How to Do Things With Words

Recording of presentation introducing narrative analysis, outlining what it is, why it can be a useful approach, how to do it and where to find out more. Presentation given at methods@manchester seminar at University of Manchester on 4 March 2010.

What is Narrative Analysis

Discourse in the Novel

Cultivating Communities of Practice: A Guide to Managing Knowledge

Voices of the Mind: A Sociocultural Approach to Mediated Action. James V. Wertsch

The aim of this article is to contribute to the understanding and use of the theory of communities of practice. In order to clarify terms, explore applications for education and reflect on various ...

/pdf/communities-of-practice-as-a-social-theory-of-learning-a-3w3lypcdrp.pdf

Communities of practice as a social theory of learning: A conversation with Etienne Wenger

http://compels.pbworks.com/f/identityservelearn.pdf

Conceptualizing identity, learning and social justice in community-based learning

This article explores diversity in the identity of vocational teachers and the ways these identities are both situated in cultural and political contexts and built upon life and career histories. The analysis is developed from a study of work-related programmes offered to students aged 15-18 in one school board in Canada, with a particular focus on five courses. Teacher identity emerged as a significant factor that supported the distinctly vocational-educational learner experience that was identified through the research. The case-study approach enabled us to examine features of the context in relation to teacher identity. In particular, we propose that vocational teacher identities were modulated in relation to accountabilities to different ‘communities of practice’, such as those of prior or concurrent industry affiliations. We identify features of the policy context that enabled this modulation of identity and the formation of a ‘community of practice’ among technology teachers. Rich qualitative data i...

Teachers who teach their practice: the modulation of hybridised professional teacher identities in work-related educational programmes in Canada

Possibilities for the use of research in educational practice are often written off due to the history, politics and interests of the ostensibly separate worlds that researchers and practitioners occupy. However, a more optimistic account highlights the ways these communities share a common need for practice-based theories, which enable them to make sense of a wide range of issues in education, including pedagogy, learning, and educational equity. 

In applying theory to situated accounts of various educational practices and learning contexts, this book explores mistaken assumptions about the ways that research can ‘inform’ or otherwise impact practice. It problematises a ‘what works’ agenda but also points to potentially more productive research-practice relationships in education. Experienced contributors describe how they have used a variety of context-sensitive theoretical approaches in the socio-cultural and discursive traditions to both understand practice and address a wide range of practical issues in education.

Reframing educational research: resisting the 'what works' agenda

The paper discusses five work-related secondary school courses in Canada, providing an empirical account through which a new way of conceptualising vocational education is developed. Using a case study approach, we identify the mutually reinforcing dimensions of education – from policy to the course experience – that supported the enactment of an education–industry dialogue. We propose that, by constructing a metaphorical bridge between school and work, such a dialogue with a vocational community of practice is what made these courses ‘vocational’. The concept of dialogism allows us to characterise vocational education in a way that accounts for the flexible and dynamic qualities of the enacted curricula which were observed and interpreted across the case studies. In this conceptualisation, the teacher with prior industry experience embodies the dialogue and constructs a dialogic curriculum. The analysis builds on existing research which highlights the importance of teacher identity and background by situ...

Valerie Farnsworth

Papers

Communities of practice as a social theory of learning: A conversation with Etienne Wenger

Conceptualizing identity, learning and social justice in community-based learning

Teachers who teach their practice: the modulation of hybridised professional teacher identities in work-related educational programmes in Canada

Reframing educational research: resisting the 'what works' agenda

What makes a course vocational? School-based work-related programmes in Canada in dialogue with a community of practice