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The emotional dimensions of learning and researching lives: a neglected species? ESREA Life History and Biographical Research Network Canterbury Christ Church University Thursday March 6th to Sunday March 9th, 2008

Prof.ssa Loretta Fabbri - Prof.ssa Maura Striano - Dott. Claudio Melacarne

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Emotional dimensions in transformative learning

processes of novice teachers. A qualitative study

Loretta Fabbri & Claudio Melacarne, University of Siena - Maura Striano, University of Naples Federico II.


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Contents

l  Scientific background l  Theoretical framework l  Study questions l  Research focus and objectives l  Methodology l  A first quantitative analysis: the focus of the reflective action l  The qualitative analysis

l  Unsaid emotions. I do what I feel like doing. I learn as a professional by observation, by trial and errors. Emotions are imbedded in the practices. No cognitive apprenticeship occurs

l  Helplessness. I won’t do as you teach me. l  Emotions are an “individual thing”. I learn by opposition because I feel that what you propose is not

right l  Exploring reflectively emotional relationships with students and colleagues l  Socializing emotions

l  Critical points l  Essential references


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1. Scientific background

In the last thirty years educational research has been increasingly focused on the relationship among knowledge construction processes, emotions and practices in educational and professional contexts, according to a constructivist paradigm. Within this framework, a growing body of research has examined the relationship between teachers’ epistemological beliefs and the practice of teaching (King, Kitchener, 1994). The understanding of teachers’ beliefs systems about teaching and learning is particularly informative about the manner in which their classroom practice is constructed.


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l  In particular, some studies have been focused on teachers’ personal and “folk” epistemologies and psychologies, (Brownlee, 2001, 2003; Olson and Bruner 1996).

l  Within this framework, two conceptual constructs are particularly relevant to the study and analysis of professional practices:

1)  the construct of “personal epistemology” (Hofer, Pintrich, 2001)

2)  the construct of “professional epistemology” (Schön, 1983, 1987, 1991)


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The construct of trasformative learning (Mezirow, 1991) is particularly relevant to give reason of the epistemological changes occurring in personal and professional epistemology because these changes involve trasfomation of frame of reference and meaning perspectives


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Research framework: l personal epistemology; l professional epistemology; l  transformative learning.

2. Theoretical framework


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Reasons Teachers administrate learning and teaching

processes and these processes are influenced by beliefs, representation, theories (tacit theories, naïve theories, common sense theories) teachers use to interpret their personal and professional experiences and professional practices change according to a transformative process regarding the frames of reference of these beliefs, representations, theories.


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Reasons Professional epistemologies are always linked to

personal epistemologies where emotions play a central role in the construction of beliefs, representations, theories regarding various dimensions of teacher’s self; emotions, thus, are deeply involved in the way teachers give meaning to their professional practices. Emotions are very different in novice and expert teacher and have a central role in the development of professional epistemologies.


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l  The construction of a professional identity is strictly connected to the construction/deconstruction of a personal identity and in this complex process, epistemic and socio-linguistic meaning perspectives change together with psychological perspectives. Emotions play a strong role in the construction and development of professional epistemologies and personal growth and changes have a deep impact in the framing and reframing of professional identities and roles.

Reasons


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3. Study questions l  Novice teachers participate to the classroom experience

and the training activity in school without any form of previous professional knowledge and competences and are challenged to develop a reflective competence. They use their personal frames of references (Mezirow, 1991) and personal epistemologies (Hofer & Pintrich, 2001) to frame their first experiences of legitimate peripheral participation to professional practices (Lave, Wenger, 1991) and this use implies deep emotional involvement. Moreover, the practicum experience and the challenges that the encounter with a different frame of reference provided by the expert teacher- whose practices are observed and reflected upon- lead the novice teacher to a deep reframing of their meaning perspectives, an poses a strong focus on their emotions.


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l  The empirical research focus is on the interplay of the tacit emotional dimension and the tacit knowledge and epistemology involved in the development of professional identities and epistemologies in novice teachers through transformative learning and reflective processes.

l  The unit of analysis is thus the practicum experience as it is framed and reframed by novice teachers’ beliefs, epistemologies, feelings and emotions.

l  The objective is to understand which kind of emotions are involved in the transformation of epistemic, sociolinguistic and psychological frames of references in novice teachers’ practicum experiences in order to support them with reflective devices useful to promote transformative learning.

4. Research focus and objectives


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5. Methodology l  The research has been developed within a qualitative framework

using a narrative inquiry approach (Connelly & Clandinin, 2001). l  The qualitative study has involved 100 novice teachers attending a

two year training course in Teacher College at the Universities of Florence and Siena and has been focused on the analysis of transformative learning processes (Mezirow, 1990; 1991) occurring during the practicum within the interaction among novice and expert teachers.

l  Novice teachers have been asked to provide narratives of their practicum experiences; in particular, they have been asked to write a short narrative about a problematic experience in their training framed as “critical incident” (Brookfield, 1990). Critical incidents have been used widely in educational research (Killen and McKee, 1983), ever since Flanagan's (1954) initial formulation of the method.


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6. A first quantitative analysis: the focus of the reflective action

About 59% of the total amount of problems and issues portrayed in the professional narratives refer to the difficulty to establish a “good” relationship with the students in the class, or with a single student, with a little group of students. Only 10% of the narratives collected is explicitly focused on teacher’s professional and personal beliefs, emotions as well as on teachers’ motivations which lead to the identification of a “professional self”. We have used the construct of “professional self” in order to focus on the difficult relationship occurring in the interplay of the perception of the self and the representation of the professional role emerging during the practicum experience as well as during reflective processes. About 28% of the narratives are focused on the definition or understanding of learning processes occurring in the classroom and have a strong epistemological focus. Learning is a central issue in teachers’ practice. Narratives are very useful to explore implicit theories about learning which are deeply imbedded in the practicum experience, in particular, the narratives analysed are mainly focused on the relationship between motivation an learning in different educational contexts and have thus a strong focus on the emotional dimension. Only 3% of the narratives has been focused on the difficulties and the problems in the practice of learning assessment and evaluation.

28%

59%

3%

10%

Learning

Relationship

Evaluation

Professional self


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l  According to this first level of analysis, it is possible to assume that professional identity and epistemology is being constructed and developed within mainly three problematic areas which lead to specific learning interests for novice teachers.

l  A didactical-relational-communicative area: here teachers are committed to solve problems such as: “How can I solve the problem to establish a good communicative climate in order to mediate and transfer effectively new knowledge structures?”; “Which kind of knowledge, competences, strategies, tools do I need to manage effectively a class of students?”.

l  A personal-introspective area: “Why did I choose to become a teacher?” - “What does it mean to be a good teacher?”.

l  Learning theories area: “What does learning mean?” - “Which strategies ands methodologies should I use in order to support learning?”.


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7. The qualitative analysis

The qualitative analysis shows how novice teachers construct their professional identity referring to their practicum experiences where epistemological and emotional dimensions are deeply interconnected. Beliefs, representations, implicit theories, emotions frame and reframe their experiences and change as personal frames of reference are being transformed.


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7.1. Unsaid emotions. I do what I feel like doing. I learn as a professional by observation, by trial and errors. Emotions are imbedded in the practices. No cognitive apprenticeship occurs

A first theory about professional identity and epistemology could be synthesized in the idea that training and practicum are mainly to be understood as experiences which lead to professional practices and not as a full immersion in professional experiences and practices. The novice teacher learns from experience but is not supported in reflecting on the experience and in exploring different possible solutions negotiated with the expert teacher. No discussion on the episode has occurred. The emotions of frustration and rage have a strong role in the construction/deconstruction of the professional identity and epistemology but have not been analysed in the practicum setting itself.


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7.2. Helplessness. I won’t do as you teach me. Emotions are an “individual thing”. I learn by opposition because I feel that what you propose is not right

A particularly interesting focus is on the relationship between novice perspectives and export teacher perspectives. In some occasions the novice teachers does not agree on the theoretical and methodological framework used by the expert teacher and activates processes of construction of an individual professional point of view by opposition, supported by emotions of dislike. The first professional experiences mostly challenge personal and intimate dimensions more than professional and practical competence which the novice teacher is not jet provided with. Narratives portray the practicum as an experience, and do not focus on the professional problem through analysis of the different variables implied or with a deep involvement and participation in the professional experience. Problems arise from practice in two different forms: problems regarding emotional implications of didactics (how should interact with students, how should I manage assessment? How can I motivate the students?) and epistemological problems (should I revise my theories of learning and teaching?).


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7.3. Exploring reflectively emotional relationships with students and colleagues

Narratives have portrayed a widespread convincement that a determining factor facilitating knowledge construction and learning processes is the capability to manage relationships with a particular focus on the emotional dimension. A good relationship and a good “classroom climate” give the opportunity to make mistakes and to be understood? From the narratives collected novice students seem deeply convinced of the necessity to develop a relationship grounded on respect and reciprocal esteem. In cases where novice teachers focused on the competence of teachers for special needs students this factor is considered to be essential to activate a good learning process.


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7.4. Socializing emotions The novice teacher tells us how “aggressive behaviours” are often the by product of a frenetic climate, with no opportunity to exchange ideas, opinions, stories or personal narratives. The implicit theory recalls a vygotskijan view of learning processes and uses the metaphor of the class as a “social” context. In particular, class is understood as a space where it is not possible anymore to tell stories, to meet different point of view and narrative. A strong attention for relational and emotional dimensions of teaching is not accompanied by a reflection about which strategies would be more useful to manage learning-teaching processes besides “empathy” or “grounding a good relationship”.


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8. Critical points The study of novice teachers narratives has evidenced some critical points that are extremely relevant in the development of a multifaceted professional competence in Teacher College, While there is a strong focus on the necessity that the teacher builds up a competence useful to manage both personal emotions in class as well as the emotions of the class and of the single students, there is also the risk of misunderstanding of the teacher’s role interpretation., also because teachers’ relational competences are not clearly understood and focused on. Moreover, a strong focus on relationship as the basis of learning tends to minimize epistemological issues and problems related to curriculum development and content mediation within learning/teaching processes.


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Critical points Practicum experiences if not considered as professional competence

building setting both by novice as by expert teachers, and if not provided of a reflective structure useful to confront, mediate, negotiate meaning perspectives tend to confirm personal frames of references or, when they are perceived as disorienting, there is not the opportunity to activate critical reflective processes. Moreover, novice experiment strong emotions but they have no opportunity to make meaning of them.

The use of critical incidents and of professional narratives has shown that whenever novice teachers are lead to reflect on their experiences and practices they may become critically aware of their beliefs, representations, theories, emotions and use them as a pivotal device to build up reflective competence, which we can consider as a core competence for teaching.

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