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RELATIONAL AGENCY: CHANGING CONDITIONS IN SCHOOLS FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS
International Society for Cultural and Activity Research Congress
Sydney, Australia, 30th September – 3rd October 2014
University of Auckland
Susan Gray Margaret Kitchen
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Thank you to the organisers
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Quality of life in the classroom (Alllwright, 2003; 2012)
The need for democratic rather than managerial approaches (Sachs, 2001; Daniels et al., 2007)
Knowledgeable teachers who understand how to bring about change (Kaufman & Crandall, 2005; Engeström, 1994)
Relational agency (Edwards, 2005; 2011)
Conceptual background to this study
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Effective agents of change practise relational agency:
“The capacity to align one’s thoughts and action with those of others in order to interpret problems of practice and to respond to these interpretations.” (Edwards 2005, p. 269)
“Confident engagement with the knowledge that underpins one’s own specialist practice as well as the capacity to respond to what others have to offer.” (Edwards 2011, p. 33)
Relational agency
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The demographic context of Aotearoa/NZ
1991 2013
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The demographic context of Tamaki Makaurau/Auckland
39% born overseas
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The context of this study: the GradDip TESOL
MOE TESOL Fees Scholarship programme
Agent of Change assignment
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Aim of this case study: Re-examine data to find examples of effective relational agency, particularly when road blocks had been met
Participants: 30/60 2 teachers
1 secondary IT teacher (Jenny)
1 primary school teacher (Emily) Analysis: data coded separately, looking for patterns and making
interpretations, cognisant of our conceptual frameworks Salient themes then compared
Methodology
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Negative situation (Sannino, 2008) Resources drawn on to understand the situation more deeply
(Engeström, 1994) Tentative solutions (Engeström, 1994) Understanding the motives of those with responsibility
(Edwards, 2005; 2011) Reworked solution (Edwards, 2005; 2011)
Findings
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Understanding and practising relational agency critical to enacting change
Disciplinary knowledge underpins relational agency
Without relational agency disciplinary knowledge remains latent
Discussion
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Conclusion
Practising relational agency enables authoring of new identities
A first step in building more democratic settings
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References
Unfurling koru image appears courtesy of Jon Radoff.