Abstract In a time of unprecedented outpouring of writing about the self, the subject appears in a striking multiplicity of perspectives. Variously described in such terms as fractured, decentred, and minimal, or roundly denounced as illusory, the self in shadowy form often assumes the role of a background participant in discourse, making fleeting appearances in discussions of theory and practice across a broad range of disciplines within education. This study seeks to trace some of those forms and, in examining discussions that deal particularly with ethics and moral development, to contribute to an understanding of how variant notions of the self influence conceptual economies of meaning that travel into classrooms. Assessing how notions of the self vary, and attempting to understand their influence on particular approaches to ethical deliberation, invites engagement with questions of language, epistemology and ontology and the conceptual incommensurables that inhabit them. The study examines various aspects of selfhood under such descriptive categories as ethical agency, identity, experience and the dialogical, and discusses how these are rendered problematic by essentialist and anti-essentialist views. Based on a presentation of opposing approaches to the self, the study argues that an appreciation of the relationship between the theoretical and the practical becomes the site of a process in which individual ethical integrity may flourish. An examination of the various ways in which the self is understood through narrative focuses on the concept of narrative knowing as it appears in the writings of Jerome Bruner and Donald Polkinghorne. A critical appraisal of their views and the instantiation of these in the literature of educational research includes discussion of insights from the work of Paul Ricoeur, David Carr, and Martha Nussbaum. The phenomenological and hermeneutic perspectives they bring to an understanding of the relation between self and ethics in narrative, serves to preface a review of the formidable contribution of feminist writing. Feminist writings on the self, and particularly the ethics of care as presented in the work of Nel Noddings, offer important challenges to educators steeped in more traditional deontological ethical approaches; in this work they also serve to underscore the recurrent theme of the role of consciousness in making meaning of experiences in which human connection with others and the environment is central. Feminist insistence on the crucial role of relationship and on the consideration of the affective, embodied aspects of experience, also invite timely questions about the role of spirituality and religion in ethical perspectives. In contemplating notions of the self as spiritual, the study brings together views from outside and inside religion in an appreciation for the nuanced character of a polymorphic consciousness in confronting the summons to ethical deliberation. Various recommendations concerning the inclusion of the spiritual in curriculum are advanced in support of the principal contention of this work: that the challenge of pursuing an understanding of the elusive self in its many guises offers an indispensable opportunity for ethical development in education.

This study grew out of my work with Maggie, a teacher at Blueberry Vale elementary school in suburban western Canada. Maggie and I began to use cogenerative dialogues after we identified and sought a method to address a number of issues in her class. Cogenerative dialogue praxis is meetings of students, teachers, researchers, and others designed to facilitate the process of improving the teaching and learning taking place. To this time this praxis has been used exclusively at the secondary education level. As such this study developed its overarching question: what will happen when cogenerative dialogue praxis is introduced to an elementary school class? To address this question I focus on: the activities in question and try to account for the various mediating factors each action experiences; human agency, which helped me understand the role the individuals play in instigating change to the system; and an ethical understanding of responsibility. From this analysis I form these specific claims: Cogenerative dialogue praxis is an authentic research tool which, when conducted properly, can address some of the ethical issues inherent in classroom research; cogenerative dialogue praxis facilitates the discussion of the ethical issues that are part of the research setting (e.g., class); cogenerative dialogue praxis is one viable solution for teachers to ethically mediate the various activity systems that constitute a class; cogenerative dialogue praxis contains internal contradictions such that there is the potential for its openness to collapse by its openness to any comment; a significant amount of time may be spent “unfocused,” during cogenerative dialogues but many of these moments can be contextualized positively in terms of building relationships, introducing new teaching topics, and so on; during my cogenerative dialogues the group developed and implemented a model to address a problem through cycles of expansive learning; and finally I learned from Maggie how teachers work with researchers, as researchers, evaluate their own work, and can direct research studies in new directions. These topics are important to my study but also introduce further discussion in regard to ethnographic research methods, current teacher praxis, and the continual development of cogenerative dialogue praxis.

J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels continue to be at the centre of debate regarding the value of the series with respect to children’s literacy. Informing this debate are two perspectives: on one hand is the argument that Harry Potter encourages children to read and write; on the other hand is the position that the novels possess little inherent literary quality. Neither side has investigated the novels’ messages about literacy itself. To investigate these messages, this study applies a critical text analysis to the series’ depictions of literacy practices, defined here according to a sociocultural model encompassing reading and writing, speaking and listening, and viewing and representing. Critical perspectives form the theoretical foundation to this study. Critical social theory frames literacy practices within their social contexts; thus, this study organizes literacy practices according to their primary functions for characters in the novels: exchange, notification, domination /empowerment, and restriction. Poststructuralism, informed by Jacques Derrida and Michel Foucault, highlights the relationship between social practices and power. This study thus considers how characters undergo or exercise different kinds of power when they engage in literacy practices. This examination of literacy and power exposes the ideological assumptions behind literacy, revealing literacy practices to be sites for characters to experience and contest power. The novels also show that power over literacy is power over access to information, knowledge, and self-expression, and thus, over individuals and the world around them. The series suggests the importance of ownership of literacy, as well as encourages readers to be aware of the ways in which literacy practices can be tools of both oppression and empowerment. Arising from the study are implications regarding the nature of literacy and its relationship with power. Harry Potter shows that literacies are contextual, multiple, and value-laden social practices that participate in the making and unmaking of our social world. This dynamic mediation occurs through the operation of different kinds of power accompanying literacies: individuals experience passive socializing power through their exposure to literacy practices; individuals exercise active power on the world around them through literacies; and potential power residing in all forms of literacy makes other forms of power possible. For educators facing the decision whether or not to include the Harry Potter series in classrooms, understanding the novels’ messages about literacy is a beginning. Awareness of how characters in the series use literacy in the production and exercise of power will give teachers insight into the complexity of the role and function of literacy for children. Adopting a critical literacy approach in the classroom will help teachers encourage children to participate in discussions that specifically address the nature of literacy, its relationship with power, and the ideological assumptions that accompany its participation in society. This study also recommends that teachers specifically increase the presence of viewing/representing literacies in the classroom so as to highlight individuals as active agents of social reform.

This study examines the meaning of environmental involvement for early adolescents based on research with children from around the world. It arises from an interest in understanding the role children play in bringing about change in society given the increase interest in children's rights. Literature on environmental education pointed to action as a focus of analysis for researching the activities of "environmentally-involved" children. In gathering the study data, agency emerged as a more appropriate organizing concept given the depth and contextual nature of children's environmental involvement. Agency places the emphasis on defining how children interact with the various structures that affect their lives. Through the lens of agency, light is shed on children's creativity and pragmatism, with children's actions, critical thinking and imagination being of equal importance. The ability of children to maneuver through significant life experiences, beliefs towards nature, and age-defined barriers stands out. The study also shows how the unfolding of agency is intimately linked to learning and identity-building in early adolescence. Environmental involvement becomes a medium for children to explore and define themselves in relation to others, including the social and physical environment, as they transition from childhood to adulthood. The 2002 International Children's Environment Conference held in Victoria, Canada, which brought together 400 environmentally involved 10-to-12 year olds from 66 countries, provided the site for the research. Diverse methods served to explore the research questions: 42 open-ended interviews, using both literal and metaphorical questions, mind-mapping activities. 116 visual surveys, and field notes. Elements of grounded theory and narrative inquiry were used to analyze and present the data. The shape of a rainbow served as a unifying metaphor to present the environmental agency model. Although the children came from different parts of the globe, I identified a collective view of the world -- attributed to their shared development process and a favourable international agenda. Six dimensions of agency are identified. In connectedness, children relate to nature as well as to other people. It deals with the sense of wonder, often evoked in descriptions of special place. In engaging with the environment, children integrate and process the knowledge gained from direct or indirect contact with nature. In questioning, children respond to the world awakening to its contradictions and complexities. In belief in capacity, children see themselves as affecting change and are hopeful for the planet's future. In taking a stance, children overcome the lack of adult and peer support. Then comes strategic action, where children select an approach to addressing environmental problems. The shape of the rainbow arc and blending of its bands reflect the interlinkages between all the dimensions. Annotated vignettes bring to life how the six dimensions of environmental agency play out in the life of each child. Although they unfold differently, the dimensions have relevance to each environmental story. Four profiles of involvement have been recognized: initiator, creative, member, and grounded. The typology represents the variety and complexity in children's environmental activism. There is a need to value the range of environmental experiences children engage in, of the role of process and the subtleties involved in building relationships with nature and society. Adults need to partner with children multiplying the opportunities for children to express their agency. As warriors of the rainbow, children's most intriguing contribution may lie in the way that they convey to others, with frankness and lucidity, their concern for the environment, our planet.

Inspired by my own struggles with racism, this narrative and phenomenology study investigated how teachers of colour in the Canadian schooling system dealt with the pain of racism and how this process informed their teaching practice. I addressed this issue of racism and its relevance to the schooling process from an anti-racist theory of education theoretical framework. The study comprised of six women of colour who shared their experiences with racism through written narratives, face to face interviews, as well as electronic communications. While the study focused on the schooling experiences of the teachers, their narratives comprised of holistic experiences that included experiences in the schooling system as well as the general society. The data collected, revealed the following themes as central to the questions of the study: Knowledge of cultural, family, and political history gave the participants strength to stand against racism. However, most of the women carried the shame of being and knowing they were different. Trying to attain a form of standardized beauty was an ongoing struggle for the participants. All participants pointed to one teacher whose care was instrumental to their choice to become teachers. To the participants getting a good education was more important than worrying or paying attention to the pain of racism. However, all but one of the participants admitted to receiving treatment for racism related anxiety. Finally, the participants shared that by participating in the arts or having personal faith and beliefs was helpful tool that helped them negotiate the worlds of their cultural beliefs and traditions and that of mainstream (White society) society.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Waikato, 2007. / Title from PDF cover (viewed March 17, 2008) Includes bibliographical references (p. 123-131)

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Curriculum and Instruction in the School of Education, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-07, Section: A, page: 2902. Adviser: Terrence C. Mason. Title from dissertation home page (viewed Apr. 14, 2008).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, School of Education, 2008. / Title from home page (viewed on May 12, 2009). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-08, Section: A, page: 3014. Advisers: Mary B. McMullen; Christine I. Bennett.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-11, Section: A, page: 4593. Adviser: Ian D. Westbury. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 94-100) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2009. / Field study. Includes bibliographical references.