Self-concept in the biographical narratives of women visual art educators and artists

The purpose of this study is to examine the visual art education experiences of women art educators and women artists in the context of colleges and universities. The focus of the study is the relationship of the concept of self to the production of works of visual art and the development of ideologies concerning the teaching of visual art. The hypothesis of the study proposes that pedagogical practices which enhance or diminish the concept of self establish contexts and conditions for artistic production, and influence the development of teaching ideologies. The study uses a qualitative methodology based on autobiographical narratives to describe the visual art education experiences of the two groups of women. Transcripts of interviews with five women art educators and the published letters, journals, and other writings of six noted women artists provides two sets of narrative texts for analysis. A theory of artistic "self" development which consists of three conceptual models: the aesthetic, creative, and expressive is the organizing framework used to analyze the autobiographical narratives

Demonstrating Anishinaabe storywork circle pedagogy: creating conceptual space for ecological relational knowledge in the classroom.

Aboriginal education reform policies, Truth and Reconciliation initiatives, and climate change indicators signal opportunity and an urgency for action to effect positive change through relationship with Aki1. Aboriginal peoples’ ancient and wholistic ways of knowing, being, doing, and feeling are touchstones to support timely transformative processes in education and Canadian society. Current educational initiatives emphasize learning Aboriginal content and the integration of historical perspectives and contemporary arts into the Ontario curricula. This case study of 17 participants in a grade 4/5 classroom explores a research journey in northeastern Ontario demonstrating how the oral tradition and an Anishinaabe storywork Circle pedagogy create conceptual space for Anishinaabe ecological relational knowledge within the urban public school classroom. An Anishinaabe shared learning process devoid of power imbalance draws on the life experience of each student and educator in a culture and land-based approach. This study addresses the following research questions: What is Anishinaabe ecological relational knowledge and what principles and concepts of Anishinaabe ecological relational knowledge are made visible in a public school classroom? How is Anishinaabe ecological relational knowledge socially enacted in the classroom? How does the teacher's perception of Anishinaabe ecological relational knowledge transform their pedagogy? A critical Indigenous2 research theory and qualitative methodological approach bring forward a narrative inclusive of teacher and elementary student voices and participant researcher reflections and query. 1 Aki is the Anishinaabemowin term for "Land". Anishinaabemowin refers to the Aboriginal languages of the Anishinaabek people, spoken by the Algonquin, Chippewa, Delaware, Mississauga, Odawa, and Ojibway and Pottawatomi people of the Great Lakes Region. 2 The term Indigenous refers to the first peoples that occupied the continents of the world and is used in this research context to refer to all first peoples-unique in our own cultures-but common in our experiences of colonialism and our understanding of the world (Wilson, 2008, p. 15). Anishinaabe cultural ecological relational knowledge refers to a specific area of Indigenous knowledge that suits the study's local context regarding Anishinaabe cultural origins, linguistic family, and community traditions. An animated learning process and experience incorporates life experience, relational collectivity, and inner knowing for Anishinaabe cultural ecological relational knowledge regarding the self in relationship with Aki and each other. The ‘school yard as classroom’ is utilized and this is especially supportive for First Nation students in transition to the city. Students’ and educators’ engagement in an inclusive community of respect and mutual understanding supports exploration of biophilia (the love of nature) and balanced relationships. The incorporation of Anishinaabemowin (Ojibway language) conveys worldview perspectives and exemplifies the Indigenous paradigm and ways of knowing. The Anishinaabe storywork Circle process builds identity and supportive relationships which are strongly associated with school success of particular relevance for Aboriginal student engagement in school. Classroom teacher praxis is stimulated in response to Anishinaabe ecological relational knowledge and an Anishinaabe storywork Circle pedagogy. A robust process for change emerges through an examination of ecological systems theory. The impacts of relationshipbuilding, creation of a kind, respectful and inclusive classroom environment to interrupt systemic hegemony and racism are discussed.Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Human Studie

L'atomisme, le holisme et la quête d'une tierce alternative viable

Selon John McDowell, l'atomisme et le holisme sont chacun incapables de porter fruit. Plutôt que d'osciller futilement entre ces deux pôles, il croit que nous devrions repenser notre façon de concevoir la relation liant l'esprit et le monde. Inspiré par certains passages de Kant, il nous invite donc à reconsidérer l'expérience de telle sorte qu'on y admette d'entrée de jeu l'exercice d'une liberté distinctement humaine-l'étendue de l'esprit devenant ainsi dénuée de toute contrainte externe. À notre avis, McDowell a plus de succès lorsqu'il dépeint le va-et-vient entre l'atomisme et le holisme que lorsqu'il propose une façon d'échapper à ce mouvement. Nous croyons que la fusion qu'il cherche à développer ne tient pas la route dans la mesure où, d'un point de vue naturaliste, il y a bel et bien lieu de distinguer la réceptivité empirique et la spontaneité conceptuelle. À l'encontre de McDowell, nous soutenons qu'il n'y a oscillation entre ces facultés que si l'on endosse une inférence allant du statut non-atomique des représentations au holisme, saut inductif qui repose sur une approche spéculative que nous rejetons. Le premier chapitre cherche à démontrer comment les théories holistes de filière quinéenne se fondent sur des présupposés spéculatifs et comment les éléments plus louables de la philosophie de McDowell à cet égard sont rendus impuissants par son assentiment à la critique que fait W. Sellars du "mythe du Donné". Le second chapitre reconstruit méticuleusement l'argument fort complexe qu'étale McDowell dans Mind and World, pour ensuite critiquer sa suggestion que la culture et l'éducation induisent chez l'être humain une attitude critique pouvant remplacer la friction produite par l'expérience. Le troisième chapitre soutient que la thèse de Sellars voulant que l'expérience peut causer mais non justifier nos représentations détruirait non seulement la connaissance empirique mais aussi la capacité de tirer des inférences. Enfin, le quatrième chapitre présente une nouvelle vision "constrictive" qui, par l'entremise des notions de coercition et de complexité, reconnait que la représentation du monde met en jeu une échelle plus large que l'atome mais plus petite que le tout. ______________________________________________________________________________ MOTS-CLÉS DE L’AUTEUR : Atomisme, Holisme, Représentation, John McDowell

Foreign language and the psychotherapist: a study from a psychodynamic perspective

Starting from Freud and onwards, Language is the medium in which psychoanalysis, the talking cure, exists. Word choice and associations, dreams and sentence phrasing, make the landscape of the subject's inner world, personal story, and the unconscious. Language is also the means for psychological change through talking in all forms of analytic psychotherapy. It is the main tool in the service of therapist's interventions and the creation of insight. The present research explores the experience and the implications of doing therapeutic work in a foreign language. Data collection included interviews with nine polyglot therapists, analysis of the researcher's own experience as a polyglot therapist practicing psychotherapy in three languages, and theoretical research into psychodynamic, linguistic, and developmental aspects of polyglots. Thematic analysis of participants' contributions resulted in the following themes; 1. Polyglot Therapists' Relationship with their Different Languages. 2. Identity. 3. The Polyglot Therapist's Work, with two subthemes: 3.1. Non-verbal Elements. 3.2. Technical Issues. These themes are presented and discussed using participants' citations and theoretical literature. As a result of further, psychoanalytically-informed qualitative analysis, the concept of Therapeutic...Jak už víme od Freudových začátků, jazyk je hlavním médiem všech druhů psychoanalýzy a analytické psychoterapie, "léčby mluvením". Jazyk je jejím nástrojem pro sdělení pacienta a pro interpretaci a intervenci terapeuta. Volba slov, formulace vět, sdělené asociace a sny tvoří krajinu vnitřního světa subjektu a jeho nevědomí. Předkládaný výzkum se zaměřuje na zkušenosti a důsledky terapeutické práce v cizím jazyce. Sběr dat zahrnoval rozhovory s devíti polyglotními terapeuty, analýzu vlastní zkušenosti výzkumnice jako polyglotní terapeutky praktikující psychoterapii ve třech jazycích a také teoretický výzkum psychodynamických, lingvistických a vývojových aspektů polyglotů. Tematická analýza příspěvků účastníků vyústila v následující témata: 1. Vztah polyglotních terapeutů k jejich různým jazykům. 2. Identita. 3. Práce polyglotního terapeuta, se dvěma podtématy: 3.1. Neverbální prvky. 3.2. Technické otázky. Tato témata jsou prezentována a diskutována s využitím citací účastníků a teoretické literatury. Na základě další, psychoanalyticky podložené kvalitativní analýzy byl zaveden pojem "terapeutický mateřský jazyk", který vyjadřuje skutečnost, že vzhledem k holistické povaze výcvikového procesu terapeuta má jazyk výcviku tendenci se hluboce vtělit (anglicky: embodied) do terapeuta, ať už se jedná o...Katedra psychologiePedagogická fakultaFaculty of Educatio

Interactive effects of information systems interfaces (ISI) and personal cognitive preferences in museum learning experiences

The advent of information communications technology (ICT) and digital technology has gradually changed the museum landscape. As an informal learning context, many museums around the globe have been working very hard to enhance and enrich their visitors' museum learning experiences by taking advantages of the possibilities offered by technology. Nevertheless, in doing so, museums are desperate to find an effective formula in designing their educational exhibit content; mainly how to represent and deliver in their online exhibit counterparts and to fulfil their role facilitating the formal education context. In designing and developing digital materials for such a complex pedagogical environment requires much detailed attention in dealing with individual cognitive differences. As such, human-beings' information processing not only affects how they learn but more importantly, how they influence the overall preferences of the exhibit design elements. Thus, this thesis investigates the interactive effects between cognitive preference and the instructional strategies as they were received during their museum learning experiences. The research study utilised the existing content of the Melbourne Museum's Dinosaur Walk exhibition. The cognitive preferences, on the other hand, represents the human-beings' information processing differences that are often described as an individual's preferred and habitual approach to represent the information they receive while undergoing the instruction. The research employed a three-phase quasi-experimental design; the fieldwork experiments were conducted to examine the instructional outcomes of children aged 10 to 12 (from Victorian primary schools, in Australia). This student cohort, therefore, involved children with different cognitive preferences within two museum instructional exhibit strategies; the web-based exhibit and the physical museum exhibit content of the Dinosaur Walk exhibition in the Melbourne Museum. The data collected were scores from: i) the cognitive style analysis (CSA) and ii) the cognitive performance (pretest and posttest) from 91 school children aged 10 to 12 years old from Australian primary schools in the Melbourne suburbs. The validity and reliability of the cognitive performance measurements tools (the pretest and posttest) were established under the auspices of the Rasch model applying the Quest Interactive Test Analysis System. The cognitive performance measurement scale was found to have reliability estimates of 1.00 with item fit statistics ranges 0.87 to 1.18. These statistics show that all the test-items were measuring the one construct. Cohen's effect size has been utilised to compare the magnitude of differences between the experimental groups. Further analysis confirmed the interactive effect between cognitive preferences and the museum instructional strategies on their museum learning experiences. It was also found that Wholist-Verbalisers achieved their best performance under the web-based museum instructional strategies compared to the physical museum with an effect size of 1.44. The results also revealed that participants with lower prior domain knowledge benefits more from the web-based instructional strategies. This thesis enhances the formulation of the interactivity between the human and technological dimensions of the online museum learning environment. It highlights the essentials and degree of interaction and knowledge that may be utilised to improve the design and evaluation practices of personalised museum learning and other learning environments. The study also demonstrates the effectiveness of the Rasch measurement approach for instructional design and performance measurement

Sosiaalipolitiikka ja alkuperäiskansat Taiwanissa

This dissertation examines the relationship between the colonial state and Indigenous peoples by focusing on the case of elderly care. Studying the Tayal in Taiwan, it investigates aging, care and well-being from the Indigenous paradigm. The aim is to develop the hermeneutic perspective of the Tayal to privilege their voices in reconfiguring the concept of care. Three research questions are posed: 1) What are the “Indigenous problems” represented in long-term care (LTC) policies in Taiwan? 2) How do the Tayal experience care in a care center funded by the state? How do they contest the policies and what visions of care do they have? 3) What are the discrepancies between policy and practice? How do they reflect the relationship between coloniality and indigeneity in multicultural Taiwan? The data consists of policy documents, participant observation, field notes, interviews and personal narratives concerning the everyday experiences of Tayal elders (bnkis). Methodologically, the dissertation employs critical policy analysis and critical ethnography. The dissertation arrives at three main conclusions. First, the identified three frames depoliticize the “problem” of elderly care for the Indigenous peoples and make them “invisible.” Through frames of secludedness and inadequacy, the construction of the Indigenous problem is depicted as caused by their geographical location and by their lack of ability to be service providers or consumers. By contrast, the frame of culture emphasizes unique traditions, allowing more agency but running the risk of imposing an image of static and unchanging indigeneity. Second, the ethnographic analysis shows the strength, resilience and resistance of the bnkis. The idealized “tribal care” promoted in the Day Club, the social center which served as the core location for my fieldwork, turns a blind eye to the fluid, contextual and living Tayal culture, which underlies the kind of care that the bnkis prefer. Investigation of the experiences of bnkis shows that the Day Club is appropriated, repurposed and redefined by the Tayal community to negotiate identities and contest predominant conceptualizations of aging and care. Third, the findings indicate that contrary to Taiwan’s claims to be multicultural and its promise to recognize Indigenous rights, the approach to accommodate Indigenous elders is still predicated on a middle-class, urban, Han-Chinese norm. The novelty of this study lies in its aspiration to develop Indigenous epistemology and Tayal hermeneutics in the context of care. The results contribute to literature in critical policy analysis, care studies, Indigenous studies, critical gerontology and Taiwan studies, as they raise important questions about what indigeneity is and the role that the nation-state plays in the making of social policy for Indigenous elders.Tässä väitöskirjassa tarkastellaan koloniaalisen valtion ja alkuperäiskansojen välistä suhdetta keskittymällä vanhusten hoivaan. Väitöskirjassa tutkitaan Taiwanin atayal-alkuperäiskansaan kuuluvien ikääntymistä, hoivaa ja hyvinvointia alkuperäiskansojen paradigman näkökulmasta. Tavoitteena on kehittää atayalien hermeneutiikkaa, jotta heidän äänensä saataisiin kuuluviin hoivan käsitteen uudelleenmäärittelyssä. Väitöskirjassa esitetään kolme tutkimuskysymystä: 1) Mitä ”alkuperäiskansoihin liittyviä ongelmia” Taiwanin pitkäaikaishoivan politiikassa on? 2) Millaisena atayalit kokevat hoivan valtion rahoittamassa hoivakeskuksessa? Miten he kyseenalaistavat vallitsevaa politiikkaa ja minkälaisia näkemyksiä heillä on hoivasta? 3) Mitä eroja politiikan ja käytännön välillä on? Miten erot heijastavat koloniaalisuuden ja alkuperäiskansalaisuuden välistä suhdetta monikulttuurisessa Taiwanissa? Aineisto koostuu poliittisista asiakirjoista, osallistujien havainnoinnista, kenttämuistiinpanoista, haastatteluista ja henkilökohtaisista tarinoista atayal-alkuperäiskansan vanhusten (bnkis) arjen kokemuksista. Väitöskirjan tutkimusmenetelminä käytetään kriittistä policy- analyysia ja kriittistä etnografiaa. Väitöskirjassa tehdään kolme keskeistä johtopäätöstä. Ensinnäkin tunnistetut kolme kehystä depolitisoivat alkuperäiskansoihin kuuluvien vanhusten hoivan ”ongelman” ja tekevät heistä ”näkymättömiä”. Eristäytyneisyyden ja vaillinaisuuden kehysten läpi tarkasteltuna alkuperäiskansojen hoivaan liittyvien ongelmien katsotaan johtuvan heidän maantieteellisestä sijainnista ja oletetusta kyvyttömyydestä toimia palveluntarjoajina tai -kuluttajina. Kulttuurillinen kehys sitä vastoin korostaa alkuperäiskansojen ainutlaatuisia perinteitä, mikä lisää toimijuutta, mutta vaarana on, että syntyy mielikuva staattisesta ja muuttumattomasta alkuperäiskansasta. Toiseksi etnografinen analyysi tuo esiin bnkisien vahvuuden, sitkeyden ja kestävyyden. Kenttätyön ydinkohteena olleessa päiväkerhossa edistetty ihanteellinen ”heimoperusteinen hoiva” sulkee silmänsä muuttuvalta, kontekstuaaliselta ja elävältä atayal-kulttuurilta, joka luo pohjan bnkisien kaipaamalle hoivalle. Bnkisien kokemuksiin perehtyminen osoittaa, että atayal-yhteisö kuitenkin ottaa haltuun, muotoilee ja määrittelee uudelleen päiväkerhon ja kyseenalaistaa identiteetit sekä ikääntymisen ja hoivan vallitsevat käsitteellistämiset. Kolmanneksi havainnot viittaavat siihen, että huolimatta Taiwanin monikulttuuriseksi julistautumisesta ja lupauksesta tunnustaa alkuperäiskansojen oikeudet, lähestymistapa alkuperäiskansoihin kuuluvien vanhusten hoivaan perustuu edelleen keskiluokkaiseen, urbaaniin ja han-kiinalaiseen normiin. Tämän tutkimuksen uutuus piilee pyrkimyksessä kehittää alkuperäiskansojen epistemologiaa ja atayalien hermeneutiikkaa hoivan viitekehyksessä. Tutkimuksen tulokset tarjoavat panoksensa kriittistä policy-analyysia, hoivatutkimusta, alkuperäiskansojen tutkimusta, kriittistä gerontologiaa ja Taiwan-aiheista tutkimusta koskevaan kirjallisuuteen, sillä ne tuovat esiin tärkeitä kysymyksiä alkuperäiskansoista ja kansallisvaltion roolista alkuperäiskansoihin kuuluvia vanhuksia koskevan sosiaalipolitiikan toteuttamisessa

The Chinese continuum of self-cultivation: a Confucian-Deweyan learning model

This thesis explores a transcultural philosophy of education based on the Neo-Confucian concepts of the universal nature of self (ren xing人性), as positioned with self-in-the-world (ren 人) and humanity (ren 仁) in the co-creative process of self-cultivation (xiushen 修身). This approach to knowledge synthesis and consolidation informs and enhances the educational theories of John Dewey (1859-1952) and presents a philosophy of education which has a dynamic self interacting with and becoming in the world as an evolving process of knowledge schematization and application. The Confucian-Deweyan educational model explored herein is presented as, not only a transcultural educational approach in the changing face of globality, but also a means to encourage and foster humanitarian and communitarian values in the student to be applied in life-long learning. That is, a wholistic approach to education whereby the individual considers the other – human and natural – tantamount to the self in an increasingly shifting world. This concept is in direct opposition to the anthropocentric approach of egoistic individualism currently prevalent in post-modern societies. Hence, the model developed herein is a pragmatic response to 21st century globality, fostering cooperation, rather than competition; an anthropocosmic vision of life and living, enabling non-European indigenous values to co-exist in a global arena. The specific elements addressed for the contextual background of the thesis is the history and influence of Deweyan thought in China (Dewey lectured in China for two years – 1919-1921), the history of China’s educational systems, and the PRC’s current education reform initiatives. China, with a community-based culture and growing global presence, offers a real-world context for exploring the viability of such a Confucian-Deweyan model of education as a confluence of Western and Eastern approaches to learning, self, community, creativity and knowledge

Dance as a Community of Practice: Exploring Dance Groups in the Kansas City Area through the Lifespan

Title from PDF of title page, viewed on August 4, 2015Dissertation advisor: Shannon JacksonVitaIncludes bibliographic references (pages 485-499)Thesis (Ph.D.)--Department of Sociology and Department of Psychology. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2015This dissertation examines the embodied cultural practice of dance among several groups in the Kansas City area. The dance groups were studied as Communities of Practice (CoP), as outlined in the Lave-Wenger model of CoP. The CoP model uses the complementary concepts of “reified structures” and “peripheral participation” to explain social learning. This dissertation argues that participation in dance activities creates body schema and social bonds that make dance a powerful mechanism for learning and teaching social behaviors. The dance groups studied covered a spectrum of dance genres, including folkloric, popular, hip-hop, ballroom, ballet, and modern dance. Data were collected from participant observation, interviews, archives, cable TV shows, websites, and published materials. Archival documentation included photographic and video materials, as well as survey data available for secondary analysis. Grounded Theory Methodology based on qualitative data was deemed the most appropriate approach. By examining these dance groups, certain social processes were consistently observed, including 1) similarities in dance practice across groups led to similar social practices and processes over the lifespan; 2) differences in dance genre aesthetic structure were associated with different forms of CoP structure and organization; the more structured the aesthetic of the dance genre, the more structured and hierarchical the organization of the dance group; 3) certain factors/attributes of the CoPs contributed to the dance group’s robustness and longevity; and 4) the mediation of time and space with other dancers during dance served as a model of interactions between self and others and developed the skills of collaboration. Overall, this study found the sharing and mediation of time and space during dance shaped individual social interactions into increasingly cooperative and collaborative activities. Also, the aesthetic structure of the dance genre was associated with the dance group's hierarchical social structure.The project -- Literature review -- Methodology -- Historical context -- Theoretical bases of embodied behavior and social interaction -- Analysis of social dance from a meadian perspective -- Results: analysis of data as community practice -- Conclusion and discussion -- Appendix A. Culture through Ballroom Dance Questionnaire Documents -- Appendix B. Informed Permission Statement -- Appendix C. Models and Diagrams -- Appendix D. Historic Dance Photographs -- Appendix E. Photographs Illustrating Taxonom

Navigating Cultures and Epistemologies in Science and Technology Education

This investigation focuses on the nexus of science and culture in the lives of marginalized youth in the United States and South Africa. The epistemologies and contextual realities of cross-cultural learner cohorts and their understandings of scientific phenomena are examined. The researcher was a participant observer within the context of the Science, Technology & Culture: Empowering Learners (STC) program, an after-school and school-based collaboration focused upon integrating science, technology and culture. Electronic communication provided a vehicle for dialogue between youth in St. Louis, Missouri, USA and a South African Township. Study findings include documentation of the marginalizing effects of poverty for the United States and South African study participants. Study participants drew upon multiple contexts to form identity. United States and South African learners revealed many ways of knowing as explanatory tools for natural phenomena. Learners maintained multiple epistemologies as explanatory tools after engaging in scientific pedagogical activities. However, belief in multiple epistemologies did not preclude learner trust in scientifically acceptable explanations for natural events. Change was a constant in the experience of study participants. Educators and learners negotiated their changing world through the lenses of their cultural/indigenous understandings. Implications for policy and practice are provided

Teaching as consummatory experience: the aesthetic dimension of experience in the later works of John Dewey and its relevance to teaching and teacher education

In this dissertation, what I would like to call the ideal of teaching as consummatory experience is discussed in relation to John Dewey\u27s concept of experience as the latter was elucidated in his later works, especially, Art as Experience and Experience and Nature. Dewey, particularly in Art as Experience , focuses on the aesthetic dimension of experience as its most fulfilling and complete mode. The articulation of the ideal of teaching as consummatory experience is grounded within the American Bildung tradition in which John Dewey was schooled and is necessitated as an attempt to reassert an alternative against the unabated dominance of the positivistic ethos that underlies much of the contemporary reform movements in teacher education. The implications and possibilities of a restoration of such an alternative for teacher education reform in the face of positivistic and late-modern skepticism are fleshed out