Empathy has been studied in composition since the 1960s, although it has not yet been adequately defined or theorized. Compositionists tend to employ the common definition of empathy as a feeling of identification with others using the familiar metaphor “walking in another’s shoes,” derived from the liberal-humanist therapeutic paradigm of Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow, which assumes a universal and transparent human experience. The purpose of this study is to develop a theoretical framework for empathy, answering the question: what is the function of empathy in the teaching of writing? Composition scholarship has shown three general orientations toward empathy: empathy embraced, empathy inferred, and empathy disdained. In response, I trace empathy’s development across disciplines as an aesthetic, ethical, physiological, and psychological construct using current research that shows empathy is a multifaceted, complex, cognitive process. In psychology and neuroscience, empathy is on the cutting edge of research, visible as brain activity in fMRI studies, theorized to have a vital role in evolution, and studied for its efficacy as a vehicle for altruistic action on behalf of stigmatized individuals and groups. Building on this multidisciplinary foundation, I offer an updated definition of empathy that invokes these scientific discoveries in order to account for empathy’s role in the teaching and study of writing and rhetoric. I theorize there are five empathies at work in composition—relational empathy, pedagogical empathy, critical empathy, rhetorical empathy, and discursive empathy. I describe these empathies using another metaphor, that of a watershed, to illustrate empathy as part of a natural process whereby the five empathies are separate like the tributaries in a river system yet as inseparable as the water that fills them. Empathy’s primary weaknesses, the familiarity and morality biases, are addressed; these are foundational to most criticisms of empathy. In the final chapter, I propose a sample course focusing on the study of rhetorical empathy, address the limitations of the study, provide many directions for further research, and argue that the study (and practice) of empathy itself and rhetorical empathy in particular are vital in today’s uncertain times. / Dissertation Chair: Dr. Bennett A. Rafoth Dissertation Committee Members: Dr. Gian S. Pagnucci and Dr. Michael M. Williamson

Thesis (Ph. D.)--UCLA, 2009. / Vita. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 143-148).

This paper is a curriculum proposal for a mid to high beginner adult English as a Second Language class. It is hoped that this curriculum will prove to meet students’ academic needs, especially in terms of development of literacy, listening skills, and language learning strategies. In addition to this, the lessons include a critical orientation; that is, the class is structured to facilitate student engagement with social issues, namely racism and economic struggles. With these considerations in minds, two units comprising half the semester were developed and relevant extra materials are provided. / text

The reformed Hong Kong mathematics curriculum for the 21st century consists of three components, namely generic skills, values and attitudes and, lastly, traditional cognitive development. The first two are newly emphasized and expanded. Theoretically, these components correspond closely with communication, socioculture and constructivism respectively, which are the central concepts of dialogic learning (DL). In DL, students are autonomously engaged in egalitarian dialogue, in which they share, reflect and form a learning community. Through DL, a student is expected to develop into an all-rounded and life-long learner. Contrary to the reform, dialogue is still deficient in mathematics classrooms. The role of this study is to present examples of students’ experiences in DL, found in the mathematics club of a secondary girls’ school. This study aims to explore and investigate: (1) the existence of DL in the club, (2) what the members learnt and (3) how they did it. This is an ethnographic research, which emphasizes first hand understanding, grounded theories and thorough intricacies. Therefore, I observed the students’ activities as a participant, interviewed them, and then described, analyzed and interpreted my findings accordingly. Based on my synthesis of relevant literature and the insight I gained from decades of teaching and otherwise interacting with students, I constructed a pentahedral framework to help investigate DL in a more comprehensive and intensive way. It involves the development of various generic skills and the cultivation of values and attitudes, which are usually unrecognized in examination syllabuses and the old curriculum. It consists of five facets, concerning cognitive knowledge, sharing and negotiation, learning skills, metacognition and values and attitudes. And here are the findings. All significant elements of DL from literature have been identified to exist in the club. As for what the students learnt, they recalled fruitful experiences in all five facets of the DL pentahedron. These findings were then combined with the learning histories of three subjects to yield four representative learning patterns, namely those of a ‘cognitive developer’, a ‘communicative daily life explorer’, a ‘eureka torchbearer’ and a ‘frustrated sharer-explorer’. These 4 learning patterns were further combined with (i) the purposes for mathematics study from pure examination results to ‘liberation’ and (ii) the understanding of mathematics learning from pure cognitive knowledge to inclusion of generic skills and values and attitude, to form a conceptual model of learning styles. The styles of the ‘eureka torchbearer’ and the ‘communicative daily life explorer’ were found to be exemplars of the ideals of people who favour the most liberal implementation of the curriculum reform. The ‘frustrated sharer-explorer’ was stuck with the style favoured by conservatives who are against hasty reforms. The ‘cognitive developer’ was somewhere in between. These findings may contribute to the framework of policy debate on mathematics education. In the school and classroom level, they may help teachers overcome learning disaffection and other difficulties, in both theory and practice. Organizers of extracurricular activities may also be inspired by the students’ rich experiences of dialogic learning. / published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Education

This purpose of this interpretive research study was to deepen our understanding of the meaning of culturally relevant physical education and health pedagogy (Ladson Billings, 1994; Halas, McRae & Carpenter, 2012) from the perspective of racialized minority women. Four female students from diverse backgrounds participated in a talking circle where they discussed their experiences in physical education and health (PEH) settings. Wilson’s (2008) idea of relational accountability, as described through Indigenous approaches to research, was used to help interrogate and interrupt systems of privilege, power and marginalization that characterize many PEH settings. The findings reveal the on-going need for culturally relevant pedagogical approaches that encourage, affirm and recognize the cultural landscapes of students. More research is needed to understand how students can be motivated to learn and grow in ways that develop their critical social consciousness regarding the social inequities that impact their PEH experiences. / October 2015

This qualitative multiple case study conducted from an interpretive epistemological stance, focused on three novice social studies teachers decision making practices in regards to the use critical historical thinking. In seeking to understand teacher’s decision making practices, this research explored the bodies of knowledge that influence social studies teachers’ use of historical thinking in more critical ways. The theoretical framework guiding this research centered around three major frames: (1) the roots of teacher knowledge, including such things as teacher beliefs, teacher education experiences, and teacher content knowledge, (2) the bodies of teacher knowledge informed by these roots including official knowledge, and emancipatory or counter knowledge, and (3) how these bodies of knowledge lead to curricular enactment of critical historical thinking. Data analysis revealed four results that shaped teachers’ decisions and ability to use critical historical thinking in their classroom. The first three results highlight the bodies of knowledge teachers’ utilized in their decision-making practices, including their experiential knowledge, such as their familial and K-16 schooling experiences, content knowledge, both their knowledge of official and subjugated narratives, and pedagogical content knowledge. The final result explores how these bodies of knowledge interact with teachers’ schooling contexts. Findings suggest that historical positionality shapes not only the learning process, but the teaching process as well. A teachers’ historical positionality influences the way they are able to engage students in more critical renditions of the past. Teachers’ personal experiences inform their historical positionality, including their rationale and commitment to choose particular curriculum and pedagogical practices that address issues of race, class, and gender. Additionally, teachers’ critical content consciousness or the degree to which they are able negotiate the distance between their academic content knowledge and their beliefs about the past also shape their decisions to use critical historical thinking as a regular pedagogical practice. Finally, the last finding highlights the complex process teachers’ engage in as they navigate the external factors that press in on their daily teaching practice in ways that are critically ambitious. As such, the findings from this study have implications for both preservice and inservice teacher preparation. / text

Constructed from a social justice paradigm, the researcher of this study combines historical research methods, case study strategies and the lens of critical race theory (CRT) to investigate the Raza Studies program within the Tucson Unified School District’s Ethnic Studies Department. With equal emphasis, this study has four aims: 1) to provide a deep literature review revealing the historical plight of Latin@ students (Darder, 1997; Valencia, 1991/1997/2002); 2) to explore the maintenance of deficit discourses and subtractive schooling conditions in relation to Latin@ students (Ogbu, 1998; Solórzano and Yosso, 2001; Valenzuela, 1999); 3) to offer a counter discourse based on an exploration of alternative critical pedagogies (Cammarota and Romero, 2006/2009; Freire, 1970/1973; Giroux; 1988; Kincheloe; 2004; McLaren, 1997/2003) and; 4) to tell the story of Raza Studies primarily using newspaper articles, letters to the editor and editorials written in response to four major events that occurred from 2007-2010. Within this study, CRT is the most effective theoretical framework to uncover the malignant schooling conditions and practices imposed on Latin@ youth because it allows the researcher to examine how racial stereotyping might contribute to the continued marginalization and subordination of Latin@ students. In turn, the investigation into the conditions and events surrounding La Raza Studies suggests that implicit (and explicit) racist attitudes, within the public discourse, not only impede Latin@ student success but that they also intend to. (Solórzano and Yosso 2001; Giroux 2005). Additionally, this historical descriptive account is further developed and magnified by a critical analysis of the data (58 opinion-based responses retrieved from a local newspaper). Coding for indicators of a deficit discourse (stereotypes, prejudice, xenophobia, etc.), a critical reflection and discussion of these texts is considered within the larger themes of power, ideology, and hegemony. (Apple, 1979/1995; Fairclough, 1995/2001; Giroux, 2004/2005; Giroux and McLaren, 1989; Gramsci, 1971; van Dijk, 1987/1998; Wodak, 1989). In consideration of the four aims of this study combined with the researcher’s theoretical framework and bias, she believes the reader will gain a more empathetic, even if only a more informed, perspective regarding the educational plight of Latin@ students.

Starting with the Jewish concept of Tikkun Olam and framed by Critical Theory, this paper investigates business faculty perspectives of social justice in Israel and Canada. Eight purposefully-selected participants were interviewed. Their narratives form the basis of this qualitative study. The research participants revealed that there were ideological and structural forces present in the business programmes investigated that appeared to prevent social justice motives from being realized in the culture of business schools. The participants suggested that the hegemonic forces driving business programs were: profit-driven business ideologies, the particular character of MBA programs, and business programs’ quantitative research bias. These forces were found to be affecting the way in which the participants made-meaning of social justice, and the way in which they could teach and research within their respective business schools. The results of this study illuminate the types of cultural and asymmetrical relations that are affecting business pedagogical constructs and the future for social justice within them. This is important as how university faculty make meaning of social justice within business paradigms will not only shape how curricula and ideological changes evolve in business schools, they will have a significant impact on how and what students learn (Fernandez & Stiehl, 1995). The paper concludes with recommendations for Critical Communication and Critical Management Education to be employed within business schools as a process-oriented approach to social justice based on critical dialogue and communication: thus pursuing a Tikkun Olam in business pedagogy. / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2009-05-26 14:50:22.335

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This master's thesis is written by an indigenous person who sees education as a healing process. In the tradition of narrative inquiry (Clandinin and Connelly, 2000) I interweave autobiographical texts with reflections on colonialism, indigeneity and multiculturalism. I am Amazigh (Kabyle) from the country now called Algeria, where my people have lived for some 5,000 years. I was raised in France, where I experienced a racism which I became conscious of when I arrived in Canada. I draw on the Medicine Wheel teachings given by First Nations Elders in Canada as the philosophical framework of my text, a framework based on the balance of spiritual/emotional/physical and mental dimensions of experience. I provide the context for my story, explain my methodology, and offer narratives that I then reflect on as part of my life-journey through societies, cultures, belief systems and educational contexts.