Abstract
This chapter draws on theoretical, literary, and artistic thinking to describe a multifaceted conceptualization of polyvocality in self-study research. It offers exemplars of enactments of polyvocal self-study research enacted across disciplines, institutions, and continents in large-scale faculty self-study higher education communities in the USA and South Africa. They serve as models that validate the self-study methodology more broadly outside of teacher education in polyvocal transdisciplinary faculty self-study groups. More specifically, the exemplars serve as ways to illustrate design elements of Paidiá: guideposts for facilitating and enacting polyvocal self-study research in transdisciplinary higher education communities and the positive impact for learning. Finally, the chapter circles back to the important foundations created by the S-STEP community for teacher educators, with its continued development in polyvocal self-study transdisciplinary higher education communities. To end, it looks forward to the upcoming developments and contributions by the global self-study community for future work in self-study research.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
References
Adichie, C. N. (2006). Half of a yellow sun. Lagos: Farafina.
Adichie, C. N. (2009). Chimamanda Adichie: The danger of a single story. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story/transcript?language=en
Akpome, A. (2013). Focalisation and polyvocality in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun. English Studies in Africa, 56(2), 25–35.
Austin, T., & Senese, J. C. (2004). Self-study in school teaching: Teachers’ perspectives. In J. J. Loughran, M. L. Hamilton, V. K. LaBoskey, & T. Russell (Eds.), International handbook of self-study of teaching and teacher education practices (Vol. 2, pp. 1231–1258). Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Badley, G. (2002). A really useful link between teaching and research. Teaching in Higher Education, 7(4), 443–455.
Bakhtin, M. (1984). Problems of Dostoevsky’s poetics (C. Emerson, Ed. & Trans.). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Barnes, D. (1998). Foreword: Looking forward: The concluding remarks at the Castle Conference. In M. L. Hamilton (Ed.), Reconceptualizing teaching practice: Self-study in teacher education (pp. ix–xiv). London: Falmer Press.
Bresler, L. (2005). What musicianship can teach educational research. Music Education Research, 7(2), 169–183.
Bresler, L. (2008). The music lesson. In J. G. Knowles & A. L. Cole (Eds.), Handbook of the arts in qualitative research (pp. 225–237). Thousand Oaks: SAGE.
Brown, J. D., & Duke, T. S. (2005). Librarian and faculty collaborative instruction: A phenomenological self-study. Research Strategies, 20(3), 171–190.
Coulter, C. A., & Smith, M. L. (2009). The construction zone: Literary elements in narrative research. Educational Researcher, 38(8), 577–590.
Davis, C. L. (2017). Working in corners, spaces, bends and turns: How transdisciplinary approaches and attitudes might challenge and shape the practices of educational developers in higher education. In P. Gibbs (Ed.), Transdisciplinary higher education (pp. 137–152). Dordrecht: Springer.
Daynes, G., Esplin, P., & Pinnegar, S. (2004). Learning to teach problem solving by teaching a problem. In L. M. Fitzgerald, M. L. Heston, & D. L. Tidwell (Eds.), Collaboration and community: Pushing boundaries through self-study. Proceedings of the fifth international conference on self-study of teacher education practices, Herstmonceux Castle, East Sussex, England (pp. 85–88). Cedar Falls: University of Northern Iowa.
Devoto, M. (2007). Polyphony. In Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved from https://global.britannica.com/art/polyphony-music
East, K., Fitzgerald, L. M., & Heston, M. L. (2009). Talking teaching and learning: Using dialogue in self-study. In D. Tidwell, M. Heston, & L. Fitzgerald (Eds.), Research methods for the self-study of practice (pp. 55–72). New York: Springer.
Eckert, C., & Stacey, M. (2000). Sources of inspiration: A language of design. Design Studies, 21(5), 523–538.
Evans, D. P., KaʻŌpua, H., & Freese, A. R. (2015). Work gloves and a green sea turtle: Collaborating in a dialogic process of professional learning. In K. Pithouse-Morgan & A. P. Samaras (Eds.), Polyvocal professional learning through self-study research (pp. 21–37). Rotterdam: Sense.
Guilfoyle, K., Placier, P., Hamilton, M. L., & Pinnegar, S. (2002). Exploring the concept of dialogue in the self-study of teaching practices. In C. Kosnik, A. Freese, & A. Samaras (Eds.), Making a difference in teacher education through self-study. Proceedings of the fourth international conference on self-study of teacher education practices, Herstmonceux Castle, East Sussex, England (Vol. 1, pp. 96–103). Toronto: OISE/UT.
Gustavsen, B. (2001). Theory and practice: The mediating discourse. In P. Reason & H. Bradbury (Eds.), Handbook of action research: The concise paperback edition (pp. 17–26). Thousand Oaks: SAGE.
Ham, V., & Kane, R. (2004). Finding a way through the swamp: A case for self-study as research. In J. J. Loughran, M. L. Hamilton, V. K. LaBoskey, & T. Russell (Eds.), International handbook of self-study of teaching and teacher education practices (Vol. 1, pp. 103–150). Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Harrison, L., Pithouse-Morgan, K., Conolly, J., & Meyiwa, T. (2012). Learning from the first year of the Transformative Education/al Studies (TES) project. Alternation, 19(2), 12–37. Retrieved from http://alternation.ukzn.ac.za/docs/19.2/02%20Har.pdf
Hawkins, B. H. (2017). A transdisciplinary approach to postgraduate research education: Challenges and strategies. In P. Gibbs (Ed.), Transdisciplinary higher education (pp. 59–71). Dordrecht: Springer.
Hernández Gil de Lamadrid, C., & Román Mendoza, E. (2015). A technology-enhanced self-study of reversible mentorship in a modern language program. In A. Samaras & K. J. Pithouse-Morgan (Eds.), Polyvocal professional development: Enacting dialogic professional learning through self-study (pp. 93–110). Rotterdam: Sense.
Holquist, M. (Ed.). (1981). Glossary for Bakhtin M. The dialogic imagination: Four essays. Austin: University of Texas Press.
Ifenthaler, D., Eseryel, D., & Ge, X. (2012). Assessment for game-based learning. In Assessment in game-based learning (pp. 1–8). Dordrecht: Springer.
Kirk, J. (2005). Starting with the self: Reflexivity in studying women teachers’ lives in development. In C. Mitchell, S. Weber, & K. O’Reilly-Scanlon (Eds.), Just who do we think we are? Methodologies for autobiography and self-study in teaching (pp. 231–241). London: RoutledgeFalmer.
Korthagen, F. A. J. (1995). A reflection on five reflective accounts. Theme issue self-study and living educational theory. Teacher Educational Quarterly, 22(3), 99–105.
Korthagen, F., & Lunenberg, M. (2004). Links between self-study and teacher education reform. In J. J. Loughran, M. L. Hamilton, V. K. LaBoskey, & T. Russell (Eds.), International handbook of self-study of teaching and teacher education practices (Vol. 1, pp. 421–449). Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Kuhn, T. (1976). The structure of scientific revolutions. Chicago: Chicago University.
LaBoskey, V. K. (2004). The methodology of self-study and its theoretical underpinnings. In J. J. Loughran, M. L. Hamilton, V. K. LaBoskey, & T. Russell (Eds.), International handbook of self-study of teaching and teacher education practices (Vol. 2, pp. 817–869). Dordrecht: Kluwer.
LaBoskey, V. K. (2006). The fragile strengths of self-study: Making bold claims and clear connections. In P. Aubusson & S. Schuck (Eds.), Teaching learning and development: The mirror maze (pp. 251–262). Dordrecht: Springer.
Loughran, J. J. (2004). A history and context of self-study of teaching and teacher education practices. In J. J. Loughran, M. L. Hamilton, V. K. LaBoskey, & T. Russell (Eds.), International handbook of self-study of teaching and teacher education practices (Vol. 1, pp. 7–39). Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Loughran, J., & Northfield, J. (1998). A framework for the development of self-study practice. In M. L. Hamilton (Ed.), Reconceptualizing teaching practice: Self-study in teacher education (pp. 7–18). London: Falmer Press.
Loughran, J. J., Hamilton, M. L., LaBoskey, V. K., & Russell, T. L. (Eds.). (2004). International handbook of self-study of teaching and teacher education practices. Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Louie, B. Y., Drevdahl, D. J., Purdy, J. M., & Stackman, R. W. (2003). Advancing the scholarship of teaching through collaborative self-study. Journal of Higher Education, 74(2), 150–171.
Lunenberg, M., & Samaras, A. (2011). Developing a pedagogy for teaching self-study research: Lessons learned across the Atlantic. Teaching and Teacher Education, 27(5), 841–850.
Lyons, N., Halton, C., & Freidus, H. (2013). Reflective inquiry as transformative self-study for professional education and learning. Studying Teacher Education, 9(2), 163–174.
Marshall, J. (2015). Transdisciplinarity and art integration: Toward a new understanding of art-based learning across the curriculum. Studies in Art Education: A Journal of Issues and Research, 55(2), 104–127.
Meskin, T., & van der Walt, T. (2014). The director’s “I”: Theatre, self, and self-study. Perspectives in Education, 32(2), 54–68.
Meskin, T., Singh, L., & van der Walt, T. (2014). Putting the self in the hot seat: Enacting reflexivity through dramatic strategies. Educational Research for Social Change (ERSC), 3(2), 5–20. Retrieved from http://ersc.nmmu.ac.za/view_edition.php?v=3&n=2#
Mezirow, J. (1990). How critical reflection triggers transformative learning. In J. Mezirow & Associates (Eds.), Fostering critical reflection in adulthood: A guide to transformative and emancipatory learning (pp. 1–20). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Mezirow, J. (1991). Transformative dimensions of adult learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Mitchell, C. (2008). Getting the picture and changing the picture: Visual methodologies and educational research in South Africa. South African Journal of Education, 28(3), 365–383.
Morrison, T. (1992). Jazz. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Munby, H., & Russell, T. (1994). The authority of experience in learning to teach: Messages from a physics methods class. Journal of Teacher Education, 45(2), 86–95.
Pelias, R. J. (2008). Performative inquiry: Embodiment and its challenges. In J. G. Knowles & A. L. Cole (Eds.), Handbook of the arts in qualitative research (pp. 185–193). Thousand Oaks: SAGE.
Pinnegar, S., & Hamilton, M. L. (2009). Self-study of practice as a genre of qualitative research: Theory, methodology, and practice. Dordrecht: Springer.
Pithouse, K., Mitchell, C., & Moletsane, R. (Eds.). (2009). Making connections: Self-study & social action. New York: Peter Lang.
Pithouse-Morgan, K., & Samaras, A. P. (2015a). The power of “we” for professional learning. In K. Pithouse-Morgan & A. P. Samaras (Eds.), Polyvocal professional learning through self-study research (pp. 1–20). Rotterdam: Sense.
Pithouse-Morgan, K., & Samaras, A. P. (Eds.). (2015b). Polyvocal professional learning through self-study research. Rotterdam: Sense.
Pithouse-Morgan, K., & Samaras, A. P. (2018). “Many stories matter”: Taking a polyvocal stance in learning about teaching of self-study. In J. K. Ritter, M. Lunenberg, K. Pithouse-Morgan, A. P. Samaras, & E. Vanassche (Eds.), Teaching, learning, and enacting of self-study methodology: Unraveling a complex interplay (pp. 313–328). Singapore: Springer Nature.
Pithouse-Morgan, K., & Samaras, A. P. (2019). Polyvocal play: A poetic bricolage of the why of our transdisciplinary self-study research. Studying Teacher Education, 15(1), 4–18.
Pithouse-Morgan, K., Muthukrishna, N., Pillay, D., Van Laren, L., Chisanga, T., Meyiwa, T., Moletsane, R., Naicker, I., Singh, L., & Stuart, J. (2015). Learning about co-flexivity in a transdisciplinary self-study research supervision community. In K. Pithouse-Morgan & A. P. Samaras (Eds.), Polyvocal professional learning through self-study research (pp. 145–171). Rotterdam: Sense.
Pithouse-Morgan, K., Coia, L., Taylor, M., & Samaras, A. P. (2016). Exploring methodological inventiveness through collective artful self-study research. LEARNing Landscapes, 9(2), 443–460. Retrieved from https://www.learninglandscapes.ca/index.php/learnland/article/view/Exploring-Methodological-Inventiveness-Through-Collective-Artful-Self-Study-Research
Pithouse-Morgan, K., Chisanga, T., Meyiwa, T., & Timm, D. N. (2017). Finding resonances and re-encountering ourselves: An arts-informed, participatory analysis of leading a transdisciplinary, multi-institutional professional learning community. Paper presented at the 5th annual South African Research Association Conference: Education in an era of decolonization and transformation, Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
Rager, K. (2005). Self-care and the qualitative researcher: When collecting data can break your heart. Educational Researcher, 34(4), 23–27.
Rodgers, C., & LaBoskey, V. K. (2016). Reflective practice. In J. J. Loughran & M. L. Hamilton (Eds.), International handbook of teacher education (pp. 71–104). Dordrecht: Springer.
Samaras, A. P. (2002). Self-study for teacher educators: Crafting a pedagogy for educational change. New York: Peter Lang.
Samaras, A. P. (2011). Self-study teacher research: Improving your practice through collaborative inquiry. Thousand Oaks: SAGE.
Samaras, A. P., & Freese, A. R. (2006). Self-study of teaching practices primer. New York: Peter Lang.
Samaras, A., & Freese, A. (2009). Looking back and looking forward: An historical overview of the self-study school. In C. A. Lassonde, S. Galman, & C. Kosnik (Eds.), Self-study research methodologies for teacher educators (pp. 3–19). Rotterdam: Sense.
Samaras, A. P., & Pithouse-Morgan, K. (2018). Self-study research in a polyvocal professional community design. In J. K. Ritter, M. Lunenberg, K. Pithouse-Morgan, A. P. Samaras, & E. Vanassche (Eds.), Teaching, learning, and enacting of self-study methodology: Unraveling a complex interplay (pp. 245–257). Singapore: Springer Nature.
Samaras, A., & Sell, C. (2013). Please write: Using critical friend letter writing in teacher research. Teacher Education Quarterly, 40(4), 93–109.
Samaras, A. P., Freese, A. R., Kosnik, C., & Beck, C. (Eds.). (2008). Learning communities in practice. Dordrecht: Springer.
Samaras, A. P., Guðjónsdóttir, H., McMurrer, J. R., & Dalmau, M. C. (2012a). Self-study of a professional organization in pursuit of a shared enterprise. Studying Teacher Education, 8(3), 303–320.
Samaras, A. P., Smith, L., Harmon, L., Nasser, I., Smith, T., Borne, K., … Karczmarczyk, D. (2012b). Reforming in the first person plural: Explorations of a faculty self-study collaborative. In J. R. Young, L. B. Erickson, & S. Pinnegar (Eds.), Extending inquiry communities: Illuminating teacher education through self-study. Proceedings of the ninth international conference on the self-study of teacher education practices, East Sussex, England (pp. 251–255). Provo: Brigham Young University.
Samaras, A. P., Karczmarczyk, D., Smith, L., Woodville, L., Harmon, L., Nasser, I., Parsons, S., Smith, T., Borne, K., Constantine, L., Roman Mendoza, E., Suh, J., & Swanson, R. (2014a). The shark in the vitrine: Experiencing our practice from the inside out with transdisciplinary lenses. Journal of Transformative Education, 12(4), 368–388.
Samaras, A. P., with Karczmarczyk, D., Smith, L., Woodville, L., Harmon, L., Nasser, I., … Swanson, R. (2014b). A pedagogy changer: Transdisciplinary faculty self-study. Perspectives in Education, 32(2), 117–135.
Samaras, A. P., Pithouse-Morgan, K., Chisanga, T., Conolly, J., Constantine, L. S., Meyiwa, T., Smith, L., & Timm, D. N. (2015). Breathing under water: A transcontinental conversation about the “why” of co-facilitating transdisciplinary self-study learning communities. In K. Pithouse-Morgan & A. P. Samaras (Eds.), Polyvocal professional learning through self-study research (pp. 231–252). Rotterdam: Sense.
Samaras, A. P., Hjalmarson, M., Bland, L., Nelson, J., & Christopher, E. (2017). STEM self-study of teaching inquiry group: Getting out of our element. Presentation at the Annual Conference of the Association of Higher Education (ASHE), Houston, TX, 10 November.
Sawyer, K. (2013). Zig Zag: The surprising path to greater creativity [Kindle edition]. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Schuck, S., & Russell, T. (2005). Self-study, critical friendship, and the complexities of teacher education. Studying Teacher Education: A Journal of Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices, 1(2), 107–121.
Scott, J. (1990). Domination and the arts of resistance: Hidden transcripts. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Sleeter, C. (2014). Toward teacher education research that informs policy. Educational Researcher, 43(3), 146–153.
Smith, L., Casey, A., Scott Constantine, L., Ericson, R., Evmenova, A., Ewell, M., Hudson, S., Lee, S., Lukes, L., Muir, S., Nelson, J., Poms, L., Reid, S., & Samaras, A. P. (2015). A visual odyssey. Proceedings of the Innovations in Teaching & Learning, Center for Teaching and Faculty Excellence, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, September 18. Retrieved from http://journals.gmu.edu/ITLCP/article/view/654
Smith, L., Constantine, L. S., Sauveur, A., Samaras, A. P., Casey, A., Evmenova, A., Hudson, S., Lee, S., & Reid, E. S. with contributions from Ericson, R., Ewell, M., Lukes, L., Muir, S., Nelson, J., & Poms, L. (2018). Dwelling in the question: Professional empowerment through complex visual self-study. In J. K. Ritter, M. Lunenberg, K. Pithouse-Morgan, A. P. Samaras, & E. Vanassche (Eds.), Teaching, learning, and enacting of self-study methodology: Unraveling a complex interplay (pp. 275–294). Singapore: Springer Nature.
St Pierre, E. A. (1997). Methodology in the fold and the irruption of transgressive data. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 10(2), 175–189.
Stanley, A. M., & Conway, C. M. (2015). Creating a culture of inquiry in music teacher education. In K. Pithouse-Morgan & A. P. Samaras (Eds.), Polyvocal professional learning through self-study research (pp. 127–143). Rotterdam: Sense.
Stockley, D., & Mighty, J. (2004). In L. M. Fitzgerald, M. L. Heston, & D. L. Tidwell (Eds.), Collaboration and community: Pushing boundaries through self-study. Proceedings of the fifth international conference on self-study of teacher education practices, Herstmonceux Castle, East Sussex, England (pp. 233–236). Cedar Falls: University of Northern Iowa.
Van Laren, L., Pithouse-Morgan, K., Chisanga, T., Harrison, L., Meyiwa, T., Muthukrishna, N., & Naicker, I. (2014). ‘Walking our talk’: Exploring supervision of postgraduate self-study research through metaphor drawing. South African Journal of Higher Education, 28(2), 640–661.
Vickers, M. H. (2010). From the Editor-in-Chief’s desk: The value of reflexivity. Employee Response Rights Journal, 22, 275–277.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). In M. Cole, V. John-Steiner, S. S. Scribner, & E. Souberman (Eds.), Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1981). The genesis of higher mental functions. In J. V. Wertsch (Ed.), The concept of activity in Soviet psychology (pp. 144–188). Armonk: Sharpe. [Original work published 1960].
Whitehead, J. (2004). What counts as evidence in self-studies of teacher education practices? In J. J. Loughran, M. L. Hamilton, V. K. LaBoskey, & T. Russell (Eds.), International handbook of self-study of teaching and teacher education practices (Vol. 2, pp. 871–903). Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Wilcox, S., Watson, J., & Paterson, M. (2004). Self-study in professional practice. In J. J. Loughran, M. L. Hamilton, V. K. LaBoskey, & T. Russell (Eds.), International handbook of self-study of teaching and teacher education practices (Vol. 1, pp. 273–312). Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Zeichner, K. (2007). Accumulating knowledge across self-studies in teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education, 58(1), 36–46.
Acknowledgments
We thank each of the sponsors who courageously supported our work at GMU: the Center for Teaching and Faculty Excellence and especially Kim Eby, Associate Provost Faculty Affairs and Development, for her guidance and encouragement; the Office of the Provost; Office of Distance Education; and 4-VA, supporting innovative faculty development projects in the state.
We gratefully acknowledge grant funding for the TES project from the National Research Foundation of South Africa (Education Research in South Africa, grant numbers 74007 and 90380; Incentive Funding for Rated Researchers, grant number 90832), Durban University of Technology’s Research Office, University of KwaZulu-Natal’s University Learning and Teaching Office, and Walter Sisulu University’s Research Office. We further acknowledge that any opinion, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors, and, therefore, the funders of TES project activities do not accept any liability in regard thereto.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this entry
Cite this entry
Samaras, A.P., Pithouse-Morgan, K. (2019). Polyvocal Self-Study in Transdisciplinary Higher Education Communities. In: Kitchen, J., Berry, A., Guðjónsdóttir, H., Bullock, S., Taylor, M., Crowe, A. (eds) 2nd International Handbook of Self-Study of Teaching and Teacher Education. Springer International Handbooks of Education. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1710-1_43-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1710-1_43-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-13-1710-1
Online ISBN: 978-981-13-1710-1
eBook Packages: Springer Reference EducationReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Education