(Week 5)
In Week 5, the second assigned reading was an article entitled, "Reflective Practice in the Civil Society: The contribution of critically systemic thinking" by Ulrich (2000). Although this was one of the more difficult articles to get through, I really enjoyed its content.
In Week 5, the second assigned reading was an article entitled, "Reflective Practice in the Civil Society: The contribution of critically systemic thinking" by Ulrich (2000). Although this was one of the more difficult articles to get through, I really enjoyed its content.
Ulrich's ideas revolving around corporatist society, including special interest groups, having more "legitimacy" than the individual citizen really struck a cord with me. To explain why, I would like to apply his ideas to the field of education.
Everyday, as a teacher, I feel the separation that exists between the world of teacher and that of academic research. Unfortunately, much of the educational research conducted by those in the academy is largely irrelevant to teachers' lives in schools. On the other hand, many academics dismiss the knowledge produced through teacher research as trivial and inconsequential to their work. This kind of mistrust and under-appreciation creates a power struggle in education, which, as Ulrich mentions in his article, leaves very little room for teacher to act as an "individual" or to function as a "citizen".
In the article, Ulrich talks about the difference between "professionals" and "lay people". At no time do I personally consider teachers to be considered part of the "lay people" category. To enter, and stay in, the teaching profession, requires a high level of education, training and professional development. As I reflect on this point, I can see more clearly why academics view teachers as a treat to sound professional practice rather than a basis and support for it. As the article suggests, there really needs to a bridge between civil society (the teacher) and the concept of professionalism (the academic).
Everyday, as a teacher, I feel the separation that exists between the world of teacher and that of academic research. Unfortunately, much of the educational research conducted by those in the academy is largely irrelevant to teachers' lives in schools. On the other hand, many academics dismiss the knowledge produced through teacher research as trivial and inconsequential to their work. This kind of mistrust and under-appreciation creates a power struggle in education, which, as Ulrich mentions in his article, leaves very little room for teacher to act as an "individual" or to function as a "citizen".
In the article, Ulrich talks about the difference between "professionals" and "lay people". At no time do I personally consider teachers to be considered part of the "lay people" category. To enter, and stay in, the teaching profession, requires a high level of education, training and professional development. As I reflect on this point, I can see more clearly why academics view teachers as a treat to sound professional practice rather than a basis and support for it. As the article suggests, there really needs to a bridge between civil society (the teacher) and the concept of professionalism (the academic).
At the start of this post, I put the picture of the "eye" because of the following quote from the article: "Reflective practice risks being blind if it shuts its eye to the issue of responsible citizenship." To legitimatize and include teachers reflections, I agree with Ulrich in that the notion of citizenship has to change to include a new set of "civil competencies". His concept of boundary judgments, shown below, as a way to deal with the divides between the individual and the corporatist society makes room for this to happen.
By understanding the context of each group, educational research can include both teacher produced knowledge and knowledge produced by those in the academy. This will go a long way to close the divide which exists between the tow and greatly benefit the processes of teacher development, school reform, and teacher education.
No comments:
Post a Comment