Session Information
27 SES 10 A, Transnational Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives in Didactics: Understanding Equitable Learning in Relation to Epistemic Quality Through Studying a Dance Lesson in France
Round Table
Contribution
Rationale
This session brings brings together a transnational and cross-disciplinary group to consider the relation between equitable learning and epistemic quality in schools. We share common interests in Joint Action in Didactics (Gruson and Loquet, 2013) as a theoretical framework focusing on the dynamics of interactions in connection with the content knowledge involved. Working in the global context through the WERA IRN (Hudson et al., 2015) in particular has foregrounded the challenge of inequality as a core challenge for contemporary societies and for educational systems. The crucial role of education in relation to this challenge is highlighted by Sayed (2013), who stresses education as a “fundamental human right in itself as well as an enabling right, fostering the accomplishment of all other social, cultural, economic and political rights”. This report calls for two main education specific goals to be addressed as part of the future development framework, which are equitable access and equitable quality education (Sayed, 2013: 36).
We are interested in better understanding how to redress the extent to which educational systems, as well as everyday teaching practices and classroom interaction reproduce inequality, i.e. unequal preconditions and chances of autonomous participation and success. Our guiding framework (Hudson et al., 2016) considers equity, equality and social justice as key issues at the societal, institutional and practical/didactical levels. The work of Stojanov (2011) is of particular relevance that gives an account of the ways in which many students have experiences of defiance, contempt and humiliation and even degradation that hinder the development of their self-identity and autonomy. Accordingly we define equitable learning as learning that produces educational justice (“Bildungsgerechtigkeit”), that enables students to overcome societal and familiar limitations of access to and success in education, that fosters subject autonomy and that allows developing participatory competences for life in all societal fields. Central to achieving this is the need to consider the epistemic quality of the content involved (Hudson et al., 2015: 377) and also the potential for associated processes of alienation (Lakatos, 1976).
Research Questions
Accordingly we aim to address the conditions for and barriers against the promotion of equitable learning for young people in schools. The emphasis we place on quality education brings a focus on the system (didactic system) composed of three poles, the learner, the teacher and the content. Within this frame we focus on the following aspects:
- the epistemic quality of content
- the quality of teacher-student(s) interaction
- the quality of instruction as a creative process
- the democratic quality of schooling and instruction
Methodological Approach
Research will be conducted in the three countries in relation to three specific subjects (PE, maths, foreign languages). The aim is to analyse different examples of inclusion in classroom activities and to compare findings within our common framework. In doing so our research approach will enable us to define, describe and evaluate the conditions for and the barriers against the promotion of equitable learning. Data collection, analysis and interpretation will be based on a constructivist grounded theory approach (Charmaz, 2000), and informed by Joint Action Theory in Didactics (Sensevy, 2011, 2012; Gruson, Forest & Loquet, 2012). This process was initiated in November 2015 when the research team as a whole observed a PE lesson with a class in a college in Rennes (students aged 14 and 15), the content of which focuses on the practice of dance and the aims of citizenship education.
Intended purpose of the discussion
We will outline our perspectives and share a video extract from the dance lesson in France in order to exemplify our methodological approach and to discuss our initial insights and ideas emerging from the data analysis.
References
Charmaz, K. (2000). Grounded Theory: Objectivist and Constructivist Methods. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of Qualitative Research, 2nd edition (pp.509-535). Thousand Oaks, Ca.: Sage. Gruson, B., Forest, D., and Loquet, M. (2012): Jeux de savoir. Études de l’action conjointe en didactique. Presses Universitaires de Rennes. Gruson, B. and Loquet, M. (2013) Symposium on Teaching-Learning as Joint Action: Developing a common theoretical background for Didactics in Europe, European Conference of Educational Research, University of Bahçeşehir, Istanbul, 10-13 September 2013. Hudson, B., Loquet, M., Meyer, M. and Wegner, A. (2016) Equitable Learning in France, the United Kingdom, and Germany – An Empirical Research Project on the Process of Schooling and Instruction in Europe, (Work in progress). Hudson, B., Ligozat, F., Meyer, M. and Sensevy, G. (2015a) Comparing Different Research Traditions of Curriculum, Learning and Teaching, Symposium on Transnational Research Perspectives on Didactics - Learning and Teaching, WERA Focal Meeting 2015/European Conference of Educational Research, Corvinus University Budapest, 8-11th September 2015. Hudson, B., Henderson, S. and Hudson, A., (2015) Developing Mathematical Thinking in the Primary Classroom: Liberating Teachers and Students as Learners of Mathematics, Journal of Curriculum Studies, Vol. 47, Issue 3, 374-398. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00220272.2014.979233 Lakatos, I. (1976) Proofs and Refutations, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Loquet, M., Wegner, A., & Meyer, M. A. (2015). Didactics in Europe beyond Fragmentation? Analyses of Teaching-Learning Practices through Case Studies. Symposium at European Conference on Educational Research, Budapest, Hungary (8-11 September). Loquet, M. (2015). Savant Oeuvre and Oeuvre of Students in Dance: Example of the Tales in Choreographic Practice in College. European Conference on Educational Research, Budapest, Hungary (8-11 September) Stojanov (2011) Bildungsgerechtigkeit: Rekonstruktionen eines umkämpften Begriffs, Wiesbaden: Springer VS, Sayed, Y. (2013) Envisioning Education in the post-2015 Development Agenda: Report of the Global Thematic Consultation on Education in the Post-2015 Development Agenda, UNICEF/UNESCO. Sensevy, G. (2011): Overcoming fragmentation: Towards a joint action theory in didactics. In Hudson, B. & Meyer, M. A. (Eds.) Beyond Fragmentation: Didactics, Learning, and Teaching, pp. 60-76. Verlag Barbara Budrich, Opladen and Farmington Hills. Sensevy, G. (2012) About the Joint Action Theory in Didactics. Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft, 15(3), 503-516http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11618-012-0305-9# Wegner, A. (2016) (ed.): Allgemeine Didaktik: Praxis, Positionen, Perspektiven. Opladen: Budrich.
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