Creating Reflective Space: Exploring the complexities of conducting research in the dual role of teacher-as-researcher. (original) (raw)
2007, 5th International Conference on researching work and learning, Bellville: Division of Lifelong Learning. December 2007
When participating in a research study where you are the teacher-as-researcher, it is often difficult to avoid having your personal pedagogic values exposed. Acknowledging these values within scientifically framed and methodologically valid empirical pursuits is however a difficult challenge to overcome. By creating a reflective space, through the consideration of reactivity and engaging in reflexive commentary about the impact of the research process on your roles, subtle but, highly personal influences can be uncovered, allowing for deeper awareness into how one’s teacher role functions. This paper highlights how an unexpected series of interview experiences during the data collection phase of an interpretative study that sought to understand and describe student entry into the disciplinary context of web design, acted as a catalyst for the critical reflection into the subtle influences on my classroom practices. During the interview process the complexities and confusions imposed by the dual role of teacher-as-researcher were exposed as a particular role was privileged when certain student participants were interviewed. A critical reflective review of my behaviour during the interviews was undertaken. This was supplemented with theoretical insights informed by Gee’s (1990, 1996) concept of Discourse, and Bernstein’s (1966) elaborate and restricted codes. The process assisted in identifying my (un) conscious involvement in signalling who has ‘insider’ or ‘outsider’ status in relation to the disciplinary and academic contexts. The outcomes of the reflective activity highlight the complex manner in which practitioner activities create ‘insiders’ and ‘outsiders’. While the dual role of teacher-as-researcher can provide an ‘insider’ vantage point into students’ subtle expressions, the researcher role holds the potential to explore a more objective reality into inherent influences on one’s practice behaviour.
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