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Papers by Daniela Mercieca
BRILL eBooks, Oct 13, 2022
Routledge eBooks, Jul 9, 2019
Journal of Global Ethics, Jan 2, 2022
Malta Review of Educational Research, Dec 1, 2020
Beyond Conventional Boundaries, 2011
This chapter introduces Bion’s (1994) theories about learning from experience. These theories are... more This chapter introduces Bion’s (1994) theories about learning from experience. These theories are then related to the narratives given in previous chapters. Reading Bion can be a struggle, as evidenced in various notes and articles found in journals and on websites, which mention how hard it is to engage with Bion’s ideas and equally, how innovative and relevant they are. I was encouraged when I read these as I realised that the concepts which Bion (1994) tried to communicate were still forming in his own mind and it may well be that he struggled to put them down on paper.
Beyond Conventional Boundaries, 2011
Beyond Conventional Boundaries, 2011
This chapter starts by drawing together the various threads which have been weaved in this book s... more This chapter starts by drawing together the various threads which have been weaved in this book so that a leaning towards a conclusion may be assayed. Following an outline of the points on which the book was structured, a discussion about practical judgement suggests that virtues may be what allow practitioners to work in difficult settings, asking the questions put forward in this book. What then ensues is the political and ethical aspect, that is, how the above can be seen in the profession of educational psychology.
Beyond Conventional Boundaries, 2011
Education Sciences, 2022
This paper locates the educational psychologist’s (EP) involvement in addressing social justice i... more This paper locates the educational psychologist’s (EP) involvement in addressing social justice in practice. It uses some philosophical ideas from Jacques Rancière, particularly the idea of the distribution of the sensible and dissensus, to help us question how systems that are aimed at contributing to a socially just society can limit social justice itself. Whilst the argument of this paper is applicable to educational psychologists internationally, this paper is situated within a Scottish context. It uses a vignette to draw out a philosophical reading of the EP’s involvement in the narrative. This paper gives some examples of how structures that are aimed at supporting social justice often position the EPs within these systems so that thinking, being and doing are shaped according to the structures that they inhabit. The establishment of such structures and discourses have limited the meaning and implementation of social justice. This means that the identity of both those requirin...
This paper argues that a shift needs to take place in adults so that listening to young children ... more This paper argues that a shift needs to take place in adults so that listening to young children can occur. In the context of educational psychologists (EPs), this is perhaps more crucial, as EPs are positioned in a way that makes listening an integral part of their role. Yet, EP work forms part of this ‘runaway world’ and this sometimes necessitates that practitioners become doubly aware of the need to resist pressures of speed and work load, if any listening is to happen at all. Rancière’s writing is used to question assumptions about the young child’s voice and our listening. The shift that Rancière suggests starts with the assumption that adults and even very young children are equal, so that the listening which we are advocating is one which does not silence. The paper then moves on to reflect on the Mosaic approach, as a methodological tool and process for listening to young children. Rather than being another method, the Mosaic approach espouses uncertainty and allows for unexpectedness – young children are seen as giving adults the possibility to listen to them. In the conclusion we consider the implications of Rancière and the Mosaic approach for the work of EPs. Keywords: Listening; child; Jacques Rancière; psychologist; Mosaic approach; early years.
University of Malta. Faculty of Education, Dec 1, 2020
Engaging with the ethics of care as developed by Nel Noddings, this paper unpacks the perceptions... more Engaging with the ethics of care as developed by Nel Noddings, this paper unpacks the perceptions of three primary teachers working in Scotland during COVID-19 lockdown. Noddings constructs her ethics of care as relational. This focus on the 'relation' is central to the paper and the three themes that emerged from analysing the in-depth interviews conducted with the teachers show different facets of the relations teachers were engaged in during the lockdown. The first theme looks at the teachers' work during COVID-19 lockdown as embedded within a larger Scottish discourse that has care as central to its formation. The second theme discussed the idea of reciprocity-care ethics focuses on acknowledgment of the relation between the carer and the cared for. The third theme focuses on parents as being intermediary between the teachers and students. The paper suggests that the experience of lockdown offered primary school teachers new possibilities of caring, thus giving teachers the possibility to go beyond the 'norm' of care established within their classrooms and schools.
Engaging with the ethics of care as developed by Nel Noddings, this paper unpacks the perceptions... more Engaging with the ethics of care as developed by Nel Noddings, this paper unpacks the perceptions of three primary teachers working in Scotland during COVID-19 lockdown. Noddings constructs her ethics of care as relational. This focus on the 'relation' is central to the paper and the three themes that emerged from analysing the in-depth interviews conducted with the teachers show different facets of the relations teachers were engaged in during the lockdown. The first theme looks at the teachers' work during COVID-19 lockdown as embedded within a larger Scottish discourse that has care as central to its formation. The second theme discussed the idea of reciprocity-care ethics focuses on acknowledgment of the relation between the carer and the cared for. The third theme focuses on parents as being intermediary between the teachers and students. The paper suggests that the experience of lockdown offered primary school teachers new possibilities of caring, thus giving teachers the possibility to go beyond the 'norm' of care established within their classrooms and schools.
British Psychological Society, Jun 1, 2012
Frontiers in Psychology
This paper reports on a study of teachers’ perceptions of teaching and learning in Scotland durin... more This paper reports on a study of teachers’ perceptions of teaching and learning in Scotland during the COVID-19 pandemic through the lens of engaged pedagogy and the ideas of bell hooks. It aimed to explore the different ways that teachers experienced teaching and learning during this time and the impact this may have had on teacher identity. Sixty teachers and head teachers were interviewed using MS Teams in the period April-June, 2020. For this paper, 18 transcripts were analyzed by members of the research team. Four key themes emerged from the interview data: Working from home, parental engagement, teacher identity, and changes in pedagogy. Each of these themes were discussed in terms of concepts such as engaged pedagogy, agency, self-actualization, recognition and boundary transgression situated in the work of bell hooks. The idea of boundaries wove itself throughout our data as teachers expressed how the transgression of boundaries was occurring in multiple, and often contradic...
Education Sciences
This paper looks at the impact of digital technology on teaching and learning in primary schools ... more This paper looks at the impact of digital technology on teaching and learning in primary schools in Scotland during the first COVID-19 lockdown from March to June 2020. The pandemic has challenged our understanding of schooling as, for the first time in many years, schools as we know them were shut and the school building was removed as the site of teaching and learning. This paper uses the concept of Thirdspace as developed by Edward Soja (1996), where Thirdspace is understood as an in-between space between binaries that enables the possibility to think and act otherwise. Drawing from qualitative data from interviews with primary school teachers, this paper explores how the lockdown in general, and digital technology in particular, facilitated a Thirdspace in the first COVID-19 lockdown. Findings from the study indicate that engaging with digital technology offers the teacher more possibilities than they have come to expect in the physical space of traditional schooling.
Beyond Conventional Boundaries
BRILL eBooks, Oct 13, 2022
Routledge eBooks, Jul 9, 2019
Journal of Global Ethics, Jan 2, 2022
Malta Review of Educational Research, Dec 1, 2020
Beyond Conventional Boundaries, 2011
This chapter introduces Bion’s (1994) theories about learning from experience. These theories are... more This chapter introduces Bion’s (1994) theories about learning from experience. These theories are then related to the narratives given in previous chapters. Reading Bion can be a struggle, as evidenced in various notes and articles found in journals and on websites, which mention how hard it is to engage with Bion’s ideas and equally, how innovative and relevant they are. I was encouraged when I read these as I realised that the concepts which Bion (1994) tried to communicate were still forming in his own mind and it may well be that he struggled to put them down on paper.
Beyond Conventional Boundaries, 2011
Beyond Conventional Boundaries, 2011
This chapter starts by drawing together the various threads which have been weaved in this book s... more This chapter starts by drawing together the various threads which have been weaved in this book so that a leaning towards a conclusion may be assayed. Following an outline of the points on which the book was structured, a discussion about practical judgement suggests that virtues may be what allow practitioners to work in difficult settings, asking the questions put forward in this book. What then ensues is the political and ethical aspect, that is, how the above can be seen in the profession of educational psychology.
Beyond Conventional Boundaries, 2011
Education Sciences, 2022
This paper locates the educational psychologist’s (EP) involvement in addressing social justice i... more This paper locates the educational psychologist’s (EP) involvement in addressing social justice in practice. It uses some philosophical ideas from Jacques Rancière, particularly the idea of the distribution of the sensible and dissensus, to help us question how systems that are aimed at contributing to a socially just society can limit social justice itself. Whilst the argument of this paper is applicable to educational psychologists internationally, this paper is situated within a Scottish context. It uses a vignette to draw out a philosophical reading of the EP’s involvement in the narrative. This paper gives some examples of how structures that are aimed at supporting social justice often position the EPs within these systems so that thinking, being and doing are shaped according to the structures that they inhabit. The establishment of such structures and discourses have limited the meaning and implementation of social justice. This means that the identity of both those requirin...
This paper argues that a shift needs to take place in adults so that listening to young children ... more This paper argues that a shift needs to take place in adults so that listening to young children can occur. In the context of educational psychologists (EPs), this is perhaps more crucial, as EPs are positioned in a way that makes listening an integral part of their role. Yet, EP work forms part of this ‘runaway world’ and this sometimes necessitates that practitioners become doubly aware of the need to resist pressures of speed and work load, if any listening is to happen at all. Rancière’s writing is used to question assumptions about the young child’s voice and our listening. The shift that Rancière suggests starts with the assumption that adults and even very young children are equal, so that the listening which we are advocating is one which does not silence. The paper then moves on to reflect on the Mosaic approach, as a methodological tool and process for listening to young children. Rather than being another method, the Mosaic approach espouses uncertainty and allows for unexpectedness – young children are seen as giving adults the possibility to listen to them. In the conclusion we consider the implications of Rancière and the Mosaic approach for the work of EPs. Keywords: Listening; child; Jacques Rancière; psychologist; Mosaic approach; early years.
University of Malta. Faculty of Education, Dec 1, 2020
Engaging with the ethics of care as developed by Nel Noddings, this paper unpacks the perceptions... more Engaging with the ethics of care as developed by Nel Noddings, this paper unpacks the perceptions of three primary teachers working in Scotland during COVID-19 lockdown. Noddings constructs her ethics of care as relational. This focus on the 'relation' is central to the paper and the three themes that emerged from analysing the in-depth interviews conducted with the teachers show different facets of the relations teachers were engaged in during the lockdown. The first theme looks at the teachers' work during COVID-19 lockdown as embedded within a larger Scottish discourse that has care as central to its formation. The second theme discussed the idea of reciprocity-care ethics focuses on acknowledgment of the relation between the carer and the cared for. The third theme focuses on parents as being intermediary between the teachers and students. The paper suggests that the experience of lockdown offered primary school teachers new possibilities of caring, thus giving teachers the possibility to go beyond the 'norm' of care established within their classrooms and schools.
Engaging with the ethics of care as developed by Nel Noddings, this paper unpacks the perceptions... more Engaging with the ethics of care as developed by Nel Noddings, this paper unpacks the perceptions of three primary teachers working in Scotland during COVID-19 lockdown. Noddings constructs her ethics of care as relational. This focus on the 'relation' is central to the paper and the three themes that emerged from analysing the in-depth interviews conducted with the teachers show different facets of the relations teachers were engaged in during the lockdown. The first theme looks at the teachers' work during COVID-19 lockdown as embedded within a larger Scottish discourse that has care as central to its formation. The second theme discussed the idea of reciprocity-care ethics focuses on acknowledgment of the relation between the carer and the cared for. The third theme focuses on parents as being intermediary between the teachers and students. The paper suggests that the experience of lockdown offered primary school teachers new possibilities of caring, thus giving teachers the possibility to go beyond the 'norm' of care established within their classrooms and schools.
British Psychological Society, Jun 1, 2012
Frontiers in Psychology
This paper reports on a study of teachers’ perceptions of teaching and learning in Scotland durin... more This paper reports on a study of teachers’ perceptions of teaching and learning in Scotland during the COVID-19 pandemic through the lens of engaged pedagogy and the ideas of bell hooks. It aimed to explore the different ways that teachers experienced teaching and learning during this time and the impact this may have had on teacher identity. Sixty teachers and head teachers were interviewed using MS Teams in the period April-June, 2020. For this paper, 18 transcripts were analyzed by members of the research team. Four key themes emerged from the interview data: Working from home, parental engagement, teacher identity, and changes in pedagogy. Each of these themes were discussed in terms of concepts such as engaged pedagogy, agency, self-actualization, recognition and boundary transgression situated in the work of bell hooks. The idea of boundaries wove itself throughout our data as teachers expressed how the transgression of boundaries was occurring in multiple, and often contradic...
Education Sciences
This paper looks at the impact of digital technology on teaching and learning in primary schools ... more This paper looks at the impact of digital technology on teaching and learning in primary schools in Scotland during the first COVID-19 lockdown from March to June 2020. The pandemic has challenged our understanding of schooling as, for the first time in many years, schools as we know them were shut and the school building was removed as the site of teaching and learning. This paper uses the concept of Thirdspace as developed by Edward Soja (1996), where Thirdspace is understood as an in-between space between binaries that enables the possibility to think and act otherwise. Drawing from qualitative data from interviews with primary school teachers, this paper explores how the lockdown in general, and digital technology in particular, facilitated a Thirdspace in the first COVID-19 lockdown. Findings from the study indicate that engaging with digital technology offers the teacher more possibilities than they have come to expect in the physical space of traditional schooling.
Beyond Conventional Boundaries