Abstract

This thesis is a self-study of a tutor in higher education committed to understanding and practice improvement. It is presented as a study of singularity, and an example of first person education action research. It is epistemologically and methodologically distinct in that it is based on my values as an educator and ideas about what constitutes loving and life affirming educational practice.

The aim of this thesis is to present a ‘living theory’ account Whitehead (1993) of my educational practice, as I inquire with purpose to understand what it means to educate with ‘good grace’, and to develop a practice of teaching and learning that seeks to honor the humanity of personhood. Through Cycles of action and reflection, I engage in a process of map-making that enables me to understand the emergent process of my inquiry and test out that understanding with others. Through descriptions and explanations of my practice, this thesis unveils an iterative process of reflection and action, punctuated by moments when I experience myself as a ‘living contradiction’ Whitehead (1999) when I deny or fail to live my values fully in practice, and on these occasions, finding the resolve to address again, the searching question ‘How do I improve my practice’? In showing you my inquiry process, I will show you that ‘the map is not the territory’ Bateson (1970), but rather, a process of continuously refining my vision. I thus present my thesis as a living praxis account of a lifetime inquiry.

My claim to originality is embodied in the aesthetics of my teaching and learning relationships as I learn to feel the necessities of my students, listen to their stories and find an ethic of care that contains them in good company, returning to them their stories as more complete human beings.

Evidence is drawn from life-story work, narrative accounting, student assignments, audio and video taped sessions of teaching and learning situations. Within the appendix of the thesis is a CDR file of clips compressed from the video tapes, that aim to support specific narrative accounts by offering a glimpse of my embodied claims to know, thus enhancing my map making by drawing out an ‘alternative form of representation’, Eisner (1997).