). I assert that the process of
unveiling one‘s core self (Rogers, 1969) - the 'I' is a necessary component or phase in
the process of becoming a ‗good enough‘ dialogical educator. This assertion is
examined in the light of fundamental literature on dialogue mainly from Buber,
Freire, Rogers and Korczak.

i
Contents

ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................... i
INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 1
BACKGROUND ........................................................................................................... 4
METHODOLOGICAL BACKGROUND ..................................................................... 7
THE PROCESS OF MY MATURATION AS A RESEARCH-PRACTITIONER
AND KNOWLEDGE PRODUCER ................................................................ 10
LIVING THEORY ACTION RESEARCH......................................................... 14
METHODS USED IN THIS RESEARCH .......................................................... 15
STORYTELLING AND NARRATIVE ACCOUNTS ....................................... 15
REFLECTION ..................................................................................................... 17
HEURISTICS AND AUTOBIOGRAPHY ......................................................... 19
PHENOMENOLOGY ......................................................................................... 21
CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS ............................................................... 23
DECONSTRUCTION ......................................................................................... 23
ACTION RESEARCH......................................................................................... 27
VISUAL DATA ................................................................................................... 30
THE RATIONALE FOR THE LITERATURE USED IN THIS RESEARCH .......... 35
THE FORMAT OF THE THESIS ....................................................................... 40
'BEING IN THE UNKNOWN' IN DIALOGICAL ENCOUNTERS ......................... 41
BEING IN THE VOID ........................................................................................ 45
BEING IN LIMBO .............................................................................................. 46
UNKNOWING AND RELEARNING IN ACCORDANCE WITH FREIRE .... 50
STRIPPING AWAY AND THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF KNOWLEDGE ................. 52
FIRST STAGE: THE INITIAL MOMENT OF RECOGNISING BEING IN
THE VOID ....................................................................................................... 53
ii
SECOND STAGE: THE PROCESS OF VENTURING OUT OF THE VOID,
STRIPPING AWAY ........................................................................................ 55
MY STRIPPING AWAY ............................................................................................ 56
THE PROCESS OF RESOLVING BEING IN LIMBO, 'THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF
KNOWLEDGE' ........................................................................................................... 62
THE FIRST UNCOVERED STRATUM: NARRATIVES ................................. 65
THE SECOND UNCOVERED STRATUM: THE SOCIALISATON FACTOR
.......................................................................................................................... 68
THE THIRD UNCOVERED STRATUM: INSTITUTIONAL DISCOURSE ... 71
THE VARIED THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS ............................................ 72
THE SOCIO-POLITICAL ASPECT OF TEACHERS TRAINING COLLEGES
.......................................................................................................................... 74
CORE-SELF ................................................................................................................ 76
THE VALUE CONTENT OF THE CORE-SELF .............................................. 77
LOVE OF LIFE ................................................................................................... 78
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE UNVEILING MY CORE-SELF ............................. 80
VALUES AND EMOTIONS .............................................................................. 80
INNER DIALOGUE .................................................................................................... 84
DIALOGUE ................................................................................................................. 87
UNITS OF APPRAISAL, LIVING STANDARDS OF JUDGEMENT, LIVING
LOGICS AND LIVING THEORY ............................................................................. 89
VECTORS OF DIALOGUE................................................................................ 90
EMOTIONS AND FEELINGS AS UNITS OF APPRAISAL AND
STANDARDS OF JUDGEMENT .................................................................. 92
TAKING ACTION, GENERATING LIVING THEORY WHICH IS LIVED
THROUGH OTHERS ..................................................................................... 96
ETHICAL CONDUCT AS A UNIT OF APPRAISAL AND STANDARD OF
JUDGEMENT.................................................................................................. 98
iii
NAEYC CODE OF ETHICS AND THE LESSON ON ISLAMIC ART ......... 102
ETHICS OF THE FATHERS AND THE WRITINGS OF BUBER ................ 105
NO METHOD IS ALSO A METHOD ...................................................................... 109
THE CHANGES IN MY PRACTICE AS A RESEARCH PRACTITIONER ......... 112
OTHERS‘ PERCEPTION OF MY DIALOGICAL EDUCATIONAL
ENCOUNTERS ......................................................................................................... 121
SUMMARY ............................................................................................................... 125
Appendices ................................................................................................................. 129
Appendix #1 ....................................................................................................... 129
Appendix #2 ....................................................................................................... 131
Appendix #3 ....................................................................................................... 132
Appendix #4 ....................................................................................................... 135
Appendix #5 ....................................................................................................... 137
Appendix #6 ....................................................................................................... 139
Appendix #7 ....................................................................................................... 142
Appendix #8 ....................................................................................................... 143
Appendix #9 ....................................................................................................... 146
Appendix #10 ..................................................................................................... 147
Appendix #11 ..................................................................................................... 151
Appendix #12 ..................................................................................................... 152
Appendix #13 ..................................................................................................... 160
Appendix #14 ..................................................................................................... 162
Appendix #15 ..................................................................................................... 164
Appendix #16 ..................................................................................................... 169
Appendix #17 ..................................................................................................... 171
Appendix #18 ..................................................................................................... 176
Appendix #19 ..................................................................................................... 178
iv
Appendix #20 ..................................................................................................... 179
Appendix #21 ..................................................................................................... 183
Appendix #22 ..................................................................................................... 188
Appendix #23 ..................................................................................................... 189
Appendix #24 ..................................................................................................... 189
Appendix #25 ..................................................................................................... 189
v
INTRODUCTION
There seems to be a lot of talk about dialogue. If you look up ‗Dialogue‘ in Google
you find 48,700,000 references; in Google Scholar there are 1,200,000. Narrow it
down to 'Education and Dialogue' and there are 28,200,000 references; whereas in
Google Scholar, there are only 929,000 (Accessed. 01.03.2010). So what do I have to
contribute here?

Although the issues of Dialogue and the 'I – Thou' Buberian terminology have been
elaborately discussed, the process of revealing the 'I' and the resultant attributes one
has to possess in order to be in dialogue with the 'Thou' is not explicit (Buber, 1955).
The main theme of this thesis revolves around accepting moments of 'being in the
unknown' and utilising them as learning experiences in striving to develop as a 'good
enough' dialogical educator in a complex environment of contest and conflict
(Winnicott, 1965:57).

This is an autobiographical study using a Living Theory Action Research (LTAR)
methodology supported strongly by storytelling and visual data as a means of
analysing, illustrating and generating a living educational theory. My underlying
thought when using this methodology is that it exposes the reader to the meaningful
and sensory-enriched experience of my educational journey through reading, seeing,
hearing, feeling, which were all indispensable components in educational dialogical
instances along the path.

First, I shall explain the socio-historical background in which my educational practice
is located, as it is very politically-charged and complex. This will be followed by an
account of the intellectual and methodological odyssey I underwent until I felt mature
enough to apply LTAR. Subsequently, I shall explain the varied methods incorporated
in this paper. Specifically, since LTAR is unique in encouraging the use of visual
data, the rationale, complexity and ethical dilemmas of using visual presentations in
educational research and presenting them on the Internet will be discussed.

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Following this, the significance of this work's choice of literature and references will
be elaborated upon, focusing mainly on Buber, Freire, Rogers and Korczak and on the
impact they had on my learning process and on this thesis' format.

The main theme of this thesis will be introduced next: the state of 'being in the
unknown' as a meaningful pedagogical value for dialogical educators. Such instances
have been experienced and explained by educators and eminent theorists, the above-
mentioned amongst them. I intend to enrich and offer a defined perspective of the
subject by making a distinction between 'being in the void' and 'being in limbo' as two
forms of 'being in the unknown'. Each of these will be illustrated and interlaced with
stories, discussed and analysed using theoretical concepts I have crystallised along my
path of enquiry and acquired knowledge.

Subsequently, I shall elaborate on my own process of ‗unknowing‘. The
interconnectivity between 'being in the unknown' and ignorance due to 'blind spots' as
well as 'blank spots' will be suggested here and the significance of recognising and
rectifying these idiosyncratic experiences will be illustrated through analysing
Freire‘s own story. Next, the initial moment of recognising the state of 'being in the
void' will be described and the strenuous process of venturing out of it - 'stripping
away' as in Polanyi's quest of "reinterpreting the world" (1964: 381). This will be
followed by a discussion of the process of resolving my 'being in limbo',
accomplished by conducting an 'Archaeology of Knowledge' (Foucault, 1969) and
exploring the layered strata I uncovered of the underlying reasons for the conflict
between the prevailing discourse and my own.

In light of the above, I will discuss the unveiling of core values and hence will
question the sufficiency of having such values for being a dialogical educator. Here,
the process of unveiling my own core values will be recounted using Arendt's notion
of inner dialogue and moral judgment (Arendt, 1978:187). I will discuss the general
concept of dialogue and its theoretical possible meanings in this thesis and in the
background literature.

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Ethical conduct and moral judgments are considered next. My educational practices
will be examined by presenting and using the LTAR forms of appraisal, judgment and
explanation and by which I ask you, the reader, to judge the thesis. Here I use vectors
of dialogue articulated by Cissna and Anderson (2002) to which I added emotional
components. Subsequently I will apply NAYEC's Code of Ethics (2004, 2005) as a
source of validation to ethical conduct issues that had emerged through students' and
colleagues‘ writings. Finally, the recurring themes in the stories of my educational
encounters will be assessed through a merged perspective of ethics derived both from
Buber's writings and the ancient Hebrew Mishnaic Tractate: Ethics of the Fathers.

Last, but not least, I will demonstrate how the knowledge and insights I have gained
as a LTAR practitioner enhanced my teaching practices in striving to become a 'good
enough' dialogical educator.
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