La ricerca affronta il tema delle manifestazioni di “pensiero prevenuto” nell’ambiente digitale, spesso collegate a performance razziste “banalizzate” e socialmente condivise. Per individuare risposte educative specifiche e buone prassi di intervento, è necessario analizzare le diverse forme assunte dal pregiudizio in Rete alla luce degli aspetti affettivo-emotivi e non solo razionali. L’ambiente di ricerca è il Web 2.0, inteso come “realtà aumentata”, ovvero uno spazio non contrapposto al reale ma segnato dalle proprie specificità. Si è individuato un corpus di “razzismi online” da sottoporre a un’analisi di tipo qualitativo-testuale attraverso il software T-Lab e, in parallelo, a un’analisi di tipo qualitativo-motivazionale. I risultati ottenuti sono stati quindi interpretati alla luce di una duplice bibliografia: da un lato quella della pedagogia interculturale e degli studi classici sui razzismi, dall’altro quella sulle caratteristiche del digitale, della pragmatica della comunicazione online e della Media Education. Durante la ricerca si sono inoltre svolte – con esiti differenti – alcune conversazioni via Ask.fm con adolescenti contattati poiché, in vario modo, avevano preso parte a performance razziste; oltre che come caso studio di etnografia virtuale, viene proposto come esperimento di educazione alla riflessività. Si noterà come dalla banalizzazione delle tesi razziste e dalla deresponsabilizzazione dello “stare in Rete” deriva un recupero implicito dell’istanza biologica, su basi non scientifiche, svuotate di senso, ma paradossalmente accettate e interiorizzate. D’altro canto, si incontrano svariati esempi di attivazione di “cittadini digitali”; anche a partire da questo “capitale antirazzista”, si sottolineerà il ruolo dell’educazione alla cittadinanza – interculturale, digitale e morale – nel formare soggetti e agenti morali nella mediapolis, affermando il valore della responsabilità verso gli altri. / The study deals with the topic of manifestations of “prejudiced thought” in the digital environment, which are often linked with “banalised” racist and socially shared performances. In order to identify specific educational responses and good practices of intervention, the various forms taken by prejudice on the Web in the light of affective-emotive, and not only rational, aspects have to be analysed. The research environment is Web 2.0, understood as “augmented reality”, i.e. a space that is not opposed to reality but marked by its own specificities. A corpus of “online racism” has been identified to be submitted to a qualitative-textual analysis through T-Lab software and, in parallel, a qualitative-motivational type of analysis. The results obtained were then interpreted in the light of a dual bibliography: on the one hand that of intercultural pedagogy and classic studies on racism, on the other that on the characteristics of the digital environment, the pragmatics of online communication and of Media Education. Some conversations were also carried out during the research – with different outcomes – via Ask.fm with adolescents contacted as, in various ways, they had taken part in racist performances; as well as a case study of virtual ethnography, this is proposed as an experiment on education on reflectivity. It will be noticed how an implicit recovery of the biological question, with non-scientific bases, emptied of meaning, but paradoxically accepted and internalised, derives from the banalisation of racist theories and the lack of a sense of responsibility of “being on the Web”. On the other hand, several examples of activating “digital citizens” are encountered; from this “antiracist capital” as well, the role of education for citizenship – intercultural, digital and moral – in forming subjects and moral agents in the mediapolis, asserting the value of responsibility towards others, will also be emphasised.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

Advocates of middle grades reform in the United States argue that curriculum and instruction, as well as leadership, organization, and community relationships, should be informed by knowledge of the developmental characteristics of 10 to 15 year-olds within physical, social, emotional, psychological, cognitive, and moral domains. Noticeably absent from their conception of human development are spiritual developmental characteristics of young adolescents. This interdisciplinary research was a critical constructivist (Kincheloe, 2008) inquiry of the following question: What is the educational relevance of spiritual development in middle grades education? To study this question, critical historiographical research methods (Villaverde, Kincheloe, & Helyar, 2006) were used to interrogate the academic discourses of three fields related to the research question: (a) the middle grades concept; (b) spirituality as a developmental domain; and (c) holistic education. Foundational texts from these fields served as sources of data. I present the result of the data analyses as narratives on the paradigms that influenced the (hi)stories of these three academic fields. These narratives were analyzed for common epistemological and ontological perspectives. Amongst the paradigms of the three fields, three meta-paradigms are shared: Ecological Epistemology, Holistic Ontology, and Positivist Ontology. In addition, a discursive interrelationship within each field, a dynamic of paradox, was found between the three meta-paradigms. These results offer encouragement for the relevance of spiritual development as part of the middle grades concept, as they suggest that integration of knowledge of adolescent spiritual development is theoretically supported by commitments to caring relationships in schools and constructivist learning theory. The results also suggest a paradigm revolution (Kuhn, 1996) that might allow for a new discourse of possibility (Giroux, 1981) for spirituality in education. This dissertation research could serve as a basis for further research that focuses on how to integrate knowledge of adolescent spiritual development in public schools in the United States.

University of Macau / Faculty of Education

University of Macau / Faculty of Education

University of Macau / Faculty of Education

University of Macau / Faculty of Education

In this study the author investigates the nature of compassion, ways of developing compassion within ourselves, and ways of bringing compassion into schools. The author sees an imbalance and disconnection in the current Ontario public school system, between education of the mind (to have) and education of the heart (to be). This is demonstrated in the heightening violence in schools, because violence in schools means that students do not feel connected to and are not happy in their schools. To accomplish this purpose, the author explores the different ways we can connect—within ourselves, with classroom subjects, with students in the school, and with the community at large—through life stories of four holistic educators, including herself. Three have taught in Buddhist, Waldorf, and Montessori schools, which all foster compassion not only through empathy, caring, and love, but also through emotional and moral components of heart education, such as intuition, creativity, imagination, joy (Miller, 2006), and moral education (Noddings, 1992). The enquiry uses qualitative research and narrative method that includes portraiture and arts-based enquiry. The findings in the participants’ narratives reveal that compassion comprises spirituality, empathy, and caring. We can develop compassion through contemplation in an awareness of interconnection between the I and the Other. In conclusion, we can foster compassion in schools if we use holistic education’s basic principles of balance, inclusion, and connection (Miller, 1981, 1993, 1994, 1999, 2000, 2006, 2007, 2010), and if we bring in different ways of fostering compassion that the author has explored through four holistic teachers’ narratives in this study. By nurturing and connecting to students’ hearts, rather than forcing knowledge into their heads, it is possible to create schools where students are happy and feel connected to their learning.

In this study the author investigates the nature of compassion, ways of developing compassion within ourselves, and ways of bringing compassion into schools. The author sees an imbalance and disconnection in the current Ontario public school system, between education of the mind (to have) and education of the heart (to be). This is demonstrated in the heightening violence in schools, because violence in schools means that students do not feel connected to and are not happy in their schools. To accomplish this purpose, the author explores the different ways we can connect—within ourselves, with classroom subjects, with students in the school, and with the community at large—through life stories of four holistic educators, including herself. Three have taught in Buddhist, Waldorf, and Montessori schools, which all foster compassion not only through empathy, caring, and love, but also through emotional and moral components of heart education, such as intuition, creativity, imagination, joy (Miller, 2006), and moral education (Noddings, 1992). The enquiry uses qualitative research and narrative method that includes portraiture and arts-based enquiry. The findings in the participants’ narratives reveal that compassion comprises spirituality, empathy, and caring. We can develop compassion through contemplation in an awareness of interconnection between the I and the Other. In conclusion, we can foster compassion in schools if we use holistic education’s basic principles of balance, inclusion, and connection (Miller, 1981, 1993, 1994, 1999, 2000, 2006, 2007, 2010), and if we bring in different ways of fostering compassion that the author has explored through four holistic teachers’ narratives in this study. By nurturing and connecting to students’ hearts, rather than forcing knowledge into their heads, it is possible to create schools where students are happy and feel connected to their learning.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education