Through a case study of the experiences of eight undergraduate students participating in the St. Thomas More College/Intercordia Canada international community service-learning programme (2008), this thesis seeks to assess whether the participants learning has proved transformational through an analysis of the forms and processes of transformative learning as developed by Richard Kiely (2002, 2004, 2005). Content analysis of semi-structured student interviews (pre and post-participation), programme materials, student journals, academic reflections and essays reveal transformative shifts across the political, moral, intellectual, cultural, personal and spiritual learning domains. The study adds to the research on international community service-learning through an analysis of Kielys transformative learning theory in a new context, and explores how context affects learning processes. Findings indicate the dynamics of participant vulnerability and acceptance from host communities can provide for transformational relationships of solidarity across difference.

Through a case study of the experiences of eight undergraduate students participating in the St. Thomas More College/Intercordia Canada international community service-learning programme (2008), this thesis seeks to assess whether the participants learning has proved transformational through an analysis of the forms and processes of transformative learning as developed by Richard Kiely (2002, 2004, 2005). Content analysis of semi-structured student interviews (pre and post-participation), programme materials, student journals, academic reflections and essays reveal transformative shifts across the political, moral, intellectual, cultural, personal and spiritual learning domains. The study adds to the research on international community service-learning through an analysis of Kielys transformative learning theory in a new context, and explores how context affects learning processes. Findings indicate the dynamics of participant vulnerability and acceptance from host communities can provide for transformational relationships of solidarity across difference.

Thesis advisor: Thomas H. Groome / The unprecedented degrees and forms of injustice and inequality found in the world today call for renewed concern to educate for justice derived from critical reflection on the complexities of our present social reality. Responding to this pressing need, this dissertation is built on the premise that the central criterion of Christian living in the contemporary world should be the pursuit of justice; in this pursuit, the role of Christian religious education, in a life-giving way, is more crucial than ever. This dissertation seeks a theological rationale and a pedagogical approach that promote a critical social consciousness and a commitment to work for justice out of compassion as prompted by Christian faith. Grounded in Jesus’s vision of the Reign of God, the Christian faith should attest that compassion and justice are integral to each other; justice must always be realized through compassion, and compassion ever needs to reach into the works of justice. Affirming such compassion-motivated justice in the Christian faith as care for others and commitment to the common good, this dissertation offers a reflective discourse and aims to renew an educational vision of being fully human in terms of the pursuit of justice. Rather than a theoretical delving into the definition of justice as an abstract concept, this dissertation addresses the questions of why justice matters, what justice should be sought in our historical context from a Christian perspective, and what crucial role Christian religious education can play in this quest. Chapter 1 investigates the hindrances to education for justice in faith found both in our sociocultural context and in distortedly shaped Christian faith. The following three chapters explore the constituent aspects of compassion-motivated justice in Christian faith in terms of partiality, emotion, and agency. These are in contrast with three tendencies commonly associated with understanding justice—impartiality, undue rationality, and impersonal principles— respectively. Chapter 2 emphasizes Jesus’ vision of the Reign of God as the foundation for Christians’ pursuit of justice and the contemporary theological attentiveness to the reality of unjust suffering. Chapter 3 discusses the possibility of compassionate anger in the face of social injustice as a constructive force for commitment to the work of justice. Particularly drawing upon John Wesley’s thought, Chapter 4 examines Methodism’s unique understanding of human agency in a dialectic relationship with God’s grace, and with emphasis on a person’s authenticity and integrity in seeking social transformation. Chapter 5 searches for a pedagogical approach to shape Christians’ commitments to the work of compassionate justice by promoting a way of knowing as praxis with which to integrate personal and social transformations in a life of lived Christian faith. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2020. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry.

Orientador: João Antonio Telles / Banca: Fernanda Liberalli / Banca: Creobel Franco Maimone / Resumo: O objetivo desta pesquisa é viabilizar a produção de outros modos de pensar a educação de professores de línguas estrangeiras. Buscamos construir contextos não convencionais de pesquisa nos quais os profissionais possam refletir acerca de sua experiência de ensino/aprendizagem de línguas. Para tanto, nos baseamos metodologicamente na Pesquisa Educacional com Base nas Artes (Eisner, 1991)cujo recurso principal é um espetáculo teatral, denominado Parâmetros em Análise. Tal espetáculo foi construído a partir de temas inspirados nos Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais. Foram apresentados dez espetáculos em diversas instituições das redes de ensino oficial e particulares do Estado de São Paulo. No palco do espetáculo, foram representadas, artisticamente, cenas do dia-a-dia e do fazer pedagógico dos professores de línguas estrangeiras, assim como, os seus conflitos e dilemas profissionais. Após o espetáculo ocorreu uma reflexão crítica compartilhada entre a platéia composta por professores, educadores de professores e alunos de Letras. O espetáculo e a reflexão compõem aquilo que Foucault (Deleuze, 1988) conceitua como sendo um dispositivo. Para o filósofo, dispositivos são máquinas de fazer ver e falar. Eles formam uma espécie de instrumento teórico com o qual contamos para visualizar as práticas sociais que se dão na escola. As reflexões realizadas pelos professores indicam um desencontro entre aquilo que professores e alunos estão atualizando nas suas práticas e, aquilo que propõem certas pesquisas, políticas educacionais e o funcionamento da estrutura institucional da escola. / Abstract: The objective of this paper is to make the production of "other" ways of thinking over education of foreign language teachers possible. We intend to construct non-conventional contexts of research, in which the professionals can think over their language learning/teaching experiences. For that, we are based methodologically on the Educational Research based on Arts (Eisner, 1991) whose chief resource is the dramatic performance, called Patterns in Analysis. Such performance was built from themes inspired in the Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais. Ten performances were acted in several public and private institutions of education in the State of São Paulo. On the stage, everyday scenes and the pedagogical work of foreign language teachers were acted artistically, such as, their conflicts and professional dilemmas. After the performance, a critical reflection shared by the audience composed by teachers, teachers' professors and students took place. The performance and the reflection compose what Foucault (Deleuze, 1988) considers as a device. To the philosopher, devices are machines of making see and speak. They constitute a theoretical instrument that we use to analyze the social experiences that happen at schools. The reflections arisen by the teachers indicate a discordance from what teachers and students have been passing through a process of modification in their experiences and, from what some researches, educational policies and the operation of the institutional structure of the school propose. / Mestre

Although there is extensive literature on supervision in the human services, there is limited research specific to the stories from supervisors in child welfare, in particular in Canada. This inquiry sought to understand how child welfare supervisors navigated through ethical dilemmas in their practice and how their approach influenced decision making. In addition, specific attention was paid on whether these practitioners used critical reflection in their approach to decision making. Findings indicated that these child welfare supervisors relied primarily on their personal moral framework. They encountered frequent dilemmas in highly complex work environments. Further, they endured ethical tensions as a result of not being able to enact their ethics amid work place barriers. These ongoing tensions often resulted in leaving these supervisors depleted emotionally and physically. Critical reflection in action was used in some cases when examining the context of the family in the process of ethical decision making. As with recent studies, this inquiry found that child welfare supervisors often stepped away from reflection in action for self-preservation and relied more heavily on reflection on action. Implications for future studies and recommendations for child welfare practice are discussed. / Graduate

Colleges and universities throughout this great land are charged with the awesome responsibility of developing our youth into becoming productive, contributing citizens. More specifically, within these colleges and universities, instructors are instrumental in the development of students. Experiential learning, and, more importantly, reflective writing are important components of college instructors? repertoires. Learning is not complete without proper reflection. The purpose of this study was to examine upper-level undergraduate students? perceptions of learning in an agricultural leadership course that emphasized experiential learning methods. Specifically, this study examined student attitudes regarding experiential learning and if students used a surface or deep approach to learning. The respondents to the study included the students enrolled in ALED 340: Professional Leadership Development. This study employed procedures associated with mixed methods research. Within the quantitative portion of this study, the students were required to complete the revised two-factor Study Process Questionnaire pre-intervention and post-intervention. The intervention consisted of teaching strategies associated with experiential learning with an emphasis on reflective writing. Based upon the students? self-reported answers, it was determined that post-intervention scores for the Deep Approach Scale and the Surface Approach Scale were statistically similar to the students? pre-intervention scores. Teaching strategies associated with experiential learning with an emphasis on reflective writing did not have an influence on the way the students approached learning. Within the qualitative portion of the study and as a course requirement, the students were asked to keep a reflective journal. Upon completion of the course, the students were asked to prepare a reflective paper, which served as a comprehensive reflection of the course. Three themes emerged from the students? reflective journals and papers?the students? perceptions of experiential learning, the indicators of a deep approach to learning, and how learning was maximized. In conclusion, the students benefited greatly from receiving instruction associated with experiential learning, and the students did foster a deep approach to learning, regardless of their answers to the revised two-factor Study Process Questionnaire. Reflection completed the learning process for the students enrolled in ALED 340: Professional Leadership Development.

This study responds to the critical question: How could I as an educational leader in Manitoba improve educational outcomes for students who are the least privileged in society? I envisioned a leadership development program which would enhance the ability of teacher leaders to facilitate change from within schools. This critical action research study aimed to: 1) identify the knowledge, skills and dispositions teacher leaders required to be agents of change in educational contexts; 2) identify the learning processes that developed agency; and 3) determine the impact of a co-constructed community on teachers who participated in the leadership development program. As a participant-researcher I facilitated six full-day leadership development sessions with a cohort of nine teacher leaders committed to social justice. Qualitative data sources which captured the processes influencing teacher leader development included: videotapes of focus groups and leadership development sessions; participants’ and researcher’s written reflections, journals and action research cycles; pilot test feedback forms, self-assessment and peer reflection instruments; audio-recorded mentoring conversations; and curricular and design process notes. Data analysis was ongoing, cyclical and reflexive; it included content and thematic analysis, “themeing” (Saldaña, 2013, p. 175), and crystallization across multiple sets of data. Research outcomes include the creation of the Social Justice Teacher Leadership Self-Assessment (SJTLSA) and Peer Reflection (SJTLPR) tools offered for use in various educational contexts to promote self-knowledge, reflection and dialogue. A theory-in-context is proposed which synthesizes the knowledge, skills, dispositions and agency of teacher leaders for social justice. Seven elements were found to promote critical reflection and agency of teacher leaders: action research, learning-focused conversations, dialogue, self-assessment, peer feedback, journals and critical reflection. The co-constructed community contributed to participants’ feelings of acceptance, validation, belonging and challenge. A three phase modular leadership development model is proposed which summarizes the design, enactment and outcomes of the leadership development sessions. Positive outcomes for teacher leader participants were transformative experiences, frameworks for action and a community to support sustained engagement. The iris is used metaphorically to describe the catalytic potential of the leadership development sessions. Implications of the study for teacher leaders, facilitators of adult learning, theory and future research are identified.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:25:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2004-05-03Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T18:53:28Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 marinho_br_me_assis.pdf: 371222 bytes, checksum: 584fa3c529b03ffe81253fe15993665d (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / O objetivo desta pesquisa é viabilizar a produção de outros modos de pensar a educação de professores de línguas estrangeiras. Buscamos construir contextos não convencionais de pesquisa nos quais os profissionais possam refletir acerca de sua experiência de ensino/aprendizagem de línguas. Para tanto, nos baseamos metodologicamente na Pesquisa Educacional com Base nas Artes (Eisner, 1991)cujo recurso principal é um espetáculo teatral, denominado Parâmetros em Análise. Tal espetáculo foi construído a partir de temas inspirados nos Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais. Foram apresentados dez espetáculos em diversas instituições das redes de ensino oficial e particulares do Estado de São Paulo. No palco do espetáculo, foram representadas, artisticamente, cenas do dia-a-dia e do fazer pedagógico dos professores de línguas estrangeiras, assim como, os seus conflitos e dilemas profissionais. Após o espetáculo ocorreu uma reflexão crítica compartilhada entre a platéia composta por professores, educadores de professores e alunos de Letras. O espetáculo e a reflexão compõem aquilo que Foucault (Deleuze, 1988) conceitua como sendo um dispositivo. Para o filósofo, dispositivos são máquinas de fazer ver e falar. Eles formam uma espécie de instrumento teórico com o qual contamos para visualizar as práticas sociais que se dão na escola. As reflexões realizadas pelos professores indicam um desencontro entre aquilo que professores e alunos estão atualizando nas suas práticas e, aquilo que propõem certas pesquisas, políticas educacionais e o funcionamento da estrutura institucional da escola. / The objective of this paper is to make the production of other ways of thinking over education of foreign language teachers possible. We intend to construct non-conventional contexts of research, in which the professionals can think over their language learning/teaching experiences. For that, we are based methodologically on the Educational Research based on Arts (Eisner, 1991) whose chief resource is the dramatic performance, called Patterns in Analysis. Such performance was built from themes inspired in the Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais. Ten performances were acted in several public and private institutions of education in the State of São Paulo. On the stage, everyday scenes and the pedagogical work of foreign language teachers were acted artistically, such as, their conflicts and professional dilemmas. After the performance, a critical reflection shared by the audience composed by teachers, teachers' professors and students took place. The performance and the reflection compose what Foucault (Deleuze, 1988) considers as a device. To the philosopher, devices are machines of making see and speak. They constitute a theoretical instrument that we use to analyze the social experiences that happen at schools. The reflections arisen by the teachers indicate a discordance from what teachers and students have been passing through a process of modification in their experiences and, from what some researches, educational policies and the operation of the institutional structure of the school propose.

This thesis emphasizes the significance of readers’ emotional engagement with characters in the process of reading novels which, in turn, plays a critical role in the reflective moral transformation of the reader. It approaches the analysis of the relationship between emotions, literature and ethics from the perspective of the perceptual theory of emotions. My claim is that our imaginative engagements with narrative fictions, and particularly realist novels, by triggering a critical reflection process through the arousal of our emotions, might prove to be a morally transformative experience. Reflective moral transformation is defined as a deepening of one’s moral understanding that often involves a shift in one’s perspective that comes about as a result of a critical reflection of one’s existing moral beliefs. As such, it entails a willingness to scrutinize one’s moral beliefs and to improve one’s moral understanding. I put forward here a model that will satisfactorily explain how engagement with realist novels can serve to morally transform ourselves.

This dissertation explores implications about teacher inquiry group (IG) practices through the representations of achievement gap (AG) discourses. The study draws from the challenges, struggles, and accomplishments of a middle school inquiry group of teachers and staff that worked collaboratively, as an institutionalized practice, with the intention to develop recommendations for closing the AG. After five years of collaborative work, the group did not get to develop an action plan. This longitudinal, ethnographic, qualitative study unveils multiple and contested representations of AG discourses and unpacks three assumptions about teacher inquiry group practices as a strategy for institutional and/or individual change: (1) that the group can resolve the issue at task; (2) that members embody the role of researchers; and (3) participation in the group can provide opportunities for transforming discourses. Critical discourse analysis provides the lens for analyzing four years of data collection: field notes, audio and written records from monthly sessions, written feedback and reflections, as well as interviews. My dual role, as member and teacher-researcher, and the use of CDA allowed me to identify critical moments. I describe critical moments as instances in which discourses of AG changed, reproduced, but not necessarily transformed. The analytical tools facilitated intertextual and discourse meaning connections. Data analysis indicated relevant findings: that the inquiry group provided opportunity for discourses to reproduce and change; that critical moments provided possibilities for transformation; that members did not always recognize these moments for which transformations may have eluded them; that inquiry groups have the potential to be a transforming intuitional practice. In general, findings suggested the need for structures that support, encourage, and engage members in "Self" reflection praxis for personal, and collective transformations, if the status quo is to be interrupted.