Transformative Authorship Through Critical Dialogue: Concepts, Theory, and Practice

Abstract

This conceptual article deals with components and concepts of transformative learning, emphasizing the organization-level perspective on critical reflection. The discussion leans on the concept of transformative authorship and it is argued that it enables authoring processes through which professionals can recognize and recreate their routinized work practices. The aim of the research is to explore how professional experiences are integrated with reflexive, theoretical knowledge through critical dialogue. The authoring process of transformative authorship is illustrated with two complementary case studies from postgraduate health care education. In both cases, the learning tasks were designed as constructed objects by various instructional interventions where organizational contradictions or dilemmas were used as an inspiring premise for transformation. Transformative authorship was realized as the professionals’ reflexive awareness of their capacity to influence the intentional variation in their modes of action.

Chapter 8: Wobbling with Culturally Proactive Teaching: Facilitating Social Justice through Youth Participatory Action Research with Middle School Students

“…When teachers struggle to move out of their comfort zones and embrace a direction that is not predictable, they often vacillate between two or more options about how to approach a situation. Educational researchers concerned with supporting teachers' implementing equity-focused teaching (Garcia & O'Donnell-Allen, 2015;Stewart et al, 2020) argue for a more generative view of these moments of struggle as opportunities for development rather than defeat. Fecho (2011) suggested that these kinds of moments in the classroom allow us to view "with a questioning eye" (p. 55) those events that appear common and look for ways to learn when the commonplace is disrupted.…”

“…Fecho (2011) suggested that these kinds of moments in the classroom allow us to view "with a questioning eye" (p. 55) those events that appear common and look for ways to learn when the commonplace is disrupted. Accordingly, these moments of wobble might offer the space where teachers can learn from the tension and potential discomfort that results from disparate perspectives and observations (Stewart et al, 2020). Guggenheim (2019) offered an example of how engaging preservice teachers in developing confidence in wobbling might move them toward equity-centered practice while "disrupting deficit perspectives of children" (p. 299).…”