Abstract
Who we are and become is influenced by our relationships in different times and spaces. In this paper, I tell stories about my professional education work with others in the Middle East and elsewhere that shows this process in action. However, this view of the evolutionary nature of identity requires a different epistemology from the dominant either-or epistemology of conventional higher education. Through stories about interactions with others in higher education, I explain how such a divisive epistemological form encourages divisive social practices. Further, given current misappropriations of action research by a traditionalist academy, this form now infiltrates action research discourses. Finding ways to create pluralist identities therefore becomes the responsibility of academics who thereby legitimize a dynamic epistemological form through their own action enquiries.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Al-Abdallah, A. (2010). From skills to knowledge in basic mathematics. In J. McNiff (Ed.), Teacher enquiry bulletin: Action research for teachers in Qatar (pp. 9–12). Qatar: Supreme Education Council. Retrieved from: http://www.jeanmcniff.com/userfiles/file/qatar/Qatar_Action_Research_booklet_email.pdf
Al-Fugara, S. (2010). Developing inclusion in schools: How do I integrate students with additional educational support needs into mainstream schooling? In J. McNiff (Ed.), Teacher enquiry bulletin: Action research for teachers in Qatar (pp. 21–24). Qatar: Supreme Education Council. Retrieved from: http://www.jeanmcniff.com/userfiles/file/qatar/Qatar_Action_Research_booklet_email.pdf
Al-Hajri, S. (2010). Demonstrating educational accountability through new cultures of educational enquiry. In J. McNiff (Ed.), Teacher enquiry bulletin: Action research for teachers in Qatar (pp. 18–20). Qatar: Supreme Education Council. Retrieved from: http://www.jeanmcniff.com/userfiles/file/qatar/Qatar_Action_Research_booklet_email.pdf
al-Tikriti, N. (2010). Negligent mnemocide and the shattering of Iraqi collective memory. In R. W. Baker, S. T. Ismael, & T. Y. Ismael (Eds.), Cultural cleansing in Iraq (pp. 93–115). London: Pluto.
Arendt, H. (1973). On revolution. London: Pelican.
Baker, R. W., Ismael, S. T., & Ismael, T. Y. (2010). Cultural cleansing in Iraq. London: Pluto.
Ball, S. (2003). The teacher’s soul and the terrors of performativity. Journal of Education Policy, 18(2), 215–228.
Bateson, G. (1973). Steps to an ecology of mind. St Albans, UK: Paladin.
Bayat, A. (2009). Life as politics: How ordinary people change the Middle East. Cairo, Egypt: The American University in Cairo Press.
Bergson, H. (1998). Creative evolution. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications (Original work published 1911).
Brinkman, S. (2012). Qualitative inquiry in everyday life. London: Sage.
Calderisi, R. (2006). The trouble with Africa. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Chomsky, N. (1987). The responsibility of intellectuals. In J. Peck (Ed.), The Chomsky reader (pp. 59–136). London: Serpent’s Tail.
de Certeau, M. (1984). The practice of everyday life. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Deem, R., Reed, M., & Hillyard, S. (2007). Knowledge, higher education, and the new managerialism. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Dewey, J. (1991). How we think. New York: Prometheus Books.
Fisk, R. (2006). The great war for civilization. London: Harper Perennial.
Flood, R. (2001). The relationship of “systems thinking” to action research. In P. Reason & H. Bradbury (Eds.), Handbook of action research (pp. 133–144). London: Sage.
Gee, J. P. (2005). An introduction to discourse analysis. New York: Routledge.
Goethe, J. W. (1957). Goethes Werke in zwei Bänden. Munich, Germany: Droemische Verlagsstanstalt Th. Knaur Nachf.
Gur-Ze’ev, I. (2003). Destroying the other’s collective memory. New York: Peter Lang.
Hannerz, U. (1990). Cosmopolitans and locals in world culture. Theory, Culture & Society, 7, 237–251.
Helyer, R. (2015). The work-based learning student handbook (2nd ed.). London: Palgrave.
Herr, K., & Anderson, G. (2005). The action research dissertation. New York: Sage.
Hourani, A. (2005). A history of the Arab peoples. London: Faber and Faber.
Kandor, M. (1982). The baroque arsenal. London: André Deutsch.
Macmurray, J. (1961). Persons in relation. London: Faber and Faber.
Mason, M. (2008). Complexity theory and the philosophy of education. Chichester, UK: Wiley.
McNiff, J. (Ed.). (2010). Teacher enquiry bulletin: Action research for teachers in Qatar. Qatar: Supreme Education Council. Retrieved from http://www.jeanmcniff.com/userfiles/file/qatar/Qatar_Action_Research_booklet_email.pdf
McNiff, J. (2013a). Action research: Principles and practice (3rd ed.). Abingdon, VA: Routledge.
McNiff, J. (2013b). Becoming cosmopolitan and other dilemmas of internationalisation: Reflections from the Gulf states. Cambridge Journal of Education, 43(4), 501–515. doi:10.1080/0305764X.2013.831033.
McNiff, J., McGeady, L., & Rose, M. (2001). Time to listen: An evaluation. Retrieved from http://www.jeanmcniff.com/items.asp?id=76
Merton, R. K. (1957). Social theory and social structure. Glencoe, IL: Free Press.
Midgley, J. (2008). Perspectives on globalization and culture: Implications for social work practices. Journal of Global Social Work Practice, 1(1): 1–11. Retrieved from www.globalsocialwork.org/vol1no1_Midgley_abstract.html
Noffke, S. (2009). Revisiting the professional, personal, and political dimensions of action research. In S. Noffke & B. Somekh (Eds.), The Sage handbook of educational action research (pp. 6–23). London: Sage.
Nydell, M. (2006). Understanding Arabs (4th ed.). Boston.: Intercultural Press.
Owen, R. (2000). State, power and politics in the making of the modern Middle East (2nd ed.). London: Routledge.
Packer, G. (2006). The assassins’ gate: America in Iraq. New York: Faber & Faber.
Rogan, E. (2011). The Arabs: A history (Rev. ed.). London: Penguin.
Said, E. (1994). Representations of the intellectual: The 1993 Reith Lectures. London: Vintage.
Said, E. (1995). Orientalism. Harmondsworth, UK: Penguin.
Said, E. (1997). Covering Islam. London: Vintage.
Scahill, J. (2007). Blackwater: The rise of the world’s most powerful mercenary army. London: Serpent’s Tail.
Sen, A. (2007). Identity and violence: The illusion of destiny. London: Penguin.
Spinoza, B. (1996). Ethics. London: Penguin.
Taber, K. (2013). Action research and the academy: Seeking to legitimize a ‘different’ form of research. Teacher Development: An International Journal of Teachers’ Professional Development, 17(2), 288–300.
Theroux, P. (1986). Sunrise with seamonsters. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
von Bertanalffy, L. (1969). General system theory. New York: George Braziller.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2017 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
McNiff, J. (2017). Learning About Action Research in and From the Middle East. In: Rowell, L., Bruce, C., Shosh, J., Riel, M. (eds) The Palgrave International Handbook of Action Research. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-40523-4_16
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-40523-4_16
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-44108-9
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-40523-4
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)