Living Theory and
Educational Action Research in Foreign Language Teacher Education and
Development
Keynote presentation for the
Second National Conference on Foreign Language
Teacher Education and
Development, 22-23 September 2007.
Jack Whitehead, Visiting
Professor of Ningxia Teachers University
Lecturer in
Education, University of Bath.
Web-page http://www.actionresearch.net
My
grateful thanks for the invitation to come here to your prestigious university
are due to professor Wang Qiang and professor Cheng Xiaotang, whose work has
been so influential in the field of Foreign Language Learning in Teacher
Education, especially in policies, practices and research into curriculum and
standards. At the 5th International Conference on ELT in China and
the 1st Congress of Chinese Applied Linguistics in April 2007
Professor Cheng presented ideas on, The Suitability Of The English Curriculum
Standards and Professor Wang presented ideas on, From The Curriculum to Classroom
Practice – Primary EFL in China. I hope that this keynote serves to
support their work.
Abstract
The keynote will share original ideas about living educational theory
and educational action research from my research programme at the University of
Bath. These ideas are being used and creatively transformed in China's
Experimental Centre for Educational Action Research in Foreign Languages
Teaching (CECEARFLT) at Ningxia Teachers University. This creative
transformation is focused on the emergence of 'Collaborative Living Educational Theory Action Research with
Chinese Characteristics' . This approach is also being developed as a response
to the new curriculum standards for English in China. The new standards
advocate a task-based approaches to teaching and learning that turns the
traditional modes of didactic teaching on their head. This requires greater
flexibility and creativity from teachers and students. Case-studies from the
Centre and from researchers associated with the University of Bath will be used
to show how the work of the Centre has contributed to new teaching
methodologies for foreign languages teaching, to new forms of visual narratives
for communicating a values-based curriculum and, most significantly, to a new
epistemology for educational knowledge with global significance.
Introduction
I now want to focus on living educational
theory and educational action research in foreign language teacher education
and development in relation to the importance of recognizing good teacher
education and development when we see it, in relation to the implementation of the New English Language Curriculum
Standards ( for junior secondary and senior high schools) in China.
I originated the idea of generating living educational
theory to distinguish the explanations of education, in theories from the
philosophy, psychology, sociology, history, economics, politics, theology,
leadership and management of education from the explanations produced by
individuals for their educational influences in their own learning, in the
learning of others and in the learning of the social formations in which they
live and work. In my studies
of educational theory in the late 1960s I found that no existing theory taken
either individually or in any combination could produce a valid explanation for
my own educational influences in my own learning and in the learning of my
pupils.I originated the idea of generating living educational theory to
distinguish the explanations of education, in theories from the philosophy, psychology,
sociology, history, economics, politics, theology, leadership and management of
education from the explanations produced by individuals for their educational
influences in their own learning, in the learning of others and in the learning
of the social formations in which they live and work. I moved from being a
teacher in schools to being an educational researcher in the University of Bath
in 1973 to see if I could help to generate valid educational theories.
My preference for educational action research was because of
its action reflection cycles of experiencing and expressing concerns,
developing an action plan, acting, and evaluating and modifying the concerns,
plans and actions in the light of the evaluation. These action reflection
cycles corresponded with the way I explored the implications of asking,
researching and answering questions of the kind, 'How do I improve what I am
doing?'
Moira Laidlaw studied educational theory at the University
of Bath and was awarded
her doctorate in 1996 for her research into, How can I create my own living educational theory as I
offer you an account of my educational development? She worked on Voluntary Service
Overseas and finished a 6 year programme at Guyuan Teachers College, now
Ningxia Teacher's University, in January 2007. In 2006 she accepted
accreditation from the President of the University as Life Long Professor of
Education, along with Jean McNiff and myself as Visiting Professors. In 2004
she received a China Friendship Award from Premier Wen Jiabao:
The China Friendship Awards for
2004 with Wen Jiabao, Premier of the State Council on the 30th September 2004
in The Great Hall of the People, Beijing. Moira Laidlaw is on the front row in
the blue dress.
Dean
Tian and officials in Yinchuan were very supportive and instrumental in
recommending Moira for the Friendship Award. Working with Dean Tian from
Ningxia Teachers University, Moira has produced methodology texts for
implementing the new curriculum with a living theory action research approach to
professional development. These texts are freely available from the world wide
web. The resources emphasise the relational nature of teaching and professional
education, as illustrating by the video-clip below of an ending of one of
Moira's lessons in Guyuan. Moira is expressing the qualities of relationship
she establishes with her students in relation to the 'Affective attitudes' in
the New English Language Curriculum Standards:
"Affective attitudes
Affective attitudes refer to
those factors that influence students' learning process and outcomes, such as
interest, motivation, confidence, perseverance and collaborative spirit.
Affective attitudes also includes the awareness of national spirit and world
view gradually formed in the language learning process. Acquiring and retaining
positive learning attitudes is critical to success in English learning. At the
high school level, teachers should continuously activate and strengthen
students' interest throughout the teaching and learning process. They should
also encourage students to develop intrinsic motivation for English learning.
Teachers need to encourage students to have self-confidence and determination
when confronted with language barriers. Students should be willing to cooperate
with others to gradually form a harmonious and healthy character. The English
curriculum should also help students enhance their awareness of national spirit
and expand their world view." (Curriculum
Standards, p. 18)
Here is the video-clip of the ending of one of Moira's lessons in Guyuan
that flows with self-confidence and determination in harmonious and healthy
educational relationships. Moira is express here the living manifestation of
what her materials recommend, as well as a living out of the recommendations of
the new policy on teacher professional education.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1jEOhxDGno
While recognizing that the quality of educational relationships is vital
in pupil learning so too are the methodologies we use in our teaching and the
New English Language Curriculum requires new teaching methodologies.
Contributing to new teaching methodologies for foreign languages
teaching
This section is based on the
assumption that Schwille (2007) is right that the effective continuing
professional development practice of jiaoyanzu has already been established in
China:
Continuing — or
in-service — professional development (CPD) for teachers is widely
considered a critical condition for improved instructional quality and student
learning.
CPD has traditionally taken two
approaches: one-off workshops and cascade training. Both have been considered
as ineffective by teachers and researchers. According to researchers, effective
CPD requires:
* teachers working together and making decisions
about their own professional development in their own schools
* balancing subject-matter and pedagogy
* peer observation and feedback on teaching
* action research and sharing results
* opportunities for teachers to apply what they
are learning in their own classrooms, with outside assistance as needed.
Many education systems
cannot follow this alternative approach because it calls for important changes
in how teacher development is organised. Yet it has been implemented widely in
Japan, where it is known as jugyokenkyu ('lesson study') and in China as
jiaoyanzu ('teacher research groups').
(Schwille, 2007)
The importance of leadership in
creating a culture of enquiry that supports such teacher research groups in
jiaoyanzu is well known, with one of the best illustrations provided by
Jacqueline Delong (2002) in her research into her work as a Superintendent of
Schools in the Grand Erie District School Board in Ontario. Laidlaw
acknowledges the vital importance of Dean Tian Fengjun's leadership in
establishing and sustaining a collaborative living theory approach to
professional development with Chinese characteristics. What is outstanding in
this leadership is Dean Tian's (2005) willingness to engage in a self-study of
his own leadership practices and to account for his own influence in his
enquiry 'How can I help my colleagues to
become more collaborative and thus promote sustainable educational
development?' This was presented in the Department of Education of the
University of Bath on the 11th July 2005. Dean Tian has also emphasized in his
publications the importance of educational action research and creativity in
foreign languages teaching (Tian, 2003).
As
well as appropriate leadership qualities, it is important for students to have
access to appropriate learning resources. Because the New Curriculum is very
different to the Old Curriculum, it needs new learning resources for teacher
education. So, with the New Curriculum in mind, Moira Laidlaw produced the
following texts on methodology that are freely available from the world wide
web. These are:
Handbook One: 'From Competence to Performance': English-Teaching
Methodology for 'The New Curriculum' in China. You can access this from: http://www.jackwhitehead.com/china/mlhand105.htm
Handbook
Two:
Teaching Communicative Methodology for the New Curriculum to Student-Teachers.
You can access this from http://www.jackwhitehead.com/china/mlhandbooktwo.htm
You can also access Professor Laidlaw's Inaugural Lecture of CECEARFLT
on 'Developing Educational Methodologies through a Living Theory Approach to
Action Research' which was also produced for colleagues at the Longdong
Institute, Gansu Province, from http://people.bath.ac.uk/edsajw/moira/mllect1.htm
In my own Presidential Address to
the British Educational Research Association (Whitehead, 1989) I stressed the
importance of developing a research-based approach to professional development
that included asking, researching and answering questions of the kind, 'How do
I improve what I am doing?' Such
evidence-based accounts of action researchers associated with CECEARFLT at
Ningxia Teachers University have impressed me by both their standards of
English, and their understanding of a living theory action research approach to
their professional development as teachers. You can access these accounts from
the section Action Research in China and at Ningxia Teachers University of http://www.actionresearch.net . The following enquiries highlight the
willingness of the teachers and students to engage in self-studies, with their
'I' enquiries focused on improving the quality of their professional
practice:
Ma Yangui:
'How can I improve my students' writing ability?'
Ma Li Juan: 'How can I attract my
students' attention educationally?'
Chen Dan:
'How can I improve my student's pronunciation?'
Liu Hui':
'How can I help my students become more active in class?'
Tao
Rui's: 'How can I improve my students' motivation so they can improve their
learning?'
Ma
Xiaoxia: 'How can I balance my methodologies in the classroom in order to
promote the learners' autonomy?'
I
like the way Ma Yangui places his enquiry in its social context in the
development of his school-based teacher-research:
"The Hui Zhong is now a senior school with over 100
teachers and more than 2000 students from different nationalities. It lies in
the south of Haiyuan town of Haiyuan county next to the city of Guyuan, Ningxia
Province in China. But it used to be a small junior school, set up in 1980 by
the government for Muslim children to be educated well in Haiyuan county where
more than one hundred and ten thousand Muslim people lived. The aim was to
increase the development of the Hui nationality's culture in this area, in
order to improve the home, social, and moral environments of Hui people."
I
believe that the above evidence from CECEARFLT shows what can be achieved with
appropriate leadership and resources when individuals work in collaboration to
create their own living educational theories of their educational influences in
learning as they work on their own concerns and problems to improve their
practice.
Over the past 23 years Jean McNiff
and I have sustained a most productive collaboration in supporting the global
influence of living educational theories. In May 2006 we were both delighted to
both become visiting professors at Ningxia Teachers University. We have used
action reflection cycles (McNiff, 2000) in our own problem-solving processes in
the development of our living educational theories. In these action reflection
cycles we:
i)
Express our concerns about
what we want to improve.
ii)
Imagine ways of improving our
practice
iii)
Act on our plans and gather data to
make a judgment on our effectiveness
iv)
Evaluate the effectiveness of our
actions
v)
Modify our concerns, ideas and
actions in the light of our evaluations
vi)
Share our explanations of our
learning to strengthen their validity and to benefit from the ideas of others.
I particularly like the way Belle
Wallace, working independently of Jean and myself has produced a visual
representation of action reflection cycles in her TASC wheel. TASC stands for Thinking Actively in a Social
Context.
http://www.webquestuk.org.uk/TASC
WHEEL/Learn from Experience.htm
What
I like about the TASC wheel is that it can be used by young people, individuals
who are studying for their initial teacher education qualifications and workers
who are studying for their masters and doctoral programmes. It also has wider
applications for improving practice in the workplace. Joy Mounter (2007) has
shown how 6 year olds have both used the TASC wheel to improve their learning
and expressed their creativity in improving the model so that it more adequately
represents their own learning.
I
now want to draw your attention to the distinct academic approach to the
education of professional practitioners I originated at the University of Bath,
known as living educational theory. I am thinking particularly of the doctoral
research programmes in the living theory section of http://www.actionresearch.net and their contributions to visual
narratives and the creation of new forms of educational knowledge.
Contributing to new forms of visual narrative for communicating a
values-based curriculum.
I have been fortunate in working at the University of Bath with its
continuing investment in the best available communications technology. I am thinking here of the provision of
computers, access to the world wide web and the provision of video-cameras and
multi-media software. Multi-media
technologies are permitting the use of multi-media presentations in accounts of
the educational influences in learning of educational relationship. In 2004 the
University of Bath changed its regulations to permit the submission of e-media
as part of the submission of a research degree.
Eden Charles' (2007) doctoral thesis on. How Can I bring Ubuntu As A Living Standard
Of Judgment Into The Academy? Moving Beyond Decolonisation Through Societal
Reidentification And Guiltless Recognition, is the most recent graduation with
a multi-media presentation for communicating an inclusional way of being,
knowing and enquiring. You can access the thesis from http://people.bath.ac.uk/edsajw/edenphd.shtml.
Nelson
Mandela has inspired millions of individuals with his Ubuntu way of being and I
would now like to show you a brief clip of Nelson Mandela talking about the
values of Ubuntu.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODQ4WiDsEBQ
In a
keynote to the 2005 Act Reflect Revise III conference in Ontario, on Living
Inclusional Values In Educational Standards of Practice and Judgement, I used a
multi-media account to communicate the meanings of living educational standards
in a values-based curriculum. You can access this in a 2006 issue of Ontario
Action Researcher, Vol. 8.2.1. http://www.nipissingu.ca/oar/new_issue-V821E.htm
. I recommend this Journal to you as it has pioneered multi-media presentations
in an academic journal.
These
visual narratives are not the only original work to emerge from the living
theories of researchers graduating from the University of Bath. Donald Schon (1995), a great advocate
of reflective practice, urged educational researchers to create a new
epistemology for the new scholarship. The living educational theories in the
libraries of the University of Bath and of the University of Limerick in
Ireland, where Jean McNiff has been supervising these doctorates, have created
this new epistemology. Professor Jean McNiff was present at the opening of
Guyuan's Experimental Centre for Educational Action Research Centre in Foreign
Language Teaching, in 2003.
Contributing to a new epistemology for educational knowledge with
global significance.
I want to draw your attention to the significance of a presentation at
the 2007 Conference of the British Educational Research Association. The
multi-media presentation focused on the living logics, units of appraisal and
living standards of judgment in living educational theories that are explaining
educational influences in learning. If you are viewing this presentation in
your browser you can access it at:
http://www.jackwhitehead.com/bera07/jwbera07sem020907.htm
I
think there is a shared understanding of the significance of developing a new
epistemology between teacher-researchers I am working with at the University of
Bath and the teacher-researchers in CECEARFLT at Ningxia Teachers University:
"We
are also seeking to evolve a new form of action research, which we are calling
'Collaborative Living Educational Theory Action Research with Chinese
Characteristics'. Our case-studies and reflective writing bear witness to these
early attempts in developing a new epistemology." (http://people.bath.ac.uk/edsajw/moira.shtml
)
The
Chinese Characteristics I am referring to are related to a Confucian philosophy
that emphasizes an ontology of events not one of substances. As professor Wong
says:
Understanding
human events does not require recourse to 'qualities', 'attributes' or
'characteristics'. He says that in place of a consideration of the essential
nature of abstract moral virtues, the Confucian is more concerned with an
explication of the activities of specific persons in particular contexts.
(Wong, 2007 slide 18).
Stressing
pragmatism as a Chinese Characteristic professor Wong points out that even in
dialectical thinking the Chinese scholars, such as Lao Tzu, reflected concrete
experience, as illustrated by the following:
To
yield is to be preserved whole.
To
be bent is to become straight.
To
be empty is to be full.
To
be worn out is to be renewed.
To
have little is to possess.
To
have plenty is to be perplexed.
Tao-te
Ching, 22, in Chan 1963, p.
151(Wong, 2007, slide 37)
Logic,
in the sense of a mode of thinking that is appropriate for comprehending the
real as rational (Marcuse, 1964, p.105), is vital for our ways of making sense
of our lives and our worlds.
The
Theories of Western Academies have been dominated for 2,500 years by the logic
of Aristotle with its Law of Contradiction that eliminates contradictions
between statements from theories. The 'I' in such theories is usually subsumed
in the general concept of 'a person'.
The
dialectical logic of Marx with its nucleus of contradiction has stressed the
importance of living contradictions. The 'I' in dialectical theories exists as
a living contradiction, whose agency is usually subordinated to economic,
political, cultural and historical influences.
The
Confucian logic of inclusionality with its relationally dynamic awareness of
space and boundaries stresses the 'I' existing in the 'We'. This can be
represented as 'i~we' (Murray, 2007) with the mutual influences of the
individual in the collective, being recognized and understood. Alan Rayner
(2007) at the University of Bath is exploring the implications of this
inclusional logic for the creation of living educational theories and an
inclusional theory of evolution.
With
the help of multi-media narratives I believe that living educational theorists
have succeeded in developing
relationally dynamic and responsive logics and values in their
educational relationships. We have clarified the meanings of these logics and
values in the course of their emergence and evolution in practice. In the
communication of these logics and values we have formed them into the living
standards of judgment we use in accounting for the lives we are living and for
our educational influences in learning.
I find the life of Nelson Mandela inspiring
with his Ubuntu way of being, I find the accounts of the teacher-researchers I
work with do help to keep my hope and optimism alive in a flow of life-affirming
energy. I do believe that one of the great hopes for the future is in our
communications where we share our attempts to live as fully as we can, the
values, logics and understandings that carry hope for the future of humanity. I
believe that foreign language teacher education and
development with Chinese characteristics of inclusionality is at the forefront
of these developments. I believe this because it is enhancing communications
between individuals in different cultures and societies in our shared global
context.
Relating the keynote to our global context
Two presentations on the 17th September 2007 in the
Department of Education of the University Bath serve to place this keynote in
its global context with the importance of recognising both cultural
differences and sensitivities and the importance of our national standards
frameworks in teacher education for improving the quality of education.
The first presentation was on Culture And Educational Leadership And
Management. It was given by Kam-cheung Wong, Honorary Professor in the Faculty of
Education at the University of Hong Kong.
The presentation examined the impact of culture on educational thinking,
using leadership and management in education as an illustration. The
presentation included the work of Hofstede (1991), to describe the thinking of
the Chinese as compared to the West. It also analysed current educational
situations in mainland China in terms of culture and history.
In my own keynote I hope to show
my own cultural sensitivity in relation to Hofstede's (1991) four dimensions
for distinguishing cultural organisation and difference.
In relation to Individualism-Collectivism I recognise that in individualistic cultures like the USA
and the UK and the needs, values, and goals of an individual tend to take
precedence over group goals. Collectivistic cultures such as China, Japan, and Korea, tend to stress
family values and the social good.
In relation to Uncertainty
Avoidance people from countries high on
uncertainty avoidance, such as Japan, France and Mexico tend to have low
tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity, and to them, "what is different is
dangerous." (Singh, 2003, p. 43).
In relation to Power Distance societies high on power distance such as Egypt, India, and
Nigeria accept power and hierarchy in the society and are low on
egalitarianism. Singh (2003, p.43) claims that people in high power distance
cultures are more likely to expect clear directions as opposed to factual
information.
In relation to Masculinity-Femininity, masculine cultures such as Japan, India and the Middle
East, tend to value assertiveness, ambition, material possessions and success,
while feminine cultures such as Denmark, Norway and Sweden place more value on
helping others, preserving environment, quality of life and nurturance. (Singh,
2003, p. 44)
I
know that such bipolar category systems can be seen as too crude for
understanding the subtleties of cultural differences. However they can alert us
to importance differences and similarities. I think you will see the cultural
biases in my own presentation today, as I value principles of inclusionality.
This means that I value relationally dynamic and responsive ways of living that
both create social and community relationships and recognize and value the
uniqueness of each individual.
I
hope that you will feel a creative tension between being open to uncertainty
and new ideas for social transformation and improvement, and the desire for
social security and stability in sustaining what is good in the existing
society.
I
hope that you will feel a passion for democracy in my politics of educational
knowledge, especially in the use of democratic forms of validity and
accountability in the generation of living educational theories. A living
educational theory is, in short, an explanation of an individual's educational
influence in learning.
I hope you can see why I engage with a politics of inclusion, in
relation to the logics used in the generation of educational theory, in the
sense that I distinguish living logics from propositional an dialectical logics. In the Western Academies, the
dominant forms of theory are structured through the use of Aristotelean Logic
that eliminates contradictions from correct thought. In dialectical traditions
contradiction is seen as the nucleus of coming to know through question and
answer. Adherents to these forms of logic often deny the rationality of the
others position. In living logics that are distinguished by the relational
dynamic awareness of inclusionality, the inclusional explanations can draw
insights from both propositional and dialectical theories, without denying the
rationality of either propositional or dialectical forms of thought. The value
of inclusionality is that is can show limitations in both propositional and
dialectical forms of thinking that are overcome in inclusional ways of being,
enquiring and knowing.
I hope that you will feel an
appropriate gender balance in my presentation that recognizes the difference
and rights of individuals of different genders with the responsibilities of
good citizens. Having been born
towards the end of the Second World War, in 1944, I am also influenced by
critical race theory in my understanding of the need to respond to, to reduce
and to prevent the expressions of racism in my own society and elsewhere. Such responses were vital in ending
Apartheid in South Africa and the contributions an individual can make to such
struggles can be appreciated through the life of Nelson Mandela. I understand
that education policies in China for autonomous regions address racial differences through a programme of
integration that positively discriminates for ethnic minorities in terms of
religion and educational opportunity. In Gansu and Ningxia and Xinjiang
provinces, for example, I understand that Premier Wen Jiabao has repealed taxes
on farmers and landworkers (a huge population in rural China, many of whom are
ethnic minorities people) and that the children can have free education and
free text-books.
The second presentation on the 17th September 2007 in the Department of Education of
the University of Bath serves to emphasise the global significance of policies
on our national standards frameworks in teacher education and the importance of
the living standards of individual teachers. The presentation was given by Dr
Stephanie Allais on 'Noble Intentions And Disastrous Outcomes: A Case Study
Of South African Education Policy Since The End Of Apartheid'. Dr Allais is Director of
Research for the Council for Quality Assurance
in General and Further Education and Training in South Africa.
"the idea of national
outcomes-based qualifications frameworks as the drivers of educational reform
has become popular internationally, and is particularly being advocated by
powerful global agencies as a solution to the education problems... (Allais, 2007)
Using theories from political
economic and the sociology of knowledge Dr. Allais claims that the policy of
using outcomes-based qualifications as the drivers of educational reform has
been a manifest failure because it undermines the delivery of education with
its detailed and imposed pre-specified learning outcomes. Hence my own stress on the importance
of the living standards of individual practitioners, because it is in the
exercise of the creativity of individuals and the exercise of their educational
responsibilities that the implementation of national standards in
qualifications frameworks are mediated into educational practices.
Dr Allais's analysis serves to
emphasise the importance of the research of Professors Wang and Cheng on a
curriculum standards framework. Where I think their work and the work of Dean
Tian and colleagues at CECEARFLT has gone beyond a 'delivery' model of
education, can be understood with the help of the ideas of Gert Biesta (2006)
who, in his latest book Beyond Learning, argues that we should go beyond a
'delivery' model of education through the exercise of our individual
educational responsibilities in supporting the 'coming into the world' of each
person as a unique, singular being:
"Instead
of seeing learning as an attempt to acquire, to master, to internalize, or any
other possessive metaphors we can think of, we might see learning as a reaction
to a disturbance, as an attempt to recognize and reintegrate as a result of
disintegration. We might look at learning as a response to what is other and
different, to what challenges, irritates, or even disturbs us, rather than as
the acquisition of something we want to possess. Both ways of looking at
learning- learning as acquisition and learning as responding – might be
equally valid, depending, that is, on the situation in which we raise questions
about the definition of learning. But as I will argue in more details in
subsequent chapters, the second conception of learning is educationally the
more significant, if it is conceded that education is not just about the
transmission of knowledge, skills and values, but is concerned with the
individuality, subjectivity, or personhood of the student, with their "coming
into the world" as unique, singular beings." (Biesta, 2006, p. 27).
The central importance of
educational standards and practitioner-research in improving education has been
highlighted by Joan Whitehead (2007), the policy and liaison office for the
UK's Universities Council for the Education of Teachers (UCET):
"Amongst the 41 revised standards for pre-service
teachers are two which have a
specific reference to the improvement of practice.
These are standards relating to
professional attributes and personal professional
development. They require those that
are recommended for the award of qualified teacher
status (QTS) to have
demonstrated that they are able to:
'Reflect on and improve their practice and take
responsibility for identifying and
meeting their professional development needs'
(TDA, 200a, Standard Q7a)
And
'Have a creative and constructively critical
approach towards innovation, being
prepared to adapt their practice where benefits and
improvements are identified'
(TDA, 200a, Standard Q8).
Once qualified and a member of the profession, those
in their induction year and
subsequently will be required to continue to
'Evaluate their performance and be committed to
improving their practice through
appropriate professional development'
(TDA, 200a,
Induction/main and post threshold, Standard I 7)." (Whitehead, Joan. 2007)
Educational Action Research, with
its focus on improving practice and the provision of evidence of educational
influences in learning in living educational theories, integrates the standard
of improving practice. Through drawing attention to the living educational
theories of practitioner-researchers, who have explained their educational
influences in their own learning and in the learning of others, I hope that I
have brought something of value from Bath to Beijing. I am thinking
particularly of the importance of multi-media representations in the
explanations given by individuals, of their own living educational theories as
we work together to help each other to enhance our contributions to making the
world a better place to be.
Professor Wang (2002) is leading
the way in the development of action research for English Teachers in China.
Professor Cheng (2007) is leading the way in the development of policies on
appropriate standards. With the efforts for
over a century, Beijing Normal University has become one of the most important
national bases for training talents and scientific research with an
international reputation.
Dean Tian and colleagues at
CECEARFLT are leading the way in the development of the living educational
theories of individuals in their 'Collaborative
Living Educational Theory Action Research with Chinese Characteristics' . Ningxia Teachers
University is not yet two years old and is committed to enhancing educational opportunities
in the West of China. There is much that older established universities can do
to support their newly established colleagues in enhancing their educational
research base. I do hope that we can continue to share our ideas between
Beijing and Ningxia Universities and with educational action researchers and
living educational theorists associated with the University of Bath. I hope
that we shall extend our collaborations with many more of the institutions
represented in this audience.
I now want to end as I began by
thanking Professor Wang and Professor Cheng and the organizing committee the
Second National Conference on Foreign Language Teacher Education and
Development for this opportunity to share my ideas with you from my own
research programme into living educational theories. Thankyou.
Note:
In his
doctoral thesis, Kevin Eames (1995) stressed the importance of 'Growing Your
Own' in relation to school-based teacher-researcher groups. I think you will
find particularly useful, Chapter 6 on
Action Research as a Form of Professional Knowledge in a Whole-School
Setting.
In her doctoral research programme on Creating the space for
intergenerational student-led research:
How can I come to understand my shared living educational standards of judgement
in the life I live with others? Karen Riding
researches her work with her students in
a secondary school as active research participants and shows how the
student-researchers then contribute to intergenerational student-led research.
In his doctoral research
programme on How do I contribute to the education of myself and others
through improving the quality of living educational space? The story of living
myself through others as a practitioner-researcher, Simon Riding researches his work as a first deputy
head teacher:
Within this text I
propose and demonstrate original relationally dynamic standards of judgement
within my practice. I explore the nature of transition between educational
spaces upon myself and how this process of change was managed as I moved
through different stages of my career and life. I further explore the complex
nature of school leadership and how my own living educational theory attempts
to contribute to the education of others. I argue that I am able to improve the
quality of the living educational space because of the relationships and
experiences that I have had, alongside the core values that I hold. This thesis
reflects on the potential impact of enabling teachers to engage as
teacher-researchers within their own school and accounts for the process I went
through in order to make this happen. I further argue for the need to consider
how practitioner accounts are assessed in order to ensure that the future of
education is driven forward through the development of teachers as researchers
influencing what educational knowledge is and how it is produced.
As soon as these theses are completed I hope to make
them available from http://www.actionresearch.net
in 2008.
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