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Webb_Mary_A_OhioLINK_12_1_15.pdf (738.96 KB)

ETD Abstract Container

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RESISTING IN THE MIDST OF CHAOS: ONE REVOLUTIONARY EDUCATOR’S CURRERE JOURNEY

Webb, Mary A
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5058-5324
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1448470679

Abstract Details

2015, Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, Educational Leadership.
Teachers are arguably the most important group of professionals for our nation’s future growth and development. However, they do not often discuss, define, or identify their professional identities. Curriculum theory’s re-conceptualist movement, exemplified by William Pinar’s notion of currere, shifted the field’s emphasis from making curriculum to understanding it. Currere as a process is a reflective opportunity to go back to the beginning and project into the future, while intentionally examining the in-between spaces of our educational experiences with the ultimate goal of synthesizing the parts to understand the overall meaning. Currere allows teachers to develop self-portraits, which include educational experiences, dreams, and the imagination of teaching. It is through the telling of our experiences that we can understand and shape our practices. Understanding curriculum as a strategy that transforms experiences into useable knowledge helps us to develop our practice so that it is responsive to the needs of students and to ourselves as educators. Deconstructing personal histories and stories may allow teachers to gain cultural awareness and insight into school systems and structures of power and privilege. To understand who I am, I must acknowledge who I have been. This research as an autobiographical study sought to explore the potential and possibilities for engaging currere as defined by Pinar’s 1976 work. The purpose of this study was to seek a clearer understanding of the following research questions: (1) Who I am as a teacher? (2) How does my educational experience affect my teaching practices? (3) What inspires me to resist the deintellectualization of my work? (4) What strategies of resistance do I use to support the needs of my students without getting fired? Through critical reflection and identity construction, teachers can improve instruction and, thereby, improve student learning and achievement in any discipline. This kind of reflection gives us the opportunity to share our truth and to expose the intricacies of what it is really like to be in the classroom with 30 budding personalities, the care we give, and the joy we share when they discover the true meaning of learning. The goal of this research is simply to help as many educators as possible to be able to not only find, but contribute their voices to the narrative of what does happen, what could happen, and what should happen in classrooms today.
Denise Taliaferro Bazile, Dr. (Committee Chair)
Thomas Poetter, Dr. (Committee Member)
Michael Evans, Dr, (Committee Member)
Sheri Leafgren, Dr, (Committee Member)
72 p.
Education; Educational Leadership; Elementary Education; Mathematics Education; Teacher Education; Teaching
Currere; curriculum theory

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Webb, M. A. (2015). RESISTING IN THE MIDST OF CHAOS: ONE REVOLUTIONARY EDUCATOR’S CURRERE JOURNEY [Doctoral dissertation, Miami University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1448470679

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Webb, Mary. RESISTING IN THE MIDST OF CHAOS: ONE REVOLUTIONARY EDUCATOR’S CURRERE JOURNEY . 2015. Miami University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1448470679.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Webb, Mary. "RESISTING IN THE MIDST OF CHAOS: ONE REVOLUTIONARY EDUCATOR’S CURRERE JOURNEY ." Doctoral dissertation, Miami University, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1448470679

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

miami1448470679
608
© 2015, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Miami University and OhioLINK.