The concept of the self was central to the development of North American child and youth care (CYC). The self has been understood in CYC as the mediator of knowledge and skills, the foundation of authentic and therapeutic relationships, and the essence of ethical, moral, and professional practice. In this research project, I engage with the concept of the self in CYC by analyzing the literature on the topic, conducting research conversations with scholars in the field, and articulating my own thinking on the subject. I pay particular attention to the work of faculty and students at the University of Victoria’s School of Child and Youth Care (SCYC) to better understand our current problems and possibilities for theorizing the self in relation to praxis, professionalization, and curriculum. I approach my research engagements through a geophilosophical (Deleuze & Guattari, 2003) methodology and emphasize the roles of relationship, wonder, mentorship, and connections in my research engagements.
In this thesis I analyze various conceptualizations of the self in CYC, as well as concepts of identity and subjectivity that I found to be important for understanding the topic. I focus on concepts that (1) have traditionally played a central role in CYC curriculum and professionalization; (2) emerged from my research conversations; and (3) specifically relate to issues of diversity, power, and decolonization. As a work concerned primarily with conceptualizations of the self and how they relate to CYC praxis, professionalization, and curriculum, I articulate my own understanding and process of conceptualizing. I elaborate and experiment with my own thinking through a geophilosophical (Deleuze & Guattari, 2003) approach that emphasizes the relationship between thinking and the land and bodies through which it occurs, as well as thinking’s pragmatic, constructive, and creative aspects. I suggest that some of the important and interesting questions and possibilities for conceptualizing the self in contemporary North American CYC are related to politicized praxis as a framework for CYC; decolonization and identity-based solidarity and allyship; intersectionality as means to conceptualize diversity; mentorship and relationship in the learning encounter; immanence, dualism, and Indigenous cosmology; and the notion of a CYC community identity. / Graduate / 0745 / skouri@uvic.ca
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uvic.ca/oai:dspace.library.uvic.ca:1828/5611 |
| Date | 27 August 2014 |
| Creators | Kouri, Scott |
| Contributors | De Finney, Sandrine |
| Source Sets | University of Victoria |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | Available to the World Wide Web, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ca/ |
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