Thesis (M.A.)--Montana State University--Bozeman, 2005. / Typescript. Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Kirk Branch. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 85-88).

Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 2004. Graduate Programme in Theoretical and Applied Linguistics. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 148-150). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url%5Fver=Z39.88-2004&res%5Fdat=xri:pqdiss &rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR11825

Thesis (Ph. D.)--UCLA, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 227-265).

How can I, as a teacher-researcher, read my own practice? How can I, as a teacher-researcher, theorise my practice? These are the central questions pursued in this thesis. They are pursued through three action research projects. The research took place in Firhouse Community College, a second-level school in Dublin. Each of the projects was concerned with exploring the potential of conversation in a number of different school contexts. Chapter one relates my research to the literature on action research and to the literature on dialogue in education, and relates my work to the ethical concepts of friendship and care. The chapter also outlines the methodological approach and the data used in the research. Chapter two relates the interpretative reading of my own practitioner accounts to critical theory and the emancipatory ambition of its reflective practices. A project on student friendship groups is discussed in chapters three and four. These chapters highlight friendship as an important social and educational phenomenon and identify conversation as a concomitant communicative form. These chapters theorise the concept of pedagogical conversation and relate this concept to Aristotle's theory of friendship. Chapter five gives an account of a project with a third-year English class, developed around the ideas of dialogue and friendship. In the course of the project, students organised themselves into reading and discussion groups that were largely autonomous and self-regulating. Chapter six reviews the role and place of the teacher in the discourse of the classroom, in a dialogic teaching situation, and explores the potential of dialogue as means of enquiry and reflection. Chapter seven contrasts the peaceable conversation of professional friendship with the disputatious debate that often occurs at formal staff meetings. Chapter eight offers some reflective comments on the research. This thesis lays the foundation for a theory of teaching as a form of social practice, characterised by a disposition of care that is associated with friendship, and expressed through conversation. In doing so, it makes a valuable and original contribution to the literature on teaching and school culture. In its development of a dialogic model of research, the thesis makes a contribution to the literature on action research and practitioner enquiry.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Washington State University, December 2009. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Jan. 22, 2010). "Department of Teaching and Learning." Includes bibliographical references (p. 234-245).

Dialogic pedagogy involves students as critical inquirers, who can analyze their perspectives and attitudes. Dialogic creates liminal space (Buber, 1965) where conversation generates knowledge and personal relations. I intend to explore these ‘dialogic spaces’ where a group of 20 students and their teacher engage in dialogue around literary texts in an advanced English composition and literature major class of female students of one university in United Arab Emirates (UAE). My study takes further, growing interest in the value of dialogical process in second language learning. It describes the ways in which learners engaged in dialogical process begin to challenge perspectives and power relations. Because of the positive response that followed the sessions (conducted for the pilot study), I wanted to explore the process in relation to gender and culture. My dissertation research takes further the questions raised in the assignment study. I want to consider the conditions that will allow perspectives to remain in dialogue. My research explores how dialogic literacy practices function in relation to particular cultural and ideological discourses (Fairclough, 1992; Gee, 1996; Luke, 1991). The data include: class observations, field notes, semi-structured interviews (of students and the teacher) and writing assignments. The study employs an exploratory research design to discover and understand perspectives of the people involved (Merriam, 1998). I therefore emphasize that the analyses of the data are offered as partial and unfinished interpretations based on a specific theoretical framework. Although the research findings cannot be generalized across all female students in the UAE, they provide some insight into the learning experiences and preferences of Emirati women. Knowledge is finding light in darkness and staying warm in the cold. This is the knowledge our students must acquire. Not facts and theories, but a deep knowing (O’Reilley, 1998). Thus it seems appropriate to me to call this study, ‘the lighting of a fire’ (W.B.Yeats).

This research challenges understandings of racism through a drama based education praxis. The thesis structure is informed by the inquiry into the two part research question: How can critically reflecting on my praxis deepen my understanding of anti-racism processes in Australia? How can I document, evaluate and communicate my praxis? I situate the research in a qualitative methodology. I discuss the choice of narrative inquiry, arts-based inquiry and creative action research. I augment this with intuitive inquiry and explore lived experience research of hermeneutic phenomenology as applied to education and the social world and include first-person research. The creative action research is in three stages. The thesis is written in six chapters with a provocation, a prologue, an epilogue and appendices. The structure of the writing follows the stages of development of a drama-based experiential learning process. In the praxis chapters, I present theory and practice together, where the practice is presented as narratives that illuminate the theory. These stories of practice are usually followed by praxis discussions that are reflections on the practice in the light of the theory. Cultural conflicts such as racism can be transformed through drama education into intercultural communication and education. My argument is that taking steps towards ecology of culture in Australia today could significantly influence both the multicultural and the ecological projects / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Thesis (M. Ed.)--York University, 2000. Graduate Programme in Education. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 114-123). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pMQ59169.

This qualitative study of an adult literacy program, Literacy for Liberation, operated by a non-governmental organization and serving a marginalized demographic in Haiti, considered the impact of a literacy program designed to enhance technical and critical literacy skills while promoting communal and individual change. Data, collected in five open-ended interviews and two observations, focused on the contextual, logistical, and beneficial aspects of the program. Results were analyzed using markers from Freire’s framework of critical pedagogy: humanization, situated literacy, dialogue and consciousness-raising, and transformation. Findings revealed limited economic, social, and communal benefits, and that replication of the program may be possible if certain steps are followed. Overall conclusions demonstrated that expanding literacy programs in this setting can facilitate social and economic progress for previously illiterate adults and future generations, particularly where structural inequality is evident. Final recommendations included comparison studies of other programs and longitudinal research of descending generations.

This qualitative study of an adult literacy program, Literacy for Liberation, operated by a non-governmental organization and serving a marginalized demographic in Haiti, considered the impact of a literacy program designed to enhance technical and critical literacy skills while promoting communal and individual change. Data, collected in five open-ended interviews and two observations, focused on the contextual, logistical, and beneficial aspects of the program. Results were analyzed using markers from Freire’s framework of critical pedagogy: humanization, situated literacy, dialogue and consciousness-raising, and transformation. Findings revealed limited economic, social, and communal benefits, and that replication of the program may be possible if certain steps are followed. Overall conclusions demonstrated that expanding literacy programs in this setting can facilitate social and economic progress for previously illiterate adults and future generations, particularly where structural inequality is evident. Final recommendations included comparison studies of other programs and longitudinal research of descending generations.