A dialogic framework for exploring teachers’ shifting perceptions of enquiry

‘Dialogical self theory’ (Hermans, 2001b) combines Western pragmatism (James, 1890) with Eastern thinking (Bakhtin, 1973; Bakhtin, 1981). Here, human beings narrate their own stories in a personal meaning system (Hermans, 2006a), which Hermans (2006b) compares to a ‘theatre of voices’. The personal meaning system is made up of ‘internal’ and ‘external’ positions, which reflect the multiple dimensions of the ‘self’ (Hermans, 2001b, p. 2521; Appendix E, Figure A, p. 158). ‘Internal’ positions connote the ‘self’ as ‘I’ (ibid.); ‘I as a teacher’, ‘I as successful’, ‘I as unhappy’. ‘External’ positions

represent social and cultural factors on the ‘self’ as ‘other’ (ibid.); ‘my best friend’, ‘my students’, ‘my classroom practice’, ‘my colleagues’. Here, the ‘self’ makes choices as well as having thoughts. It has immediate attitudes and internalized values (Hermans and Oles, 1994). The ‘self’ as ‘other’ is bound to social and historical contexts and reflects their value(s). As ‘internal’ and ‘external’ positions, values are not stable. They move ‘spatially’ and can be arranged in a hierarchical (organized) system in terms of importance, influence or dominance (Hermans, 2001a). Crucially, the movement of ‘internal’ and ‘external’ positions over time allows ‘dialogical’ relations to be

Teachers developing understanding of enquiry: Literature Review

established (ibid.). ‘Dialogical’ relations reflect social relationships and a capacity to innovate (re-invent the ‘self’) through positioning and re-positioning (ibid.).

Essentially, ‘dialogical self theory’ is composed of four main aspects; ‘other-in-the- self’, ‘multiplicity-in-unity’, ‘dominance and social power’ and ‘openness to

innovation’ (Hermans, 2008). Here, ‘internal’ and ‘external’ positions are involved in processes of negotiation and interchange. Interactions between these positions allow for multiple voices, agreement and disagreement. Voices are ‘deeply penetrated by the culture of institutions, groups, and communities in which they participate, including their power differences’ (ibid., p. 192). They occupy different positions as the dialogical self takes initiatives, and responds to situations. New positions, shifting positions, or the co-operation of two or more positions to create a subsystem in the self, create opportunities for personal change.

There is a considerable overlap between concepts of ‘dialogical self theory’ (Hermans, 2001b) and the theory of ‘symbolic control’ (Bernstein, 1996). For example,

relationships, time, space, society and culture provide contexts for concepts of

dominance, tensions, perceptions, voices, dialogue, cognition, multiplicity, movement and change (Figure 8, below).

Teachers developing understanding of enquiry: Literature Review

Indeed, the four main aspects of Hermans’ (2001b) ‘dialogical self theory’ provide a conceptual framework for studying the emerging concepts of teachers’ shifting perceptions of enquiry based learning over time (Table 4, below).

Table 4: A conceptual framework for studying teachers’ shifting perceptions of enquiry based learning over time

Aspects of Bernstein’s (1996) theory of ‘symbolic control’

Four main aspects of Hermans’ (2001b) ‘dialogical self theory’

Concepts which feature in both Hermans’ (2001b) ‘dialogical self theory’ and Bernstein’s

(1996) theory of ‘symbolic control’ ‘recognition’/‘realisation’ ‘framing’ ‘strong’/‘weak’ ‘internal’/‘external’ ‘re-contextualising rules’ (‘pedagogic discourse’) ‘evaluative rules’ (‘pedagogic device’) ‘visible’/‘invisible pedagogy’ ‘Other-in-the-self’ ‘Internal’ and ‘external’ positions involved in processes of negotiation

and interchange Dialogue Multiplicity Perceptions Cognition Movement ‘framing’ ‘strong’/‘weak’ ‘internal’/‘external’ ‘recognition’/‘realisation’ ‘re-contextualising rules’ (‘pedagogic discourse’) ‘evaluative rules’ (‘pedagogic device’) ‘discursive gap’ ‘Multiplicity-in-unity’ ‘Internal’ positions allow for multiple voices, agreement and

disagreement Dialogue Voices Multiplicity Tensions Cognition ‘classification’/‘framing’ ‘strong’/‘weak’ ‘recognition’/‘realisation’ ‘framing’/‘messages’ ‘evaluative rules’ (‘pedagogic device’) ‘cultural re-production-production’

‘Dominance and social power’ Voices are ‘deeply penetrated by the culture of institutions, groups,

and communities in which they participate, including their power

differences’ (Hermans, 2008, p. 192) Dominance Perceptions Cognition Change ‘evaluative rules’ (‘pedagogic device’) ‘visible’/‘invisible pedagogy’ ‘cultural re-production-production’ ‘Openness to innovation’ Voices occupy different positions as the ‘dialogical self’ (ibid.) takes

initiatives, and responds to situations. New positions, shifting

positions, or the co-operation of two or more positions to create a subsystem in the self, create opportunities for personal change

Change Cognition Movement

Teachers developing understanding of enquiry: Literature Review

Hermans’ (2008) concept of ‘other-in-the-self’ involves ‘internal’ and ‘external’ positions in a process of negotiation and interchange. Dialogue, multiplicity,

perceptions, cognition and movement are common to both Hermans’ and Bernstein’s theories in this respect. To explain his concept of ‘other-in-the-self’, Hermans (2001b, p. 254) uses the example of a child who encounters the new ‘external’ position of ‘my teacher’ on his first day at school. Here, the child also has a new ‘internal’ position; ‘I as pupil’. His narratives suggest personal, psychological, social and cultural

perspectives on his first day at school. Over time, changing contexts influence positions, and thus perception. They shift. Hypothetically, teachers offer similar perceptions of enquiry based learning by talking about their place in it in relation to other people, other things, and possibly their own thoughts. They engage with ‘re- contextualising rules’ involving ‘recognition’ and ‘realisation’ (Bernstein, 2000, p. 31), as well as modalities of ‘classification’ and ‘framing’ (ibid., pp. 7-14) when they discuss their attempts to make sense of enquiry as part of their classroom practice, for example. From this perspective, I aim to explore whether teachers’ evaluate their ‘selves’ when they talk about changes to the pace and content of their lessons, or their changing relationships with students and other staff members, and as they reflect upon different social and cultural contexts caused by their experiences of enquiry.

There is ‘multiplicity-in-unity’ where teachers’ narratives include multiple voices (their own and those of other people), which either facilitate their developing understanding of enquiry based learning or they create tensions (Hermans, 2008, pp. 189-190). More so than Hermans’ concept of ‘other-in-the-self’, ‘multiplicity-in-unity’ corresponds to Bernstein’s (1996) ‘framing’, since it involves the perceived importance of enquiry within the school and the manner in which messages are communicated. For example, ‘multiplicity-in-unity’ relates directly to the concept of ‘multivoicedness’ (Bakhtin, 1981): Who talks? Who listens? What is the impact on teachers’ developing understanding of enquiry? Where are there tensions? How do teachers reconcile aspects of the pedagogic device (about different types of knowledge, models of instruction and their own beliefs)?

Within the context of teachers developing understanding of enquiry based learning at Tableford School, the concept of ‘dominance and social power’ (Hermans, 2008, pp. 190-192) holds the potential for ‘weak framing’ and ‘cultural re-production’, strongly

Teachers developing understanding of enquiry: Literature Review

advocated by Bernstein (1996). Through dialogue, teachers re-produce the voices which determine the extent to which they adhere to the dominant structures of

‘classification’ and ‘framing’. Their narratives contain examples of how they process ‘re-contextualising rules’, and their role in the development of enquiry in their school. In some cases, teachers might experience epistemological conflict when enquiry based learning creates tensions between dominant social, cultural and moral discourses (Leat

et al., 2012).

Finally, ‘openness to innovation’ reflects the capacity for personal change within ‘dialogical self theory’ (Hermans, 2008, pp. 192-194). Indeed, ‘innovation’ has similar connotations to ‘cultural production’ (Bernstein, 2000), and social change. Here, by engaging with enquiry based learning, teachers may face ‘discursive gaps’ (ibid.) if the positions of their ‘dialogical selves’ do not reflect the models of ‘classification’ and ‘framing’ in their school. Indeed, ‘cultural production’ may occur in the form of ‘invisible pedagogy’ where teachers do not conform to the dominant discourses but act on their shifting perceptions from their positions at the bottom of the social hierarchy (Bernstein, 1975).

2.6.1 Critique

Like Priestley and Bernstein, some authors are critical of Hermans’ work. For example, despite being used for a number of case studies (Hermans and Dimaggio, 2007),

‘dialogical self theory’ (Hermans, 2001b) has been found to be more theoretical than empirical (König, 2009). Other noteworthy issues are Hermans’ expertise in the field of psychoanalysis, which is dissimilar to the context of my work, his perceived position as an optimist (Kuusela, 2011), and the manner in which he has interpreted the work of Mikhail Bakhtin (Cresswell and Baerveldt, 2011). Indeed, a number of authors have presented issues regarding methodological aspects of Hermans’ work (Cross, 2010; Ligorio, 2010). I will address these in the next chapter (pp. 47-48).

Going further, much of Hermans’ work includes the concept of identity. There is an abundance of empirical literature in the field of educational research on this theme. Indeed, Lasky (2005), Raptis (2010), Smit and Fritz (2008) and Zembylas (2003) are

Teachers developing understanding of enquiry: Literature Review

position on this. I perceive teacher identity in terms of the ‘internal’ and ‘external’ positions of teachers’ ‘dialogical selves’ (Hermans, 2001b). It is by exploring the multiple dimensions of teachers’ ‘selves’ that I intend to find out more about their shifting perceptions of enquiry based learning over time (pp. 65-76) and at the same time explore the emergence of underlying social and cultural issues which affect their professional learning. As ‘selves’ the teachers will not become transformed simply by being ‘dialogical’. Indeed, Hermans’ (ibid.) theory includes concepts of dominance and power in the form of social, cultural and political structures, like adhering to a political party or following the word of a spiritual leader, which might resolve an individual’s personal uncertainties, tensions or struggles rather than establish any fixation of personal meaning. These ‘superordinate knowledge structures’ (Hermans and Hermans-Konopka, 2010, pp. 27-28) obscure the potential for human innovation. Structures and boundaries feature heavily within ‘dialogical self theory’ (Hermans,

ibid.) as individuals recognise their perceived uncertainties, tensions and challenges and

take steps to position and re-position their multiple ‘selves’ in relation to ‘others’.