In Search of a Teaching Praxis that Transforms

• Author / Creator

  Berezan, David H K

• Transformative learning experiences are what many of my students and the participants in this research study have told me are their most meaningful educational experiences. Their transformations were life-altering and have continued to affect them long into their adult lives. I have drawn and interconnected fundamental concepts from two methodological approaches, Narrative Inquiry and Transformative Learning Theory, into a hybrid methodology designed to study what fosters the transformative self- and life-altering experiences within the fusion and synergy of teacher, students and subject matter in teaching and learning. The participants were English Language Arts Majors completing their final year of four-year teacher education or a two-year after degree program. Though in a similar pre-service training program, the participants were diverse in background, life experiences, age, and country of origin. The data collection sessions spanned ninth months and over 600 pages of transcript were collected. Through the data analysis, the consequent findings call for humanizing school experiences through teaching praxes that are foundationally focused on the deeply personal and transformative teaching and learning relationships of teachers and students.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Transformative teaching praxis
  • transformative teaching and learning
  • meaningful learning experiences
  • transformative experiences
  • life-altering educational experiences
  • transformation without contrivance
  • self-reflection; social context of education; teacher education
  • class warfare
  • values-based teaching and learning

• Graduation date

  Spring 2015

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Doctor of Philosophy

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3F968

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.